Risk & Insurance articles from August 2004

Risk & Insurance archives from August 2004

The Democratic presidential ticket is not counting on much support from the insurance community.
August 1, 2004... The Democratic presidential ticket is not counting on much support from the insurance community. There was never much doubt, considering that a poll of insurance execs at an industry conference in January put President Bush's support at about...

Praising implementation.(Letters To The Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2004... Dear Editor: I read with great interest your article "Vive L'Entreprise!" (Risk & Insurance, April 15, 2004, page 72.) It provided actual experiences toward enterprise risk. This to me speaks volumes vs. reading articles "about" the...

Backward thinking.(Letters To The Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2004... Dear Editor: Your remarks regarding the president's new space initiative were mean spirited and naive. (Editor's column, Risk & Insurance, May 1, 2004, page 9.) You base these opinions on the fact that no commercial insurer will cover...

In praise of an ASP.(Letters To The Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2004... Dear Editor, Your recent "Point-Counterpoint" article comparing code-based versus tools-based solutions (Risk & Insurance, April 15, 2004, page 94) was interesting. But it posed a false Door A versus Door B dilemma that smart management...

Upcoming events.(Calendar)
August 1, 2004... AUGUST 10-12 Vermont Captive Insurance Association This year's conference is designed to appeal to all levels of interest and abilities, allowing attendees to individualize their programs. The conference will be held at the...

New regulatory axis irks British risk executives.(Upfront: news, updates and other emerging strategies from around the world)
August 1, 2004... With the U.K. watchdog Financial Services Authority deciding to include risk managers in the regulation of insurance intermediaries in accordance with European Union directives, attendees at the annual gathering of the Association of Insurance...

Merger gives St. Paul Travelers 'critical mass' in global arena: executives give global insurance products a makeover, a sign that the new company is serious about competing overseas.(Upfront: news, updates and other emerging strategies from around the world)
August 1, 2004... The merger between The St. Paul Cos. and Travelers Property Casualty offers "tremendous opportunity" on the world stage, said Bonnie W. Preston, St. Paul Travelers' assistant vice president for global underwriting. In an interview with...

The Hartford's top 25 drugs in 2003 workers' compensation: ranked by total $ costs.(Upfront: news, updates and other emerging strategies from around the world)
August 1, 2004... Prescription drugs are often blamed for big increases in health costs. In The Hartford's annual survey of drugs used to treat workers, the cost of the drug Tizanidine, a muscle relaxant, was found to have increased by 60 percent from 2002 to...

Crushing California comp costs spur creativity: a car dealership defrays the cost by levying a $2.50 surcharge to help pay comp increase of $240,000.(Upfront: news, updates and other emerging strategies from around the world)
August 1, 2004... Jerry Brannon told Stockton-based newspaper The Record that he began charging customers of the four locations of Brannon Tire and Auto Centers after being billed an extra $20,000 a month in workers' comp insurance for his 100 employees....

Worth repeating.(Upfront: news, updates and other emerging strategies from around the world)
August 1, 2004... "I take exception to people picking my wallet when it comes to bogus claims." Mike Benishek, director of risk management and insurance, PTG Management Co. "Then, suddenly, the plaintiffs' bar discovered ERISA (The Employee Retirement...

Corrections.(Upfront: news, updates and other emerging strategies from around the world)(Correction Notice)
August 1, 2004... CORRECTIONS: In the article titled Good Chemistry (Risk & Insurance, June, page 56) Richard Inserra's employer was misidentified. He is assistant treasurer and director of risk management for Praxair Inc. of Danbury, Conn. Henry Good is in...

Safety enrolls in business school.(Workers' Comp)
August 1, 2004... I present to you three case studies of worksite safety as a business investment. They illuminate how safety might mesh with good working conditions to improve the productivity of a business. They also show how a safety problem may be paired...

