Risk & Insurance articles from March 2006

Risk & Insurance archives from March 2006

Exit strategies.
March 1, 2006... There's a new vehicle sputtering about the streets of Hamilton, Bermuda, and George Town, Grand Cayman. It's called the sidecar. Now, these aren't the kind of contraptions speeding along the motorcycle circuit. They're just another name...

Flu virus to cost $54.4b.(NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2006... The Insurance Information Institute has released a study forecasting the potential life-insurance losses of a flu pandemic. In a severe pandemic, group life insurers would pay out $54.4 billion in claims, the report said. Insurers could pay out...

French firms behaving.(NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2006... The financial services regulatory agency in France, the Autorite des Marches Financiers, has announced that French listed companies significantly cleaned up their behavior in 2005. French companies have had to produce a report on their internal...

Price of P/C cat.(NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2006... The Property Claim Services unit of Insurance Service Office Inc. has announced its figure for the estimated payout for the property/casualty industry for catastrophes in 2005. The insured losses total $856.8 billion, more than double what had...

RE has more risk.(NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2006... The Group of Thirty has released a study on the role of reinsurance in the international capital markets. "Reinsurance and International Financial Markets," highlights how activities in the financial services industry overlap, resulting in...

Coastal conundrum.(NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2006... According to the fourth-quarter market survey from the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, coastal commercial property is becoming much more expensive to cover against wind and flood, while the overall P/C market has little price increases...

Allstate out of N.Y.(NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2006... The largest homeowners insurer in New York state, Allstate Corp., has announced it will no longer write new homeowners policies, effective Jan. 1, in the eight counties in New York City, southern Westchester County and Long Island. The...

Upcoming events.(Calendar)
March 1, 2006... MARCH 8-10 CICA 2006 International Conference Captive Insurance Companies Association's 2006 International Conference will be held in Orlando, Fla. More than 400 captives, domiciled in more than 16 domiciles, will be represented...

'Chained' to risk: Japan and Guatemala lassoed into top 10 index of supply-chain risk.(UPFRONT: News, Updates Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
March 1, 2006... Japan and Guatemala have joined the list of top 10 nations posing the greatest threat to U.S. companies' supply chains but for very different reasons, according to an index compiled by insurance broker Aon Corp. and the consulting firm Oxford...

'Outlaw' carrier cuts losses in Cali: insurer agrees to $8 million fine for its disability practices.(UPFRONT: News, Updates Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
March 1, 2006... UnumProvident agreed to pay an $8 million fine levied by the California Department of Insurance to settle allegations the insurer unfairly denied disability benefits to thousands of policyholders. "UnumProvident is an outlaw company," said...

A lunchtime tipple: study sheds light on workplace drinking.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
March 1, 2006... Is your work force tipping a few at lunch? Research indicates that in the course of a year, nearly 9 million workers consumed alcohol during the workday, and another 2.3 million arrived at work already under the influence. Employers...

Storms batter claims adjusters too: insurance executives defend industry performance after the 2005 hurricanes.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
March 1, 2006... Battered commercial and residential properties, and the hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents left homeless by last year's storms, weren't the only ones to take a hit during the hurricane season of 2005. Claims adjusters were left...

Worth repeating.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
March 1, 2006... "Thirty years ago, Peter (Lewis) and I spent an afternoon talking about putting our two companies together.... if we'd ever done that, it would have been huge, just huge. Hank Greenberg and Warren Buffet would be working for us today." ...

The perils of pain management.(WORKERS' COMP)
March 1, 2006... Barry experienced strain in his back, and before too long his doctor was prescribing upwards of $10,000 a month in medication. His case shows how a huge amount of drugs can be consumed to manage a pedestrian, non-surgical condition, without the...

The Belly of the Beast.(ROGER ON RISK)
March 1, 2006... Life is a funny business, and so is property/casualty. Following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma last year, Bermuda, my island home, was the recipient of some $20 billion of new capital in a three-month period. Some of the new billions...

