Risk & Insurance articles from September 2008

Risk & Insurance archives from September 2008

Our hands are tied.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2008... Dear Editor, You have touched a sensitive spot for us with pharmacy now accounting for 12 percent of all medical costs paid. (Risk & Insurance[R], Workers' Comp, April 1, 2008, Page 14.) Your premise that claim adjusters have the power...

Opportunities out West.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2008... I read with interest the articles regarding risk education ("Replenishing the Talent Pool," In-Depth Series, Risk & Insurance[R], May 2008, Page 22). While the list under the heading "Schools Get With the Program" includes a number of programs,...

Flooded with neglect.
September 1, 2008... Despite its faults, the National Flood Insurance Program is one of the U.S. government's most valuable insurance initiatives. It protects homeowners, condominium dwellers and small businesses from devastating loss. Given the number of people...

Linked in to risk management.(BILL ZACHRY)
September 1, 2008... Bill Zachry, vice president of risk management for Safeway Inc., is exceptionally well wired--especially for a high-ranking, 53-year-old corporate executive. Zachry, who never goes anywhere without his Blackberry, is a member of MySpace,...

Cautious optimism for comp.(IN-DEPTH SERIES)
September 1, 2008... Workers' compensation experts remain cautiously optimistic on the state of the market. Despite skyrocketing medical costs and other areas of concern, industry players say they don't foresee any major problems that threaten to shake up the...

Where Warren burrows.(CLAIMS)
September 1, 2008... Who says poking around a claims department can't be fun--for the auditor, of course. Welcome to the world of Janet E. Warren, who if she had her way, would feed on claims audits for breakfast, lunch and dinner. To read the rest of this...

Recession Schmecession.(CLAIMS)
September 1, 2008... Employers in a recent survey seemed to have it wrong when a majority of them said that the current recessionary forces in our economy will lead to no change in their workers' comp claims. An analysis of long-term claims data reveals that...

Climate change choices are coming.(UTILITIES)(Conference notes)
September 1, 2008... With the certain arrival of a new administration, cabinet and Congress in early 2009, the likely passage of legislation to cap carbon emissions in the United States will have implications for many, according to the speakers at a conference on...

Keeping their distance.(REINSURANCE)
September 1, 2008... Underwriters for primary carriers open up about why they they're happy to have their reinsurers as just partners, not their chief underwriters. To read the rest of this piece, please visit us on the Web at...

Quote of the month.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
September 1, 2008... "We try not to go in with both guns drawn, but instead work diplomatically to look at inconsistencies and try and figure them out."--NEIL JOHNSON, PREMIUM FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS UNIT, LIBERTY MUTUAL.

Mortgage insurers' vintage hangover: mortgage insurers are going to have to boost loss reserves as carriers deny claims based on fraudulent behavior, a new report finds.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Break out the Tylenol! Mortgage insurers are going to suffer one hell of a painful hangover from the excesses of the real estate boom as they find themselves forced to increase reserves to pay for claims,...

Cash for Sedgwick, PMSI: more industry moves coming, some experts say.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
September 1, 2008... Sedgwiek CMS, the Memphis, Tenn.-based U.S. claims administrator, pulled off something of a coup in June with the purchase by Minneapolis-based UnitedHealth Group of a portion of the largest investor's stake in the company for $54 million. ...

Twisted cities.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
September 1, 2008... A hazard mapping firm releases its top 10 cities at risk of tornadoes. 1. DENVER * 2. HOUSTON 3. MIAMI 4. HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA 5. TAMPA, FLORIDA 6. LINCOLN, FLORIDA 7. LAKELAND, FLORIDA 8. LITTLEROCK, ARKANSAS 9. CAPE...

Fighting the good fight: with increased competition among commercial carriers will come an increased emphasis on cost cutting and enterprise risk management.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
September 1, 2008... While the past couple of years have been profitable ones generally for the global commercial insurance industry, a continued softening of the property/casualty insurance market is going to create challenges for many companies, as wall as...

The deadly six: natural catastrophes have killed more people in the first six months of 2008 than were killed in each of the full years since 2004.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
September 1, 2008... An earthquake in Sichuan, a cyclone in Myanmar, wild tornadoes and flooding in the United States--the first six months of 2008 have proven to be among the deadliest and costliest when it comes to natural catastrophes, according to research from...

