Last year was a costly one in terms of dollars and human life as insurers saw their losses from catastrophes increase by 59 percent from the previous year, according to a Swiss Re report.

Douglas G. Elliot, the president and CEO of Hartford Steam Boiler Group, has resigned to join The Hartford as president of commercial markets.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders have agreed on a state budget that still includes merging the state’s insurance and banking departments.

FIS Software, a provider of policy administration systems for life, annuity, pension, and health products, and WorkLight, a developer of mobile application platform technology, have partnered to enable insurance companies to provide smartphone and tablet applications to agents, brokers, and policyholders.