Public Sector Risk

Traditional reinsurance poses no threat to global financial stability, but the industry should still be closely watched because of its peripheral involvement in potentially risky activities, regulators said on Wednesday.

Crop-insurance agents are voicing deep concern about a Senate plan to establish a means test for crop-insurance premiums that would raise rates for some farmers by 15 percent.

National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. says it has $33 million in municipal bond exposure to the city of San Bernardino, Calif., as the city becomes the third in the state this year to file for bankruptcy protection.

A combination of higher coastal populations, artificially suppressed rates for last-resort insurers, and the inability of insurers to charge rates commensurate with risk along the coast has driven the residual property market in hurricane-exposed states to new peaks in both exposure value and policy levels, says the Insurance Information Institute....

State legislatures continue to provide P&C insurers with new mandates. Whether directed at claims or underwriting, these mandates have a strong focus on the consumer.

A violent criminal underworld of drug dealers and mobsters is pooling resources to defraud insurers. The Coalition reports on better-mobilized fraud gangs and masterminds' stunning heists, including a $400M crash-injury scheme and a $163M Medicare heist.