Risk & Insurance articles from March 2002

Risk & Insurance archives from March 2002

The Supreme Court's ruling: How it impacts the industry. (Up Front).
March 1, 2002... Who is considered disabled? After the Supreme Court ruling in January, a lot fewer people will be able to claim protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA received a new interpretation, now narrowing the definition...

Industry eye: a crystal ball for p/c. (Up Front).
March 1, 2002... At the annual Joint Industry Forum held in New York recently, the post-September 11 emphasis on crystal-balling the property/casualty industry's future was met not only by high-profile CEOs (see page 34), but also by a trio of leading economic...

Mold claims growing in number and size. (Up Front).
March 1, 2002... Mold liability claims are getting bigger, are geographically widespread, and can greatly affect both commercial and personal property insurers, according to a new report from New York-based Guy Carpenter & Co. About 9,000 toxic mold and...

From the editor. (Up Front).
March 1, 2002... Transparency. It's hardly an unfamiliar word, but it is taking on a new significance these days, in the wake of the Enron collapse and a subsequent stream of disclosures about financial reporting and accounting practices at other firms. The...

New safety measures for tunnel fires. (Up Front).
March 1, 2002... It is probably the scariest scenario imaginable, like something out of a movie. You're in a tunnel and a fire breaks out. There is no escaping the smoke and heat, and all the while the fire is consuming a limited oxygen supply. Ill-prepared...

Enron Corp. executives have formed Celeren Corp. (News and Notes).
March 1, 2002... * Several former Enron Corp. executives have formed Celeren Corp., a Philadelphia-based company that provides businesses with energy outsource products and independent power generation services.

U.S.I. Holdings Corp., a general and specialty property/casualty insurer in San Francisco. (News and Notes).
March 1, 2002... * U.S.I. Holdings Corp., a general and specialty property/casualty insurer in San Francisco, has launched the USI Environmental Risk Mitigation Group to assist clients with environmental risk management solutions.

Vista Insurance Partners Inc. (News and Notes).
March 1, 2002... * Vista Insurance Partners Inc., a wholesale insurance broker based in San Antonio, Texas, has introduced its new National Transportation Division, which will focus on long haul and immediate haul trucking.

Aon Corp. has sold Sinser Insurance Ltd. (News and Notes).
March 1, 2002... * Chicago-based Aon Corp. has sold Sinser Insurance Ltd., Bermuda, to its management team. Sinser Insurance was one of 16 subsidiaries of Sinser Holding A.B., which Aon acquired last year from the Skandia Group, Sweden.

Bexil Corp., New York, has acquired 50 percent of New York-based York Claims Service Inc. (News and Notes).
March 1, 2002... * Bexil Corp., New York, has acquired 50 percent of New York-based York Claims Service Inc., a TPA, from American International Group Inc., also headquartered in New York.

Charter Oak Capital Partners, a private equity firm. (News and Notes).
March 1, 2002... * Charter Oak Capital Partners, a private equity firm in Westport, Conn., has acquired Integrated DisAbility Resources Inc. (IDR), a disability reinsurance company in Bloomfield, Conn., from Kemper Insurance Cos., based in Long Grove, Ill.

Choice Medical Management Services Inc., a workers' comp provider. (News and Notes).
March 1, 2002... * Choice Medical Management Services Inc., a workers' comp provider based in Tampa, Fla., has acquired the operations of BerkleyCareFlorida, a disability management unit of Key Risk Management Services Inc., Greensboro, N.C.

German insurer Allianz AG Holding. (News and Notes).
March 1, 2002... * German insurer Allianz AG Holding has combined three of its Swiss units--Elvia, Berner, and Allianz (Switzerland)--under one name, Allianz Suisse.

American Re, the U.S. unit of Munich Re. (News and Notes).
March 1, 2002... * Edward Noonan, president and CEO of Princeton, N.J.-based American Re, the U.S. unit of Munich Re, will give up his post at the end of March. His replacement will be John Phelan, who is currently president of Munich Reinsurance Co. of Canada....

PHICO Insurance. (News and Notes).
March 1, 2002... * A Pennsylvania court has ordered the liquidation of failed medical malpractice insurer PHICO Insurance.

