Agency Management

Premiums written by the U.S. excess and surplus lines market fell nearly 5 percent to $11.5 billion in the first half of 2010, according to a report prepared by Highline Data exclusively for National Underwriter.

What the U.S. homeowners insurance market urgently needs is greater policy form standardization, with insurers taking their cues from independent rating organizations rather than their own underwriters.

The soft commercial insurance market is becoming more of the norm than the exception, as broker and carrier officials suggest the pricing cycles of the past may be changing to an almost permanently depressed state.

"A difficult insurance market creates opportunities."

Every company wants to grow, but in a well-established industry finding ways to do that can sometimes be a difficult task.

They may not command the multibillion-dollar premium figures touted by competitors involved in the latest merger deals, but market clout is not necessarily synonymous with size.