Business Insurance articles from October 2005

Business Insurance archives from October 2005

IBM, ACORD push process standards framework.(Tech Focus)(Assn. for Cooperative Operations Research & Development)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... IBM Corp. is contributing more than 100 business process models from its Insurance Application Architecture to the Assn. for Cooperative Operations Research & Development, a move ACORD says will accelerate the development and adoption of...

TCM suite links Farmers employees nationwide.(Tech Focus)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The Los Angeles-based Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. has implemented Mobius Management System Inc.'s ViewDirect TCM total content management system to facilitate delivery of information to employees and agents around the country. ...

The Quote.(Industry News)
October 1, 2005... 'The important thing is to get the money into the hands of policyholders as quickly as possible. We feel strongly about the need to be responsive. The proof of any insurance policy is your ability to respond in times of need.' Julian James...

Letters to the editor.(Industry News)
October 1, 2005... Industry Focus welcomes letters to the editor offering readers' opinions and comments. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity or space. We will not publish unsigned letters. Please send your letters to: Letters to the Editor ...

Pool Re's terror cover is effective: Moody's.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... LONDON-The coverage provided by Pool Reinsurance Co. Ltd. would be "highly effective'' in protecting the finances of participating insurers against losses from a major U.K. terrorism event or series of events, according to Moody's Investors...

Shelter In a Sea of Risks; Katrina will reverse softening in the reinsurance market.(Cover Focus: Reinsurance Strategies)
October 1, 2005... Byline: Regis Coccia and Gavin Souter MONTE CARLO, Monaco-Hurricane Katrina's impact on the global insurance market was the main topic of conversation last month at the annual Rendez-Vous de Septembre reinsurance gathering in Monte Carlo....

No longer a `gentlemen's club'; Reinsurers and cedents prepare for litigation after hurricanes.(Cover Focus: Reinsurance Strategies)(Column)
October 1, 2005... Byline: Regis Coccia MONTE CARLO, Monaco-As ceding companies and their reinsurers come to grips with claims from Hurricane Katrina and other events, attorneys warn that disputes related to the loss are likely to arise from reinsurance...

Big I names top-performing independent agencies.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America and Atlanta-based management consulting firm Reagan Consulting Inc. have cited seven firms for recognition as "Top Performing Agencies'' as part of their 2005 Best Practices...

Companies look at offshoring higher-value services.(survey)
October 1, 2005... Byline: Regis Coccia As offshoring certain job functions becomes more common, financial services companies are looking closely at the advantages of moving back-office operations outside their home countries, a survey suggests. ...

Humana expands access to Broker BUDdy.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... LOUISVILLE, Ky.-Humana Inc. has unveiled a new Web-based resource known as the Benefit Utilization Director aimed at providing health insurance brokers real-time utilization data and strategic tools to help small businesses get the most from...

ISO's handbook of state insurance law is now available online.(Insurance Services Office Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... JERSEY CITY, N.J.-The Insurance Services Office Inc.'s guide to state insurance laws and regulations, the State Filing Handbook, is now available in a Web-based format, making it easier for insurers to get access to the information. The...

Parker Group renames its TPA American Administrative Group.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... LUBBOCK, Texas-The Parker Group, a health care and benefits management holding company, has chosen the name American Administrative Group for its third party administration division. The division includes ICON Benefit Administrators of...

Insurers more likely to file arbitration online.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... TAMPA, Fla.-A growing number of insurance companies and self-insured businesses are filing arbitration online in order to speed the process and improve data quality in the dispute resolution process, according to Arbitration Forums Inc. ...

Integro opens office in Montreal; New broker expects expansion into other cities.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... MONTREAL-Integro (Canada) Ltd. has opened a Montreal office, headed by Robert Dunn, who most recently was executive vp and head of office at Willis Canada, a unit of Willis Group Holdings Ltd. Mr. Dunn will be responsible for directing...

