Insurance news

• 6 Forecasts for P/C Insurance in 2016 - Insurance Journal

  04-01-2016 23:33 via
  Insurance Journal
  6 Forecasts for P/C Insurance in 2016
  Insurance Journal
  Some, but not all, experts see an improving U.S. economy in 2016 helping to boost the property/casualty (P/C) insurance sector. Some of these prognosticators are more optimistic than others. But most also anticipate continued low interest rates ...
  

• 6 Forecasts for P/C Insurance in 2016

  04-01-2016 23:32
  
  Some, but not all, experts see an improving U.S. economy in 2016 helping to boost the property/casualty (P/C) insurance sector. Some of these prognosticators are more optimistic than others. But most also anticipate continued low interest rates, downward pricing pressures, …
  
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• RIMS names new president for 2016

  04-01-2016 23:30
  
  Risk management association also has new officers and new board members.
  
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• Volkswagen sued by U.S. for cheating on emissions standards

  04-01-2016 21:53
  
  The Justice Department sued Volkswagen AG, accusing the German automaker of installing illegal devices meant to defeat emissions testing on nearly 600,000 vehicles.
  
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• The worst is over for flooded St. Louis but it’s heading South

  04-01-2016 21:22
  
  After a New Year’s wrecked by flooding and destruction, there’s good news for the people of St. Louis: The worst appears to be over.
  
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• World’s Top 10 Insurers Ranked by Premium, Assets

  04-01-2016 21:00
  
  The world’s largest insurer as measured by 2014 net premiums written is UnitedHealth Group Inc., according to a ranking by A.M. Best of the world’s largest insurance companies. France’s AXA S.A. kept its top spot among global insurers ranked by …
  
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• New York Law Expands Health Insurance Enrollment for Pregnancy

  04-01-2016 18:57
  
  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed legislation to expand health insurance access to pregnant New Yorkers. The measure, signed by Cuomo on Dec. 22, would permit pregnant women to enroll in the state health insurance exchange at any time …
  
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• NORCAL Mutual Acquires Florida-Based FD Insurance

  04-01-2016 18:41
  
  NORCAL Mutual Insurance Co. has completed its acquisition of FD Insurance, a Florida domiciled medical malpractice provider for physicians and surgeons. This acquisition expands NORCAL’s national footprint and establishes Jacksonville, Fla. as the company’s new Southeast regional office. “We’re very …
  
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• Repairs to Hazardous Lewisville Lake Dam in Texas Likely Delayed

  04-01-2016 18:38
  
  Rising water levels will likely delay repairs to a 160-foot-long landslide along the Lewisville Lake dam, a possible threat to the hundreds of thousands of North Texans who live downstream. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said 16 inches of …
  
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• Natural catastrophe costs hit 6-year low of $90 billion in 2015

  04-01-2016 18:31
  
  Costs from natural catastrophes fell last year to the lowest level since 2009.
  
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• Britton Gallagher Adds Danziger in Global P/C Unit

  04-01-2016 18:25
  
  Cleveland, Ohio-based insurance brokerage Britton Gallagher has added Howard Danziger in its Global Property and Casualty division. Danziger has over 28 years of experience in the insurance industry as both a risk manager and insurance broker specializing in complex risk …
  
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• Small Earthquake Shakes Parts of New Jersey, New York

  04-01-2016 18:22
  
  Scientists say a small earthquake has hit in northern New Jersey. The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-2.07 quake hit just before 1 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 2, roughly 2 miles northwest of Ringwood, New Jersey. Officials say it could be …
  
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• Farmers Insurance Launches Rideshare Insurance Coverage in Texas

  04-01-2016 18:21
  
  Farmers Insurance has introduced its new Rideshare Insurance Coverage endorsement designed to provide coverage options for ride-hailing drivers in Texas. Farmers said it worked with representatives of the Texas Department of Insurance, legislators and leaders of transportation network companies (TNCs) to …
  
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• Maine Legislature Pushed to Address Volunteer Firefighter Shortage