Quote of the month.(BROKERS: People, Ideas and Trends shaping the Brokerage Community)
September 1, 2008... "Underwrites have limited experience and knowledge on operational issues within the hedge fund industry."--REIKO NAHUM, CEO, AMBER PARTNERS

Hedging operational risk: if only you could turn back time! Investors in hedge funds now have protection against major meltdowns.(BROKERS: People, Ideas and Trends shaping the Brokerage Community)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After the metaphorical light bulb appeared above their heads, it took Integro's team two and a half years to develop the product they called Hedge Shield. Working closely with Amber Partners, an independent...

Willis Group Holdings.(BROKER MOVES)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JONATHAN PRINN was named managing director, strategic carrier relationships, at Willis Group Holdings. Prinn will be based out of the global broker's headquarters in London and will work on its Shaping Our Future...

Marsh.(BROKER MOVES)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Marsh has appointed GREG ARMS as global head of the firm's Employee Benefits Practice. Based in New York, Arms will be responsible for leading the firm's employee benefits business around the world. Most recently, he...

Allied North America: Katie Wright.(BROKER MOVES)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] KATIE WRIGHT was promoted to the position of vice president of the insurance department of the Georgia division of Allied North America, an independent insurance and surety brokerage firm that specializes in the...

Allied North America: Greg Crocker.(BROKER MOVES)
September 1, 2008... Allied North America also named GREG CROCKER regional claims manager out of its Georgia office. He will be responsible for supervising claims management services in the Southeast. For the last four years, he was claims supervisor for Allied.

TriSure.(BROKER MOVES)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TriSure, a Raleigh, N.C.-based independently owned insurance brokerage and consulting firm, hired BOB FADES as chief Client advocate. He will oversee the firm's property and casualty claims division. With 30 years...

Integro.(BROKER MOVES)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Integro has named GARY MOORE, a managing principal, to the additional role of marine practice leader. Moore, responsible for growing the firm's marine presence, will report directly to President Peter Garvey. He...

Aon.(BROKER MOVES)
September 1, 2008... PHIL TOMPSETT is the new national head for Aon 's public-sector risks team in the United Kingdom. Tompsett will be charged with supporting public-sector risk managers and, as part of the Aon European public-sector team, sharing his experience...

Strengthening a covenant.(WORKERS' COMP)
September 1, 2008... The share of the American workforce filled by foreign-born workers has increased from one in 10 in 1990 to one out of six in 2006. Immigrants thrive here as workers because labor shortages exist along a broad expanse of jobs. Close to half of...

Revising the Matthew gospel.(ROGER ON RISK)
September 1, 2008... The following biblical fragment was recently discovered in a vault deep beneath the Negev Desert. It is presented here for the first time. Scholars are divided as to its authenticity, but all agree that, if legitimate, it would be from the Book...

Contingency redux.
September 1, 2008... Four years ago, when Eliot Spitzer was a high-flying attorney general of the state of New York, he single-handedly pierced the disgraceful bubble of bid-rigging and double-dipping that had become par for the course for the Big Three...

Picking-off this risk manager.(RISK MANAGEMENT)
September 1, 2008... One of my favorite charles dickens books is Oliver Twist. We experience the wide-eyed innocence of an adorable little boy, orphaned and left to fend for himself. The ugly streets of turn-of-last-century England gobble him up and he is lured to...

The shadow knows no bounds.(THE LAW)
September 1, 2008... When the salmonella outbreak started in April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quickly focused on tomatoes as the probable culprit. While tomato growers cried foul (or just cried), the rest of the produce industry breathed a sigh...

Striking a health care partnership: challenges: risk managers looking to insure key personnel abroad need to look for health companies with worldwide scope.(PERSPECTIVE)
September 1, 2008... Giant multinationals aren't the only companies operating on the global stage today. An increasing number of companies of all sizes now find themselves doing business in more and more countries around the world, whether it be through suppliers,...

Working all sides of the aisle: Bill Zachry is hitting his stride as vice president of risk management at Safeway Inc. while also cranking up the pace of workers' comp reform for the entire state of California. Physicians, claimants and anyone else committing fraud or mischief, look out.(Cover story)
September 1, 2008... At 53, Bill Zachry, vice president of risk management for Safeway Inc., is in his prime. In California alone, notes an adviser who is close to Safeway, "Zachry has lopped off $100 million in costs just by basically camping out in Sacramento and...

