Risk & Insurance articles from March 2008

Risk & Insurance archives from March 2008

The life for Brian.
March 1, 2008... The stormy winter quarter brings good tidings for Marsh and for Brian--Duperreault, that is. Duperreault's been tapped to lead Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. after the firm's few difficult years with former CEO Michael Cherkasky. Duperreault,...

Wellness works.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Dear Editor: I hope that in Cyril Tuohy's criticism in "Wellness and Disability: A Drain on Profits," (Risk & Insurance[R], January 2008, Page 47) he was playing devil's advocate. He truly can't believe that corporations have no vested...

Don't forget actuaries.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Dear Editor: To the list of "Risk Certifications: A to Z" included in your October 1, 2007, issue (Page 47), you can add two long-standing certifications held by almost 5,000 risk professionals: Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society...

Commissioners Extol the virtues of a healthy competition.(RISK REPORT)
March 1, 2008... Perhaps it was the venue--sharing ideas in the presence of some of the most powerful insurance executives in the land--or perhaps it was the shock at the federal government's ineptitude at helping victims of Hurricane Katrina more than two...

Mushy market good for business.(RISK REPORT)
March 1, 2008... Price drops of 4 percent to 5 percent? The second straight year of underwriting profit? What gives with these property/casualty carriers? Is there something more going on here than the usual business cycle? Analysis from industry observers can...

Achieving claims excellence.(COVER STORY)
March 1, 2008... Insurers are constantly re-engineering their claims organizations, implementing new systems and installing the latest technologies. But they frequently find that, despite spending millions, they have failed to improve productivity or reduce...

Making it stick.(BENEFITS)
March 1, 2008... In the employers' war against rising healthcare costs, one major battle is getting employees to get healthy and stay that way. For all its difficulty, it's a battle worth fighting, experts say. The first weapon in employers' arsenal is the...

A methodology for fee schedules.(WORKERS' COMP)
March 1, 2008... Researchers examine 1,676 providers in 19 states to determine if and why neurologists would accept workers' comp payments based on a fee schedule. To access this resource, please visit us on the Web at www.riskandinsurance....

Bermuda: calculating the offshore costs.(IN-DEPTH SERIES)
March 1, 2008... Bermuda is well-known for its insurance industry infrastructure and its warm business climate, and our last survey of the domicile's captive managers backed up these trends. More surprising, however, are other trends that the captive managers...

Report: emergency preparedness lacking in many states: federal cuts to emergency preparedness funding could have dire health and financial effects, warns a nonprofit.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
March 1, 2008... Too much of the country remains vulnerable to the effects of a bioterrorism attack and other health emergencies, according to a report put out by a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. For example, six years after the terrorist destruction of...

The take on quakes: reinsurers aren't entirely sold on the idea of midterm or short-term earthquake forecasting.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Don't expect the world's top reinsurers to apply today's latest earthquake forecasting research to how they work their books of business just yet. Dr. Alex Allmann, lead modeling expert for Munich Re, said he...

U.S. property/casualty industry to report $59.2 billion in profits in 2007: but a decline in premiums, the first since 1943, and soft 2008 market forecast could mean tough times ahead for profits.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)(Industry overview)
March 1, 2008... There was no question that the U.S. property/casualty industry was going to have another good year in 2007. The only question was how good. Now the numbers are in, and the industry's expected to show a profit of $59.2 billion, according to a...

Earthquake vulnerability could cost Central Europe: policies expected to include coverage between now and 2012, according to A.M. Best & Co.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
March 1, 2008... You weren't there, unless you have a strong sense of deja vu and are a devout believer in reincarnation, but on the evening of Oct. 18, 1356, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake destroyed most of the castles and churches in Basel, Switzerland. Were...

Street smarts: Arthur J. Gallagher broker Leslie Miles rose to the top in spite of--or perhaps because of--her unconventional education.(BROKERS: People, Ideas and Trends shaping the Brokerage Community)(Interview)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Erin Gazica: What issues are most common among your higher education clients? Leslie Miles: They ask me about a new program they want to put into place from an educational perspective or a trip they want to take,...

HRH acquires benefits firms.(BROKER NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2008... Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co. has recently acquired a brokerage and consulting firm and an insurance agency that both specialize in employee benefits. Baltimore-based Integrated Group Benefits is an employee benefits brokerage focusing on group...

Swett picks up comp broker.(BROKER NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2008... Risk Reducers LLC, a wholesale insurance broker specializing in workers' compensation, has been acquired by Atlanta-based wholesale insurance intermediary Swett & Crawford Group Inc. Risk Reducers, which is based in Little Rock, Ark., writes...

