Business Insurance articles from April 2003

Business Insurance archives from April 2003

Supreme Court rules any willing provider law not pre-empted by ERISA; Health plans fear cost increase.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN WASHINGTON-Some observers fear that a unanimous Supreme Court decision upholding Kentucky's ``any willing provider'' laws will undercut the ability of employers to hold down health care costs. At issue in...

Equitas to pay $472 million for Honeywell asbestos claims.(News)(Equitas Ltd. and Honeywell International Inc.)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DOUGLAS MCLEOD MORRISTOWN, N.J.-Equitas Ltd. will pay $472 million to Honeywell International Inc. in a policy buyback, settling all of Honeywell's asbestos and other claims against Lloyd's of London syndicates reinsured by...

Guided by the love of a challenge and desire to serve; Amid career twists and turns, Roger Andrews discovers his calling in risk management.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL BRADFORD Like most other risk managers, Roger L. Andrews took the long and winding road to the profession. In a sense, the journey took him back to where it began. A native of Maine, Mr. Andrews began his college...

Spending grows on emerging risks; Chubb survey looks at loss control.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: JOANNE WOJCIK Despite the hard market and worldwide economic downturn, companies spent 17% more on loss control services during 2002 than they did the year before, a survey has found. Much of the increased spending was to...

Lloyd's of London returns to profit; 2002 marks end of loss trend.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: SARAH VEYSEY LONDON-Marking the reversal of a five-year trend, Lloyd's of London reported profitable results for its 2002 underwriting year. Lloyd's 2002 profits-u834 million ($1.34 billion) on an annual accounting basis-also...

Cleanup immunity sought; New York Mayor Bloomberg urges reform.(News)(Lawsuits arising from cleaning up after World Trade Center terrorist attacks )(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL PRINCE Lawsuits arising from cleaning up after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks could bankrupt New York City in the future, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg testified before a federal commission investigating the...

Insurers' assumptions on asbestos questioned; S&P suggests cedents relying too much on reinsurance.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DOUGLAS McLEOD Huge asbestos reserve increases by several insurers are only making a dent in the industry's overall reserving problem and raise the question of whether insurers are counting too heavily on reinsurance recoveries...

Verizon makes use of customized captive programs; Exchange Indemnity covers EPLI defense costs, laptop losses.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Verizon Communications Inc.)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS Verizon Communications Inc. uses captive insurance to cover more than anticipated losses or risks for which commercial insurance has disappeared or become exorbitantly expensive. One custom captive insurance...

Nominations sought for 2004.(Risk Manager of the Year)(2004 Risk Manager of the Year and Risk Management Honor Roll awards)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... It's never too early to begin preparing nomination forms for the 2004 Risk Manager of the Year and Risk Management Honor Roll awards. The competition is open to risk management professionals worldwide. Nominees need not handle risk...

Diocesan exposures make Chapin a man with a mission.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN A religious entity such as the Diocese of Rockville Centre presents a mix of exposures that resemble those faced by a for-profit corporation. But to resemble does not mean to mirror, and the diocese approach to risk...

Editorial: Award criteria still strong, relevant.(Opinions)(Editorial)
April 7, 2003... IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN 25 years since Business Insurance first introduced the Risk Manager of the Year award. In that time, there have been significant changes in the nature of risks facing managers, as well as in the tools at their disposal....

Retiree protections needed.(Opinions)(Bethlehem Steel will extend COBRA health care continuation coverage )(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... BETHLEHEM STEEL CORP. RETIREES, thanks to the efforts of the company, their union and a group of retired workers, are no longer facing an imminent health care coverage crisis. Such a crisis loomed when Bethlehem Steel, which is in...

Tennessee agrees to drop fees on RRGs; Harkavy's next targets: Colorado and Oklahoma.(News)(Risk retention groups)
April 7, 2003... Byline: JERRY GEISEL NASHVILLE, Tenn.-Risk retention groups that operate in Tennessee but are licensed in other states will no longer be required to pay a $515 annual filing that is imposed on other insurers, but the battle over similar...