Triaging claims for optimal outcomes: treating claims as active, breathing entities with their own characteristics, needs and timelines is the best way to insure the most efficient processing of them.(CLAIMS)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Similar to a triage nurse in an emergency room (ER), claims professionals must evaluate the severity of each claim that comes their way and quickly identify the appropriate next step. The better the diagnostic tools...

Cedant scrutiny: reinsurers face more scrutiny from cedants as the market softens and as enterprise risk management elevates the importance of reinsurance as a tool to adjust capital allocation models required by regulators.(REINSURANCE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Can we stop calling reinsurance reinsurance--please? There are many reasons to mistrust, even hate the word. It is inaccurate, it is vague. Worse yet, the word in its graphic simplicity is an insult to the insurance...

Felling the premium fraudsters: employers have discovered many ways to avoid paying their appropriate amount of workers' comp premiums but the public and private sectors are muscling up for the fight.(IN-DEPTH)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mention workers' compensation fraud and images of videographers lurking in the bushes to catch some schemer in the act of peeling off his neck brace for a game of tennis might spring to mind. That scenario outlines...

The Aon bond: for Michael D. O'Halleran, executive chairman of Aon Re Global, life at Aon began when Aon founder Pat Ryan ran into O'Halleran's brother on the football field in suburban Chicago.(SPECIAL REPORT: REINSURANCE)(Interview)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Michael D. O'Halleran once asked one of his mentors what an accounting and economics major should do with his life. "Look at business insurance," O'Halleran recalls the mentor saying. "It's not knocking on doors...

Lloyd's two-way traffic: as Lloyd's seeks to plant its flag in more locations worldwide, so new overseas buyers are coming to London for acquisitions.(SPECIAL REPORT: REINSURANCE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Oh, East is East and West is West, And never the twain shall meet," wrote poet Rudyard Kipling in the late 19th century as the British Empire reached its zenith. Modern day Britain has, perhaps unfairly, given the...

SCHIP: "Live" ordinance or dud? What does the SCHIP Extension Act claim reporting requirements have to do with the Medicare Secondary Payer Law? Directly, nothing--indirectly, everything.(HEALTH CARE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Introduced in 1981 as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA), the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) law was intended to preclude Medicare from making payments for conditions that were the responsibility of...

Power struggles: risk managers who lock in too much supply through long-term contracts could find themselves in trouble if commodity prices fall. Yet risk managers who can't find enough supply would force power plant owners to pay premium prices in the spot market.(INDUSTRY RISK REPORT: UTILITIES)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Consider the high wire act facing risk managers at power companies these days. Prices for natural gas and coal--the raw materials needed to fuel their power plants--are soaring and experts are unsure whether...

Industry risk report: utilities and energy.
September 1, 2008... INDUSTRY RISK REPORT UTILITIES AND ENERGY Thanks to increases in and the volatility surrounding petroleum an natural gas prices, risk managers working or energy producers are more likely to be keeping an eye on counterparties, credit...

Directory.(Directory)
September 1, 2008... DIRECTORY THIRD-PARTY ADMINISTRATORS Below are paid listings of third-party administrators (TPAs) according to the types of claims they handle: health care; disability; workers' comp; managed care automation; software automation;...

Upcoming events.(Calendar)
September 1, 2008... SEPTEMBER 6-9 CPCU Society The annual meeting of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Society features educational seminars focused on leadership and technical property and casualty insurance issues. This year's event...

Ratings houses: necessary, fair and accurate: for every stumble, ratings agencies rack up hundreds of accurate and reliable calls that benefit risk managers.(POINT)
September 1, 2008... By now the refrain's become almost a cliche: Ratings agencies are late on the call. Why is it that they too often downgrade companies after the news hits the front page or comes streaming across the business wires? The agencies are sorely...

Ratings houses: where the less than qualified reign: oft-heard complaints about ratings agencies are more than just the grumblings of regressive insurance companies.(COUNTERPOINT)
September 1, 2008... Take your pick on how you want to diss the dealers of ratings respectability. You could suggest similarities to the likes of Arthur Andersen, on the from the very same clients about which they're supposedly providing objective analysis. Or Boss...

