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The industry continues to struggle with a bad economy and tough catastrophes, and technology will be asked to do more than ever, but at a reasonable price.

Encinitas, Calif.-based Work Loss Data Institute (WLDI) released its 2012 State Report Cards for Workers’ Comp this week. The report, which is used to track trends and give states a grade and tier ranking based on their performance, now includes data from a 10-year period. Forty-three states are covered, plus Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands.

MetLife Inc. took a step closer to exiting the banking business Tuesday by announcing that it is selling the bulk of its deposits to GE Capital Finance Inc.

American International Group Inc. CEO Robert Benmosche reportedly told the company’s directors that he would like to hold on to his position longer than he previously planned, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website.

With another stroke of the pen, President Obama signed a continuing resolution that keeps the troubled National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) alive until May 31, 2012. The program had been scheduled to expire at midnight on December 23.

Recent calculations from ISO and PCI indicate insurers faced extreme headwinds in their core business—underwriting.

With a net income decrease of over $20 billion and an increase in statutory combined ratio of over 8 percentage points based on year-to-year comparisons of the first nine months of 2010 and 2011, the P&C sector continues to weather a tumultuous storm. High natural catastrophe-related losses have devastated insurers bottom lines and decimated underwriting performance as a whole.

In the face of the NTSB's recommended ban, auto manufacturers are gung-ho about adding more connectivity in the car.

Allstate Insurance Co. is seeking to recover $6.3 million against 83 New York-area defendants in its seventh insurance fraud lawsuit of 2011. The complaint, filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and principles of common law, alleges that the defendants engaged in separate, but parallel, schemes in which fraudulent and misleading bills were submitted to Allstate for durable medical equipment, medical supplies and orthotic devices.

CBIZ Inc. has acquired the actuarial and retirement plan consulting business of PSA Insurance and Financial Services, effective Nov. 1, 2011. PSA's actuarial and retirement plan consulting book of business recorded about $1.2 million in revenue during the last 12 months and includes four associates servicing the business.