Blog

May 15, 2018 – Rockville, MD-based search firm JDG Associates has been selected to find the next president of the Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA). Lynn M. Schubert, the group’s current president, announced in December that she would be retiring at the end of this year. Paul Belford, principal at the recruitment firm, is spearheading the search....

South Carolina became the first state to have a cyber security law requiring insurers to establish a “strong and aggressive” program to protect companies and their consumers from a data breach, with Gov. Henry McMaster’s signing of legislation this week, according to the state insurance department. “South Carolina is now the first in the nation to pass a comprehensive...

The Preliminary 2017 Top 100 Reports have been posted for Members and Subscribers. Non-Members may purchase these reports by completing a Statistical Report Order Form. Click here for a complete list, description, and release schedule of statistical reports. http://www.surety.org/news/77681/Preliminary-2017-Top-100-Reports-posted.htm

MADISON, Wis. & JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 4, 2018–Madison, Wisconsin-based American Family Insurance group and Florida-based The Main Street America Group will pursue a merger, the companies announced today. Approved by the companies’ boards of directors, the merger will improve diversity of risk, promote growth through geographic expansion and provide agents and policyholders broader product offerings. Both American Family Insurance...

ACE American Insurance Co., rather than the state workers’ compensation trust fund, is required to pay benefits to an injured worker pursuant to a reinsurance policy that covered a self-insurer’s surety bond, a Massachusetts appeals court has held. In a May 2 opinion, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals affirmed that G. L. c. 152, § 25A(2)(c), of the Workers’...

Commercial surety in the US is a recipe for success if you understand the intricacies and complexities of the market. The product is booming as an alternative in lieu of traditional letters of credit (LOC) and there’s ripe fruit for the picking. “The US commercial surety market is experiencing growth that’s faster than the overall insurance market and faster...

Recently, the President of the APESEG (Peruvian Association of Insurance Companies), Eduardo Moron, expressed his concern regarding the harmful impact that Emergency Decree N ° 003-2017 would have on the insurance market for bond letters and surety bonds that guaranteed the obligations of various members of the so-called construction club (Odebrecht and those associated) before the State. The potential...

There are very few insurance carriers willing to “roll up their sleeves” and “dive head first” into a complex surety deal. The surety marketplace can have fierce competition and small profit margins. Insurer Chubb has an integrated global surety division under the leadership of Stephen Haney. Chubb’s surety team brings a “can do spirit” to the marketplace, and works...

Some insurers have left the marijuana insurance market after a warning memo sent by Attorney General Jeff Sessions earlier this year, but others are staying and even planning to increase their involvement in the sector, say observers. Insurers who have left the business include Glen Allen, Virginia-based Markel Corp. and Munich Reinsurance Co. unit Hartford Steam Boiler & Inspection...

A bill that would allow companies to road-test self-driving vehicles in New Hampshire may be facing some speed bumps. House Bill 314 cleared the House on a voice vote earlier this year. Its prime sponsor, Rep. Steven Smith, R-Charlestown, said the measure is the result of three years of work by around 20 stakeholders here. But he said there’s...