Marsh & McLennan herald turning of property insurance market

Property insurance rates on the rise. Marsh & McLennan Companies, a global risk and insurance services firm, has begun claiming that property insurance rates all over the world are on the rise. The increase in these rates suggests a solidifying of the global market and could be an implication of an improving economy. Marsh notes that consumers are paying more for their insurance coverage due to the high frequency of natural disasters in the past two years. Another factor that is contributing to higher rates the way insurance companies are…

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Despite unsteady market, insurance companies hold their ground

Insurance companies have been taking action to solidify their cash reserves since the start of the economic crisis, and have been working to decrease the number of high-risk investments within their investment portfolios, for example collateralized debt obligations. According to life insurance analyst Steven Schwartz, from Raymond James & Associates Inc., if they are not capable of borrowing money, holding companies are keeping notably more cash in order to cover their debts. In fact, they are currently holding twice to three times the amount that had been held in past…

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New report shows cost of workers’ compensation dropped during global economic crisis

In 2009, at the start of the global economic crisis, there was a decrease of 4.4 percent in the number of employees who had workers’ compensation coverage. According to a National Academy of Social Insurance report, this drop was the largest in twenty years. The result was that the cost to employers for providing the benefits decreased by 7.6 percent, reaching $73.9 billion that year; which is the most recent year with complete data. This drop closely mirrors the overall decline in employment in the country. According to the chair…

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