President Donald Trump's administration is looking to overhaul the National Flood Insurance Program, Bloomberg News reported. Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget in the White House, sent a letter to Congress summarizing certain proposals to reform the program. These include prohibiting the NFIP from selling flood insurance policies for new homes and commercial structures constructed in special flood hazard areas, and encouraging private insurers to sell federal flood insurance in areas most at risk of flooding.

U.S. commercial lines saw a 1% increase on average in the composite rate in the third quarter, MarketScout reported. In addition, MarketScout reported an increase of 2% in the personal lines composite rate in the third quarter.

According to a public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center at 7 a.m. CT, Tropical Storm Nate had maximum sustained winds of nearly 45 miles per hour. Nate is expected to become a hurricane when it reaches the northern Gulf Coast late Saturday or Sunday morning, the NHC warned.

Insurance companies continued to share details on estimated losses from recent catastrophes. Enstar Group Ltd. estimated that consolidated combined catastrophe underwriting losses for the third quarter are $39 million because of its ownership interests in StarStone Insurance Bermuda Ltd. and Atrium Underwriting Group Ltd.

Hanover Insurance Group Inc. estimates third-quarter catastrophe losses to be between $185 million and $225 million pretax and net of reinsurance.

Navigators Group Inc. estimated its financial impact from natural catastrophes in the third quarter will range from $50 million to $70 million before tax and $33 million to $45 million after tax.

Stock movements: Shares of Genworth Financial Inc. slid more than 9% the same week the company and China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd. withdrew a merger application with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., a key regulator that must approve the merger for it to proceed. The SNL Insurance Index climbed 1.07% to 987.38 for the week ending Oct. 5, while the S&P 500 rose 1.30% to 2,552.07.

In people news, Andrew Graham, Lee Amerigo and Svetlana Soroka have left Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings AG and could start a managing general agency in London, The Insurance Insider reported. Graham was head of M&A insurance at Allied World.

TigerRisk Partners LLC and Willis Re have partnered to form a new third-party company, RePlace Holding LLC, which will further develop TigerRisk’s reinsurance placement platform, globalREmarket.

Featured news

Senate to discuss drug costs; J&J, Bayer halt heart drug trial: Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, scheduled a hearing for Oct. 17 to examine drug costs. The upcoming hearing is the second in what was supposed to be a series of three sessions.

Financial news in other parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: MS&AD Insurance to buy UK insurer stake; Mastercard to invest in India

Europe: Banks leave Catalonia; Old Mutual to focus on Africa; Italy objects to NPL rules

Middle East & Africa: Saudi Arabia rethinks reforms; Kenya extends Chase Bank receivership

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a mixed opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng increased 0.28% to 28,458.04, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.30% to 20,690.71.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.21% to 7,524.04, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.15% to 1,046.54.

On the macro front

The employment situation report, the wholesale trade report, the consumer credit report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count report are due out today.