Insurance industry infighting may delay Congressional action on National Flood Insurance Program

A fight amongst lobbying groups could put a hold on Congress’ decision regarding the ailing National Flood Insurance Program. The program, which provides millions with access to affordable flood insurance, has been wracked with crippling debt for several years and has finally run out of money and reached a point where it could no longer be sustained. Last month, lawmakers allotted more money to the program in an effort to ensure its survival for another five years, but the plan failed when confronted by the program’s enormous debt. Lawmakers were…

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U.S natural disasters: How the insurance industry is faring and what consumers need to know about the future.

As Hurricane Irene barrels down on the East Coast, Chris Hackett, Director of Personal Lines Policies for The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), has quite a few things to say concerning insurance and how people will be affected by the storm. We were able to ask Mr. Hackett about current, past and even future potential natural disaster events that we all should prepare for. Here is what he had to say: Live Insurance News – With hurricane Irene beating down on the Carolinas, and maybe even New York,…

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Destructive weather and natural disasters makes shopping for homeowners insurance a challenge

The variability of destructive weather forces from one state to the next has meant that homeowners can expect the property insurance marketplace to be quite complex, and they will need to do their homework in order to choose the best policy. According to vice president Don Griffin of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), the variability in severe weather among the states and within the states makes it “worthwhile to do comparison shopping from time to time to make sure the premium you are paying and the coverages…

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Property/Casualty Insurers see first quarter profit drops from increasing underwriting losses

Property/Casualty Insurers, a private American company, reported that after taxes, their net income fell to $7.8 billion within 2011’s first quarter from last year’s first-quarter profits which were at $8.9 billion. Moreover, there was a drop from 6.8 percent to 5.6 percent in that insurer’s average policyholder surplus annualized rate of return. As a result of the net income of the insurer of $7.8 billion after taxes, the surplus of policyholders did rise by 1.4 percent to $7.8 billion, to hit a record by March 31 of $564.7 billion. This…

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Today’s Insurance Industry News

The American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) held a conference this month with insurers in the property and casualty sector. The VP of federal affairs for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) spoke to the group about topics current and pending, in Congress, that may affect the industry. Lobbyists see no immediate issues that will have a direct effect on PCI members or the industry. However, there are a few things to keep a watch on concerning health care, the antitrust act and the National Flood Insurance Program.…

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