  04-01-2016 18:13
  
  Some Maine fire officials hope lawmakers will consider measures aimed to attract more volunteers and allow departments to remain financially afloat. Small towns throughout Maine face a shortage of trained firefighters and aging volunteer ranks. The Morning Sentinel reports that …
  
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• H.W. Kaufman Financial Group Acquires New Orleans-Area Brokerage

  04-01-2016 18:11
  
  H.W. Kaufman Financial Group, based in Farmington Hills, Mich., has acquired B&F Special Risks Inc., a New Orleans (Metairie), La.-based specialty insurance broker. B&F Special Risks was founded in 1977 by J. Patrick Berry and provides specialty wholesale brokerage services …
  
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• Insurers raising Homeowners rates in Massachusetts

  04-01-2016 18:04
  Industry officials say the severe winter of 2015 is behind the rate hikes.
  
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• New Jersey Alerts Consumers to Safety Concerns Over ‘Hoverboards’

  04-01-2016 18:00
  
  The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs alerted consumers that “hoverboards,” one of this past season’s hottest gift items, is being investigated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for possible fire hazards. The CPSC launched its investigation amid …
  
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• GM invests $500 million in Lyft to bolster alliance against Uber

  04-01-2016 17:55
  
  General Motors will invest $500 million in Lyft Inc., giving the ride-hailing startup a valuation of $5.5 billion and a major ally in the global battle against Uber.
  
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• Major Natural Gas Leak in Southern California Still Months from Fix

  04-01-2016 17:36
  
  The escape of tons of natural gas from under a Los Angeles neighborhood is taking months to stop because of pressure from the leak. The leak at Porter Ranch started in October, and likely won’t be fixed for at least …
  
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• California Fire Safety Rule Citations Lag During Severe Drought

  04-01-2016 17:34
  
  Amid the most destructive wildfire season in more than a decade, California’s firefighting agency amped up its warnings to thousands of property owners who weren’t doing enough to protect their homes by clearing brush and other flammable materials. But it …
  
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• M.J. Hall in California Names Lewis Assistant Vice President

  04-01-2016 17:03
  
  M.J. Hall & Company Inc. has named Pamela Lewis assistant vice president. Lewis began her insurance career with Redland Insurance Co. in 1990. Starting in the crop industry, she progressed to the garage department. She also worked at American Equity, …
  
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• Just what the heck is hybrid insurance? - CNBC

  04-01-2016 15:56 via
  CNBC
  Just what the heck is hybrid insurance?
  CNBC
  Traditionally, different types of insurance — life, disability and long-term care, for example — have been bought separately on what Thomas Henske, certified financial planner and partner at Lenox Advisors, calls an "a la carte" basis. A hybrid ...and more »
  

• Number of UK Firms Backing EU Membership Drops Over Past 6 Months: Deloitte

  04-01-2016 15:54
  
  The majority of big British businesses that favor Britain remaining in the European Union has dwindled over the last six months, according to a quarterly survey of chief financial officers published on Monday. Accountancy firm Deloitte said 62 percent of …
  
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• Fitch Expects Modest Gains for U.S. Insurance Brokers in 2016

  04-01-2016 15:49
  
  Revenues and earnings for public U.S. insurance brokers are likely to modestly improve in 2016 relative to levels reported through nine months of 2015, according to Fitch Ratings’ 2016 U.S. Insurance Broker Outlook report. The ratings agency said near-term operating …
  
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• Insurance Innovators Group Now Known as AmWINS Access

  04-01-2016 14:51
  
  Effective January 1, 2016, the group of five Insurance Innovators wholesale insurance brokerages known as The III Group has been renamed AmWINS Access Insurance Services, a division of AmWINS Group Inc. The III Group’s five locations were acquired by the specialty …
  
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• New year, new theme, massive productivity gains

  04-01-2016 13:30
  
  So, how can we do our best to start 2016 in the right mindset for growth?
  
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• Certified physician assistants help detect what's 'real' in Workers' Comp claims

  04-01-2016 13:15
  
  Employers need safe, cost-effective, objective ways to evaluate potential employees’ physical abilities to identify those not suited for the position they seek.
  
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• What drives customer satisfaction?

