Risk & Insurance articles from February 2004

Risk & Insurance archives from February 2004

Court says spanking injuries covered by Workers' Comp.(up front)
February 1, 2004... A business and several employees who gave a worker a spanking on his birthday can't be sued by the man because his injuries are covered by workers' compensation, a Minnesota appeals court has ruled. Jeremy Meinstma sued Loram Maintenance...

For this paraplegic, RTW stands for return-to-win.(up front)
February 1, 2004... Paraplegic racecar driver Ray Paprota is ready to win. After suffering a paralyzing accident as a former quality control inspector for the Kimberly-Clark Corp. 20 years ago, Paprota has his sights set on a top-10 finish this year in a...

ED pops up in claims cases.(up front)
February 1, 2004... There could be a new injury trend on the horizon with potentially significant repercussions for the workers' comp system. Erectile dysfunction cases are becoming more commonplace for claims handlers. Experts say the aging workforce may be one...

Worth repeating ...(up front)
February 1, 2004... "If you look at the success of the industry over the last 20 years, you will see a dismal record." Rob Fishman, chief underwriting officer, Zurich North America "I can assure you that American Re has gotten back to basics." Steve...

From the editor.
February 1, 2004... At the December meeting of the Insurance Managers Association of Cayman, there was no shortage of reminders about the virtues of the economic benefits of public-private partnerships--just a dearth of top public officials. Alternative risk...

Flights of fancy.(Alternative Risk)
February 1, 2004... Contrary to the received wisdom, no one in the world is uninsured. Those individuals and corporations that do not buy insurance--the 45 million "uninsured" Americans, those living in the favelas of Rio, or even the world's largest oil...

Tending to the fleet.(Risk Primer)
February 1, 2004... Vehicle fleets are frequently a source of adverse loss experience for companies, governmental entities, educational institutions, health care institutions and others. It's no surprise that insurers and those who self-insure are taking loss...

Calendar of upcoming events.(Calendar)
February 1, 2004... March 3-5 11th Annual Dynamics of Disability Strategic Management Seminar The seminar is designed to bring together respected experts and industry executives for an interactive exploration of both the opportunities and the challenges...

Walmart's Workers' Comp waltz.(Workers' Comp)
February 1, 2004... I've shopped at Walmart at 3 a.m. just to witness it devouring the rest of America's retail sector in the black of night. During a recent daylight visit I asked myself, What would happen if someone inserted Walmart's DNA into a workers' comp...

Common law marriage issues.(The Law)
February 1, 2004... The issue of living arrangements and marriage--from civil unions to domestic partnerships to common law marriage--promises to grab headlines in the months ahead. While states and the federal government continue to debate the issues, a...

Getting tough: burned by poor investment returns, past pressure to gain market share and the slipshod analysis of the fat years, underwriters say they now they now take a much tougher line when pricing risk.(Cover Story)
February 1, 2004... Today the underwriter is king. And if the insurance industry is to be believed, nobody is going to usurp that position anytime soon. "The depressed investment market and scary legal environment has convinced insurance and reinsurance...

Slashing the claims cycle: a 20th century transportation company waits until the 21st century to ditch a 19th century claims infrastructure. Welcome to Web-based claims management. One of the system's unanticipated benefits: corporate empathy.(technology)
February 1, 2004... John Liberatore, director of risk management with Gainey Transportation Services, hopes his days of hacking through forests of claims paperwork are behind him. Beginning last March, the company's property and casualty claims administration...

Toward a healthier ROI: more employers are realizing that the health of their employees has a big impact on the health of their business.(Special report: benefits)
February 1, 2004... As annual double-digit increases in medical costs and workers' comp premiums remain a constant in this harsh economic reality, the ability to reign in those costs too often means the difference between flourishing and folding for American...

State high-risk pools: a weighty health care burden: given the dramatic increase in health care costs, finding a way to better allocate and conserve health care resources is a priority.(Special report: benefits)
February 1, 2004... State sponsored high-risk pools, which offer coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions that are ineligible for other insurance, face some startling statistics: The average enrollee is between 44 to 55 years of age, has four to six...

Adding to AD&D policies: the shortcomings of AD&D policies can cost unsuspecting policyholders dearly, one expert argues. The best way to avoid getting into trouble is to review the policy with a fine-tooth comb.(Special report: benefits)
February 1, 2004... Every day, employees and family members face the potential for injury or death resulting from anything from common falls and automobile accidents to acts of terrorism and war. Employers are susceptible to large-scale losses from catastrophic...

Energy consternation.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... Sure, there are serious risks in every industry. But you have to admit, companies in the energy sector often face the kind of challenges that only exist in the nightmares of others. After all, who wants do deal with a hot-and-bothered Mother...

Weather vane points to two financial instruments: while weighing the benefits of both routes is important, the derivative vs. insurance question is often resolved as a function of a company's corporate culture and past experience.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... For of those of us who live in the Northeast, comes as hardly a surprise it that the weather is one of the biggest risks that energy companies face. Record low temperatures seem to push the daily cost of energy higher and higher and can affect...

TXU Corp.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... Dallas, Texas TXU is the largest power generator and electricity retailer in Texas, with over 19,000 megawatts annually and 2.7 million electricity customers. TXU also has the largest electricity and natural gas utilities in Texas,...

Valero Energy.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... San Antonio, Texas One of the top U.S. refining companies, Valero has an extensive refining system with a throughput capacity of almost 2 million barrels per day. The company's geographically diverse refining network stretches from Canada...