In pursuit of the other green.(BROKERAGE)
March 1, 2006... What role, if any, should the insurance community play in the debate over global warming? It's a proper question, given the pain weather has caused the industry and its customers this past year. According to ISO and PCI, the nine-month total...

Keeping it 'All in the Family'.(THE LAW)
March 1, 2006... The West Virginia mine tragedies reminded me of a nasty personal injury case in which I recently served as an outside consultant for a Fortune 1000 company. The company, understandably, wanted a pair of eyes and ears to look after its uninsured...

Peeling back the surprises.(RISK PRIMER)
March 1, 2006... In insurance policies, there never seems to be a shortage of exclusions or restrictions to be found, leaving many industry professionals shaking their heads and wondering about the increasingly illusory value of insurance contracts. For many...

Teaming up: Major League Baseball and its 30 clubs used to be solo players. By banding together and forming a captive in 2003, Major League Baseball was able to achieve big savings for its organization and beef up its loss-control efforts as well.(Cover story)
March 1, 2006... Major League Baseball found that it pays to take a team approach to purchasing insurance. Instead of continuing to purchase insurance separately, Major League Baseball and the organization's 30 clubs decided to band together, set up a...

A culture of health: top companies set the stage for success and savings--promoting employee health and wellness to cut costs and improve productivity.(BENEFITS)(Company overview)
March 1, 2006... A culture of health is spreading in corporate America. Instead of cutting health-care benefits and paring back programs to reduce costs, many forward-thinking employers are adding programs and services aimed at promoting employee health and...

The terms, they are a-changin': with cradle-to-grave benefits headed for extinction, corporations are redefining the benefits compact with their employees in a multitude of ways.(INSURANCE)
March 1, 2006... Helping employees "get a life" by voluntarily turning around high-risk lifestyles can generate dramatic savings in employee benefits costs. These partnership strategies are an especially good fit for corporations with high-margin products,...

Show insureds the money: a catastrophic workers' compensation claim can have serious insurance implications for an employer. But if a third party caused the loss, some insurers are helping their insureds to recover those benefits and avoid costly premium hikes.(INSURANCE)
March 1, 2006... Employers are most often concerned about the individual's well-being when an employee is injured on the job. They're focused on getting the person back to work as soon as possible. If the employee's injury was caused by a potentially liable...

The 'super nozzle': stop bothering with incompatible claims technologies. Service-oriented architecture--the "super nozzle"--is starting to make claims processing seamless and automatic.(TECHNOLOGY)
March 1, 2006... Imagine you're driving and the car's fuel light comes on, warning that you are low on gas. You pull into a gas station, pay in advance as required, pick up the nozzle and only then realize that it does not fit your car. Nozzles in this...

Man of steel: Joe Boures "played" his way through the TPA gridiron to lead one of the largest third-party administrators in the industry. So what was this big man's secret? Sticking with offense, not worrying too much about defense.(PROFILE)
March 1, 2006... As a young boy growing up in a working-class neighborhood in Norristown, Pa., Joe Boures knew he would have to work hard to get where he wanted to go in life. The son of a steelworker and a clerk at a telephone company, with four siblings,...

Retention selection: chasing our tails?(SPECIAL REPORT: CAPTIVES/ALTERNATIVE RISK)
March 1, 2006... In hard markets, insurers price policies above expected cost, making increased retentions based on simplistic cost-benefit calculations attractive. But in soft markets, premiums slide to levels below average losses, and cost-benefit selection...

Parking capital in a new spot: "sidecar" vehicles allow reinsurers to improve their balance sheets, but with one caveat: it will be easier for investors to flee when other opportunities present themselves.(SPECIAL REPORT: CAPTIVES/ALTERNATIVE RISK)
March 1, 2006... In the fourth quarter of 2005, a number of Bermuda reinsurance companies that survived Katrina, Rita and Wilma were restructured. Traditionally, that would have meant the replacement or enhancement of their capital base and a review of their...

