Risk & Insurance articles from January 2006

Risk & Insurance archives from January 2006

Betting on Bermuda.
January 1, 2006... Veteran Bermuda correspondent Roger Crombie, who also writes what must be the most well-read column in the marketplace, is scratching his mane of long grey hair over what's going on in the reinsurance markets (see his cover story beginning on...

Conference conundrum.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2006... Dear Editor: Roger Crombie's reference to the first annual captive conference (Risk & Insurance[R], Oct. 1, 2005, page 29) struck me as odd. The first annual captive conference was actually held in 1977 in St. Georges at what was then the...

Fruits of their labors.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2006... Dear Editor: I have enjoyed reading about the excellent progress of the companies featured in Risk & Insurance[R]. As a claim manager, I am always looking at how other people create success with workers' compensation and disability...

Building better habits.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2006... Dear Editor: I read John Williams' article on maintaining health care costs (Risk & Insurance[R], Aug. 1, 2005, page 22) with a keen interest. It was excellent and is clearly an overview of the direction employers can take if they want...

Upcoming events.(Calendar)
January 1, 2006... JANUARY 18 Insurance Leader of the Year The School of Risk Management of St. John's University will host its 11th Annual Insurance Leader of the Year Award Dinner honoring Peter B. Lewis, chairman of the Progressive Corporation,...

Med mal claims post a welcome decline: med mal reforms are slow to affect claims severity, but frequency has finally slipped into reverse.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
January 1, 2006... A look at trends in medical malpractice insurance reveals something of a mixed bag, at least for physicians and hospitals. On the down side, the severity of malpractice claims continues to rise--albeit more slowly--at a rate of 7.5 percent...

Pensive on pension reform: pension reform could be cooking in Congress in 2006.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
January 1, 2006... The congressional pension-reform drama may not end with a January conference committee to reconcile bills passed by the U.S. House and Senate. The White House has signaled it wants funding reforms phased in faster, with no breaks for troubled...

Lloyd's CEO says bye-bye: Prettejohn leaves Lloyd's looking forward.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
January 1, 2006... LONDON--Seven years ago, Nick Prettejohn's elevation to the post of chief executive at Lloyd's of London attracted much publicity. His departure, at the end of last October, was a more low-key affair. In the late 1990s, the venerable...

Open house at domestic domiciles: a harder market could push REITs to do more than window-shop for captives.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
January 1, 2006... At the insurance committee meeting held at the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trust's annual conference last fall, the subject of captives never came up. That should tell you something about how enamored REITs are with captives,...

Worth repeating.
January 1, 2006... "Antarctica is the one continent where we do not conduct business." Jurg Trub, managing director of environmental and commodity markets, Swiss Re "Well, I think the major pharmaceuticals right now are probably almost uninsurable." ...

Paralyzed by 'third rail' issues.(WORKERS' COMP)
January 1, 2006... Can a noncitizen without legal authorization to live and work in the United States have access to workers' compensation benefits after a work-related injury? The answer is all over the map: Yes, no, maybe? State courts have varied in lines of...

The idiot's Category.(ROGER ON RISK)
January 1, 2006... My favorite TV show of all time is the greatest single waste of time in history: "Category 7: The End of the World." In ease you didn't see this Grade Z stinker, broadcast in the fall, here is a brief synopsis: A Category 7 storm threatens the...

Storm warnings.(BROKERAGE)
January 1, 2006... Yes, it's that time again when editors (elsewhere, of course) honor the age-old tradition of boring readers to tears with their lists of the "Top 10" or the "Top 20" news stories of the year. Columnists feel obliged to follow suit. To do...

No 'Scalito' here.(THE LAW)
January 1, 2006... Wingnuts, stand down. Supreme Court nominee Samuel G. Alito, Jr. is no agenda-slipping, law-legislating extremist--at least not when it comes to insurance issues. Judge Alito is an intellectual stud more than qualified to become a Supreme Court...

Rush-in roulette: a dozen startups steam into Bermuda and pump more than $8 billion of fresh capital into the industry by the end of the fourth quarter. But rising to the surface, in the midst of the January renewal season, are questions about their credit quality and commitment to the market.(REINSURANCE)(Cover Story)
January 1, 2006... The fourth quarter of 2005 in Bermuda was like a pot of oil at its furious boiling point, all sizzle and spit, fizz and pop. Frantic energies were unleashed, billions of dollars were in the air if not, necessarily, in the bank. Heads were...

