Residents from Miami to the southern coast of North Carolina are being told to begin preparations for Hurricane Irenethe first Atlantic hurricane of the season.

Validus Holdings says it has started to contact shareholders of Transatlantic Holdings by mail to urge them to vote against Transatlantics merger agreement with Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings.

QBE Insurance Group says first-half profit increased 53 percent to $673 million, but the insurer's profit margin fell to 11.2 percent from 15.8 percent as catastrophe losses totaled nearly $1.1 billion.

Federal Insurance Co., a unit of Chubb Corp., has filed a lawsuit against about 15 insurance companies over costs related to the defense of Deutsche Bank from claims filed after Sept. 11.

Liberty Mutual says it has evaluated hundreds of thousands of lost-time claims and millions of medical billing transactions to enhance its predictive model for workers' compensation claims costs, which are growing faster than inflation.

Liberty Mutual says it has evaluated hundreds of thousands of lost-time claims and millions of medical billing transactions to enhance its predictive model for workers' compensation claims costs, which are growing faster than inflation.

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty says fraud and abuse in the states personal injury protection insurance system is largely to blame for a 70 percent increase in PIP claims paid since 2008.

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty says fraud and abuse in the states personal injury protection insurance system is largely to blame for a 70 percent increase in PIP claims paid since 2008.