Calpine Corp.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... San Jose, Calif. Calpine has 89 energy centers in 21 states in the United States, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom. These plants have a capacity of more than 22,000 megawatts. With more than 10 projects under construction, it...

ConocoPhillips.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... Houston, Texas ConocoPhillips is the third largest integrated energy company in the United States, the largest refiner in the country and the fifth largest refiner in the world. With operations in more than 40 countries, it is the eighth...

ExxonMobil.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... Irving, Texas Formed by the combination of two high-caliber organizations, Exxon and Mobil, the company is an industry leader in almost every aspect of the energy and petrochemical business. Its downstream activities include the refining...

Reliant Resources.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... Houston, Texas On the retail side, Reliant Resources provides electricity and efficiency services to residential and small- to medium-sized business customers through its business units Reliant Energy Residential Services and Reliant...

Cinergy Corp.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... Cincinnati, Ohio Cinergy owns regulated delivery operations in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky that serve 1.5 million electric customers and about 500,000 gas customers. In addition, its Indiana regulated operations own 7,000 megawatts of...

American Electric Power Company, Inc.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... Columbus, Ohio American Electric Power owns and operates more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and international markets, and is the largest electricity generator in the U.S. AEP is also one of the largest...

Marathon Oil.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... Houston, Texas Marathon is an integrated international energy business, with expertise in exploration, development, production, refining, marketing and transportation. The company has oil and gas activities in the United States, the United...

Sunoco Inc.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... Philadelphia, Pa. Sunoco is a leading manufacturer and marketer of petroleum and petrochemical products. Sunoco operates four domestic refineries with approximately 730,000 barrels per day of crude oil processing capacity; markets gasoline...

ChevronTexaco.(Industry Risk Report)
February 1, 2004... San Ramon, Calif. ChevronTexaco is the world's fourth-largest publicly traded energy company based on oil-equivalent reserves and production. The company's crude oil and natural gas reserves totaled nearly 12 billion barrels of...

Emerging markets: handle with care.
February 1, 2004... Some believe that in the near future, the Caspian region will become the biggest source of oil in the world, dwarfing the reserves of Iraq, Kuwait and Russia. But it's going to take time. Many more pipelines are needed to make that prediction...

Energy risks require comprehensive loss prevention.
February 1, 2004... Tom Roche, corporate loss control consultant for Xcel Energy, isn't looking for cookie-cutter recommendations when it comes to protecting his company's assets and production capabilities. Xcel Energy sells gas and electricity. It generates...

Hitting the high notes: Carol G. Barton has been instrumental in strengthening Affiliated FM over the past seven years into an operating unit that works with companies in the middle-market property insurance sector.(profile)
February 1, 2004... It wasn't necessarily the easiest path toward becoming a top insurance industry executive, but it's the one that Carol G. Barton successfully chose nearly 30 years ago. Only 21 years old and armed with typing skills and a business school...

Solutions for Insurance.(technology marketplace)
February 1, 2004... Accenture's Solutions for Insurance include distinct software solutions that deliver tangible results to organizations by being component-based, up to 90 percent reusable, ready to install, proven, tested and able to deliver up to 5 to 10...

National bill review software.(technology marketplace)
February 1, 2004... StrataCare provides national bill review software solutions and service for the workers' compensation industry, including insurance companies, employers. third-party administrators and bill review companies. StrataCare's mission is to provide...

Document exchange.(Software & Systems)
February 1, 2004... Xerox Corp. and Omtool Ltd., have combined their technology and expertise to provide systems and services that help insurance companies, agents and carriers address regulatory requirements related to the exchange of documents. The Xerox and...

Catastrophe models.(Software & Systems)
February 1, 2004... CDS Business Mapping LLC, a hazard-mapping vendor for the insurance industry, has released the second version of its hail modeling software. The model predicts the severity of hail for any location in the continental United States. Key...

Predicitive modeling.(Software & Systems)
February 1, 2004... Valen Technologies, a provider of predictive analysis and decision enabling software, has developed a tool using statistical learning theory to help insurance companies make better core business decisions. Valen Technologies' Risk Manager...

Risk management software.(technology marketplace)
February 1, 2004... Claims management/risk management software for workers' compensation, general liability, auto. property and casualty, and professional liability. Features include claims management, loss-run analysis, scheduler. spell check, diary notes, check...

Powering claims management.(technology marketplace)
February 1, 2004... iVOS[TM], is a browser-based, single-system solution that integrates claims management and bill review software and services for multiple lines of insurance. Built on solid, scalable Java architecture. iVOS can be installed on your network or...

Earth information.(Software & Systems)
February 1, 2004... Keyhole Inc. has announced the latest release of its Keyhole PRO software that places professional presentation features at users' fingertips. With release VI.7 of Keyhole PRO, users can create "fly-through" animations from space to street...

Medicare changes: rejoice at more competition: Medicare legislation signed into law will help seniors get more affordable prescription drugs and inject more choice and competition into the Medicare program.(point/counterpoint)
February 1, 2004... The legislation marks a turning point in Medicare and for pharmacy benefit managers. Because of the new law, seniors will be paying in the coming years for much-needed prescription drugs. PBMs represents the last, best alternative to direct...

Medicare changes: a disgraceful 'giveaway': Congress has undermined Medicare with a drug plan that provides giveaways to private insurers and opens the door to privatization of the entire program.(point/counterpoint)
February 1, 2004... Agreements on Medicare legislation would undermine the Medicare program upon which 41 million beneficiaries depend. For years, seniors have been promised the one improvement to Medicare they have said they need: coverage for prescription drugs....