Report shows insurance is an economic player in California

A new report has shown that the property and casualty industry for California insurance is responsible for bringing billions of dollars into the state. The report, which was released by the Insurance Information Institute, showed that in 2008, that sector of the insurance industry brought $34.7 billion into the economy. It also showed that insurers are responsible for approximately 2 percent of the total gross state product for California. In fact, in that state, there are more insurance professionals employed than in any other state in the country. In 2009,…

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Commercial insurance market is on the cusp of a new growth

Jay Fishman, the chief executive of Travelers Cos. spoke at a financial services conference for Goldman Sachs, and announced that the insurer had boosted their business insurance prices in October by 5.2 percent, and in November by 5.8 percent, which are the most significant increases that have been made in a number of years. Travelers is known for painting a brighter image of prices than other insurance companies, and this latest announcement doesn’t appear to have changed that fact. However, at the same time, when the insurer said that it…

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NAPCO study shows that the U.S. property insurance market is under stress

A new study from NAPCO LLC, a wholesale broker of commercial property insurance coverage, suggests that the national catastrophe property market is quickly moving away from the soft market conditions that have governed insurance prices for several years. While this is typically good news for some insurers, the study shows that a low demand for insurance coverage may restrict the pricing power of insurers. David Pagoumian, CEO of NAPCO, says that property insurers are under heavy pressure to make profits in the current climate and may face even greater pressures…

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Insurers unlikely to raise rates in the wake of Hurricane Irene, according to Allianz

Despite fears that disaster-prone 2011 will incite higher insurance rates in the future, Allianz, one of the largest commercial insurance companies in the world, says that the toll of the damage caused by natural disasters throughout the year will not prompt widespread hikes in premiums. Jay Ralph, a board member of Allianz in charge of the North American insurance market, spoke with reporters concerning the issue, noting that the excess capacity of the insurance industry is enough to weather the storm without any major changes in policies. However, insurers should…

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