Willis, Gras Savoye join forces in new reinsurance brokerage.(Willis Group Holdings Ltd)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... PARIS-Broker Willis Group Holdings Ltd. and French-based broker Gras Savoye S.A. have joined their respective French and Belgian reinsurance businesses in a new Paris-based company, Willis Gras Savoye Re. Gras Savoye and Willis have been...

Three Questions.(Interview)
October 1, 2005... Matthias Weber is senior vice president and chief property underwriter of US/Direct, a Business Unit of the Americas division of Swiss Reinsurance Co., and is based in the company's Armonk, N.Y. offices. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he...

Insurer, government cooperation likely after Katrina.(Gatherings)
October 1, 2005... Byline: Rodd Zolkos NEW YORK-The insurance industry likely will feel the effects of Hurricane Katrina for some time to come, according to a panel of insurance industry chief executives, and some of those effects could go beyond the...

Insurance companies increase amount of assets turned over to third-party investment managers.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Insurance companies continue to increase the volume of their assets allocated to third-party investment firms, a new survey shows. The survey, published in September by news and information service Insurance Asset Manager, showed the volume...

Successful agencies selling more than just policies.
October 1, 2005... Byline: Rodd Zolkos NEW YORK-Though their conclusions might ultimately vary, agencies that take time to consider what it is they're really selling-and who's selling it-are most likely to succeed in enhancing their sales and marketing...

Report tracks weather losses.
October 1, 2005... BOSTON-A new report documents the increase in insured and uninsured weather-related losses in the United States and how climate change may increase those losses in coming years. The report suggests that insured losses from catastrophic...

Reinsurance reports available.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... NEW YORK-Three recent reports from Standard & Poor's Corp. paint varying pictures of reinsurance market conditions in different regions of the world. In Latin America, competition among reinsurers has increased largely because of the...

Clear commissions standards will build customer confidence.(Last Word)(Column)
October 1, 2005... Byline: Doug Cox Contingent commissions are still at the center of industry and regulatory debate. What was once a widely accepted practice has been determined to be in need of thoroughgoing reform. Insurers, brokers, consultants and...

Serota joins digital health information group.(Scott P. Serota)
October 1, 2005... CHICAGO-Scott P. Serota, president and chief executive officer of the Chicago-based Blue Cross & Blue Shield Assn., has been named a commissioner of the American Health Information Community, a group formed by the U.S. Department of Health and...

HRC gives Chubb perfect score; Insurer rated for gender identity practices.(Human Rights Campaign Foundation )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... WARREN, N.J.-For the third consecutive year, Warren, N.J.-based Chubb Corp. has received a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation on the HRC's annual report card of American corporations' treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and...

Industry looking outside for help to push lagging IT.(Tech Focus)
October 1, 2005... Byline: Rodd Zolkos After years of seeing their technology investments trail those of other company sectors in the financial services arena-and sometimes seeing the investments they did make failing to fall in line with their broader...

On the Move.(appointments)
October 1, 2005... New York-based Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. has named Brian M. Storms chairman and chief executive officer of brokerage unit Marsh Inc. Mr. Storms, who most recently was president and CEO of Mercer Human Resource Consulting, succeeds Michael G....

Falling between the cracks; Gaps in the system are making it hard for insurers to track reinsurance money.(Cover Focus: Reinsurance Strategies)
October 1, 2005... Byline: Rupal Parekh Insurers planning to invest in reinsurance processing technology should do so only if they plan to invest accordingly in adequately staffing, and training the users of those systems. While moving from manual ceded...

A slight brush with Rita.(First Word)(Column)
October 1, 2005... Byline: Rodd Zolkos I've lived all my life in the Midwest, and growing up I had more than one close encounter with a tornado, though I'm fortunate that none ever had a direct impact on the home we were living in or on any immediate family....

