Insurance Level News and Press

AM Best Rating Acitivity and News

AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited and Its Core Subsidiaries
AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “bbb” and the various Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IR) on the unsecured debt and preferred equity of Fairfax ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

W.R. Berkley: 2Q Catastrophe Losses Could Be $145 Million on Pandemic, Civil Unrest
W.R. Berkley said it expects pretax net catastrophe losses of $145 million in the second quarter, driven by $85 million in higher costs related to the global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as additional ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

Universal Sees 2Q Weather Costs $17 Million Higher Than Anticipated
Universal Insurance Holdings said it estimated about $17 million in higher pretax costs from weather events in the second quarter of 2020 than it had planned for. The Florida-based company said in ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of UnipolSai Assicurazioni S.p.A.
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” of UnipolSai Assicurazioni S.p.A. (UnipolSai) (Italy). The outlook of these Credit ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

Brazilian Reinsurer IRB to Raise $430 Million Through Common Stock Offering
IRB-Brasil Resseguros S.A. said its board of directors approved a capital raising of between 2.1 billion Brazilian real and 2.3 billion real ($430 million) through a common stock ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

AM Best to Host Webinar on How Market Dislocation Creates Opportunities for Captives
AM Best will host a complimentary webinar on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, at 1 p.m. (EDT). A panel of AM Best analysts and industry leaders will review market, regulatory and risk issues affecting the ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

BestWeek: Top US Workers’ Comp Writers Make Moves in 2019, COVID-19 Clouds 2020
Two workers’ compensation writers had the biggest gains in direct premiums written in 2019, each having climbed two places, according to AM Best’s ranking of the top 25 U.S. workers’ comp writers. ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

AM Best Withdraws Credit Ratings of Western General Insurance Company
AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B- (Fair) from B (Fair) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “bb-” from “bb” of Western General Insurance Company (Western General) ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

Lloyd’s Exits Three US Admitted Markets to Focus on Non-Admitted, E&S Lines
In an effort to strengthen its focus on the U.S. reinsurance and excess and surplus insurance market, Lloyd’s said it will give up its admitted licences in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Kentucky and ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

RenaissanceRe CEO to Assume Responsibility for the Ventures Business
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. has announced Kevin O’Donnell, chief executive officer, will assume responsibility for the ventures business on an interim basis as Aditya Dutt, senior vice president, ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Victoria Insurance Company JSC
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb-” of Victoria Insurance Company JSC (Victoria) (Kazakhstan). The outlook of these Credit ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of SIAT-Società Italiana Assicurazioni e Riassicurazioni p.A.
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” of SIAT-Società Italiana Assicurazioni e Riassicurazioni p.A. (SIAT) (Italy), a ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

Liberty Specialty Markets Names Chief Underwriting Officer for Commercial
Liberty Specialty Markets, part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has named Melanie O’Neill to succeed Alan Telford as chief underwriting officer, commercial. O’Neill will transition to her new ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

Atlas Extends Underwriting Agreement With National Interstate; Gets Second Nasdaq Warning
Atlas Financial Holdings Inc. said it extended an underwriting management agreement with National Interstate Insurance Co. Atlas also revealed it received a second delinquency notification letter ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

AM Best Revises Issuer Credit Rating Outlooks to Negative for Members of Erie Insurance Group
AM Best has revised the outlook to negative from stable for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICR ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

AM Best Downgrades Credit Ratings of Kingstone Insurance Company and Kingstone Companies Inc.
AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb” from “a-” of Kingstone Insurance Company (KICO) ...
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Source: BestWire

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Insurance Information Institute News (IIHS & HLDI)

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Insurance Journal News

Court Upholds Immunity in Case of Iowa Officer Who Stomped on Suspect’s Ankle
A Davenport, Iowa, police officer who stomped on the ankle of a suspect used unreasonable force but cannot be held liable for doing so, a federal appeals court ruled on July 9. The 2015 stomp by officer Brian Stevens allegedly …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

HUB Employee in California Suing Firm for Discrimination During Pandemic Lockdown
A former insurance account executive in California has filed a lawsuit claiming she was fired from her job in retaliation for complaining about discrimination against her by a supervisor who didn’t like her caring for her two children while she …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

