Risk & Insurance articles from May 2005

Risk & Insurance archives from May 2005

An open letter to "The Governator".
May 1, 2005... Dear Arnold: You've made a fortune running roughshod over cyborgs in front of the movie cameras. Now, why don't you put your muscle (political, of course) to good use and take a further whack at the State Compensation Fund of California?...

Editor's column.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... Dear Editor: I'm writing in response to the editor's column (Risk & Insurance[R], February 2005, page 6). First, the prejudicial title of your editorial "Stinking Funds" is indicative of either shallow journalism or bias or both....

Cover story.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... Dear Editor: There is one glaring mistake in the caption to the governor's picture in on the first page of the article titled "Walking the Plank," (Risk & Insurance[R], March 2005, page 17). The caption states, in so many words, that...

Sullivan succeeds Greenberg.(NEWS & NOTES)
May 1, 2005... Martin J. Sullivan has been elected as the new CEO of American International Group Inc., the company has announced. He succeeds former CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, 79. Greenberg will serve in the capacity of non-executive chairman. Sullivan,...

Limits placed on medical charges.(NEWS & NOTES)
May 1, 2005... The Supreme Court of Michigan has ruled that the state's No-Fault Insurance Act forbids health care providers from charging unreasonable fees. The state Supreme Court also left it up to lower courts to determine what is reasonable when a...

Countersignature statute falls.(NEWS & NOTES)
May 1, 2005... A U.S. District court in March struck down Puerto Rico's statute that prohibits nonresident insurance brokers from doing business on the Island without the countersignature of a resident agent. The ruling is a victory for The Council of...

Fleet safety bill preserved.(NEWS & NOTES)
May 1, 2005... In March, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected amendments to the Transportation Equity Act. The first amendment--known as the "Wal-Mart Amendment" because the chain was supporting the change--would have extended the maximum workday to 16...

Operational risk is top concern.(NEWS & NOTES)
May 1, 2005... The majority of securitization professionals cited operational risk as a leading concern in structured finance transactions, trailing only traditional credit risk as the overriding factor potentially affecting a deal's health, according to a...

Appeals court upholds anti-fraud rules: 'doc-in-a-box' clinics get clocked. decision seen as a victory for insurers.(UP FRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
May 1, 2005... In a decision considered a victory for New York's anti-fraud regulations, bogus incorporated medical practices are not entitled to reimbursement under a no-fault policy assigned to a patient, a New York appeals court has ruled. In the...

Door opens wider for age-related litigation: nation's highest court says employers can be held liable for unintended age discrimination.(UP FRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
May 1, 2005... Employees are no longer required to provide proof of intent to discriminate in order to win a suit alleging age bias, according to a Supreme Court ruling in late March. The 5-to-3 decision held that employees over 40 need only show that a...

Asset of financial services sectors in 1998 and 2003, ranked by industry.(UP FRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
May 1, 2005... Asset of Financial Services Sectors In 1998 And 2003, Ranked by Industry 1998 2003 Banking 27% 26% Securities 20% 15%...

A tarnished giant spoils an industry party: despite stumbles, one analyst sees AIG making few concessions on pricing. Another suggests slower growth ahead as regulators limit companies' potential for profitability.(UP FRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
May 1, 2005... As regulators continue to shake skeletons out of American International Group Inc.'s closet and shareholders and customers hold their breath, analysts say the long-term implications are bound to affect the entire insurance industry. Little...

Boston's 'Big Dig' project: plugging one leak as another may yet open: project to end this year, but legal battles may still lie ahead.(UP FRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
May 1, 2005... It's 2005 and contractors and officials involved in Boston's 'Big Dig' should be celebrating the end of one of the most complex and expensive civil works projects in U.S. history. Instead they are grappling with leaks plaguing the...

Worth repeating.(UP FRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
May 1, 2005... "It is the ability to address risks across silos that outs the "E" in ERM, or enterprise risk management." --Beaumont Vance, risk manager, Sun Microsystems "If someone has a spinal cord injury but has use of their hands for even two or...

A challenge for RIMS.(WORKERS' COMP)
May 1, 2005... In ease you hadn't noticed, a great shift in work-related impairment is under way. Career-ending work disability is an increasingly obsolete concept. But careers accompanied by any health risk, ironically, have become increasingly common. ...

My brush with global royalty.(ALTERNATIVE RISK)
May 1, 2005... The news of Maurice "Hank" Greenberg's resignation probably floored most AIG-watchers, who would have expected him to manage AIG forever. I met the man twice, and if this were Readers' Digest, this article would be appearing in the series on...

Crime coverage "exclusive".(RISK PRIMER)
May 1, 2005... The next time you consider an alternate crime insurance proposal, take a closer look to see if the coverage is warranted. Looking at coverage forms from different insurers, you will find drastically different terms and conditions, some of which...

Pushing a poisoned elixir.(BENEFITS)
May 1, 2005... Security and risk are usually considered to be mutually exclusive, but the Bush Administration's two latest retirement policy proposals are built on the idea of injecting more risk to create greater security over the long term. Both...

Steering the enterprise.(RISK MANAGEMENT)
May 1, 2005... Initiation into enterprise risk management often involves two unpleasant experiences. The first requires reading a staggering number of articles and books. Most of these make the same arguments: the silo approach does not work; risk needs to be...

Securing the holy see: cardinals, bishops and priests, with the help of civilian and military authorities, pull off the largest crowd-control act in the history of Vatican City, assuring the safety of millions of pilgrims and the peaceful succession of John Paul II.(Cover Story)
May 1, 2005... Hours before Pope John Paul II's funeral and burial in early April in the grottoes beneath St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City had already become a risk manager's version of Dante's Inferno. Pilgrims poured into Vatican City, rapidly...

