Risk & Insurance articles from December 2008

Risk & Insurance archives from December 2008

AIG puts a Liddy on it.
December 1, 2008... Three cheers for Edward M. Liddy, the new chairman and CEO of AIG. After a meeting with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in October, Liddy canceled more than 160 AIG events to save more than $8 million. Not only that, he decided to...

Rebuttal from RIMS.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... Dear Editor: RIMS once again finds itself having to provide corrections to Tom Slattery's editorial content (see column, Oct. 15, 2008, Page 18). RIMS has been a consistently vocal advocate for reform with respect to contingency fees....

Correction.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Correction notice)
December 1, 2008... In the Sept. 15, 2008 edition of Risk & Insurance[R], in an article about Risk Innovator Josephine Goode-Evans, corporate vice president of risk at SSM Healthcare, one of the quotes from Bonnie Boone of Alliant Healthcare Solutions was...

Chertoff says risk must be managed in the 'ungoverned space'.(SAFEST CITIES)
December 1, 2008... Globalization and the spread of technology have led to the dissolution of boundaries and created a new universe of "ungoverned space" more difficult to police than before, said Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. Such...

The 10 safest U.S. cities.(SAFEST CITIES)
December 1, 2008... Wildfire, hurricane, earthquake, terrorism--you name the peril, and many cities across the country are at risk for it. But not every city? Some locales are safer than others when it comes to manmade and natural disaster. Find out which. To...

Do CAT models work for risk managers?(TECHNOLOGY MGMT.)
December 1, 2008... San Francisco-based Andy Thompson, leader of the risk consulting practice at global engineering and consulting firm Arup, wants to know when the last time a catastrophe modeler actually designed and built a structure. To read the rest of...

Avoiding the hassles of claims data compliance and conversion.(TECHNOLOGY MGMT.)
December 1, 2008... In the not too distant past, the data demands for claims management were fairly straightforward and easy to meet. The set of required data was finite, relatively small, and fairly easy to gather, track and report. The few who needed to use the...

Where's ERM in L.A.?(LOS ANGELES)
December 1, 2008... This report, prepared for L.A. by ARM Tech, goes a long way in explaining the difficulties of implementing ERM in a city where everyone has their stake. To access this resource, please visit us on the Web at www.riskandinsurance....

The response to the I-35W bridge collapse.(TRANSPORTATION)
December 1, 2008... The U.S. Fire Administration put together this report following the tragic collapse of the Minneapolis bridge on Aug. 1,2007, to analyze what went wrong. To access this resource, please visit us on the Web at www.riskandinsurance....

Quote of the month.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
December 1, 2008... "I wanted to get well. I wanted my life back, to do the things I used to do."--JASON, CHRONIC PAIN WORKERS' COMP VICTIM, SOUTHBRIDGE, MASS.

Bundle of joy, bundle of risk: hospital risk managers warn of infant abduction risk and the importance of privately celebrating the birth of a child.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
December 1, 2008... Jacque Mitchell has seen the fear with her own eyes: Every mother in a maternity ward clutching their babies to their chest and not willing to put them down, even for a second. That's what happens when word of the abduction of a newborn...

Employers eye innovations to cheaper, better healthcare: self-insured employers have new options on the table to cut healthcare charges: actually paying true cost and global benefits programs.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the Word)
December 1, 2008... With the economic slowdown, cutting healthcare costs is even more important for employers. Two innovations offer solutions outside of cost-shifting and dropping coverage for self-funding companies that still would like to provide cheaper but...

Giant leaves the door open to IT-driven competitors: report finds multiline carriers with specialty lines coverage in the best position to take advantage of the new landscape. Tech spending mostly unaffected by the AIG-related market turmoil.(UPFRONT)
December 1, 2008... Large multiline property/casualty carriers with strengths in specialty lines coverage and the cash available to upgrade their information-technology-driven services have been handed an early Christmas present in the teetering fortunes of...

The ties that bind: businesses that banded together to form self-insured groups in New York now are paying the piper.(UPFRONT)
December 1, 2008... The state workers' compensation board in New York finds itself administering a bit of a mess these days. Nine self-insured groups that were formed in New York state to fund workers' comp claims have gone under since 2006. Now, in 2008, the...

Stay the course: most brokers are keeping their accounts on an even keel when it comes to AIG.(BROKERS: People, Ideas and Trends shaping the Brokerage Community)
December 1, 2008... Panic over the security of American International Group Inc. will get insurance buyers nowhere, and brokers, particularly those from the largest firms, seem to understand that keeping a level head for their clients is the best bet. A...

Beecher Carlson.(BROKER MOVES)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] STEVE LEVENE was appointed managing director at Beecher Carlson. He will be charged with establishing an office in Dallas as well as partnering with Scott Davis, executive general director of the Risk Management...

Marsh's International Surety Practice.(BROKER MOVES)
December 1, 2008... STEVE POWNEY, STEVEN LEWIS and TRICIA BURGESS have all joined Marsh's International Surety Practice from Aon's Surety and Guarantee team. Powney will lead the International Surety Practice for Marsh in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)....

Marsh.(BROKER MOVES)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Marsh has appointed SHAOSEN CHENG as a senior vice president and practice leader of the firm's Greater China Client Services in the Americas. Based in New York, Cheng most recently served at Aon as senior vice...

Willis Management (Malta) Ltd.(BROKER MOVES)
December 1, 2008... Willis Management (Malta) Ltd. announced that ANNE FINN was appointed executive director to help expand the international broker's presence on the island and meet the growing demand for captive insurer and third-party captive writing. Finn...

