Americans for Insurance Reform, a consumer advocacy group, has released a new report regarding the property/casualty insurance industry in New York. The report accuses P/C insurers of excessive rate increases that have slowed the financial recovery of individuals and businesses in the wake of the 2008 economic recession. The group argues that these needlessly high rates may be leading to a new liability insurance crisis in the U.S., one that may set the economy back even further. The group claims that the insurance market throughout the U.S. has been “soft”…
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Barclay’s launches new insurance-linked security product for the global insurance industry
Barclay’s Capital, a worldwide investment bank based in the UK, has launched a new initiative that is aimed at providing the insurance industry with added protections against natural disasters. The financial institution will begin supplying insurance-linked securities that will embolden the insurance industry against catastrophes. The new service will help placate the concerns of investors who are growing leery of the insurance industry’s constant struggle with disastrous storms and other events. Barclay’s believed that the insurance-linked security products will help the industry cope with any financial turbulence it may experience…
Read MoreNationwide posts first quarter profits for 2011, says major storm cut into earnings
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. has released their earnings for the first half of 2011. The acclaimed insurance company posted profits just shy of $400 million, a marked decline from last year in which the company earned over a billion. Profit diminished by 48% in just the first quarter, a fact the insurer is quick to blame on the violent storms and other natural disasters wreaking havoc earlier this year. The company has also released its earnings for the second quarter, reporting further losses due to weather related issues. The previous…
Read MoreS&P’s downgrade could impact the nation’s insurance industry
Recently, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), a major financial research and analysis company based in the U.S., downgraded the U.S. government debt. The firm now classifies the nation’s finances as having a “negative” outlook. S&P’s actions have spurred the nation’s insurance and finance companies to take another look at their practices and portfolios, keen to spot any compliance violations spawned from the downgrade. The search for such violations has been slow going so far, as the U.S.’ long-term ratings have never before been downgraded. The downgrade has left many major insurance…
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