Court upholds employer right to exclude workers from plan.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: JUDY GREENWALD PHILADELPHIA-An employer has the right to preclude any group of employees from its benefit plans, as long as its exclusion is not based on age or length of service, a federal appeals court has ruled. The March 25...

Covering bets on insurance league.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Paul Winston If your office is anything like mine, the month of March means one thing: March Madness. This year, not even the sober reality of the war in Iraq could dissuade the faithful from trying to divine the fortunes of...

Changes to FLSA unlikely to abate overtime lawsuits.(News)(Fair Labor Standards Act )
April 7, 2003... Byline: SALLY ROBERTS WASHINGTON-Employers should not expect any letup in the flurry of overtime lawsuits being filed against corporations, even if proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act are approved later this year, labor...

Aggressive strategy cuts litigation costs.(Risk Management Honor Roll)(E.D. Bullard Co.)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL BRADFORD As soon as he spotted the Federal Express envelope on the desk, Roger L. Andrews had a feeling that another asbestosis or silicosis case had been filed against E.D. Bullard Co. He was wrong. It was a lawsuit,...

Verizon departments cooperate to resolve old insurance claims.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Verizon Communications Inc. )
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS Resolving old insurance claims was a top priority for both the risk management department and legal staff following the long regulatory approval process for the merger that created Verizon Communications Inc. ...

Captive program put to unusual uses.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Risk management at Verizon Communications Inc. )
April 7, 2003... Byline: Dave Lenckus Risk management at the predecessor company to Verizon Communications Inc. used its already uncharacteristic owner-controlled insurance program in an even more unusual fashion during the Year 2000 computer crisis to...

Perspective: Having a diverse workforce lends competitive advantages.(Agent/Broker Topics)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Roderick Hudson Providing opportunities for people of all backgrounds in the workplace is not just the right thing to do-it's the smart thing to do to gain a competitive advantage in the insurance industry. Recent government...

Streamlined workers comp program yields savings; Law change gives risk manager flexibility.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: RODD ZOLKOS Until 2001, 143 North Dakota state agencies dealt separately with the state's monopolistic North Dakota Workers Compensation Bureau for coverage. Doing so not only affected the state's overall workers compensation...

Online education provider finds niche in insurance.(Agent/Broker Topics)(Neal Gersony)
April 7, 2003... With a doctorate in the management of technology and a university teaching background, it's only logical that Neal Gersony would end up developing an online continuing education company. Why he decided to target the insurance industry, however,...

Chapin credits education in helping career; Sharing knowledge also important to risk manager.(Risk Management Honor Roll)(William G. Chapin of Diocese of Rockville Centre)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN William G. Chapin is characteristically straightforward when asked how he got into risk management. ``There were no jobs'' in 1979 in government or environmental science for the newly minted holder of a master...

A delicate issue dealt with in a straightforward way; Using an educational program, the diocese addresses sexual misconduct.(Risk Management Honor Roll)(Diocese of Rockville Centre is target of allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of priests)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN The Diocese of Rockville Centre, like virtually every Roman Catholic diocese in the country, is a target of allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of priests. Many of the allegations stem from incidents...

Risk manual helps Bullard improve coverage.(Risk Management Honor Roll)(E.D. Bullard Co.)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL BRADFORD A long history of distributing and manufacturing products for high-hazard industries led to pressing product liability coverage problems for E.D. Bullard Co. in the early 1990s. In many cases, insurers simply...

Small sets the tone for Verizon's success.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Verizon Communications Inc's Sheila Small)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS A painting commissioned by the former Bell System telephone monopoly depicts a snowshoe-clad telephone lineman battling a powerful blizzard in March 1888 to maintain the only long distance line between New York and...

Products & Services; Booklet addresses employee dishonesty.(Briefs)(Zurich North America Financial Enterprises offers booklet with information to help prevent acts of employee dishonesty.)
April 7, 2003... BALTIMORE-Zurich North America Financial Enterprises is offering financial institutions a booklet with information to help prevent acts of employee dishonesty. The free 25-page booklet covers internal procedures that can be used to combat...

