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January 11, 2009

Cover Story

“Greenwashing” sounds like a reference to environmentally friendly laundry products, but when the term is applied to construction or property management operations, it can signal decidedly unfriendly consequences for participants in the building process....

Opinion

A Seat At The Table

Democrats Cannot Afford To Let Health Care Bill Fail

News

Reinsurance Prices Falling, But Broker Describes Market Softening As ‘Orderly’

Reinsurers recapitalized significantly in 2009, but while pricing was down for the latest Jan. 1 renewal season as a result, underwriting remained disciplined in a softening market characterized by one top broker as “orderly.”...

Reinsurance Executives See No Uptick In Pricing Ahead

Insurers that delayed their reinsurance purchases didn’t get any notable late-December bargains from disciplined reinsurance underwriters, but soft pricing trends continued for Jan. 1 renewals....

P&C Rates Fall 4%, But Moderate In ‘09

While the Market Barometer composite rate index for property and casualty insurance was down 4 percent at the close of calendar-year 2009, an upswing is predicted by the end of this year....

14 Insurers Sued Over 700 Chinese Drywall Losses

A trust formed to handle Chinese drywall damage claims for over 700 homeowners involving a bankrupt homebuilder has filed a federal lawsuit naming 14 insurers, seeking indemnification for their losses. ...

Death Of Estate Tax Has Agents Worried

Lapse of the estate tax as of Jan. 1 has many insurance agencies concerned with inheritance issues, according to one major producer association....

Health Reform Bill Loss Ratio May Affect Agent Commissions

Insurance agents and brokers should focus on the medical loss ratio benchmark set for carriers in health care reform legislation because that will determine their future commissions....

Insurance Industry Losing Two Senate Allies

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., both key allies of the insurance industry in Congress, announced they will leave the Senate at the end of their terms....

N.Y. Governor To Push For Insurance Exchange Relaunch

New York Gov. David A. Paterson said he will push to revive the defunct New York Insurance Exchange to help “maintain New York’s status as the financial capital of the world.”...

Market Report

Competition Emerges For Green Market

Brokers say that while liability coverages addressing green-building risks have been slow to emerge, property insurers have responded much more readily to calls for new coverage solutions....

Argo Brokerage Tackles Architect, Design Risks With Green Building Endorsement

An exclusion for claims arising from representations and warranties could present real problems for architects involved in green-building design....

Construction Insurance Coverage: Building The Case for Service and Safety

When contractors are in the market for insurance, they may focus solely on cost and coverage level....

Arbitration Program To Expedite Claims For Construction Defects

Discussions about a new arbitration program designed to more efficiently resolve inter-insurer disputes over construction defect claims were recently held between two major associations....