Commercial U.S. property/casualty insurance rates dropped an average of 4% in August compared with the same period last year, MarketScout said.

Rates for most lines of property/casualty reinsurance are expected to soften further during upcoming renewals and the outlook for the global reinsurance sector remains negative, Moody’s Investors Service Inc. said Wednesday.

NEW YORK—Willis Group Holdings P.L.C. has appointed former American International Group Inc. CEO Martin J. Sullivan to lead a new business unit that oversees Willis’ brokerage and risk management advisory services for multinational clients.

LONDON (Reuters) - BP P.L.C. deflected much of the blame for a rig blast that led to the United States' worst-ever oil spill, releasing an internal report on Wednesday which said that drilling contractor Transocean Ltd. had missed danger signs.

WASHINGTON—Employees who want to pay for over-the-counter medications using their health care flexible spending account will need a prescription to do so effective Jan. 1, 2011, according to new Internal Revenue Service rules.

MUMBAI, India—Willis Group Holdings P.L.C.

BOSTON—Tropical Storm Hermine should not result in significant insured losses in Mexico, catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide Corp. said Tuesday.

HANOVER, Germany—Hannover Reinsurance Co. said Tuesday that it is raising capital through a €500 million ($644.8 million) subordinated bond placed through its Hannover Finance (Luxembourg) S.A. unit.

Year-end reinsurance renewal rates will likely be flat or slightly lower, according to Aon Benfield, the reinsurance brokerage arm of Aon Corp.

(Bloomberg)—Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. may benefit from buying XL Group P.L.C. and boosting the insurer’s investment returns, according to FBR Capital Markets.

SAN FRANCISCO—A male pursued relentlessly by an amorous female colleague despite his repeated rejections and whose complaints were essentially ignored by his employer can proceed with a sexual harassment claim, a federal appeals court has ruled.

HAMILTON, Bermuda—XL Re Ltd., the reinsurance arm of Hamilton, Bermuda-based XL Group P.L.C., on Tuesday named Philippe Rochaix as president and chief operating officer of XL Re Latin America Ltd., effective Oct. 1.

LONDON—Risk management techniques and insurance industry expertise should be part of efforts to help developing countries adapt to climate change, groups representing more than 100 insurers said Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The Treasury Department said Tuesday it plans the auction of warrants in The Harford Financial Services Group Inc. and Lincoln National Corp. over the next several weeks.

The reinsurance industry has weathered the global financial crisis well and the outlook for the worldwide sector is stable, Standard & Poor’s Corp. said in a report released Tuesday.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand—The magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island could result in insured losses between $1 billion and $4.5 billion according to catastrophe modeling companies AIR Worldwide Corp.

(Bloomberg)—Physical fitness protects men who work long hours from the heart disease that is associated with putting in overtime, a study found.

STAMFORD, Conn.—Industry veteran Robert Clements, a former Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. executive who played a key role in the development of the Bermuda insurance market, died Saturday. The cause was cancer. He was 77.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (Bloomberg)—A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck New Zealand's South Island Friday morning, knocking out power, damaging buildings and rupturing pipes in Christchurch, the country's second-largest city, according to reports.

NEW HAVEN, Conn.—A federal court recently issued a court order in favor of wholesale insurance broker AmWINS Group Inc.