Max Re Capital Ltd., Bermuda, has purchased a 12.5 percent interest in DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. (News and Notes).
March 1, 2002... * Max Re Capital Ltd., Bermuda, has purchased a 12.5 percent interest in DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd., a Bermuda reinsurer formed in November.

Correction.
March 1, 2002... In the January issue, in a story titled "The New Big Picture," the name of the chief executive officer of Carvill America Inc. was spelled incorrectly. The correct spelling is Peter Scanlan. In the December 2001 issue, an item in the News &...

When software fails: the risk that isn't covered. (Technology Solutions).
March 1, 2002... It's hard to imagine life without computers and the various software that have become the backbone of nearly every office environment. Yet something important is missing, and it could leave you and your business hanging in technological limbo...

Insurer technology and 9/11. (Tech Briefs).
March 1, 2002... Most insurers believe that the recent terrorist attack will not affect how quickly they implement technology; in fact, 15 percent said the attacks would actually accelerate their implementation in several areas, according to a new...

Cybersecurity best practices not used. (Tech Briefs).
March 1, 2002... According to a new report from the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, part of the National Research Council, computer security could be much greater than it is today, if only the available technologies and best practices available...

Hewitt partners with Willis. (Tech Briefs).
March 1, 2002... Midsize companies will now have access to Lincolnshire, III.-based Hewitt Associates' employee benefits outsourcing capabilities via a partnership with Willis, headquartered in London. Through the agreement, Hewitt will manage the benefits of...

Online spy. (Technology Solutions).
March 1, 2002... This month, we spied an item on the Web site for Health Affairs (www.healthaffairs.org), a health care policy journal published out of Bethesda, Md. It concludes that managed care is not the only health care cost-containment method to have had...

Application Risk Management Model (ARMM). (Insurance Online).
March 1, 2002... Mercury Interactive, an enterprise testing and application performance management solutions provider headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., is now offering its Application Risk Management Model (ARMM), a set of best practices and guidelines...

RISConsulting (RISC). (Insurance Online).
March 1, 2002... RISConsulting (RISC), a Boston-based consulting and advisory firm that offers financial risk and capital management models, as well as risk-transfer solutions, has launched AircraftRisk.com (www.aircraftrisk.com), a new aircraft financial risk...

Cost containment strategies. (Workers' Comp).
March 1, 2002... To be effective, an employer or benefit administrator (insurer or third-party administrator) must consider and establish cost-containment strategies before any injury occurs. There are many things that employers can do to prevent or minimize...

Demand more from vendors. (Self-Insurance).
March 1, 2002... Self-insurance is on the move again and so are most related costs. Throughout 2001 and continuing into 2002, an ever-increasing number of employer-based programs have either moved into new self-insured programs for the first time, increased...

Protecting retirement. (Benefits).
March 1, 2002... Enron Corp. wasn't the only company to implode last year, but the national attention it got served as one of the most urgent warnings about weaknesses in defined-contribution pension programs. The Pension Protection Act, introduced last...

Post-9/1l strategies. (Bermuda Angle).
March 1, 2002... Following the events of September 11, the very nature of risk was hard to define, which made the 2002 renewal season an extraordinary period. Companies took different positions on what coverages they would include. Certain lines were...

Clause poses problems. (Property).
March 1, 2002... There's a natural tendency for the public to view catastrophes as the ill wind that blows no one good fortunes, but that's rarely the way it is. Take the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center as an example. It forced a lot of businesses to...

Renewal strategies in a changed insurance world: Four risk managers from diverse industries talk about the state of the insurance market and their strategies during the current renewal process. (Cover Story).
March 1, 2002... In interviews with four risk managers from diverse industries, the picture that emerged is one of flexibility, creativity, and patience. And, of a lot of negotiating. While insurers are reevaluating the costs of covering risks, companies...

Changing skies for D&O: This will be a telling year for the directors' and officers' market. Although excess capital is entering the market, industry experts are watching the trend of increasing frequency and severity of claims. (Liability).
March 1, 2002... 2001 was a year to forget for most investors in the United States. Broad stock market volatility, combined with the continued frequency of financial restatements, have resulted in an all-time high of 487 securities class-action filings in 2001,...

