This year has broken the record for federal disaster declarations according to the Insurance Information Institute, and the year is not over yet. While 2010 may have set a new record for the number of declared disasters in the nation’s history, 2011 has shattered that record in both number and cost. With three months left in the already infamous 2011, analysts are concerned that more natural disasters could be on the way as a final farewell to the year. With two consecutive years of costly catastrophes, many wonder what is…
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The Hartford continues downsizing as financial pressures mount
The Hartford Financial Services Group is planning to downsize in the coming months in an effort to make operations more efficient. The company is one of the largest investment and insurance organizations in the country and has been met with lingering financial woes since the 2008 recession. Downsizing will come in the form of staff reduction and the selling off of one of its fringe units: Trumbull Services, which served the property and casualty insurance industry. The company has been consistently downsizing – or streamlining – since late 2008 in…
Read MoreToo big to fail insurance corporations should be governered by different rules than the banking industry
The term “too big to fail” rose to prominence in the wake of 2008’s economic recession. Much like the effects of the recession, the phrase has lingered and has come to define certain aspects of the business world. Too big to fail is a categorization often attributed to massive corporations that have complex and expansive global business operations and deep ties with financial institutions. If these businesses were to fail, there may be disastrous implications for the global economy that go well beyond the problems born during the 2008 recession.…
Read MoreA.M. Best to sponsor Annual Self-Insurance Institute of America’s National Education Conference and Expo
A.M. Best Company, a credit rating and financial data and services company operating in the insurance industry, will be sponsoring the 31st Annual Self-Insurance Institute of America’s National Education Conference and Expo. The conference will be held between October 9 and 11 of this year in Phoenix, Arizona. The annual event attempts to broaden the knowledge of self-insurance within the insurance industry as a whole. This year, the event will be focused around the future of self-insurance and how the marketplace is being shaped by new trends. Self-insurance is a…
Read MoreChubb Corp. reports losses verging on $500 million from natural disasters in the third quarter
The Chubb Corporation, a massive property insurance organization, has had a difficult time recovering from recent storms in the U.S. The occurrence of natural disasters in the U.S. has been unusually high this year, and the damage caused by these storms has been unprecedented. The storms have imposed gargantuan financial losses on the insurance industry and many companies are still sifting through claims from earlier in the year that are adding to total losses. Chubb officials have warned investors that the company’s third quarter losses may end up being higher…
Read MoreNationwide in talks to purchase Harleysville Group, deal has insurance agents on edge
Late last week, Nationwide Mutual Insurance entered into negotiations with Harleysville Group Inc., a large insurance company operating in 32 states, to purchase the company. Details regarding the acquisition are sparse as Nationwide has been keeping a tight lid on information concerning the potential deal. The one thing that is very clear, however, is that the deal has Harleysville independent insurance agents on edge. If the deal goes through, the role of agents from both companies may soon change. Typically, Nationwide uses only contract agents to sell insurance policies exclusive…
Read MoreInsurance market may be softening, but insurers will continue to combat costly health care
The beginning of the year was punctuated with a rash of insurance rate increases coming from many of the nation’s insurance companies. Insurers had defended their weighty rate proposals with the claim that the cost of medical care was rising out of control. Higher rates may also be due to a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires insurers pay no less than 80% of their collected premiums on health care. While insurers have been quick to propose rates that are, in some cases, astronomically high, industry experts believe…
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