Businessweek

Among its many harsh effects, the economic bust of 2008 briefly tempered a long-term rise in U.S. cropland values. It represents the only blip since 2005 in otherwise consecutive double-digit price gains for agricultural acreage. Theories concerning what the future [...]

Last August, there was a ribbon-cutting for a 1.1 million-square-foot Caterpillar factory in Victoria, Texas. It was built to meet rising demand for machines like the 390DL hydraulic excavator, a 95-ton earth-mover. For many people, the word “manufacturing” conjures an [...]

A strategic cornerstone of Zurich Commercial Markets is the study of businesses in vertical categories in order to build superior expertise within each vertical. That means going into fine detail about each grouping of vendors, products and processes—and assessing relevant [...]

For Americans who recall the 1973 Mideast oil embargo, last fall’s forecast about future U.S. petroleum output was a revelation. Craig Fundum, president of Zurich Commercial Markets, called the prediction that America was “on pace to out-produce Saudi Arabia in [...]

3,000 Years of Medical Expertise. As of 2012, Zurich’s medical management division has almost 200 utilization review nurses and nurse case managers fully integrated into the company’s system. In fact, they average more than 10 years with the company, and [...]

Predicting the Future. Intuition and gut feelings often prove valuable in life. When it comes to insurance, however, they are undoubtedly fallible—and potentially costly. Rules-based systems use only a few factors, propped up by conventional wisdom and hunches. The emergence [...]

Neverending Catastrophe Season. It can hardly be viewed as a silver lining, but the catastrophe-filled year of 2011 did provide insight into the changing nature of 21st-century catastrophe. Hurricanes and other large events used to dominate the insurance industry’s focus; [...]