Dispute resolution at whose cost?(Risk Primer)
August 1, 2004... When a policyholder owes premium to an insurance company, the premium is to be remitted on a timely basis, and when a policyholder fails to pay, it will likely lead to cancellation of the policy. What happens when an additional premium is due...

Left in a bind.(The Law)
August 1, 2004... The World Trade Center destruction ranked among the largest single property losses in history, spawning one of the biggest property insurance litigations. Playing a critical role in this dispute was the fact that most property insurers had not...

Vaulting Olympic risk: for the first time, the International Olympic Committee takes out a multimillion-dollar policy to hedge against cancellation at the 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens. The move ushers in a new era for the IOC, which intends to insure Games until 2010.(Cover Story)
August 1, 2004... The decision to return this year's Olympic Games to its birthplace, Athens, has created unintended drama, as construction delays and budget overruns triggered a nightmare scenario of unfinished facilities and cancelled events. However, a...

Reeling in smaller players.(Alternative Risk)
August 1, 2004... For some industries, alternative risk mechanisms are becoming less of an option to traditional insurance and more like the only choice. As this shift takes place, Main Street executives who once stressed about the transition are feeling more...

Taxiing for takeoff: recent applications to fund benefits captives have been approved in record time. Several pending applications before the U.S. Department of Labor will signal to the markets just how serious regulators are about approving alternative finance vehicles.(Captive Benefits)
August 1, 2004... The speed at which U.S. Department of Labor regulators are approving the creation of captive finance companies to fired the rising cost of employee benefits is getting faster, evidence suggests. Advantages to captive benefits include lower...

Fiduciary risk: a sleeper awakes: as the number of retirement-related lawsuits explodes in the wake of corporate meltdowns, so has the demand for fiduciary liability insurance. Corporate insurance buyers lucky enough to find such products at decent prices are purchasing three or four times the limits they were just four years ago.(Liability)
August 1, 2004... Reach for the sky and hope it's enough--whatever the cost! That's how many corporations and their risk management advisers are treating fiduciary liability insurance--coverage designed to fund the defense and settlement of retirement...

Stirring the alphabet soup.(Insurance)
August 1, 2004... The latest Fact Book out of the Insurance Information Institute lists 10 pages of "Insurance and Related Service Organizations," most of them trade associations. Some people say there are too many trade groups, and that they do more harm than...

A mundane menace emerges.(Property/Casualty)
August 1, 2004... No one thinks twice about the health hazard of drinking tap water. But when water is contaminated, no one is safe. Over the past 31 years, dirty drinking water has been blamed for more than 12,000 cases of illness. Few, if any, insurers have...

Coming up for air: environmental insurance needs to broaden its base if it is ever to grow beyond a limited specialty. A broader view, however, will take time to catch on because of the gap in understanding between agents and brokers.(Environmental Insurance)
August 1, 2004... From the start, the concept of environmental insurance created significant challenges for underwriters, not least of all the moral hazard the idea that potential polluters would have little incentive to adopt preventive measures, thereby...

Talkin' tablets: 'topping' the laptop: for claims adjusters who poke around accident scenes for a living, laptop computers have turned into big flops. Their hinged covers and keyboards make them unwieldy and impractical. Tablet personal computers aim to put an end to that and one analyst predicts they will hit the "mainstream" by 2006.(Technology)
August 1, 2004... It wasn't too many years ago that the laptop computer was being hailed as the savior of mobile professionals in the property/casualty insurance world. Claims adjusters and loss control pros merely had to head out into the field lugging their...

A ripened talent: a farm boy from Minnesota with a passion for autocross finds himself in charge of risk management for an agribusiness conglomerate. His journey has taught him that managing risks in the tomato industry is no small potatoes.(Profile)
August 1, 2004... Ever since he was 14 years old, Michael Benishek has been focused on managing risk. An avid soapbox derby enthusiast, he was working on his racecar on a Sunday night when he accidentally ran his finger through a table saw. Aside from requiring...