Verizon quickly restored service after terrorist attacks; $600 million paid on claims.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Verizon Communications Inc's Sheila Small )
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS In the frenzied hours and days after the human carnage and property devastation that terrorists unleashed on Sept. 11, 2001, telecommunications giant Verizon Communications Inc. raced the clock-for the nation's...

Third-party risks important part of captive programs.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Verizon Communications Inc's Sheila Small)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS Verizon Communications Inc. can take tax deductions on the premiums it pays its two captive insurance companies because of the amount of third-party risk the captives underwrite. Significant for Verizon, however,...

Founder of Middleton Group, newsletter author is dead.(Agent/Broker Topics)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Carol A. Hammes, the founder and president of The Middleton Group Inc. and the author of The Middleton Letter, died Feb. 22 in Littleton, Colo. She was 54. A respected agency consultant, Ms. Hammes specialized in agency valuations,...

Verizon traces lineage to phone's inventor; Mergers from Baby Bells created telecommunications giant.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Verizon Communications Inc.)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS Verizon Communications Inc. will mark its three-year anniversary in June, but the amalgamation of two large U.S. telephone companies and one worldwide telecommunications leader can trace its roots to the telephone...

Volunteer program helping build faith in risk management; Designated risk managers aid in loss control efforts.(Risk Management Honor Roll)(William G. Chapin assumed risk management responsibilities for Diocese of Rockville Centre in 1998)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN When William G. Chapin assumed risk management responsibilities for the Diocese of Rockville Centre in 1998, one of his first goals was to raise awareness of the importance of loss control. Implementing that...

Onsite training enables risk manager to telecommute.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL BRADFORD One of the most unusual features of Roger L. Andrews' job is the location of his office. From his desk, he can look down the hillside onto Provo, Utah, and Utah Lake in the distance. Lots of risk managers have...

ASX releases governance guidelines.(International)(Australian Stock Exchange)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Neil Hodge SYDNEY, Australia-The Australian Stock Exchange published wide-ranging corporate governance guidelines last week in an effort to increase investor confidence in publicly held companies. The ASX's effort to improve...

Got risk? If so, consult a risk pro.(Commentary)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Dave Lenckus When it recently recommended that citizens protect themselves against potential chemical attacks by fashioning protective cocoons of plastic sheeting and duct tape in interior rooms of their homes, the federal...

Lloyd's, reinsurers arbitrating disputed Central Fund claims.(International)(Lloyd's of London )
April 7, 2003... Byline: SARAH VEYSEY LONDON-Lloyd's of London is involved in a legal dispute with the six reinsurers of the market's Central Fund, which are withholding payment of certain claims made by Lloyd's. Nick Prettejohn, Lloyd's chief...

Cuba hosts industry seminar; Interest in risk mitigation increases amid foreign investment, tourism growth.(International)
April 7, 2003... Byline: ROBERTO CENICEROS HAVANA-While Cuba isn't known for rushing to adopt capitalist principles, insurance and risk management practices are spreading through the communist nation. This week, for example, a Havana-based holding...

Late News.(Expected hurricane activity, adjusters forming global network and other news is offered)
April 7, 2003... Hurricane team predicts above-average season The Atlantic and Gulf Coasts should experience above-average hurricane activity this year, according to Colorado State University's Tropical Meteorology Project. The hurricane prediction team,...

Personal lines program proves a multifaceted tool; Of benefit to employees and company alike.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Verizon Communications Inc's Sheila Small)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS Call it her baby. Call it her legacy. That is how Sheila Small thinks of the unusual personal lines insurance program that she created as a voluntary benefit for employees and retirees at Verizon Communications...

Diocese of Rockville Centre covers wide area, diverse risks.(Risk Management Honor Roll)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Mark A. Hofmann The Diocese of Rockville Centre may not be one of the oldest Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States, but it's certainly one of the largest. In fact, the Rockville Centre, N.Y.-based diocese ranks sixth in...

