Increase expected for commercial insurance rates

Though consumers have been seeing steady increases in rates for casualty, property, home, and auto insurance, companies have not seen any notable raises in their own insurance costs. Yet. The sensitivity of businesses to increases for insurance rates runs much deeper, and some new competition has brought some of the business for commercial insurance to Canada. Those two factors have allowed the price of those plans and policies to remain relatively steady over the last few years. However, according to RSA Canada’s chief executive, Rowan Saunders, this trend will not…

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China insurance market growing too fast for domestic insurers to handle

China’s insurance market is experience major growing pains, according to a report from Standard & Poor’s, a credit rating agency based in the U.S. The Chinese market is, by all accounts, enormous and the potential for success in second to none. The full breadth of this potential success, however, is open only to Chinese insurers. Native insurers are now facing demand for coverage that they are having trouble meeting. Many companies, including New China Life, one of the largest life insurers in the country, are plagued with capital shortfalls due…

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Insurance executives concerned for the future of the insurance sector, says KPGM report

Optimism for the business conditions for the insurance industry in the U.S. is beginning to expire, according to a new report from KPGM, an audit, tax and advisory firm. The report shows that many of the nation’s highest ranking insurance executives are growing pessimistic of the conditions governing the insurance sector. These executives claim that conditions are worse now than they were a year ago and may gradually grow worse as the global economy shows signs of ailing. One of the major challenges facing the industry, notes KPGM, is the…

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Liberty Mutual posts Q3 losses due to natural catastrophe and asbestos charges

The Liberty Mutual Group, one of the largest property casualty insurers in the U.S., has posted their third quarter financial report. The report shows that the company has lost millions as the result of natural disasters and a high-profile asbestos lawsuit that was levied against the insurer earlier in the year. Last year, the insurer reported a net profit of $567 million during the third quarter, but 2011 has produced several major natural disasters that have shaken the insurance industry to its core. Liberty Mutual’s losses from catastrophic events for…

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Allstate files $5 million lawsuit in New York as a result of fraud

Allstate Insurance is looking to recover some $5 million in New York that has been lost due to fraud. The company has filed a lawsuit targeting 21 individuals, 17 of which are being accused of misrepresenting public entities. The insurer claims that these people have continuously submitted fraudulent claims on behalf of corporation that were owned and operated by laypersons, as opposed to licensed professionals. The insurer notes that fraud is one of the primary reasons rates have been rising in the state in recent years. Allstate has filed some…

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