Startups awash in new capital: a dozen new insurers pour into Bermuda as the Class of 2005, creating more than $8 billion in new capital to help pay for disasters that are costing in the tens of billions.(REINSURANCE)
January 1, 2006... AMLIN BERMUDA LTD. London insurer Amlin pie formed Amlin Bermuda Ltd. on October 24, with capacity of $1 billion, following a rights issue at a narrow discount to the market. Thus, it avoided the need for shareholder approval, which might...

CAT fight erupts over U.S. losses: five executives from Europe's top insurers and reinsurers respond to criticism from their European customers, who are sick of footing the bill for catastrophes on the other side of the pond, among other things.(REINSURANCE)(Interview)
January 1, 2006... Editor's note: The questions and answers that follow transpired during a panel of insurance and reinsurance executives at the Risk Management Forum 2005 of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations last fall. The session was...

Remodeling in the megacat age: it's safe to come up for air. The historic 2005 hurricane season finally concluded on Nov. 30. In the calm before next season's storms, the property/casualty world has a breather, time to take in lessons from Katrina--lessons, some might say, that should have been learned already.(CATASTROPHIC RISK)
January 1, 2006... What could turn out to be the No. 3 costliest hurricane in U.S. history--and the most intense ever recorded in the Atlantic--barely got any press in 2005. Hurricane Wilma, with insured losses upward of $12 billion, just happened to occur in the...

Hard lessons: buyers of excess and surplus catastrophe property insurance were getting used to the relative comfort of softening trends, at least through the first half of 2005. But last year's hurricane season stiffened prices and abruptly hardened the marketplace, jolting prices out of their slumber.(INSURANCE)
January 1, 2006... The brutal 2005 hurricane season, which by some estimates caused more than $60 billion in property damage, is expected to raise property rates in the excess and surplus lines market by at least 20 percent in 2006, analysts and insurance...

A strategic blend of old and new: converging upon Chicago's McCormick Place, 1,280 attendees and more than 200 exhibitors attended the annual knowledge-gathering pilgrimage to the National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference & Expo.(WORKERS' COMP)
January 1, 2006... Halfway into the 14th Annual National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference & Expo this past November, one event took top billing, and it was decidedly not on the conference-planning committee's agenda: Near the end of a prelunch...

A window of (spending) opportunity widens: it's a good time to be in the market for policy administration systems, analysts say. Carriers are freeing up more dollars. Vendors are offering more useful applications. The adage, caveat emptor, however, applies still.(TECHNOLOGY)
January 1, 2006... A window of opportunity has opened in the marketplace for buyers of policy management systems, analysts say, as business-process re-engineering by carriers has freed up more information-technology reinvestment dollars. At the same time vendors...

They're 'hog' wild for safety: Elise Fischer's discovery of an exercise program brought her own pain under control, and became the centerpiece of the wellness program at a Cox Communications subsidiary. That program, targeted in part at the blue-collar workforce more familiar with Harley-Davidsons than with exercise stretches, helped to bring the workers' compensation incident rate down 93 percent in eight years.(PROFILE)
January 1, 2006... Byron Floyd figured it wouldn't be easy to get the field service men of Cox Communications Orange County/Palos Verdes--"a group of guys that wear boots and ride Harleys"--to show up for an early morning stretching class. "When we first...

Ready for a 'WRMA' climate? The pace of global warming seems glacial compared with this red-hot trend: the total value of weather risk management instruments spiked 83 percent last year over the previous year, according to a recent survey.(INDUSTRY RISK REPORT: HYDROELECTRIC POWER)
January 1, 2006... Last year the skies opened up for weather risk management deals, with the total face value of insurance and derivatives doubling, and the number of contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange soaring by a factor of five to almost a...

Directory: insurance company software.(Directory)
January 1, 2006... DIRECTORY INSURANCE COMPANY SOFTWARE Below are paid listings of specialty software packages for the insurance companies, risk managers and brokers. This guide is not intended to be a complete directory but is an overview of some of the...

Willis Group Holdings.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... Willis Group Holdings has announced the appointment of VINCENT D. LIOTTA as executive vice president and production director of the Willis Re U.S. specialty practice. Liotta, formerly senior vice president of global marine, energy and aviation...

PMA Insurance Group.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... The PMA Insurance Group has announced that DENISE GRANLUN has been promoted to assistant vice president and assistant branch manager, Philadelphia. Granlun will assist with the management of PMA's Philadelphia office and will also retain her...

