Insurer use of consumer credit scoring for underwriting and pricing personal lines coverage was back under the glare of a congressional spotlight this month, with industry officials fending off attacks on the accuracy and fairness of such rating tools....

After seeing damages awarded against it in one lawsuit, a Chinese drywall maker announced last week that it settled a case brought against it by U.S. homebuilder Beazer Homes for an undisclosed dollar amount....

Thomas J. Slattery, for many years the editorial leader of National Underwriter, passed away on May 14 of respiratory failure at the age of 68....

The three biggest insurance brokerages reported mixed results for the first quarter, with Aon seeing a big drop in net income, Marsh & McLennan reporting a substantial gain, and Willis a more modest jump....

Independent agencies are invited to enter the 2010 Commercial Insurance Agency of the Year Award program, run by National Underwriter and American Agent & Broker, with entries due by July 1....

A soft market hasn’t stopped excess and surplus lines industry veterans from building and launching businesses—and wholesale brokerages have been as active as carriers in the early part of 2010....

Signs of life may be returning to the residential construction industry, but the recession has left banks and developers suffering an unpleasant hangover. ...

Joseph Peloso, a veteran of the program business segment, remembers a time when unsolicited program proposals flooded the desks of property and casualty underwriters, offering more business than they could possibly handle....

With Richmond, Va., continually growing as an excess and surplus lines insurance hub, the newest E&S carrier to set up shop there will distinguish itself with a “contrarian underwriting strategy,” the company’s chief executive says....

Think of real-time technology processing—the ability to access carrier information through an agency management system immediately—as a recently planted lawn with lots of young grass, but also some patches of brown....

In the insurance industry, good communication between carriers and agents has always been essential, particularly when a carrier’s ability to work effectively with agents has such a clear bottom-line impact....

For property and casualty insurers looking to replace or renew core information technology systems in this challenging economy, best-of-breed solutions offer a compelling alternative to one-size-fits-all suites. ...