Alliance Group bought.(BROKER NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2008... Beecher Carlson has acquired Phoenix-based independent insurance agency Alliance Insurance Group. The company serves as the MGA for a manufactured home park program and it also provides specialized programs for apartment owners, real estate...

Investor funds Beecher growth.(BROKER NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2008... Atlanta-based Beecher Carlson has entered into an investment relationship with Old Lane, a global investment firm owned by Citigroup. Beecher Carlson will use the funding to further invest in specialized production and client service teams,...

ACORD partners with London.(BROKER NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2008... ACORD and the London Market Insurance Brokers' Committee have formed the ACORD Brokers Committee to increase communication with medium to small brokers in the London market. The committee, which will consist of 10 elected members and will meet...

Brown & Brown expands in N.J.(BROKER NEWS & NOTES)
March 1, 2008... Brown & Brown Inc. has acquired the New Jersey-headquartered firm, LDP Consulting Group. LDP specializes in employee benefits, with a strong presence serving the school districts throughout the state. LDP will retain its staff and three...

Aging matters.(WORKERS' COMP)
March 1, 2008... The median age of the American worker has increased for more than a decade. The age of the injured worker has also increased. Should these trends concern us? With even slight demographic shifts, some social and economic circles will see a...

Writing with the brain of a Cod.(ROGER ON RISK)
March 1, 2008... You know how dumb the average person is? George Carlin, that most acute of the modern commentators, asks us to consider that half the population is dumber than that. It's not nice to point out that most people are morons, but it happens to...

Season not as silly as it seems.(BROKERAGE)
March 1, 2008... Some call it the "silly season" but political campaigns that go on for two years should have some other name such as maybe "bonzo biennium." But that is for others to decide. As I write this, Florida GOP voters are on the eve of choosing...

Protecting your blind side.(RISK MANAGEMENT)
March 1, 2008... On Nov. 18, 1985, the value of risk management was established before a live television audience. Many of you watched it happen or saw the replay later. I recall it vividly, but it was not until I read Michael Lewis's new book The Blind Side...

Chambers disrobed.(THE LAW)
March 1, 2008... There is a recently published "novel" by a former law clerk for a Philadelphia federal appellate judge that has sent shockwaves through the legal community. It is thinly-veiled fiction, clearly based upon real experiences behind the dosed doors...

Managing with the utmost care: David Patterson, a former Florida-based CEO for Kemper National Services, has pumped new life into ESIS Inc., an ACE USA claims-management subsidiary, with a series of initiatives focused on reducing the client's loss costs.(Cover story)
March 1, 2008... Summary * ESIS' CEO David Patterson says sales were up 180 percent in 2007, the result of new technologies, products and processes all aimed at lowering loss costs. * Using data analytics to lower loss costs, ESIS has been able to...

Doctors aim for respect, then money: financial compensation is one thing, but increasingly doctors who provide expert care of injured workers want recognition for the quality of that care.(CLAIMS)
March 1, 2008... Summary * Research has found that specialists tend to drop workplace injury work when compensation for them drops below 150 percent of Medicare rates. * Feedback from doctors indicates that respect for the work that they do is just as...

The butt stops here: companies are taking unprecedented steps in their efforts to purge smoking--and its health effects--from the workplace.(LIABILITY)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When General Dynamics Electric Boat sent a letter from the company's president to each of its employees last August announcing the establishment of the company's tobacco-free workplace policy and the proposed start...

Big and small rolled into one: Bermuda, just 22 square miles, is home to more than $130 billion in insurance capital. It has done so well because of the rare symbiosis between its government and the corporations it invites to do business on the island.(IN-DEPTH: RISK & INSURANCE)
March 1, 2008... Summary * Bermuda as a market: a sustained argument for a public-private partnership. * Bermuda as an island: a very small place with a very big influence in the insurance and reinsurance sectors. ********** [ILLUSTRATION...

Balance shifts in build vs. buy: with Microsoft and Linux platforms having proved themselves, midsize property/casualty carriers in particular are more open than they were five or six years ago to choosing policy administration systems outside the mainframe environment.(TECHNOLOGY)(Interview)
March 1, 2008... Summary * European carriers, wary of the compliance requirements imposed by Solvency II, prefer buying policy administration systems that require very little integration. * U.S. carriers, now six years into a corporate governance world...

The wolf and his pack: starting an insurance company is like stepping on stage--frightening for many, but electrifying for others. For alternative risk veteran George L. Estes III, forming Sparta Insurance Co. fed an addiction similar to an actor's compulsion to perform. And with an all-star cast of characters behind him, he never broke a sweat.(PROFILE)
March 1, 2008... Summary * George L. Estes III, a native of Hartford, Conn., credits his rigorous private school education, background in athletics and marriage of 37 years with teaching him vital life skills. * Estes co-founded Discover Re in 1990 and...

