A change to a catastrophe model can influence the level of reinsurance purchased by companies and impinge on the rating process, but the extent to which the latest revision announced by one modeler affects either is not specifically clear.

Texas State Rep. Larry Taylor has filed a bill meant to reform the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.

The insurance industry is just beginning to grasp the consequences following the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan late last week, with one catastrophe modeler estimating insured property losses at $35 billion.

American International Group Inc. (AIG) said it repaid nearly $7 billion to the Department of the Treasury, using money raised from the sale of its equity stake in MetLife Inc. earlier this month.

Property and casualty carrier employment is at its lowest level in more than 20 years, according to data published by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics and compiled by the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos opened the 2011 State Legislative Session late last week, beginning a new round in the reform fight for the insurance industry.

The district attorney in Travis County, Texas, is now involved in an investigation of the state’s last-resort insurer, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA).

Despite the size of its nonlife insurance market, Japan insurance penetration is very low, particularly in commercial and industrial lines, said modeler Risk Management Solutions.