New columnist focuses on innovation.
September 15, 2008... For the past few years we've been surveying readers on what they like about Risk & Insurance. Every year more readers respond to our online questionnaire. We take your suggestions seriously and try to offer what you want. For example, last year...

From B to A.(NEWS & NOTES)
September 15, 2008... Aon Corp.'s announced purchase of Benfield Group Ltd. for $1.75 billion yielded a mixed reaction from ratings agencies. In statements, the agencies mentioned Aon's strong balance sheet for funding the acquisition yet expressed concern about...

AIG stock crashes.(NEWS & NOTES)
September 15, 2008... On Aug. 25, American International Group Inc. watched its stock fall to its lowest point in New York trading since 1995. AIG slid $1.09, or 5.5 percent, to $18.78 in NYSE composite trading, following Credit Suisse Group's statement that...

CFO No. 3 for MMC.(NEWS & NOTES)
September 15, 2008... Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. named Vanessa A. Wittman as its new chief financial officer. She will assume the role in October from Matthew Bartley, who succeeded M. Michele Burns in September 2006, when Burns, who joined MMC in March 2006, was...

Workplace homicides up.(NEWS & NOTES)
September 15, 2008... The number of workplace homicides in the United States increased 13 percent in 2007, while the number of workplace fatalities fell. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, released in August,...

Wind scale introduced.(NEWS & NOTES)
September 15, 2008... Karen Clark & Company has introduced the KC Wind Damage Scale for assessing the likely insured wind damage to buildings, contents and business interruption caused by a tropical storm or hurricane. The scale ranges from KC O, for a storm...

Corrections.(NEWS & NOTES)(Correction notice)
September 15, 2008... A group photograph on page A-14 of the August issue of Risk & Insurance misidentified the order of the subjects. From left to right: Peter V. Jackson, senior vice president; John Threlfall, senior vice president; John Gentile, senior vice...

Terrorism experts: increased risk for insurance industry.(TERRORISM)
September 15, 2008... Here are three dates when you might want to take a vacation deep into the countryside, not fly anywhere or hide under your bed: Nov. 4 and Jan. 20. Another big date, Aug. 8, just passed. Morbid kidding aside, a terrorism expert said the next...

It's not TRIA time again yet ...(TERRORISM)
September 15, 2008... Access all of the important online resources and discussion about the latest version of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. And get a sense for what the future might hold on this government backstop. Can anyone say "permanency"? To read the...

Where in the world is insurance innovation?(RISK INNOVATORS)
September 15, 2008... Just how much "innovativeness" does the insurance and risk management industry have? Where does the industry fall on the "innovation spectrum" versus other financial services sectors? Versus industry in general? To read the rest of this...

Rating risk management link library.(RISK MANAGEMENT)
September 15, 2008... Standard & Poor's new policy of rating nonfinancial companies with risk management in mind is no small deal for ERM. It could be the impetus we've all been waiting for. Find out for yourself with our link library on ERM and ratings. To...

Standard and Poor's ERM initiative.(RISK MANAGEMENT)
September 15, 2008... S&P provided us this discussion about their Request for Comment paper. The period for comments might be over, but the information contained here is still valuable in getting a sense for what the ratings agency is thinking. To read the rest...

Risk 2.0.(RISK MANAGEMENT)
September 15, 2008... The sphere of materials available on risk management in Web 2.0 land is slim. But those that are out there--blogs, wikis, listservs--are valuable and worth looking at. To read the rest of this piece, please visit us on the Web at...

Quote of the month.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
September 15, 2008... "Since I started here at S&P in 1990, I have been known as someone who will do the crazy stuff and risk getting canned--and, for 18 years I have been able to avoid losing my jog."--STEVEN J. DREYER, STANDARD & POOR's

Mortgage lenders feel the wrath of a Federal Judge and Attorneys General: a District Court judge in Wisconsin grants class-action status to plaintiffs, and attorneys general file suit against Countrywide.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
September 15, 2008... It's a case that's got bankers and other mortgage lenders and brokers quivering in their collective wing tips because the exposures could run into the hundreds of millions, if not the billions, of dollars. A lawsuit filed in 2005 by a...