Assessing a market's softer strain: in a softening market, with premium growth slowing and new IRS regulations looming, the domestic captive industry takes stock of itself.(SPECIAL REPORT: CAPTIVES)
March 1, 2008... Summary * A softening general insurance market is going to place pressure on the owners and managers of group captives especially to defend themselves against defections. * Opinions differ on just how devastating new IRS proposals for...

The road to growth in 2008: insuring risks faced by middle-market companies and the formation of group captive structures are expected to provide the engine of growth in the alternative risk marketplace in 2008.(SPECIAL REPORT: CAPTIVES)
March 1, 2008... Summary * Groups will continue to consider using group captive structures, even in the softening market. * The market should also look for reinsurers to be more aggressive in seeking reinsurance opportunities behind admitted programs....

For carriers, back to ERM school: risk is the currency of insurance companies, with peril on one side of the coin and profit on the other. You'd think insurance companies would be experts at it. But ratings agencies are having to push insurers into applying enterprise risk management techniques to their entire portfolio, an education they seem to be in serious need of.(INDUSTRY RISK REPORT: INSURANCE)
March 1, 2008... Summary * Several major insurers, such as Swiss Re, IPC Re and Beneficial, have had their risk management programs questioned and ratings placed under review in recent months. * Going forward, a major concern for insurance companies is...

Industry risk report insurance.
March 1, 2008... INDUSTRY RISK REPORT INSURANCE Besides having to negotiate the regulatory sand traps the industry arguably dug for itself, insurance companies now have to protect themselves against the credit vulnerabilities found not only on their...

Captive/self-insurance.(DIRECTORY)(Buyers guide)
March 1, 2008... CAPTIVE/SELF-INSURANCE Below are paid listings of service providers in the captive and self-insurance industry. This guide is not intended to be a complete directory. Suppliers themselves have provided this data. To obtain more...

Proudfoot Consulting.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Proudfoot Consulting, an Atlanta-based global operational consultant, named DAN R. CARMICHAEL a senior advisor to the firm. Carmichael was president and CEO of Ohio Casualty Corp. from 2000 through its acquisition by...

Swiss Brokers Mexico.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2008... RICHARD SCHNEIDER, an 11-year veteran of Swiss Re, was appointed office head of Swiss Brokers Mexico. He succeeds Carlos Boelsterli, who became head of client management for Latin America. Most recently, Schneider served as manager of...

Towers Perrin.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Towers Perrin named ALI SAMAD-KHAN head of operational risk management consulting for its enterprise risk management practice. Samad-Khan founded specialist consulting company OpRisk Advisory and has 10 years of...

Omega Risk Management LLC.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2008... Omega Risk Management LLC, an international insurance and risk management consulting firm, appointed PHILIPP J. BISCHOFF executive vice president. Bischoff spent 20 years at Frenkel & Co. Inc, an insurance brokerage firm where he most recently...

Lexington Insurance Co.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lexington Insurance Co. hired JOHN COGLIANO as assistant vice president of its Strategic Relationship Group, which develops strategies for AIG's private-equity and law-firm relationships. Cogliano is a former...

Wausau Insurance.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2008... SUSAN DOYLE was appointed president and COO of Wausau Insurance, part of the Liberty Mutual Group. She replaces Mark Fiebrink, who announced his retirement in November 2007. Doyle served as Wansau's executive vice president for field operations...

Farmers Group Inc.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2008... Farmers Group Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services, appointed SCOTT LINDQUIST to executive vice president and CFO. Lindquist is the former controller of Genworth Financial, the financial services and insurance product...

Munich Reinsurance America Inc.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Munich Reinsurance America Inc. appointed RUSS WENITSKY to run the newly formed Innovative Solutions team. Wenitsky, who joined Munich Re America in 2001, was most recently the head of business development and...

Upcoming events.(Calendar)
March 1, 2008... APRIL 2-4 IIABA Conference The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America will host the Big "1" Legislative Conference and Convention, which includes workshops, a trade show and lobbying on Capitol Hill. The event will be...

Taking a stand: some carriers and reinsurers, mindful of the consequences of climate change to their own bottom lines, sign onto the Bali climate accords.(VIEWPOINT)(Company overview)
March 1, 2008... The majority of scientists believe that we are altering the earth's "carbon balance," launching mankind on a harmful collision course with nature. If this view is correct, climate change will be the defining risk management issue of our...