Employers seeing the link between healthy employees and a healthy bottom line.(Advertisement)
May 1, 2005... It's a realization that's sweeping across America, from national corporate headquarters to local family-owned businesses. The health plans that bring the most value are the ones that do what they're supposed to do. Namely, help keep employees...

Making a case: like every other program within a corporation, absence management programs need to fight for their own survival. Selling senior executives on their importance will likely require both quantitative and qualitative approaches, according to proponents of such programs.(BENEFITS)
May 1, 2005... For Mark Briskie, a disability management specialist for UCLA Healthcare, two types of phone calls are music to his ears. The first is when the voice at the other end of the line, typically an employee who has been ill or injured due to...

Truckers on terror watch: truck drivers are the new eyes and ears of the nation's early warning system against terrorists. Whether on the road or at fuel stations and rest areas, drivers are trained to report trucks hauling hazardous waste without the proper marking or permits, unusual chatter on CBs and phony traffic accidents.(PROPERTY/CASUALTY)
May 1, 2005... Since Sept. 11, 2001, the trucking industry has assumed an increasingly critical role in both government and business security strategies to confront the threat of a terrorist strike. Recognizing that practically every product that is...

A painful concession: with carriers reluctant to replace legacy systems, the data standards industry is gearing up to make life easier for brokers.(TECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2005... These days, the term "data standards" has become more mantra than reality in the insurance industry. Despite the efforts of organizations like the Association for Cooperative Research and Development, which has been toiling in the...

Healing the wounded: catastrophic injuries--such as the ones that befell BP refinery workers in March when 15 people were killed and more than 100 were injured--affect workers and managers, who suffer from physical and emotional scars. Only thorough planning can best prepare employers for the unthinkable.(SPECIAL REPORT: DISABILITY MANAGEGMENT)
May 1, 2005... At 1:20 p.m. on March 23, a massive explosion ripped through the isomerization unit of a BP refinery in Texas City, Texas, killing 15 workers, injuring more than 100 people and sending shock waves powerful enough to rattle windows in buildings...

Making mental connections: behavioral health issues are often overlooked in disability claims, yet they can have a big impact on return-to-work rates. Early diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues are now recognized as critical steps in managing disability.(SPECIAL REPORT: DISABILITY MANAGEMENT)
May 1, 2005... Imagine you've had a sudden, serious heart attack. You' re unable to work, you have unending financial obligations, are just about to send your first child to college, and you're seriously concerned about making ends meet. All too often,...

Plaintiff, start your engines! U.S. automakers believe it is better to do battle with the pirates of intellectual property and cope with all the other risks involved in an emerging market like China to win a share of an important new growth market.(INDUSTRY RISK REPORT: AUTO MANUFACTURING)
May 1, 2005... If you think it's just handbags and DVDs, think again. Chinese pirates these days are thinking big--really big. The Chinese-built Chery QQ mini car, for instance, looks so much like GM's Chevrolet Spark that GM filed suit against China's...

Industry risk report auto manufacturing.
May 1, 2005... INDUSTRY RISK REPORT AUTO MANUFACTURING There's more to making a car than conveyor belts and assembly lines, just ask people like Ford Motor Company's Laurie Champion. Find out what risk managers in the auto manufacturing industry are...

Beecher Carlson Holdings Inc.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
May 1, 2005... KIM WYLES has been named vice president of the Los Angeles office of Beecher Carlson Holdings Inc. Wyles' main responsibilities will be to manage risk management accounts and help with the growth of the L.A. office. With 20 years experience in...

Beecher Carlson.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
May 1, 2005... NOREEN GRAHAM will also be joining the staff of Beecher Carlson's Los Angeles office, as managing director. Graham's primary responsibilities will be production and retention of risk management accounts as well as growing the office through...

The company has also announced that Robert J. Bothwell, a former principal at William Gallagher Associates.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
May 1, 2005... The company has also announced that ROBERT J. BOTHWELL, a former principal at William Gallagher Associates, will lead its new Boston office as managing director in addition to heading the company's National Energy Practice. Bothwell brings more...

Bothwell.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
May 1, 2005... Joining Bothwell as senior vice president is BRENNA C. MELVIN. Melvin held a previous position as marketing director for William Gallagher's power generation business handling all risk management and service issues for large energy accounts....

In addition, Geraldine Kerrigan will also join the staff as vice president.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
May 1, 2005... In addition, GERALDINE KERRIGAN will also join the staff as vice president. A former senior client coordinator at William Gallagher Associates in its energy and environmental practice, she also provided customer support and served as mentor...

ACE Casualty Risk.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
May 1, 2005... DAVID J. BROSNAN has been appointed to the post of president, ACE Casualty Risk. Based in Philadelphia, Brosnan will lead the Casualty Risk operations of ACE USA. ACE Casualty Risk specializes in lead umbrella and excess liability, custom...

The International Underwriting Association.(EXECUTIVE MOVES)
May 1, 2005... The International Underwriting Association has appointed DAVE MATCHAM as its new chief executive. Previously director of operations at the association, Matcham began his insurance career in 1980 with the Institute of London Underwriters and was...

Upcoming events.(Calendar)
May 1, 2005... JUNE 5-8 IASA Annual Education Conference and Business Show The Insurance Accounting and Systems Association, Inc.'s annual educational forum will be held in Anaheim. Ca. The theme of this year's conference is "Make a Difference."...