May 2019 Tornadoes in Missouri Caused Nearly $190M in Insured Losses
The May 2019 tornadoes that ravaged several parts of Missouri caused significant damage to both residential and commercial properties, and resulted in close to $190 million in insured losses, the state Department of Commerce and Insurance reported. The department has …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

Louisiana Governor Signs Law Protecting Schools from Most Virus Lawsuits
Louisiana’s K-12 schools and colleges will be shielded from most civil lawsuits if a student or teacher contracts the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus under a bill that Gov. John Bel Edwards signed into law on July 8. Lawmakers …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

2 Workers Hurt in Boiler Room Fire at Tyson Chicken Plant in Arkansas
A boiler room outside of a southwest Arkansas chicken processing plant caught fire and exploded early on July 9, injuring two employees, an official said. The explosion was reported at about 1:30 a.m. at a Tyson Foods plant in Nashville, …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

1 Dead After Tornado Hits Western Minnesota, Authorities Say
At least one powerful tornado damaged farms, left one person dead and two others injured in western Minnesota as severe storms moved across parts of the Midwest, authorities said. A 30-year-old man was killed near Dalton when a twister destroyed …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

Volunteer Firefighter in Louisiana Arrested for Arson
A volunteer firefighter has been accused of starting a fire in south Louisiana. The State Fire Marshal’s Office, in a news release, said Kentrelle Beasley Jr., 18, was arrested on a charge of simple arson for setting an abandoned house …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

Keystone Adds Dansig Insurance Risk Advisors in Illinois to Network
Dansig Insurance Risk Advisors (Dansig) of Decatur, Illinois, has joined the Keystone Insurers Group (Keystone), expanding that agency network organization’s footprint in the Great Lakes region. Led by Dan Reynolds, president and CEO, and Darren Reynolds, senior vice president, Dansig …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

German Officials Seize Server With U.S. Police Files Stolen in Data Breach
At the behest of the U.S. government, German authorities have seized a computer server that hosted a huge cache of files from scores of U.S. federal, state and local law enforcement agencies obtained in a Houston data breach last month. …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

Allstar Underwriters Expands Vacation Rental Insurance Program to Arkansas
Atlanta-based Allstar Underwriters has expanded its existing vacation rental insurance program into the state of Arkansas. The program has been offered in Tennessee since 2015, according to Laura Richardson, Allstar Underwriters vice president/property & casualty broker. The agency will offer …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

Tropical Storm Fay Heads to New York, Southern New England
Quick-moving Tropical Storm Fay strengthened as it moved toward southern New Jersey, where it was expected to make landfall Friday afternoon before sweeping north to New York with a curtain of heavy rain and thrashing winds. Rain will spread across …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

Wyoming Wildfire Destroys Home, Burns Other Buildings
A wildfire in eastern Wyoming burned at least one home and closed a highway. The fire on Tuesday burned through rolling plains and trees north of Interstate 25 and south of the North Platte River near Glenrock. The flames burned …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

Officials Say Portland Businesses Lost $23M Due to Ongoing Protests
Downtown businesses in Portland, Ore. have sustained about $23 million in damages and lost customers because of violent nightly protests that have brought the city to its knees, authorities said Wednesday. At a police briefing, Deputy Chief Chris Davis said …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

Wrongful Death Suit in California Claims Guard Kept Knee on Man’s Neck
The parents of a California man who died while being detained on suspicion of trespassing at Sacramento’s basketball arena has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging a security guard kept his knee on the man’s neck for more than four …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

University Researchers Claim Air Filter ‘Catches and Kills’ the Coronavirus
Researchers from the University of Houston, in collaboration with others, have designed a “catch and kill” air filter that they say can trap the virus responsible for COVID-19, killing it instantly. Zhifeng Ren, director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

State Auto Extends CEO LaRocco’s Contract
State Auto Financial Corp’s board of directors has extended the contract of President and CEO Mike LaRocco for an extra 12 months, citing the need for “stability and continuity” in the face of COVID-19. LaRocco’s contract now runs through the …
Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

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