Latest Underwriting Headlines

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

Calif. Commissioner Testifies Before Assembly Insurance Committee

Feb 7 2003 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi testified before the Assembly Insurance Committee recently, discussing the impact of water damage and mold on consumers and the insurance industry. Below is the text of his...

Zurich North America Reports More than Doubling E-Commerce Policies Underwritten in 2002

Feb 4 2003 // Zurich North America Financial Enterprises, a unit of Zurich North America, reported that during 2002 it more than doubled the number of insurance policies it has underwritten to cover e-commerce risks.The doubling of...

A.M. Best Affirms Ratings for Aon’s Underwriting Subsidiaries

Jan 28 2003 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the A (Excellent) financial strength ratings of Chicago-based Aon Corporation’s key insurance underwriting subsidiaries and removed the ratings from under review.The ratings were placed...

Fredrik Murer Named as Zurich’s Senior Political Risk Underwriter in London

Jan 22 2003 // Zurich North America and Zurich London Limited, two of the main operating companies of the Swiss-based Zurich Financial Services Group (ZFS) announced that Fredrik Murer has joined the Zurich Emerging Markets group as a...

Monitor Liability Expands to West

Jan 21 2003 // Monitor Liability Managers Inc., a subsidiary of W.R. Berkley Corporation, announced that it will be actively pursuing additional business opportunities in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New...

Brown & Brown Sub Acquires Florida Intracoastal Underwriters

Jan 20 2003 // Madoline Corporation, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc. announced it has acquired the remaining 25 percent interest in Florida Intracoastal Underwriters, Limited Company (FIU), held by Trenwick America Reinsurance...

Swiss Re Says Continued Emphasis on Underwriting Essential in ’03

Jan 13 2003 // At Swiss Re’s Year-End Economic and Insurance Industry Review 2002 and Outlook 2003, held mid-December 2002 New York, various speakers discussed the precarious situation most of the world’s major economies and...

FM Global Affirmed

Jan 13 2003 // Fitch Ratings affirmed its “AA-” insurer financial strength ratings on Factory Mutual Insurance Company, Affiliated FM Insurance Company, and Appalachian Insurance Co. collectively (FM Global). The outlook is...

FSA Re-authorizes ACE INA UK to Underwrite Insurance and Reinsurance Business

Jan 9 2003 // The Financial Services Authority, the U.K.’s insurance regulator, has re-authorized ACE INA UK Limited (ACE INA UK), formerly known as Insurance Company of North America (UK) Limited, to underwrite all 18 classes of...

Fitch Downgrades Trio of Kemper Companies Primary Underwriters

Jan 8 2003 // Fitch Ratings has downgraded the insurer financial strength ratings of three primary insurance underwriters of the Kemper Insurance Companies (KIC) to ‘B+’ from ‘BBB’. Additionally, Fitch has...

PXRE Concludes $194 Million Catastrophe Reinsurance Deal to Increase Underwriting Capacity

Dec 24 2002 // Bermuda-based PXRE Group Ltd. announced that it has entered into a quota share reinsurance agreement with P-1 Re Ltd. which will provide the company with $194 million in funded reinsurance protection against property...

Alea Unit to Underwrite Venture Programs’ Hospitality Program

Dec 23 2002 // Venture Programs of West Chester, Pa. announced that Alea North America Insurance Company, a unit owned jointly by Alea Group Holdings (Bermuda) Limited and Alea Group Holdings AG, has agreed to become an issuing carrier...

Weak Investment Results Throw Curve at P/C Insurers’ Recovery at Nine-Month Mark

Dec 18 2002 // Thanks to strong premium growth and lower catastrophe losses, the U.S. property/casualty industry earned $9.3 billion in net income after taxes through nine-months 2002, in sharp contrast to the $2.6 billion net loss...

Lloyd’s Appoints Faraday’s Rolf Tolle as Franchise Performance Director

Dec 17 2002 // Rolf Tolle, currently the Chief Underwriting Officer of Faraday Group, General Re’s Lloyd’s and London Market insurance and reinsurance operation, has been appointed as the first Performance Director of the...

Small P/C Insurers’ Underwriting Success Trumped by Lagging Investment Results

Dec 17 2002 // The competitive advantage that small property-casualty insurers achieved in underwriting at the end of the last decade was nearly offset by lower investment returns, according to a new study from Conning Research &...

8 is Enough – Programs That Caught Our Eye

Dec 16 2002 // For this end-of-the year edition of Insurance Journal, we looked at some unique or interesting programs and found eight that grabbed our attention. Obviously they do not represent a comprehensive list, which is admittedly...

Solvency Study Shows Continued Good Ratings

Dec 16 2002 // The solvency record of the domestic surplus lines industry continues to mirror that of the total property/casualty industry, according to the ninth annual study of the excess and surplus lines industry by the A.M. Best...

8 is Enough – Programs That Caught Our Eye

Dec 16 2002 // For this end-of-the year edition of Insurance Journal, we looked at some unique or interesting programs and found eight that grabbed our attention. Obviously they do not represent a comprehensive list, which is admittedly...

A.M. Best Assigns ‘A-‘ (Excellent) Rating to Aspen Insurance Limited

Dec 13 2002 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned an initial financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) with a positive outlook, to reinsurer Aspen Insurance Limited, a subsidiary of Aspen Insurance Holdings (AIH), a Bermuda-registered holding...

Conventus Approved to Underwrite Med-Mal in New Jersey

Dec 10 2002 // Conventus Inter-Insurance Exchange, a Woodbridge, N.J.-based medical malpractice insurance company owned and governed by physicians, announced that the New Jersey Banking and Insurance Department has issued it a...