Towers Watson report shows the cost of claims continues to outpace the rise in insurance pricing

Towers Watson, a global professional services firm, has released a new report showing the rising prices in the commercial insurance industry. The report shows that commercial insurance prices have grown for the second consecutive year by an average of 2%. Property insurance and workers compensation are the two fields where the increases in pricing are most apparent. The property insurance market is being bolstered by a number of natural disasters that occurred throughout the year, which prompted insurers to raise rates and prices for new policies. While prices are rising,…

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Fitch Ratings publishes its 2012 outlook report for American insurance brokers

Fitch Ratings has just announced the results of the analysis of their data for revenue and earnings increases for American insurance brokers in 2012, and that they have shown that their figures will likely equal or top those that were reported from January through September 2011. However, they also indicated that the basic nature of competition of the marketplace for property & casualty insurance, and the lukewarm recovery of the global economy will continue to provide a struggle for more significant growth and operating performance. Top-line increases may be able…

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New York regulators launch investigation into the state’s life insurance industry

The New York Department of Financial Services has begun an investigation into the state’s life insurance industry. The investigation seeks to account for the $52.6 million in unpaid benefits that has been missing for the past several months. The money has yet to reach the 8,000 beneficiaries to which it is owed. Shortly after the investigation was announced on Monday, the money quickly made its way to beneficiaries, which has sparked concerned amongst the state’s insurance regulators. In accordance with the investigation, the state’s life insurance companies are required to…

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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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Are you making one of the most common life insurance policy mistakes?

Life insurance, and the decision to buy it, is among the most critical financial decisions that an individual will make in his or her lifetime. That said, most people will purchase a policy without fully understanding all of its various features, meaning that the majority of policyholders are not taking advantage of everything that their products have to offer. Experts in the life insurance industry have compiled a list of the most frequently overlooked life insurance features. The following are some of the points that made the list: • Premium…

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