Latest Underwriting Headlines

All the headlines from our Underwriting Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Platinum Reports $30.6 Million Net Q1 Earnings; Gregory Morrison to Replace Jerome Fadden as CEO

May 14 2003 // Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd.’s first full quarter of independent operation since its initial public offering last October got off to a good start. The company reported net income of $30.6 million, or $0.71...

Fitch Sees P/C Insurers’ Underwriting Results Improving in ’03

May 12 2003 // Fitch Ratings’ current estimate is that the domestic property/casualty insurance industry will experience an improvement in the combined ratio to 103.9 percent in 2003 from 107.2 percent in 2002, with an increase in...

CRC Insurance Services to Acquire Southern Cross Underwriters

May 12 2003 // CRC Insurance Services Inc. of Winston-Salem, N.C., the wholesale insurance subsidiary of Branch Banking and Trust Company, today said it plans to buy Jackson, Miss.-based insurance wholesaler Southern Cross Underwriters...

American Wholesale Insurance Group Acquires Seaboard Underwriters Inc.

May 2 2003 // American Wholesale Insurance Group (www.amwins.com) has completed the acquisition of Seaboard Underwriters, Inc., a provider of insurance solutions for the transportation industry. Seaboard operates as a managing general...

U.S. Risk Insurance Group Adds Keane as Executive VP for U.S. Risk Underwriters

May 1 2003 // U.S. Risk Insurance Group appointed John Keane as executive vice president of U.S. Risk Underwriters, Inc. Keane will be involved in many strategic and operational aspects of the company, including day to day underwriting...

Safeco Posts First Underwriting Profit in Four Years

Apr 28 2003 // Safeco reported first-quarter net income of $90.0 million, or $0.65 per diluted share in a release today. The numbers mark a significant improvement over the same period in 2002, when Safeco generated net income of $63.6...

Institute President Reacts to Full Year 2002 Results

Apr 18 2003 // The property/casualty industry reported a statutory rate of return of 1.0 percent in 2002, up from the worst-ever negative 2.4 percent recorded in 2001. The results were released by the Insurance Services Office, Inc....

P/C Industry’s Surplus Falls Despite Improvement in Net Income After Taxes

Apr 17 2003 // The property/casualty insurance industry’s statutory surplus dropped $4.4 billion to $285.2 billion at year-end 2002 from $289.6 billion at year-end 2001. Surplus declined despite improvement in the industry’s...

A.M. Best Downgrades Ratings of Allianz Insurance, Allianz Underwriters

Apr 17 2003 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength ratings to A (Excellent) from A+ (Superior) of Allianz Insurance Company (AIC) and its direct subsidiary, Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company, both of Burbank, Calif....

Taking a look at 2002 Results

Apr 17 2003 // The property/casualty insurance industry reported a statutory rate of return of 1.0 percent in 2002, up from the worst-ever negative 2.4 percent recorded in 2001. The results were released by the Insurance Services Office,...

Trenwick to Cease Reinsurance Underwriting in U.S.

Apr 15 2003 // Trenwick Group Ltd. will cease underwriting reinsurance business under its previously announced underwriting facility with Chubb Re, Inc., a subsidiary of The Chubb Corporation. The underwriting facility, which began in...

W.R. Berkley Corp. Notes Formation of New Excess Casualty Underwriting Division

Apr 11 2003 // W. R. Berkley Corporation announced the formation by its subsidiary, Admiral Insurance Company, of a new underwriting division. The new division, Admiral Excess Underwriters, will specialize in the underwriting of casualty...

Best Lowers Underwriter Insurance Company Rating to B++ (Very Good)

Apr 9 2003 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has downgraded the financial strength rating to B++ (Very Good) from A- (Excellent) of the U.K.’s Underwriter Insurance Company Limited, removed the rating from under review with...

ACIC Responds to CDI Notice on Insurers’ Use of Loss History Info. for Underwriting

Apr 7 2003 // The California Insurance Department’s draft advisory notice regarding insurance companies use of claims databases and loss history in underwriting and rating has far-reaching implications, oversteps its boundaries...

Hard Market Hits California Homeowners

Apr 7 2003 // Credit scoring, CLUE reports become targets of Commissioner Garamendi’s IreThe hard market has hit California homeowners hard. State Farm, which had nearly 23 percent market share in the state in 2001 according to...

Property/Casualty Insurance: An Industry in Recovery’

Apr 7 2003 // Following the property/casualty industry’s net loss after taxes in 2001, many analysts predicted 2002 would be the year of recovery.In fact, strong premium growth and sharply lower catastrophe losses did lead to...

Are Cost, Availability of Calif. Homeowners Insurance at Crisis Proportions’

Apr 7 2003 // Today, the California personal lines industry is at the peak of a down cycle that has adversely affected the homeowners’ insurance marketplace. The downturn began in 2000, and worsened after the Sept. 11 attack on...

Property/Casualty Insurance: An Industry in Recovery’

Apr 7 2003 // Following the property/casualty industry’s net loss after taxes in 2001, many analysts predicted 2002 would be the year of recovery.In fact, strong premium growth and sharply lower catastrophe losses did lead to...

Platinum Underwriters Names Justin Cressall Treasurer

Apr 1 2003 // Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. announced that Justin Cressall has been appointed as Treasurer. He was formerly with KPMG LLP, where he held various positions serving the firm’s insurance, reinsurance and...

PIACT Opposes Bill Prohibiting the Use of Credit History in Insurance Underwriting

Mar 27 2003 // The Professional Insurance Agents of Connecticut Inc. has issued a statement urging the Connecticut General Assembly’s Insurance & Real Estate Committee to oppose Committee Bill No. 5490.The PIACT described the...