Commercial Lines

The common assertion that the level of prior-year loss-reserve releases declined last year is not entirely correct, according to a recent compilation of reserve changes that excludes the impact of one large carriers reserve hike.

The lackluster economy, loss of contingent commissions and business issues at certain offices conspired to reduce insurance broker Brown & Brown Inc.'s net income by 10 percent for the 2011 second quarter of this year.

Copper thieves have fueled a huge spike in claims for insurers of vacant and idle properties, but increased loss potential has not deterred competition in the residential and commercial property markets, experts say.

Underwriting and risk-engineering experts give tips for insuring and securing vacant property, and also provide the insurance and risk definitions of "vacant" and "idle" properties.

The soft market remains firmly entrenched on the casualty side of the reinsurance business. But the property and catastrophe marketplace is a much different—and more unsettled—story.

In mid-June Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings AG and Transatlantic Holdings Inc. announced a $3.2 billion merger deal, creating a global specialty insurer and reinsurer operating in 18 countries and on six continents.