Risk & Insurance articles from August 2007

Risk & Insurance archives from August 2007

On the flip-flop watch.
August 1, 2007... It's not easy being the point man (or woman) for risk and insurance at a middle-market company. You never know what you're going to get. Some years, brokers court you and carriers underwrite you like you're royalty. But in other years, brokers...

Different conclusions.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... Dear Editor, I read the risk management column by Beaumont Vance, "A Safety Truism Spiked," in the April 15, 2007, issue of Risk & Insurance[R]. I thank Vance for raising the issue of human behavior on safety. However, I draw different...

Upcoming events.(Calendar)
August 1, 2007... SEPTEMBER 8-11 CPCU Society The 63rd Annual Meeting of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter Society will feature seminars focused on leadership and technical property/casualty insurance issues. This year's event will take...

Keeping tabs: AIRMIC officials call to benchmark carriers and brokers on their ability to pay claims.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
August 1, 2007... With the venue a short distance from the prime minister's official residence at 10 Downing St. and yards from Parliament, U.K. risk managers could not have pitched their tent closer to the seat of political power this year. For the first time...

Free agent brokering: some NFL players have more protection than just pads.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
August 1, 2007... The Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints play the first preseason game of the 2007 NFL season on Aug. 5. The Hail of Fame Game marks the start of each team's quest for the Super Bowl, and every player's attempt to survive the season...

Capital is coming--for better or for worse: capital markets dig insurance more than ever. The feeling isn't entirely mutual.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
August 1, 2007... Catastrophe bonds have experienced tremendous growth since the hurricanes of 2005, say analysts, but some reinsurance executives are not buying what the capital markets are selling. Total outstanding risk capital in CAT bonds nearly doubled...

Experts split over new technology architecture priorities: technological infrastructure built around SOA holds promise--and risk.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
August 1, 2007... A services-oriented architecture could serve as the grounding for an insurer's successful long-term information-technology infrastructure, or lure it into a multimillion-dollar trap, analysts said. The disagreement among the experts...

Eye spy doesn't lie: City of Piano reduces motor-vehicle accidents and encourages municipal workers to care for trucks.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
August 1, 2007... A shiny silver Lexus careens through two lanes of traffic in front of a garbage truck and slams on the brakes to make a last-second right turn. The truck cannot avoid the Lexus, and the vehicles collide. Four hours later, the driver of the...

The silent night shift: outsourcing agency finds customers eager to relinquish routine, time-consuming tasks.(BROKERS: People, Ideas and Trends shaping the Brokerage Community)
August 1, 2007... It's no surprise that technology giants like IBM and Hewlett-Packard dominate the top tier in this year's list of the 100 best outsourcing service providers released by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals. Three-quarters...

Beecher Carlson.(BROKER MOVES)
August 1, 2007... Beecher Carlson expanded its executive liability team with two new hires. LEATICIA ROBERTS joins as client service manager in Atlanta. She previously served as client representative team leader for the Marsh FINPRO team. KIMBERLY FINE will...

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.(BROKER MOVES)
August 1, 2007... Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. hired WALTER D. BAY as the company's corporate vice president, general counsel and secretary. Prior, he served as general counsel and secretary for GE Commercial Distribution Finance.

USI Holdings Corp..(BROKER MOVES)
August 1, 2007... Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.-based insurance broker USI Holdings Corp. appointed VINCENT E. NERLINO as its new executive vice president and chief financial officer. He previously served as senior vice president and CFO with American Express...

Aon Construction Services Group.(BROKER MOVES)
August 1, 2007... Aon Construction Services Group hired LISA K. CRAIL as director of surety operations. Crail will be responsible for improving efficiency and reducing transaction costs related to the broker's surety and client fulfillment services in California...

Aon Consulting.(BROKER MOVES)
August 1, 2007... Aon Consulting hired MITCHELL GOLD in its Kansas City office as assistant vice president in the talent solutions consulting practice. Prior to joining Aon, Gold spent 11 years with Sprint and its spin-off, EMBARQ.

Aon Risk Services.(BROKER MOVES)
August 1, 2007... KATHLEEN FELDERMAN was named as real-estate senior vice president for Aon's brokerage subsidiary, Aon Risk Services. Before joining Aon, she spent the last seven years as a director in Lockton Companies' national real-estate practice. Aon also...

William Gallagher Associates.(BROKER MOVES)
August 1, 2007... CHRISTOPHER J. NADEAU, principal and practice leader with the employee-benefits practice of William Gallagher Associates, is the new chair of The Council of Employee Benefits Executives, a standing committee of The Council of Insurance Agents &...

Marsh Inc.(BROKER MOVES)
August 1, 2007... Marsh Inc. appointed MARK C. MCGIVNEY chief financial officer. McGivney previously served as senior vice president of finance, corporate treasurer and chief financial officer for The Hanover Insurance Group Inc.'s property/casualty business.

The fresh eyes have it.(WORKERS' COMP)
August 1, 2007... Scappoose, Ore., population 5,000 and home to the West Coast Shoe Co., is a former frontier town located not too far from the Columbia River. Since 1918, the company has been hand-making high-support leather boots for loggers and outdoor...

The mouse (finally!) squeaks.(BROKERAGE)
August 1, 2007... Wonder of wonders, the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc., the largest contingent of risk managers in the world, at the behest of members who grew weary of its foot-dragging on the matter, has finally weighed in with a somewhat hard...