Value in the aftermath of Enron. (Risk in Focus).
March 1, 2002... Despite the mounting evidence of wrongdoing and alleged illegal activity, energy giant Enron has managed to bring solid value to the commodified risk transfer method with energy and weather derivatives will the approach survive without Enron?...

What's wrong with your RMIS? (Technology).
March 1, 2002... Many information systems clog the marketplace, promising to create value in a risk manager's life. Yet many risk managers are finding that the "comprehensive" tool they just plunked down good money for has limitations. Here's how to choose a...

Back in Bermuda again: After a one-year delay, the biannual Bermuda Insurance Symposium resumed, as industry leaders from on and off the island surveyed the new world order. (Meetings).
March 1, 2002... The winds were February fierce while the sun played its usual peekaboo with the clouds as the highly anticipated Bermuda Insurance Symposium V--which doubles as the BIS and also as the World Insurance Forum--got under way last month at the...

A forum for CEOspeak. (Insurance Executive).
March 1, 2002... In the wake of September 11, January's annual joint industry forum brought together property/casualty CEOs and reinsurance leaders at the usual site--New York's Waldorf Astoria. But this time the talk seemed more urgent than usual. ...

Executive moves.
March 1, 2002... AGL Resources Inc., an Atlanta-based regional holding company for energy and infrastructure-related businesses in the Southeast, has named Gene Rozgonyi vice president and chief risk officer. He will be responsible for measuring and monitoring...

Online privacy coverage. (Insurance Coverages).
March 1, 2002... AIG eBusiness Risk Solutions is now offering AIG Personal Internet Identity Coverage (PIIC), a new policy designed to help businesses and other organizations address the online privacy concerns of consumers by offering reimbursement of...

Remediation program. (Insurance Coverages).
March 1, 2002... In an effort to bring a high measure of cost certainty to pollution remediation projects, The Hartford has introduced its Cost Cap Plus program. For a single premium payment at inception, and with no deductible or coinsurance requirements, Cost...

EPL loss prevention. (Insurance Coverages).
March 1, 2002... The Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. has launched a comprehensive employment practices liability loss control program, designed to help companies reduce the likelihood of a lawsuit occurring, as well as to help defend against lawsuits that do...

Cargo protection. (Insurance Coverages).
March 1, 2002... Brown & Brown Inc. has partnered with Starlink Logistics Inc., Electronic Data Systems Inc., and a number of cargo insurance underwriters to provide StarProtect, a new risk management product for the transportation industry that offers a cargo...

WC for tech industries. (Insurance Coverages).
March 1, 2002... Venture Programs, in cooperation with XL Specialty Insurance Co. and Greenwich Insurance Co., is now offering a workers' compensation policy called the Preferred Technology Program for the technology industry, including companies doing business...

Software security guide. (Reference & Training).
March 1, 2002... Security professionals and software developers now have a new resource available in the fight against computer risks, particularly those posed by bad software, as Addison-Wesley has published Building Secure Software. Bad software lies at the...

Crisis Management CD. (Software & Systems).
March 1, 2002... NeoSafety is now offering Crisis Manager, a new Windows-based interactive CD-ROM software product designed to help businesses develop business continuity plans in the event of an unforeseen crime or disaster. Crisis Manager offers a Planning...

Captives: a strategy for the times. (Special Report: Captives and Art).
March 1, 2002... Interest in captives as an alternative risk financing vehicle has soared as a hardening market and the fallout of the fall terrorist attack make insurance unaffordable or impossible to get. It was a tough decision, recalls Richard Breche,...

Is it time for benefits in captives? (Special Report: Captives and Art).
March 1, 2002... When Columbia Energy structured a program to fund its long-term disability through its captive, industry observers predicted others would follow with programs to insure benefits through a captive. but that hasn't happened. here's a look at why....

The outlook for fronting. (Special Report: Captives & Art).
March 1, 2002... In a hard market, the use of captives and fronting arrangements are more common. But the success of a fronting arrangement depends on the economic soundness of both the fronting company and the insurer. The hardening of the insurance market...