Dozens of homes have been scorched by wildfires in Texas, as the Dallas/Fort Worth area was pummeled by golf-ball-sized hail and tornadoes.

Risk Management Solutions says insured losses from the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami will likely be between $21 billion and $34 billion, including both property and casualty and life and health claims.

With a rise in mergers and acquisitions expected to continue through 2011, unseen regulatory, legal and other risks can doom a potentially sound arrangement, according to an expert at ACE USA.

Independent insurance agents want what every consumer wants these days—one stop shopping. When agents have issues, they don’t want to call 10 different people in the carrier’s organization to get the issue resolved, explains Mike Fitzgerald, senior analyst in the insurance practice for Celent.