News

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's cautious statements of support for an optional federal charter for insurers is provoking reactions pro and con from property-casualty insurance company trade groups.

A lawyer for American International Group told a Connecticut legislative committee yesterday that attempts to cancel controversial AIG Financial Products unit bonuses would cause marketplace confusion.

Establishing a national regulator responsible for overseeing solvency and insurance pricing and products would help fix the "critical shortcomings" in the property-casualty insurance industry's current state-based regulatory structure, a report says.

The New York State home insurer of last resort said it will expand offerings by offering coverage for a wide variety of additional perils it does not currently insure.

Independent agents and brokers who have customer trust can flourish in the current insurance marketplace, a producer trade group president advised at a recent industry conference.

Insurers are not currently contesting directors and officers' legal defense claims related to the Bernard Madoff pyramid scheme, but carriers are examining proceedings to see if they can stop payments, legal experts said.