Rolling the dice.(Industry risk report: hotels, casinos, resorts)
August 1, 2004... The variables "in play" in the hospitality sectors--the bottle, the bed and the steak filet--mean management had better be prepared to make some careful bets. Throw in a poker game or two, and it's not hard to see how easily the odds can swing...

United National Group Ltd.(Executive Moves)
August 1, 2004... SETH D. FREUDBERG has been appointed president and CEO of the Bermuda and Barbados-based offshore operations of United National Group Ltd, the company has announced. The Bermuda operation is known as the Wind River Insurance Co. (Bermuda), Ltd....

Guy Carpenter & Co. Inc.(Executive Moves)
August 1, 2004... SCOTT D. PRICE has been appointed senior vice president and co-manager of Guy Carpenter & Co. Inc.'s U.S. Marine and Energy Specialty unit, Guy Carpenter has announced. Price is a former senior vice president of Willis Re, where he was...

David Morse & Associates.(Executive Moves)
August 1, 2004... Claims services company David Morse & Associates has announced the hiring of insurance veteran ADOLPH HERNANDEZ to head its Risk Services Division. The division specializes and expands DM&A's construction, trucking, employment practices and...

American International Group Inc.(Executive Moves)
August 1, 2004... JACOB FRENKEL has been named vice chairman of American International Group Inc., and chairman of AIG's newly formed global economic-strategies group, the company has announced. Frenkel is chairman and CEO of the Group of Thirty. He has also...

Cozen O'Connor.(Executive Moves)
August 1, 2004... The law firm of Cozen O'Connor has announced that ANN THORNTON FIELD will be the next chairwoman of its 170-attorney national insurance litigation department. Field, who served as the department's vice chairwoman under Robert R. Reeder, who is...

Charter Partners USA Inc.(Executive Moves)
August 1, 2004... Charter Partners USA Inc. has named STEVEN H. LAWRENCE to the newly created position of Chief Risk Officer, the firm has announced. Lawrence most recently held the position of co-national practice leader of the insurance risk management...

Markel Corp.(Executive Moves)
August 1, 2004... GLEN CURLEY has joined the Markel Corp. as president of its Investors Underwriting Managers subsidiary, the company has announced. He has experience in specialty casualty, professional liability, property coverages and reinsurance. Curley is a...

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.(Executive Moves)
August 1, 2004... The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has named DICK MUCCI executive vice president and director of the Group Benefits Division for its Hartford Life Inc. subsidiary. Mucci will continue having overall profit-and-loss responsibility for...

The Frank Gates Service Co.(Executive Moves)
August 1, 2004... BOB ZAMARY, COO of The Frank Gates Service Co., has been given the additional duties of president, the company has announced. As president and COO, Zamary will provide direction for day-to-day business activities for the company. He will...

Word & Brown.(Executive Moves)
August 1, 2004... Word & Brown, a distributor of group health insurance, has appointed GARY SMITH as regional vice president in Los Angeles, the firm has announced. Smith will be responsible for managing Word & Brown's key relationships with Los Angeles-area...

ACE USA.(Executive Moves)
August 1, 2004... ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of The ACE Group of Cos., has announced the appointment of DENNIS CROSBY as senior vice president and regional executive--Southeast Region. Based in Atlanta, Crosby will be responsible for...

Placement Service Agreements cheat insurance buyers: insurance buyers get short-changed at the expense of the very people supposedly representing them.(Point: Washington Legal Foundation)
August 1, 2004... In the interests of consumers and the values of fair and open competition, the Washington Legal Foundation has called on the attorneys general and insurance departments of New York and California to investigate--and consider taking action...

Placement Service Agreements are just "not an issue": a broker's close relationship with a carrier adds value for the buyer of commercial insurance.(Counterpoint: Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers)
August 1, 2004... New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has issued subpoenas to several leading insurance brokers relating to Placement Service Agreements. The agreements between commercial insurance brokers and the insurance carriers with which they do...