ISO, a risk assessment firm specializing in the property/casualty insurance industry, and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) have released a new report showing the impact natural disasters had upon the P/C insurance industry in 2011. This year has become infamous for the number of severe storms and other natural disasters that have rocked the U.S. and other nations. The report notes that while the property/casualty industry grew in some aspects, it saw steep losses in others, with the most severe losses coming in a short 9-month period.…
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Allstate makes changes to its controversial agent commissions plan
Allstate has announced that it will be revising its compensation plans for independent insurance agents. The company will be revising its commission strategy and pay system for agents, with the changes to take affect beginning in 2013. The new changes will be enforced throughout 2013, but the insurer has not yet revealed plans on what will happen thereafter. Allstate’s changes aim to reduce compensation for most agents, save for captive agents that work solely with the company. The insurer plans to cut commissions by 1%, bringing independent agents’ base commission…
Read MoreConnecticut Insurance Department teams with the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority to protect consumers
The Connecticut Insurance Department has entered into a new agreement with the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority in order to better supervise an insurance organization that does business in both Germany and the U.S. The agreement is the second between the two entities in the past three months. Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi believes that ensuring the financial stability of insurance companies is vastly important to the protection of consumers. Regulation, according to Leonardi, is the best way to keep insurers from making costly decisions that could compromise the economy. As…
Read MoreCombined Insurance Co. of America receives $8.7 million fine for regulatory breaches
Non-life insurance company, Combined Insurance Co. of America has received fines totaling $8.7 million in the United Kingdom and Ireland due to a number of regulatory breaches. The insurer sells its products via agents affiliated with the company, and is required to pay a fine of $4.36 million to the Central Bank of Ireland through its Combined Insurance Co. of Europe Ltd. division. Separately, the company received a fine worth $4.34 million from the U.K. Financial Services Authority as a result of a failure to manage its selling processes, as…
Read MoreGlobal insurance and banking regulators call for more oversight in the industry
As the world’s economy continues to sputter ever onward, global insurance and banking regulators are setting their sights on financial institutions that provide insurance products. These institutions contributed to the global recession in varying degrees, and regulators now want to ensure that a similar crisis does not form due to lack of oversight. Regulators have drafted a new set of rules that aim to assess whether banks selling insurance products are managing their liquidity and capital levels as they are meant to. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International…
Read MoreMichigan lawmakers make changes to state’s unemployment insurance system
Several legislations were passed by the Michigan Legislature this week. Many of these legislations held provisions that will make deeper cuts to the state’s unemployment insurance system, if signed into law by Governor Rick Snyder. The state’s unemployment insurance system has already seen changes earlier in the year, when lawmakers passed new legislations that limited the maximum benefits people could receive. These new changes will have a profound impact on how benefits are calculated for residents and will change who is eligible to receive these benefits. The legislations aim to…
Read MoreReputational risk a growing concern for companies and insurers
In the advent of social media, a person’s reputation is beginning to play a much more important role in the world of business. A new trend has been born in the insurance industry in the form of reputational risk. This risk is most apparent in companies that have had their reputations damaged by some sort of incident that caused consumer backlash. Companies with bad reputations tend to fare poorly in their given industry, as consumers often steer clear of such companies. In some cases, this avoidance can mean the end…
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