EPLI policy pays off for Verizon; Initial purchase unpopular.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Employment practices liability insurance for Verizon Communications Inc.; Sheila Small)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS Sheila Small was among the first risk managers to purchase employment practices liability insurance-a decision that initially was unpopular among her company's legal staff. That changed a few years later, though,...

Verizon surety bond management yields savings.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Verizon Communications Inc.'s Sheila Small)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS The 2000 merger that created Verizon Communications Inc. also produced one of the nation's largest users of surety bonds-just ahead of a dramatic market contraction that challenged risk management to continue providing...

Changes to liability program save millions at renewal; Unbundling claims services among key moves.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Verizon Communications Inc.)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS Unbundling claims services from Verizon Communications Inc.'s complex liability insurance program and assuming higher deductibles saved the company millions of dollars last year. Just as importantly, separating...

Use of captive for terror risks puts Verizon in the vanguard.(Risk Manager of the Year)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS Led by its risk management department, Verizon Communications Inc. was among the first captive insurance company owners to investigate how it could use its facility to obtain affordable terrorism coverage. The use...

Other companies see value in model; Verizon develops program to calculate replacement values on old properties.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS When purchasing property insurance, how does a company with a large portfolio of facilities constructed during the early 20th century make sure that it is covered for today's replacement values? It is not easy. ...

Panel of nine independent judges selected 2003 Risk Manager of the Year, Honor Roll.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Nine independent judges from all sectors of the risk management and insurance profession selected the 2003 Risk Manager of the Year and Risk Management Honor Roll. The 2003 Risk Manager of the Year is the 26th person to receive this honor....

Judges use10 principal criteria in picking honorees.(Risk Management Honor Roll)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Ten criteria are used to score the nominations for the annual Risk Manager of the Year award and Risk Management Honor Roll. The panel of nine independent judges scores each nominated candidate on a scale of one to 10, according to how well...

Risk Managers of the Year.(Risk Manager of the Year)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2002 Daniel H. Kugler Snap-on Incorporated 2001 Dan Hartman State of Oregon 2000 Paul F. Buckley Lucent Technologies Inc. 1999 Merritt W. Fabel American International Group Inc. 1998 ...

Risk Management Honor Roll members.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... 2002 Lauren M. Gregory Metropolitan Transportation Authority 2001 Gary Baxter Weyerhaeuser Co. Peggy Nakamura Adventist Health System/West 2000 Theodore G. Jeske Historic Tours of America Inc. ...

Small wins 'award to which every risk manager aspires'; Says award belongs to team members.(Risk Manager of the Year)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS Attendees at the Risk Manager of the Year Award luncheon for Sheila Small came away with a glimpse of a typical workday for the risk manager, her career path and her reaction to the day that shook America and inflicted...

Soft job market broadens talent pool; Grads show interest in industry.(Agent/Broker Topics)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MEG FLETCHER The uncertain economy is making campus recruiting a good way for insurance brokers and insurers to find candidates for full-time jobs and internships. ``The job market is very soft right now. It's a buyer's...

Education, work ethic aid Small's drive to the top; Risk management a 'midlife career change'.(Risk Manager of the Year)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAVE LENCKUS Sheila Small's route to the head risk management office at Verizon Communications Inc.'s Manhattan headquarters stretches from a New Jersey chicken farm and winds along a road dotted with phone utility manholes. ...

For continuing education classes, in-house sessions stand out; Onsite programs offer more control, candor.(Agent/Broker Topics)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL PRINCE When Aon Corp.'s Paul Angeli walked into a conference room at his office in New York, he saw only familiar faces. Perhaps more importantly, he did not see any brokers from rival firms at the continuing education...

Funds help cover North Dakota agencies' varied risks.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: RODD ZOLKOS Created as part of the state's response to the liability exposures after losing sovereign immunity, the North Dakota Risk Management Fund is the primary vehicle for paying liability claims against the state. ...

Zschomler coordinates plans to ensure continuity.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: RODD ZOLKOS Though the North Dakota Risk Management Division has been encouraging state agencies to develop contingency plans for some time, the effort has become more formalized in recent months with the development of a state...