Managed care companies seek help, advice from reinsurers.(Cover Focus: Reinsurance Strategies)(Column)
October 1, 2005... Byline: Roseanne White Geisel A rapidly changing market for managed care companies is altering the relationship between medical reinsurers, reinsurance brokers and their clients. As managed care companies deal with opportunities such...

How to submit a Perspective article to BI.(News)
October 3, 2005... Business Insurance accepts articles from experts in commercial insurance, risk management and employee benefits management for publication in its Perspectives section. The section is intended to be a forum for readers' opinions and a forum...

300 attend Bermuda's first conference on captives.(News)
October 3, 2005... The first-ever Bermuda Captive Conference, held Sept. 12-14 in Southampton, attracted nearly 300 attendees from the island and abroad. Of that number, more than 100 were captive owners and risk managers interested in launching captive...

Top brokerage execs say contingent commissions cause conflicts of interest.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: GLORIA GONZALEZ MONTREAL-Accepting a contingent commission creates an inherent conflict for brokers, according to top executives of the world's three largest brokerages, who said the practice should be abolished across the...

RIMS Canada draws 1,600 to Montreal conference.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: Gloria Gonzalez MONTREAL-More than 1,600 attend the 30th annual Canadian Risk Management Conference in Montreal. The conference, which was sponsored by the Canadian arm of the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc., featured...

Comings & Goings - Industry.(News)(appointments)
October 3, 2005... Insurers Carl L. Bach has been appointed executive vp of ACE Global Solutions in Philadelphia. Previously, he was president of ACE Europe. Also at ACE, Paul Ramsey has been named executive vp to lead the ACE USA claims unit....

Troubled waters in Mississippi; Bid to force insurers to pay flood losses raises concerns.(Perspectives)
October 3, 2005... Byline: Elliott M. Kroll Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has initiated a complaint and a motion for a temporary restraining order in the Chancery Court of Hines County, Miss., against several major insurers, accusing all of the...

Risk managers should play key role when companies merge.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: GLORIA GONZALEZ MONTREAL-In a business environment where mergers and acquisitions are commonplace, risk managers have a vital role to play in helping ensure that such deals do not create problems for their organizations. In...

Bermuda says its regulations are changing with the times.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: RUPAL PAREKH SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda-Lawmakers and regulators in Bermuda say they will adapt the domicile's regulatory environment to ensure that it keeps pace with changes in the worldwide insurance market. Building on its...

Between the Lines; From broker to vintner.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: Compiled by Joanne Wojcik Wine has many health benefits, so it makes sense for a California health insurance broker to moonlight as a vintner. While Henry Loubet, senior vp and chief strategy officer at Torrance, Calif.-based...

Enterprise risk approach challenging to implement.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: GLORIA GONZALEZ MONTREAL-Companies that have implemented enterprise risk management programs have faced challenges along the way, but their efforts have produced a more robust approach to managing their organizations' various...

European property rates expected to hold steady at January renewals.(World)
October 3, 2005... Byline: SARAH VEYSEY Most European corporate insurance buyers believe that property insurance rates will soften next year, according to a study by Aon Corp. The study was carried out before hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the United...

EEOC can issue rule on retiree benefits: Judge; Reverses decision on ADEA exemption.(News)(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)(Age Discrimination in Employment Act)
October 3, 2005... Byline: JERRY GEISEL PHILADELPHIA-A federal court ruling could soon clear the way for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to put into effect a final rule that would allow employers to provide richer benefits to younger retirees...

London bombings show need for crisis plan updates.(World)
October 3, 2005... Byline: SARAH VEYSEY LONDON-Risk managers should revise their crisis management plans in light of the terrorist attacks on the London transportation system earlier this year, a panel of experts said. The attackers' focus on harming...

Hurricane Rita packs punch, but not as hard as feared.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN Insurers already reeling from Hurricane Katrina's record damages can expect to pay out as much as $7 billion in additional losses from Hurricane Rita, according to estimates by the three major catastrophe modeling...