  04-01-2016 13:00
  
  Why a good claim experience is so important.
  
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• Amlin Appoints Lead Underwriter to Build Latin American Business

  04-01-2016 12:23
  
  Amlin plc, the specialist international insurer, has appointed Lucas Castagnino as lead underwriter, as momentum behind the build out of its Latin America underwriting activities gathers pace. With experience in the Latin American reinsurance market, Castagnino joins from SCOR’s Latin …
  
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• Liberty Specialty Markets Boosts German Presence with New Casualty Team

  04-01-2016 12:09
  
  Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM), part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has strengthened its presence in the German casualty market with the appointment of a new four-strong casualty team in its Cologne office. The team will write a book of primary …
  
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• El Niño Helped Reduce Natural Catastrophe Losses in 2015: Munich Re

  04-01-2016 11:55
  
  Insurance claims from natural disasters such as storms and earthquakes fell to $27 billion in 2015 as the overall cost of natural catastrophes dropped to its lowest level since 2009, reinsurer Munich Re said on Monday. The climate phenomenon known as …
  
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• Reinsurance Prices Continue Softening During January 2016 Renewals: Willis Re

  04-01-2016 11:39
  
  Despite the signs of some pricing stabilization in property catastrophe during the June/July 2015 renewals, hopeful forecasts for a “softening in the softening” in reinsurance pricing have proved elusive, according to Willis Re’s 1st View Report. “The January renewals have …
  
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• Honda Reports 9th Death Linked to Takata Air Bag

  04-01-2016 11:00
  
  Honda Motor Co. confirmed last Thursday that a Takata airbag inflator ruptured in a July crash of a Honda Accord and likely led to the death of the young driver, the ninth death in the world linked to the faulty …
  
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• An Aging America Losing Its Appetite for Risk: Viewpoint

  04-01-2016 11:00
  
  Twenty years ago, Dutch journalist Sheila Sitalsing sat down with a demographer at the country’s statistics office to talk about how aging would change the Netherlands. His prediction, she recounts in a column that’s the most-read thing on the website …
  
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• Brazil Mine Disaster Shows Value (and Harm) of Public Relations Responses

  04-01-2016 10:21
  
  Within hours of a deadly mining spill in November that would become Brazil’s worst environmental disaster, BHP Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie was in front of a camera offering his sympathies to those affected. Meanwhile, his counterpart at joint venture partner …
  
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• First ‘Bellwether’ GM Ignition Switch Trial Set to Open Jan. 11

  04-01-2016 10:00
  
  A U.S. judge last Wednesday rejected General Motors Co.’s bid to dismiss the first so-called “bellwether” case over defective ignition switches in its vehicles, clearing the way for a Jan. 11 trial. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan said …
  
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• Hospital Says KanCare Insurers Denying Legitimate Claims

  04-01-2016 03:04
  
  Lawrence Memorial Hospital officials say the three insurance companies managing Kansas’ Medicaid system routinely turn down legitimate claims to hold down costs. The three contractors for the state’s privatized Medicaid system, known as KanCare, deny the accusation. Other hospitals have …
  
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• Not all North Dakota Farmers Embracing New Type of Crop Insurance

  04-01-2016 02:58
  
  Officials think education could increase interest in a new type of crop insurance that also might give farmers who diversify a boost. Whole farm crop insurance became available in North Dakota this past growing season. No policies were sold, but …
  
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• Deadline Approaching for Louisiana National Flood Insurance Policyholders

  04-01-2016 02:50
  
  As the state braces for significant flooding from heavy rains in the Midwest, the Louisiana Department of Insurance is reminding National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholders in Louisiana of an approaching deadline regarding flooding that occurred in Spring 2015. The Federal …
  
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• Deadly Floods Disrupting Agriculture, Commercial Operations in U.S. Midwest

  04-01-2016 02:44
  
  Deadly flooding across the U.S. Midwest is disrupting everything from oil to agriculture, forcing pipelines, terminals and grain elevators to close. The floods have killed at least 30 people and shut hundreds of roads across Missouri and Illinois, according to state …
  
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