A quality beyond measure.(ROGER ON RISK)
August 1, 2007... The modern infrastructure of business--shareholders, boards, governance, compliance, accounting standards--is not much more than 100 years old. Some of it is much younger. On balance, it works well enough. Every now and then, there's an Enron...

Contingency creeps.(RISK MANAGEMENT)
August 1, 2007... Contingency fees are once again drawing the attention of the risk management community. After the Eliot Spitzer imbroglio, those large brokers standing under the hot glare of scrutiny uniformly disavowed these erstwhile commissions. But now...

Not supreme but still powerful.(THE LAW)
August 1, 2007... The high court is supreme. But, the 90 or so federal district and 11 federal circuit courts--hearing only matters involving the Constitution, federal statutes or disputes between citizens of different states--have tremendous influence. With the...

North's star shining bright: David North, president and CEO of Sedgwick CMS, has embarked on an aggressive acquisitions and expansion strategy with the capital infusion from Fidelity National last year.(Cover story)
August 1, 2007... Within the claims management industry, Sedgwick CMS President and CEO David North may be the most articulate, if not glib, CEO in the industry. He's known for being exceptionally well-prepared, funny and enthusiastic, and perhaps more than a...

Brokers pile into the middle market: for brokers, there are hundreds of millions of dollars at stake in the middle market, and even more money to be made by poaching from one another.(RISK & INSURANCE: INDUSTRY RISK REPORT: MIDDLE MARKET)(Company overview)
August 1, 2007... Among big and small insurance brokers alike, the battle rages for the "middle market," an amorphous, but lucrative, part of the brokerage business. On one side sits the largest, national brokerage firms such as Aon, Marsh, Willis and...

Finding fat in the middle: the middle market is calling again, and insurers are a comin'. Are they stumbling into another bloodbath, or are they in control of the battlefield this time?(RISK & INSURANCE[R]: INDUSTRY RISK REPORT: MIDDLE MARKET)
August 1, 2007... "The middle market, in my opinion, was the killing field for a lot of carriers in the '90s," says John Hennessey, senior vice president, middle market and casualty underwriting, at Chicago-based CNA Insurance. Lost pricing discipline,...

In hot pursuit: after a difficult three years in which Marsh relinquished its position as the world's No. 1 insurance broker to rival Aon, the firm is looking to grow through aggressive initiatives in the middle market.(RISK & INSURANCE[R]: INDUSTRY RISK REPORT: MIDDLE MARKET)
August 1, 2007... Summary * After three difficult years in which Marsh saw double-digit staff reductions and lost its position as the No. 1 global broker, the firm is poised to grow again by implementing an aggressive strategy in pursuit of the middle...

Why group captives make sense for the midmarket: with the right mix of companies, a group captive can be an effective way for purchasing groups to cover themselves when regular insurance is too expensive or simply not available.(RISK & INSURANCE: INDUSTRY RISK REPORT: MIDDLE MARKET)
August 1, 2007... Summary * The Internal Revenue Service allows companies collecting less than $1.2 million in annual premium the option of being taxed solely on investment income. * That's an attractive option for companies facing unlikely risks for...

The windfall of an oversight: a rule to ensure that life insurers have enough reserves is turning out to be a boon for captive insurance vehicles.(RISK & INSURANCE: SPECIAL REPORT: ALTERNATIVE RISK)
August 1, 2007... Summary * A rule to ensure that life insurers have enough reserves is turning out to be a boon for captive insurance vehicles. * South Carolina, with more than 20 Triple X transactions since 2003, leads the nation. * Other states...

Building a haven: capacity is down and prices are up on insurance for construction companies, but these companies' ability and inclination to shoulder more of their own risk is also up. They hammer out difficulties with wrap-ups and construction defect liability with single-parent and group captives.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] : SPECIAL REPORT: ALTERNATIVE RISK)
August 1, 2007... Demand for construction captives began to increase with the advent of the hard insurance market cycle in early 2000. Escalating premiums, lack of viable capacity and affordable coverage for potential construction defect, and diminished coverage...

Banking on more political hazards: as commodity prices boom and expropriation and nationalization re-emerge, banks and other financial institutions thirst for credit and political risk cover.(POLITICAL RISK)
August 1, 2007... For the pessimists, there's enough evidence to suggest the world's progress to hell in a handcart is relentless. Periods of hope, such as that following the dismantling of the Berlin Wall in 1989, tend to be brief. Recent years have been...

Bopping agents over the head: deeper usage of predictive models by carriers to assess and price business owners policies is putting pressure on agents to improve their commercial-lines data download.(MODELING)
August 1, 2007... Summary * Predictive modeling is putting more pressure on agents to adopt commercial-lines download. * The new buzzword in the industry is executing transactions in "real time." ********** As more insurance carriers use...

Directory: third party administrators.(Directory)
August 1, 2007... DIRECTORY THIRD-PARTY ADMINISTRATORS Below are paid listings of third-party administrators (TPAs) according to the types of claims they handle: health care; disability; workers' comp; managed care automation; software automation;...

A roast of risk management.(VIEWPOINT)
August 1, 2007... Were comedian Jeff Foxworthy to make fun of risk management and insurance he'd find plenty of material in "Rupp's Insurance & Risk Management Glossary." If you think a "drop-down provision" is a software function on a vendor's application...