American International Group (AIG), the U.S. largest insurer that has been steeped in controversy, has filed a lawsuit against Bank of American Corp. The insurer is looking to recover over $10 billion in losses from what it is calling “massive fraud.” The lawsuit is spurred by allegations of mortgage fraud stemming from the bank’s deals leading up to the 2008 economic recession. The suit claims that Bank of America misrepresented its mortgages as being of a higher quality than they actually were. According to the suit, filed with the New…
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Higher reinsurance rates predicted
Despite record losses in the first quarter of 2011 and a hurricane season predicted to be exceedingly active, the reinsurance industry is in good spirits. While several insurance companies are dreading hurricanes reaching land, reinsurers expect that one storm causing extensive losses could mark the turning point of the insurance pricing cycle toward their favor. This would mean that higher reinsurance rates, a fact that would go a long way in helping the industry recover from a disastrous first quarter. Henry Keeling, CEO of Guy Carpenter’s International operations, recently attended…
Read MoreAllstate Insurance growth outlook
Allstate is looking to improve its home and auto insurance units by 2013. Executives at the massive insurance company spoke with investors the other day regarding the matter, saying that focusing on these units will help them recover from losses earlier this year. Allstate’s auto insurance unit has been hemorrhaging clients for three consecutive years, a trend that executives expect to continue throughout 2011, only to see modest growth again in 2013. The renewed focus on these units comes after Allstate’s CEO, Tom Wilson, reported “inadequate returns.” As far as…
Read MoreGovernment looking for buyers
Several major businesses floundered in the wake of the global economic recession. Unable to recover in the early days of the economic downturn, many of these companies were allowed to fail. In the U.S., some of these companies received federal aid in the form of massive cash injections. The American International Group, an American insurance corporation, was one such company. AIG, however, mishandled the funds in one way or another, leading the government to seize the company. Now, The U.S. Treasury Department is selling shares of the company in the…
Read More2011 turning out to be one of the industry’s hardest hits
The frequency of calamitous events so far this year has insurance companies all over the nation and bracing themselves for massive losses. With destructive weather wreaking havoc throughout the Southeast and Central U.S., many insurers have already faced $10 billion in losses due to natural disasters. According to EQECAT Inc., a disaster and risk modeling firm, the national average in weather-related losses is $4 billion. Insurers can expect to see higher than average losses as an unusually active hurricane season begins soon. Disasters overseas are likely to have an effect…
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