'Fab'-rication splits an industry: semiconductor makers face a dilemma: whether to own or rent, build a billion-dollar plant, or "fab," or contract with another chipmaker. The stakes are high and the challenges daunting.(INDUSTRY RISK REPORT: SEMICONDUCTORS)
March 1, 2006... To compete in the fast-moving semiconductor industry, companies have to be ready to make billion-dollar decisions in a Silicon Valley second. It's a business ruled by a basic principle that says new technology will soon be sent to the dustbin...

Industry risk report: semiconductors.
March 1, 2006... It can be a not-so-lab world for companies in the semiconductor and electronics technology industries. Their risk managers must compute the risks of owning fabrication plants versus the risks of outsourcing production, while they must also keep...

Directory: technology.(Directory)
March 1, 2006... 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 packages available. Suppliers themselves have...

Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2006... Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co. has announced the appointment of WALTER L. SMITH to the position of senior vice president, business practices and quality assurance, and of A. BRENT KING to vice president, general counsel. Smith will be responsible for...

National Medical Health Card Systems Inc.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2006... National Medical Health Card Systems Inc. has announced that ROBERT J. KORDELLA, R.Ph., has assumed the position of chief clinical officer. Kordella has extensive expertise in pharmacy benefit management, as well as clinical and retail pharmacy...

Majesco Software Inc.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2006... Majesco Software Inc., a subsidiary of Mastek Ltd., announced the appointment of STEPHEN KENDRICK as senior vice president, insurance. Kendrick will lead the company's growth in the life and health insurance in North America. Prior to joining...

The Insurance Information Institute.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2006... The Insurance Information Institute has named L. JAMES VALVERDE JR. as its director of economies and risk management. According to the III, Valverde will focus primarily on issues within the industry where risk and uncertainty are pervasive and...

Zurich.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2006... Zurich has announced that DAN LORIS has joined the company's Technical Center as director of its property line of business, Loris, who has nearly 20 years of property experience, joins Zurich from Allianz Global Risk, where he was assistant...

Security.(TECHNOLOGY)
March 1, 2006... Axis Communications has announced the release of the AXIS 214 Pan/Tilt/Zoom Network Camera, a high-performance camera for professional surveillance and remote monitoring. The AXIS 214 PTZ combines a color camera with the flexibility of remote...

Policy administration.(TECHNOLOGY)
March 1, 2006... Decision Research Corp. has announced the immediate availability of Portal Access, enabling insurers to offer agents and other distribution channels real-time access to their policy administration system. Now available for all Decision Research...

Flood Insurance.(TECHNOLOGY)
March 1, 2006... The National Flood Insurance Program has announced a new FloodSmart Agents Web site, providing access to agent materials and new content in a password-protected agents-only section of FloodSmart.gov. After registering for a username and...

Analytics.(TECHNOLOGY)
March 1, 2006... Verint Systems Inc. has unveiled ULTRA IntelliSereen, a new analytical solution for generating actionable intelligence from unstructured data displayed on desktop screens. IntelliScreen is the latest addition to the ULTRA Analytics suite,...

Broker management.(TECHNOLOGY)
March 1, 2006... National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa., a member company of American International Group Inc., has announced the release of AIG ePro, a Web-based system allowing brokers to quote and bind PrivateRisk Protector coverages in just...

Product liability.(Insurance)
March 1, 2006... Lexington Insurance Co., a member company of American International Group Inc., has introduced ReeallResponse, coverage for first-party expenses and third-party liability arising from the recall of finished or component goods. ReeallResponse...

Continuing education.(Insurance)
March 1, 2006... The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has created a week-long school that gives producers and account managers valuable insight into group disability insurance and key strategies to tap into trends, such as the voluntary/consumer-driven...

Excess/surplus.(Insurance)
March 1, 2006... InsuranceNoodle has announced that 10 new excess and surplus lines products with an A+ rated carrier are now available in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Types of businesses eligible for coverage include: 24-hour convenience stores...

By the numbers: loss estimates of flu pandemic.
March 1, 2006... 90m Number of U.S. illnesses that would result from a pandemic 99m People in the U.S. who would be hospitalized due to a severe outbreak 1,903,000 People in the U.S. who would be killed as a result of a severe outbreak $1.4B...