Canada keeps bank/insurer merger ban.(World)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2005... Byline: Gloria Gonzalez OTTAWA-The Canadian government has decided against issuing new guidelines on large bank/insurer mergers, keeping its ban on such deals in place. The Department of Finance Canada had been reviewing its policy on...

Updates; MMC merges U.K. benefits units.(World)(appointments and profits in insurance industry)
October 3, 2005... Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. has combined its U.K. employee benefits operations into one unit. All the business will now be contained within Mercer Human Resource Consulting, according to a statement by the London-based unit of Mercer....

Court right to follow EEOC retiree health benefits rule.(Editorial)(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
October 3, 2005... If ever there was an example of how slowly the wheels of justice turn, it is the legal controversy that has enveloped retiree health care plans for more than five years. In August 2000, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in what has...

Rita adds to losses, but market impact won't be dramatic.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: JUDY GREENWALD Hurricane Rita, whose ultimate losses may be less than one-tenth the size of Katrina, is not expected to dramatically alter the market any more than Katrina already has. Rita's expected $2.5 billion to $7 billion...

Quick commissions settlement would benefit Marsh's clients.(Editorial)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2005... It looks like another legal battle-the fight over compensation for the collection of contingent commissions-is going to last a lot longer than initially anticipated. As we report on page 1, not all eligible insurance buyers have accepted...

Storms slap energy sector with losses as high as $8 billion.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: MICHAEL BRADFORD Energy insurers are facing a storm of claims from refineries and rig owners with property damaged or demolished by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Catastrophe modelers estimate insured property and business...

Marsh offers bring divided response; Half of clients opt to settle.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: SALLY ROBERTS NEW YORK-Nearly 70,000 Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. clients next month will begin receiving their share of the $850 million compensation fund the company established as part of its nationwide settlement with New York...

Northeastern nonprofits to merge.(News)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2005... Byline: Gloria Gonzalez In an attempt to compete with large national managed care players in their core Northeast market, not-for-profit health plans Group Health Inc. and HIP Health Plan of New York have decided to merge. The combined...

WellPoint expands in Northeast region with WellChoice buy.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: GLORIA GONZALEZ INDIANAPOLIS-Large national employers are expected to benefit from WellPoint Inc.'s acquisition of WellChoice Inc. because the deal gives them another option for health care coverage. The acquisition of fellow...

Senate committees reach compromise on pension reforms.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: JERRY GEISEL WASHINGTON-Legislation stiffening pension funding rules is headed to the Senate floor for a vote, possibly as soon as this week, with passage nearly certain, setting the stage for House action. Last week, the...

Pension reform.(News)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2005... After Senate leaders reached an agreement on proposed pension reforms last week, the full Senate is expected to take up a compromise bill soon. The key provisions of the measure are: * Pension plan liabilities would have to be amortized...

AIG sues Starr International for control of shares; Suit pits insurer against former chief in wrangle over $15 billion.(News)(American International Group Inc. )
October 3, 2005... Byline: RUPAL PAREKH NEW YORK-American International Group Inc. last week filed a lawsuit seeking to gain control over billions of dollars worth of AIG shares currently held by Starr International Co., a private firm formerly affiliated...

RenaissanceRe could face SEC charges; Regulators issue 'Wells' notice to reinsurer; CEO already targeted.(News)(Securities and Exchange Commission)
October 3, 2005... Byline: RUPAL PAREKH PEMBROKE, Bermuda-Probes into accounting practices for finite risk transactions could lead to a civil action against RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. by U.S. securities regulators. Last week, Pembroke, Bermuda-based...

Health care costs to increase 7.6% next year: Survey.(News)
October 3, 2005... Byline: Joanne Wojcik The cost of employer-sponsored health care will increase by 7.6% in 2006, bringing the cumulative increase over the past 10 years to 140%, according to a survey by Towers Perrin. Average annual costs will increase...

