Commercial Lines

Continued rate increases and lower losses led the U.S. property and casualty industry to its second consecutive first-quarter underwriting profit in 2013, a new A.M. Best report says.

Firefighters on Thursday held back a wildfire in the mountains of Southern California that forced the evacuation of the resort community of Idyllwild after flames engulfed seven homes and numerous other buildings.

The Wards 50 added six new P&C companies to its list of top performers as the group once again substantially out classed the total industry in return on equity and other metrics.

The NFIP's dire financial condition and the limited scope of scheduled rate increases haven't prevented politicians from crying foul and seeking to delay reforms they championed a year ago.

P&C insurance premiums continue to exhibit increases as high as 10 percent on some risks, as reinsurance rate-softening on property risks will not pass through to the rest of the market immediately, says the CEO of insurance broker Brown & Brown.

Dozens of victims of the West Fertilizer Co. explosion in West, Texas have fallen in line with the city and filed suit against CF Industries, a producer of ammonium nitrate.