BestWeek: Bush Era Mixed News for Insurers

He leaves office this week with record low approval ratings and his party on the ropes. But from the perspective of insurers, President George W. Bush’s eight years in office produced a number of accomplishments they hope will prove lasting, according to the latest issue of BestWeek U.S./Canada.

For the property/casualty industry, nearly all would cite the issue that has most defined Bush presidency: the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and for the industry, the subsequent passage of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

“Inside of two weeks, we had a group of about 20 CEOs and we spent well over an hour with the president,” Leigh Ann Pusey, incoming president of the American Insurance Association, told BestWeek.

BestWeek Europe also reports on Patrick Neary, who announced a sudden retirement as Ireland’s chief financial regulator. He is likely to be remembered in European insurance circles as a man who helped move both Ireland and the European Union closer to financial services integration.

Concerned about the state of their balance sheets, life insurers are playing in a high-stakes game show, one where the winning jackpot is ensuring solvency. Faced with difficult questions amid investment losses and a foundering market, insurers have reached for their lifelines, BestWeek U.S./Canada also reports.

BestWeek is published by the A.M. Best Co. for insurance professionals. To subscribe, visit http://www.ambest.com/sales/BestWeek.