Public Sector Risk

Representatives of an industry association voiced strong support for legislation that would provide additional incentives to states that adopt uniform and enforceable building codes.

Second-quarter catastrophe-bond issuance increased in 2012 over 2011, and a recent analysis describes the current market outlook as very encouraging as strong investor demand and available capital point to increased issuance from sponsors going forward.

Traditional reinsurance poses no threat to global financial stability, but the industry should still be closely watched because of its peripheral involvement in potentially risky activities, regulators said on Wednesday.

Crop-insurance agents are voicing deep concern about a Senate plan to establish a means test for crop-insurance premiums that would raise rates for some farmers by 15 percent.

National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. says it has $33 million in municipal bond exposure to the city of San Bernardino, Calif., as the city becomes the third in the state this year to file for bankruptcy protection.

A combination of higher coastal populations, artificially suppressed rates for last-resort insurers, and the inability of insurers to charge rates commensurate with risk along the coast has driven the residual property market in hurricane-exposed states to new peaks in both exposure value and policy levels, says the Insurance Information Institute....