Teamwork helps risk manager's staff tackle workload.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: RODD ZOLKOS Managing the State of North Dakota's diverse risks with a five-person office, the close-knit nature of Johanna M. Zschomler's staff in the state's Risk Management Division is a definite plus. The task facing Ms....

Experience aids state's first risk manager.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: RODD ZOLKOS When Johanna M. Zschomler came to Bismarck as the State of North Dakota's first risk manager in 1995, she was already on familiar footing. Not only had she and her husband lived in Bismarck for 12 years while their...

Personal and professional paths led to Bismarck.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: RODD ZOLKOS It might not have been the most direct path that brought Johanna M. Zschomler to her current position as North Dakota's director of risk management, but it seems as if it had been mapped by fate. Ms. Zschomler began...

Facility not exactly a run-of-the-mill insurance risk; State owns, covers flour mill.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: RODD ZOLKOS It's not rare for a state government to have some unusual and diverse risks among the exposures it must address, but North Dakota is the only state that owns a flour mill. ``North Dakota has some special exposures....

Chapin spreading the risk management word.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN There's always room for improvement, as far as William G. Chapin is concerned. Whether it is the managing of risk for the Diocese of Rockville Centre-the sixth-largest Roman Catholic diocese in the nation-or...

Position has varied responsibilities; Duties include safety, benefits.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL BRADFORD From protecting E.D. Bullard Co.'s employees to shopping the company's benefit programs, Roger L. Andrews has broad responsibilities. At a company where the biggest risk is the product liability exposure, his...

Andrews rises to risk management challenges.(Risk Management Honor Roll)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL BRADFORD Roger L. Andrews found something he loved in a company mired in the rising costs of litigation and insurance-a challenge. When he went to work at E.D. Bullard Co. in the summer of 1991, Mr. Andrews found the...

Policy changes spark worries; Fire-following coverage threatened.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MEG FLETCHER Risk managers in several states who have retained coverage for some terrorism exposures thanks to statutory provisions in traditional fire policies could soon see that coverage eroded. An insurer-driven lobbying...

RSA launches IPO of Promina.
April 7, 2003... Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Group P.L.C. has filed details of an initial public offering of shares in Promina Group Ltd., its multiline insurance operations serving Australia and New Zealand. The IPO is part of RSA's restructuring program...

Errors & omissions.(Corrections)(Correction Notice)
April 14, 2003... * An April 7 item in the Late News column did not provide the correct full name of a new international claims adjusting network. The correct name of the company is vrs UNI-VERSE Adjusters Network L.L.C.

Ronald W. Stasch wins Goodell award; RIMS presents annual honors.(Spotlight)(Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. )
April 14, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL BRADFORD CHICAGO-Ronald W. Stasch, director of risk management services at Federal-Mogul Corp., has been awarded the 2003 Harry and Dorothy Goodell Award, the highest honor presented by the Risk & Insurance Management...

BI adds a reporter in London.(News)(Business Insurance, Neil Hodge appointment)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... LONDON-Business Insurance has added to its editorial staff in London. Neil Hodge has joined the magazine as an associate editor in the London office, where he will work with London Bureau Chief Sarah Veysey and report on U.K. and European...

Greenberg tackles tort reform; AIG, U.S. Chamber to run ads rating state tort systems.(News)(Maurice R. Greenberg, American International Group Inc.)
April 14, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL BRADFORD CHICAGO-American International Group Inc. is using advertising as its latest weapon in its fight for tort reform. Maurice R. Greenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of New York-based AIG, said during a...

RIMS' core competencies stressed.(Spotlight)
April 14, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL BRADFORD CHICAGO-It will take leadership and integrity for the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. to reach the goals set by the group's new president, he says. Lance J. Ewing told attendees at the 41st RIMS Annual...

RIMS attendees favor comprehensive tort reform.(Spotlight)(Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc., Annual Conference and Exhibition. )
April 14, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL PRINCE CHICAGO-Comprehensive tort reform is needed at both the state and federal level, according to many attendees at the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc.'s Annual Conference and Exhibition. The tort reform...