BI's readers choose who's the best among industry companies.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)(Business Insurance )
October 10, 2005... This summer, Business Insurance invited its readers to vote on which companies they believe are currently the best in the industry. On the heels of a year in which regulators and attorneys general investigated the insurance industry's...

Consistency of service guides risk management consultant.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Roseanne White Geisel McNeary Inc. 6525 Morrison Blvd., Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 704-365-4150; fax 704-365-4155 www.mcneary.com The guiding principle of McNeary Risk Management Consulting is that the road to...

Listening skills help EAP provider offer best solutions to employers.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)(employee assistance program)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Sally Roberts CIGNA Behavioral Health Inc. 11095 Viking Drive, Suite 350, Eden Prairie, Minn. 55344 952-996-2000; fax: 952-996-2659 www.cignabehavioral.com CIGNA Behavioral Health Inc. offers a broad range of...

Newly independent Swett plans to maintain tradition of service.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)(Swett & Crawford Group)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Meg Fletcher Swett & Crawford Group 21650 Oxnard St. Suite 1400 Woodland Hills, Calif. 91367 800-262-6099; fax: 818-593-2084 www.swett.com While wholesale broker Swett & Crawford Group plans to grow...

Judges named for risk management award for 2006; RMOY nominations still being accepted.(News)
October 10, 2005... CHICAGO-Nine independent judges from all sectors of the risk management and insurance profession will select the 2006 Risk Manager of the Year and Risk Management Honor Roll. Nominations for the awards are being accepted until Nov. 18,...

Criteria for the RMOY judging.(News)
October 10, 2005... Ten criteria will be used to score the nominations for Business Insurance's annual Risk Manager of the Year Award and the Risk Management Honor Roll. The panel of independent judges scores each nominated candidate on a scale of 1 to 10,...

Team atmosphere helps keep Willis Re ahead of the game.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Barbara Cockburn Willis Re 10 Trinity Square, London, EC3P 3AX +44 (0)20 7488 8111 www.willisre.com A strong team-oriented culture combined with leadership from a group of long-term executives are the key...

How the winners won; Confidential balloting was Web-enabled.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... Winners of the 2005 Business Insurance Readers Choice Awards were selected through confidential balloting by subscribers of the magazine. From July 18 until Sept. 7 of this year, BI invited all its subscribers to cast their votes either...

Commitment to employees is key to success for Sedgwick CM.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Meg Fletcher Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. 1100 Ridgeway Loop Road Memphis, Tenn. 38120 901 415-7400; fax: 901 415-7406 Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc.'s top executive credits its...

Global reach, breadth of services help Mercer meet clients' needs.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)(Mercer Human Resources Consulting)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Jerry Geisel Mercer Human Resource Consulting 1166 Ave. of the Americas New York, N.Y. 10036 212-345-7000; Fax: 212-345-7414 www.mercer.com For many years, Mercer Human Resource Consulting has been the...

Creativity, attention to each client's needs sets Chubb apart.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)(Chubb Corp. )
October 10, 2005... Byline: Rupal Parekh Chubb Corp. 15 Mountain View Road Warren, N.J. 07059 908-903-200; fax: 908-903-2027 www.chubb.com The foundations of Chubb Corp. were laid by Thomas Caldecot Chubb, who, with the help of his...

Ability to cover diverse, tough risks helps Lexington lead the pack.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)(Lexington Insurance Co)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Regis Coccia Lexington Insurance Co. 100 Summer St. Boston, Mass. 02110 617-330-1100; fax: 617-951-0067 www.lexingtoninsurance.com Lexington Insurance Co. isn't only the nation's largest surplus lines...

More than 3,000 attend world safety congress.(News)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Meg Fletcher ORLANDO, Fla.-More than 3,000 people from 110 countries on six continents attended the 17th World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, which was held Sept. 18-22 in Orlando, Fla. The triennial congress was...