When to wield weapons of mass destruction: terrorists might not be any closer to acquiring CBRN weapons, but they sure would like to be.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
September 15, 2008... If you try to forecast the future of terrorism in the next seven years--as catastrophe modeler Risk Management Solutions Inc. does in its pieces in this issue--you might see that the likelihood that terrorists will carry out a plot to use...

Putting out home fires: employees want to work from home, but telecommuting increases a company's exposure to data theft.(UPFRONT)
September 15, 2008... Congratulations... you've just given birth to your third child and you've inked a new contract with your employer that will allow you to work from home. OK, so maybe your home computer isn't as robust as the company's desktop, which is...

ERM makes inroads with carriers: compared with four years ago, the number of carriers with enterprise risk management programs has gone up, but the percentages belie the strength of the support.(UPFRONT)
September 15, 2008... More than nine out of l0 insurance earners have implemented an enterprise risk management program, but the commitment to such programs isn't always as deep as it could or should be, according to a recent survey. Evidence of ERM programs is...

Viva local brokers: gaming Power Broker big on chances of small brokers and agents.(BROKERS: People, Ideas and Trends shaping the Brokerage Community)
September 15, 2008... A fortune won and lost on every deal All you need's a strong heart and a nerve of steel Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas Some of us can close our eyes and conjure these lyrics sung by Elvis. Those who know Allen...

Sweat income.(BROKERS: People, Ideas and Trends shaping the Brokerage Community)
September 15, 2008... Second quarter earnings from the largest commercial brokers reflect an environment where upper management is breaking a solid sweat, managing handsome revenue increases in most cases against the sharp impact of the dollar's weakness and...

Innovation for risk managers.(RISK INNOVATION)
September 15, 2008... As we muddle through the economic downturn, many senior corporate executives confront the issue of how to grow both the top and bottom lines. They face a growing number of hurdles to meeting stakeholder expectations. High-margin, cash cow...

A fishy deal.(WORKERS' COMP)
September 15, 2008... The rise in home heating costs in northern states this coming winter will drive some households over the financial brink. We are looking at a doubling of residential oil costs over a one or two-year period. What's this to do with workers'...

Dreading innovation.(ROGER ON RISK)
September 15, 2008... I must start by begging you not to kill Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and every other employee, past or present, of Microsoft. It would be wrong, it would be illegal, and besides, I'm going to do it. I will make it my life's work, because Microsoft...

Recruitment is the real issue.(BROKERAGE)
September 15, 2008... Industry journalists, myself included, spill a lot of ink on issues du jour like modernizing state regulation, enacting an optional federal charter, and fashioning a national catastrophe insurance program. But when all is said and done, the...

Buying time.(RISK MANAGEMENT)
September 15, 2008... To realize the value of one month: Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby. To realize the value of one week: Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper. To realize the value of one minute: Ask a person who has missed an important phone...

Arbitration revisited.(THE LAW)
September 15, 2008... Recently, I covered arbitration and the myths supporting its alleged superiority over court litigation. With an eye on commercial litigation, I suggested that a single judge sitting without a jury (each party waives a jury trial) was preferred...

2008 Risk Innovators: in a class of their own: what have innovators in risk management and insurance done for you lately? Plenty, as it turns out. They just do it quietly and with little fanfare. That makes them sometimes hard to spot, but the time has come to recognize their contributions.(Cover story)
September 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Summary * Innovators in risk management and insurance and the innovations that matter. * Innovators in risk management cut across all sectors, and classes of risk. * Leaders of the pack: Winners of the...

Bucking convention: a possible platform for an alternative energy underwriting strategy.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: CHEMICALS/ENERGY)
September 15, 2008... As a marine biologist, Mark Brown, vice president of Markel Corp.'s environmental division, often wondered if there was money to be made on marsh grass. Now as head of a large wholesaler's environmental operation, he does indeed make money on...

Pressing the business case for enterprise risk management: commodity price risk sparks software program for ERM in energy markets.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: CHEMICALS/ENERGY)
September 15, 2008... Rather than debate the merits of hedging versus insurance, Mike Giacobbe, a director in the Chicago offices of Aon Corp., has incorporated both of those as well as other risk management tools and techniques into an innovative enterprise risk...