Hikes slowing in most lines; RIMS issues preliminary benchmark survey data.
April 14, 2003... Byline: ROBERTO CENICEROS Rate increases appear to be moderating across most lines, though prices are still rising at a fierce clip for directors and officers liability coverage, according to a survey of 600 risk managers. D&O premiums...

Captives gaining attention as risk managers seek options; Interest rising in funding larger retentions, new risks.(Spotlight)
April 14, 2003... Byline: RODD ZOLKOS and SARAH VEYSEY CHICAGO-Captive insurance companies were a hot topic of conversation at the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc.'s annual conference last week in Chicago, with considerable discussion both of new...

Judge cuts cruise line claim.(International)
April 14, 2003... Byline: CAROLYN ALDRED LONDON-Luxury cruise operator Silversea Cruises Ltd. is entitled to only $5 million in coverage of the more than $47 million it claimed for reduced bookings and cancelled cruises following the Sept. 11, 2001,...

Receivership spurs conflict; Tennessee, Virginia regulators in turf battle.
April 14, 2003... Byline: DOUGLAS McLEOD RICHMOND, Va.-The collapse of a Virginia malpractice insurer and three related risk retention groups has sparked a regulatory turf war and a barrage of policyholder lawsuits against the Virginia company's reinsurer,...

Comings & Goings: Industry.(insurance industry appointments and promotions)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Reinsurance: Switzerland-based Zurich Financial Services Group has named Thomas Hurlimann global head of group reinsurance, responsible for the global management, development and implementation of Zurich Reinsurance's policy and strategy....

State lawmakers at odds over med mal reform; Florida governor threatens special session if impasse continues.
April 14, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL BRADFORD Florida's medical malpractice battlefield is rapidly taking shape. The Florida Senate and House of Representatives have dug in with opposing bills aimed at solving a crisis that has seen premiums rise...

Plans hold promise of cost control.
April 14, 2003... Are consumer-driven health care plans helping employers to control health care costs? While we don't think the answer to that question will be fully known for years, some early results are encouraging. One study of more than 800...

Mixed insurers at a disadvantage; A new U.K. insolvency law may soon steer cedents to pure reinsurers.
April 14, 2003... Byline: NEIL HODGE LONDON-A European Union directive designed to protect policyholders could put at a disadvantage U.K. insurers that also write reinsurance. The European Union's Insurers' Reorganization and Winding Up Directive, which...

SARS fears spreading; Warnings prompt event cancellations, policy exclusions.
April 14, 2003... Byline: CAROLYN ALDRED The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, is prompting contingency underwriters to impose exclusions and employers to adopt precautions. The pneumonia-type virus broke out in China and Hong Kong...

Employers put at risk by employee use of illegal music files.
April 14, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL PRINCE For employers that ignore their employees' Internet habits, it may be time to face the music. Numerous companies face potential liability-which could amount to many millions of dollars-because their employees are...

Punitives ruling clarifies standard.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN WASHINGTON-Businesses are hailing as a potential legal landmark last week's Supreme Court decision reaffirming that a punitive damages award could be so disproportionate to the underlying compensatory damage award...

Hard market elevates profile of risk managers.(Spotlight)
April 14, 2003... Byline: JOANNE WOJCIK CHICAGO-Many risk managers remain frustrated by the hard market, particularly by the additional information being sought by underwriters, last-minute changes in coverage terms and conditions at renewal, and the lack...

Late News.
April 14, 2003... Texas hail claims put at $450 million A series of hailstorms that struck the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area earlier this month caused an estimated $450 million in insured damages, according to a regional insurer group. Baseball-size...

Editorial: Fair punitive damage limits set.(Opinions)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 14, 2003... The U.S. Supreme Court erected a guidepost on the way to a more-equitable civil justice system nearly seven years ago, when it ruled in BMW of North America vs. Gore that some punitive damages awards could be so disproportionate to underlying...