William Gallagher Associates.(BROKER MOVES)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] William Gallagher Associates has promoted GRANT BELL of the Atlanta office to senior vice president. Bell has been with WGA since 2001, specializing in life sciences and high technology companies, working on insuring...

Lockton: Terry Hogan.(BROKER MOVES)
December 1, 2008... TERRY HOGAN was named vice president at Lockton in its Washington, D.C.-based office. Hogan had been managing director and market area sales leader for the Mid-Atlantic region at Aon.

Lockton: Robert J. Irvin.(BROKER MOVES)
December 1, 2008... ROBERT J. IRVIN has joined Lockton in San Francisco as a senior vice president in the firm's Private Equity and Corporate Acquisitions Practice. Most recently, Irvin was a senior vice president in Marsh's Private Equity and Mergers &...

Testing the system.(WORKERS' COMP)
December 1, 2008... So we have the White House and both houses of Congress controlled by the Democrats for the first time since 1994. There is dead certainty that the next administration will get tougher about occupational safety and federal disability protection...

Crying over spilt tea.(ROGER ON RISK)
December 1, 2008... At job interviews, people often ask: "What was your biggest mistake?" The correct answer is: "The decision I made early on to be a perfectionist." But you need moxie to pull it off. The biggest business mistake I ever made happened almost...

So what have we learned?(BROKERAGE)
December 1, 2008... Whew! What a couple of months! I'm not one to use exclamation points, but they surely apply here, and so many question marks as well: Who'd have thought, when the month of October began, that we'd suddenly be in the worst economic shape in...

The people v. industry.(THE LAW)
December 1, 2008... Recent arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court ease Wyeth v. Levine may have vast implications for the drug industry as well as tort reform. For the second consecutive year, the Supremes will decide whether, because of federal regulation of an...

Must-haves for true ERM.(RISK MANAGEMENT)
December 1, 2008... Is it just me or has the world recently been flooded with new risk managers and enterprise risk management experts? Everywhere I look or read there are hundreds of new references, opinions, articles and gimmicks all speaking to the how-to's of...

Insurer backup plans.(RISK INNOVATION)
December 1, 2008... We still haven't quite cracked the code on ensuring the safety and soundness of insurance companies. Who would have thought AIG, the mightiest of the mighty amongst insurers, would have fallen so far? And not many saw it coming, though some of...

Pooled dreams: in Los Angeles, a pooling arrangement between the city and its quasi-public authorities could save taxpayers nearly $5 million a year. If only risk managers dared, or cared to dive in at once and agree to a common insurance-procurement program.(Cover story)
December 1, 2008... Summary * A risk pooling arrangement for property risks could save Los Angeles taxpayers as much as $4.6 million a year. * Turf wars make it difficult for risk managers from the city's quasi-independent authorities to pool their risks....

A switch at the spigot: a federal program for terrorism protection is increasingly making regional population centers, not necessarily cities, the focus of its funding efforts.(SAFEST CITIES)
December 1, 2008... Summary * Changes to a federal terrorism assistance program for U.S. cities mean a greater number of smaller cities can now be added to the program. * Communications systems that will help municipal emergency responders coordinate with...

Two journeys, two outcomes: two cases illustrate the difference in outcomes and the importance of exercise and physical therapy in the rehabilitation of chronic pain cases.(IN-DEPTH: Third in a Three-Part Series)
December 1, 2008... Summary * Many workers' comp and disability patients are inadequately treated for chronic pain. * The best chances of a successful outcome occur when physical therapy is instituted early in the rehabilitation progam. * While many...

Get a hold of your property, people: many risk managers take the easy way out when it comes managing their property exposure. They let their brokers run CAT models, then buy insurance accordingly. Here's what property pros say should be done instead.(TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT)
December 1, 2008... Summary * Many risk managers might not be properly handling their property exposures, leaning too heavily on brokers and modeling to tell them how to buy insurance. * They should instead work toward a long-term solution based on their...

Hunting for goodwill ranking: to avoid D&O and other claims, insurance companies and others need to learn to manage the intangibles.(SPECIAL REPORT: CLAIMS)
December 1, 2008... Summary * Intangibles represent 32 percent of the nonbalance sheet market value of insurance companies. * Aside from the property/casualty sector, the industry saw a deterioration in the reputation of its intangible asset management....

Shielded from liability: deteriorating roadways and bridges plague the nation, ready to wreak havoc on human lives and local governments. But in the event of a tragic accident, victims may find they have no recourse against public officials due to sovereign immunity.(INDUSTRY RISK REPORT: TRANSPORTATION)
December 1, 2008... Summary * The 2007 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis resulted in a $39 million award to victims, much higher than the state's liability cap of $1 million per incident. * Victims in such cases typically must accept a...

Industry risk report: transportation.
December 1, 2008... When it comes to transporting hazardous materials, railroad companies don't have a choice. They are required to do so by federal law, regardless of exposure, regardless of loss. From implementing enterprise risk management frameworks to...

Directory: third-party administrators.(Directory)
December 1, 2008... 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; property; marine/ aviation; professional liability;...

Upcoming events.(Calendar)
December 1, 2008... DECEMBER 2-4 Cayman Forum The Insurance Managers Association of Cayman will hold its annual Cayman Captive Forum featuring sessions on healthcare captives, technology, investment and hot topics. Keynote speaker is Charlie Wilson,...

Choices of the talented: during tough economic times, the best companies see that there is far more new business to be gained by filling the position than reducing expenses.(VIEWPOINT)
December 1, 2008... When I first sat down to write this article in late October, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had experienced in the past year 21 sessions with triple-digit closings, including one where it was up 900 points! It has been a rollercoaster month...