Pushing for reciprocal standards: safety veteran looks for ways to better assess contractors working in one of the most risk-prone cities in America.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: CHEMICALS/ENERGY)
September 15, 2008... Texas City holds the dubious distinction of the being the only city in American history ever to be destroyed by an industrial disaster. On April 16, 1947, a chain reaction of explosions killed 500 people and injured more than 1,000. Most of the...

Story boarding success: comic strip bridges cultural gaps and helps workers understand the need for safety on the job.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE)
September 15, 2008... Working in the rapidly modernizing United Arab Emirates in the Middle East, Manuel "Mike" B. Perito Jr., risk engineer for the Oman Insurance Company, was faced with the challenge of instilling safety awareness and a risk management focus in...

The gamer: an ex-Air Force pilot uses a game to mimic commercial real estate risks.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE)
September 15, 2008... With a background in demolition, weapons and explosives gained through a career in the Air Force, Jeffery Bollman, a broker with Las Vegas Real Estate Professionals, brings a different perspective to risk management. The Las Vegas real estate...

Beyond Fred Flintstone: vulcan adapts a browser-based system for on-site claims reporting and cuts costs by 40 percent.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE)
September 15, 2008... Safety and workers' comp claims are a major concern for Vulcan Materials, a Birmingham, Alabama-based construction aggregates company. Many of the company's 8,000 employees work in stone quarries and sand and gravel plants with heavy machinery:...

Level on the level: one-stop shopping for an effective defense strategy in construction defect cases: beating the lawyers at their own game.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE)
September 15, 2008... Construction defect lawsuits are an unavoidable part of the building business. They are also a lucrative business for plaintiffs attorneys who have built up a lot of expertise and earned a lot of money in such cases. These cases can, however,...

The perfectionist: risk manager at smaller company employs technology even the bigger boys might not have.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: ENTERTAINMENT/GAMING)
September 15, 2008... Janette Ament-Pierce is vice president of risk management and development accounting for Noble House Hotels & Resorts, a smaller sized hospitality organization with 14 high-end properties in the United States. You might not be familiar with her...

Sealing the big deals: adjectives like "elite" and italicized emphasis still suit one of risk management's top personalities.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: ENTERTAINMENT/GAMING)
September 15, 2008... Lance J. Ewing, vice president, risk management, Harrah's Entertainment Inc., has already earned so much in his career. He's been risk manager of the year and president of RIMS, he has a scholarship named after him with the National Alliance,...

Crafting shoes to fill: risk manager shows company how it's done with a focus on safety, loss control and responsible risk transfer.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: ENTERTAINMENT/GAMING)
September 15, 2008... Few people do what Patti Vogelgesang does. And even fewer did his exact job before him. Make that zero. Vogelgesang came into his role as risk manager at H&S Ventures two years ago as the company's first ever. He's used the clean slate...

Building the towers of power: hotel risk manager wields rare property placement to lead company toward future.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: ENTERTAINMENT/GAMING)
September 15, 2008... David Little has perhaps had more time on his job than other Risk Innovators to make an impact on his company and his profession. He's been with Hilton Hotels Corp. for more than 19 years. Recently promoted to senior vice president of risk...

Feeding on risk creativity and dedication: the secret sauce for success: tying risk management into the corporate philosophy.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: ENTERTAINMENT/GAMING)
September 15, 2008... It says it all about a risk management program when the company CEO gets before a global audience on one of those cable financial shows and states, "We are focused on running the cleanest and safest restaurants in the business." Darden...

Beyond Saffir-Simpson: trading hurricane futures on the CHI-Town Mercantile Exchange.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS & SERVICES)
September 15, 2008... Steve Smith, president, property solutions, of Carvill America/ReAdvisory developed the Carvill Hurricane Index (CHI), the index used as the basis for trading hurricane futures and options on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)--an attempt to...

Swiss Re's Tom Skwarek clocks industry with a new idea: just-in-time capital: up to $500-million in new, regulatory capital can be triggered in the event of a major catastrophe.(RISK & INSURANCE[R] RISK INNOVATORS: FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS & SERVICES)
September 15, 2008... The highly innovative notion of CLOCS (Committed Long Term Capital Securities) grew out of Farmers Insurance Exchange rethinking its entire risk management strategy in the light of Hurricane Rita. "Rita came very close to hitting the sweet...