Marsh keeps clients satisfied despite challenges, changes.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)(Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Rupal Parekh Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. 1166 Ave. of the Americas New York, N.Y. 10036 212-345-5000; fax: 212-345-4808 www.marsh.com Unparalleled expertise and strong client relationships are what helped Marsh &...

Addressing stress key to reducing absence.(News)
October 10, 2005... Byline: MEG FLETCHER ORLANDO, Fla.-Job-related stress is emerging as a major health hazard in global workplaces, according to several experts at a recent international safety congress. To stem the tide of related illnesses and...

Shuttle disaster forced NASA to enhance safety programs.(News)
October 10, 2005... Byline: MEG FLETCHER ORLANDO, Fla.-The Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003 spurred the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to enhance its administration and implementation of safety and loss control programs, which can...

Dam safety issues demand close look.(Editorial)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Dave Lenckus, Senior Editor The catastrophe that struck New Orleans should prompt all risk managers across the country to ask themselves a question: Like the levees in the Big Easy, are there other parts of the nation's...

Products & Services; AIG policy will cover IBNR risks of insolvent insurers.(News)(incurred-but-not-reported)
October 10, 2005... NEW YORK-AIG Excess Casualty is offering coverage for risks previously covered by insurers that are now insolvent. The claims made excess casualty coverage is called xsInResponse and will be available as an endorsement to the American...

Leavitt fires exec over false quotes.(News)(Ken Woodley)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Sally Roberts CEDAR CITY, Utah-The Leavitt Group dismissed a managing co-owner in its Albuquerque, N.M. office last month for falsifying quotes on the renewals of nearly two dozen current and former clients over a six-year period,...

Investment in technology helps UnitedHealth reach goals.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Roseanne White Geisel UnitedHealth Group Inc. UnitedHealth Group Center 9900 Bren Road East Minnetonka, Minn. 55343 800-328-5979 www.unitedhealthgroup.com UnitedHealth Group Inc. has spent billions of...

Program offers cover to part-timers.(News)(National Health Access)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Joanne Wojcik WASHINGTON-National Health Access, a nationally coordinated effort by the HR Policy Assn. to provide access to health insurance coverage to approximately 1.25 million uninsured workers and their dependents, officially...

Expertise, analysis help reinsurer deliver the right solutions.(Spotlight: 2005 Readers Choice Awards)
October 10, 2005... Byline: Judy Greenwald Berkshire Hathaway/General Re Group Financial Centre, 695 E. Main St., Stamford, Conn. 06904 203-328-5000; fax: 203-328-6423 www.genre.com Berkshire Hathaway/General Re Group's range of reinsurance...

Insurer waived fraud defense in credit risk policies: Court.(News)
October 10, 2005... Byline: DOUGLAS McLEOD PHILADELPHIA-Royal Indemnity Co. cannot raise fraud charges to avoid $380 million in potential losses under credit risk policies backing defaulted student loans produced by a bankrupt lender, a federal appeals court...

Health care premium hikes may slow further next year as employers modify plan offerings.(News)
October 10, 2005... Byline: JERRY GEISEL There is more evidence that the long run of double-digit annual increases in the cost of group health care coverage is over. Next year, costs are projected to rise by an average of 9.9% to $8,046 per employee,...

Alignment of events present opportunity for TRIA backers.(Editorial)
October 10, 2005... A convergence of unrelated factors presents advocates of extending some form of federal terrorism insurance backstop with an opportunity they're unlikely to see again before the current program expires. Whether they'll be able to take...

Canadian employers face rising mental health claims.(World)
October 10, 2005... Byline: GLORIA GONZALEZ Canadian employers are concerned about the cost of health-related absences, but most have not taken active steps to address the issue, according to a new study. Rising mental health claims, primarily related to...

Many executives ignore advantages of applying risk management: Study.(World)
October 10, 2005... Byline: BARBARA COCKBURN Risk management in companies around the world is driven "grudgingly'' by a need to meet regulatory demands rather than a desire to realize the full benefits risk management can bring, according to a report. ...