Mortgage insurer MGIC Investment Corp posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss as fewer U.S. homeowners defaulted in a recovering housing market.

Personal-lines insurers should show year-over-year profit improvement when they report 2013 results, and the combined ratio for both personal auto and homeowners should come in under 100, according to a Fitch Ratings personal-lines dashboard update.

Personal-lines insurers should show year-over-year profit improvement when they report 2013 results, and the combined ratio for both personal auto and homeowners should come in under 100, according to a Fitch Ratings personal-lines dashboard update.

Insurers may be underestimating their exposure to a coming third wave of asbestos liabilities by relying on outdated assumptions and not accounting for factors such as longer life expectancy and advances in medical knowledge, a research firm says.