After a two year process in which the board of directors of the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) has examined the changing demographics within the wholesale insurance space, the board has voted to expand its membership to bring all wholesale insurance practitioners who meet membership requirements under a single umbrella. The board made…
It has always been surprising to me that trademark issues receive so little attention in the insurance community. It’s almost as if trademark claims are the dirty little secret of casualty insurance, both on the standard commercial and specialty professional sides of the house. There is no question that in the marketplace at large, trademark…
Some people hold the misconception that directors, trustees and officers of nonprofit organizations do not have a meaningful exposure to personal liability. The reality is quite the opposite. The standards of conduct and fiduciary duty of directors/trustees of nonprofits are at least as high, if not higher, than similar positions in the for-profit world. Nearly…
Superstorm Sandy may not have hardened the insurance market, but it has changed the way underwriters view the Northeast, a view that catastrophe models will reflect going forward. According to NAPCO’s Spring 2013 State of the Market Report, underwriters and CAT modelers will now treat the Northeast more like the Southeast when it comes to…
Hollywood would have us believe that some smart, awkward computer guy in his 30s living in his mother’s basement is to blame. Surrounded by a dozen computer screens with an IQ of 150, this cyber character enjoys targeting large companies or just simply enjoys the challenge of breaking into secure networks. The reality is actually…
As the Internet continues to take hold over the independent insurance agent’s market share, the value-added services a broker can provide to their clients are more important than ever, especially in the high-net worth space. Being an advisor, and not just an insurance salesman, is crucial for those agents working with this class of business…
There are more than 132 million housing units in the United States, more than 80 million of which are detached, single-family homes, and roughly one-in-four of those homes were built prior to the 1970s. (U.S. Census Bureau) In 2011, homeowners insurance accounted for 14.9 percent of the total direct written premiums for all property casualty…
Trade credit insurance is not a new concept, says Kerstin Braun, executive vice president of trade credit insurer, Coface. But the recent economic struggles faced by global companies has increased awareness and demand for the product. Coface provides trade credit insurance to protect against the exposure of insured receivables of over $500 billion U.S. dollars…
A reworking of a key piece of the workers’ compensation rating formula isn’t changing rates overall but is changing premiums for most insureds, according to experts. Tony DiDonato, director and senior actuary at the National Council on Compensation Insurance, the Florida-based organization that estimates loss costs, said the change, which took effect January 1, 2013,…
Interest in personal liability insurance for firearms owners has expanded with the media focus on gun-centric events and the public discussion of liability issues. While coverage is available through gun owner associations and through specialty insurers, the liability component of homeowners and renters insurance policies offers some protection for gun owners. Most standard homeowners and…
Proposed federal and state gun legislation is having an unintended effect on growth in the gun insurance market across the country. Experts in this segment say new policy submissions dealing with all aspects of guns, including gun shops, gun dealers and gun ranges are up exponentially compared to the last couple years. “Every single one…
Insurance Journal examined industries experiencing changes and expansions during the past year. Here are the top 10 market sectors that just might deliver hot opportunities for agents and brokers in the property/casualty insurance industry in 2013. 1. Construction Several market indicators have shown a recovery in the housing market. Slow but steady growth continued throughout…
Andrew Burger, managing member, founder and CEO of the new Alliance Intermediaries in Hartford Conn., says agents need to be thinking long term to be successful in the current market. Burger has been working as a specialty reinsurance, program and binding authority intermediary since the 1980’s and has started his own company to help wholesale…
A new practice group from Willis called Willis Open has been started to help public entities and corporate businesses build alliances with minority-owned business enterprises (MBE) and women-owned business enterprises (WBE). Kimberly Waller and Phillip Styles have come over from Aon Cornerstone, a unit of Aon Corp., to lead the new practice group that will…
The commercial auto segment saw an underwriting loss in 2011 for the first time in nine years, with a combined ratio of 103.6 percent, according to a special report on the U.S. commercial auto insurance industry published by Fitch Ratings in October 2012. A commercial driver study by LexisNexis Risk Solutions found employers tripled their…
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