GE Insurance Solutions.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... GE Insurance Solutions has named MIKE FURLONG to lead its Lawyers Professional Liability unit. Furlong is a 10-year veteran of GE Insurance Solutions with a diverse background in claims leadership and Six Sigma quality. Previously, Furlong...

Ace Group of Companies.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... The Ace Group of Companies has named BILL O'FARRELL chief reinsurance officer, in addition to his position of senior vice president of reinsurance recoverables. O'Farrell will be responsible for overseeing corporate reinsurance programs for the...

NuQuest/Bridge Pointe.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... NuQuest/Bridge Pointe has named GUS ORTIZ as national sales representative with Bridge Pointe, its national provider of professional administration services. In this role, he will work with clients in order to meet their postsettlement needs...

Wausau Insurance Cos.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... Wausau Insurance Cos. has named MARK FIEBRINK president and chief operating officer. Most recently, Fiebrink worked in Boston as an executive vice president for Liberty Mutual Group's agency markets. Previously, Fiebrink worked for Wausau from...

Berkshire Life Insurance Co.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... Berkshire Life Insurance Co. of America has named JOAN BANCROFT as president. Bancroft joined the company in 1970 and most recently was senior vice president of information technology and claims. Bancroft, a 35-year insurance industry veteran,...

HCC Insurance Holdings Inc.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. has announced that BARRY J. COOK has been promoted to the new position of chief executive of all international operations, senior vice president of HCC and a member of the Executive Management Group. Cook has been...

Strategic Risk Solutions.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... Strategic Risk Solutions, an independent captive management firm, has announced that WAYNE COWAN has joined SRS as director and vice chairman of SRS Cayman. Cowan, formerly the managing director of JLT Cayman, will be responsible for client...

Allianz Life Insurance Co.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America has named FRANK TONNEMAKER president of its variable product division. Tonnemaker will be responsible for overall sales and profitability for the variable product line and will manage the in-force...

Ace Bermuda Insurance Ltd.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... Ace Bermuda Insurance Ltd. has named ROBERT REBELLATO as senior vice president in its property division. Rebellato will be responsible for the management of Ace Bermuda's global property and first-party specialty lines business. Before joining...

Countrywide Insurance Group.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... Countrywide Insurance Group has named CORALEE TALMAGE senior vice president of its employee-benefits practice. Talmage's responsibilities will include developing and maintaining a national employee-benefits practice as a part of the company's...

Zurich.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
January 1, 2006... Zurich has announced that DAN LORIS has joined the company's technical center as director of its property line of business. Lofts, with nearly 20 years of property experience, joins Zurich from Allianz Global Risk, where he was assistant vice...

TRIA extended by two years.(NEWS & NOTES)
January 1, 2006... The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have extended a set of federal government guarantees to help cover losses from terrorism. The compromise legislation adds two years to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, and removes some insurance...

Buyers-sellers still divided over fees.(NEWS & NOTES)
January 1, 2006... There is no consensus on how the rules on contingent commissions should change, according to a study by ACE. Among U.S. risk managers, 79 percent either agreed or strongly agreed that brokers should be compensated by clients, not insurers,...

WI lawmakers restore med mal caps.(NEWS & NOTES)
January 1, 2006... Wisconsin lawmakers have given final approval to a bill that would restore caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases. The bill came in response to the state Supreme Court's July decision that struck down the state's...

High deductible plans on the rise.(NEWS & NOTES)
January 1, 2006... Nearly half of large employers plan to offer high-deductible, consumer-driven health-care plans next year, according to a survey. Of the 45 percent of employers that will offer a consumer-driven plan, 62 percent said they will offer a...

N.Y. Gov. pitches tiered comp plan.(NEWS & NOTES)
January 1, 2006... New York Gov. George Pataki has proposed a plan to reduce workers' compensation costs for businesses by more than 15 percent while increasing benefits for injured workers. The plan creates a system of tiered benefit levels for injuries...

Regulators call for more disclosure.(NEWS & NOTES)
January 1, 2006... During a joint conference call of the National Association of Insurance Comissioners' Executive and Plenary Committees, the full body of the NAIC has approved enhanced disclosure requirements for insurers that utilize reinsurance with limited...

By the numbers: the 2005 hurricane season.
January 1, 2006... 21 The 1933 record for named storms in a season. 15 The number of named storms predicted by NOAA in May 2005. 14 The highest-ever number of hurricanes (2005), 12 The former record number for hurricanes (1969). 27 The new record...