Best's Review articles from August 2006

Best's Review archives from August 2006

Brave new world.(Editor's Prologue)
August 1, 2006... As countries around the world adopt laws and agreements opening their economies to international trade, insurers are taking advantage of these new markets and their opportunities for rapid growth. Our cover story, "The New Frontier" on page 32,...

Energy Takeover not 'c' word.(Comment)
August 1, 2006... I read "Bolivian Energy Takeover Concerns Trade Credit Market" (Best's Review, June 2005), a balanced effort... except here: "Morales launched his bid... on the international May Day holiday marking workers' rights, a holiday once...

Quote/unquote.(Comment)
August 1, 2006... "We do not yet know what climate change will bring. Uncertainty means greater risk and we need to take action now to mitigate it." Lord Peter Levene, Chairman Lloyd's of London "As soon as drugs become available in generic form,...

Correction.(Comment)(Correction notice)
August 1, 2006... The fax number for USI Holdings Corp. is (914) 749-8550. The fax number for ABD Insurance & Financial Services is (650) 839-6050.The numbers were incorrect in the July issue of Best's Review.

Data breach a growing concern for insurance application process.(Highlights From BestWeek: Briefing)
August 1, 2006... The recent theft of a file server at American International Group Inc. containing personal information of 930,000 people raises new questions about data breach liability. Where does liability begin and end for an insurance carrier in data...

Brokers see surplus of rules in excess and surplus market.(Highlights From BestWeek: Briefing)
August 1, 2006... In the vernacular of insurance, excess and surplus lines are sometimes called the "unregulated" market. But to brokers and risk managers who structure coverage for complex commercial accounts, the label hardly seems accurate. According to...

By the numbers.(Briefing)
August 1, 2006... U.K. Non-Life Market Led by Top Companies In the U.K. non-life market, there has been greater acceleration in growth of net premiums written for the top 50 companies than for the top 10 according to the A.M. Best Special Report U.K. NonLife...

Meetings.(Briefing)(insurance companies)(Brief article)(Calendar)
August 1, 2006... Aug. 14-16 Limra International: 2006 Advanced Sales Forum, Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel, Chicago. Phone: (800) 235-4672 Web site: www.limra.com Aug. 26-30 National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors: NAIFA Annual...

U.K. liability insurers sense opening in chocolate recall.(Briefing)
August 1, 2006... U-.K. product liability insurers are hoping that the recall of more than a million chocolate bars by candy manufacturer Cadbury will sweeten a market that, in their view, has never fulfilled its potential. Published estimates of the cost of...

A.M. Best stock indices, second quarter 2006.(Briefing)(Statistical table)
August 1, 2006... A.M. Best Stock Indices, Second Quarter 2006 (Dec. 31, 2004 = 1,000.00) Index Summary Quarter Ended 6/30/06 Index Qtr/ Year/ ...

A.M. Best launches E-Fusion Podcast focused on technology.(Briefing)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... A.M. Best Co. has released a new podcast series focused on insurance technology and the E-Fusion conference. Called the "E-Fusion Podcast," the audio series covers technology developments, conference details and the E-Fusion awards. Each...

Best's insurance stock indices.(Briefing)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Four Weeks Ended July 13, 2006 Index Month/ Year to Year/ Close Month Date Year Best's...

Aon's full electronic trading could shake up London market.
August 1, 2006... The announcement by broker Aon UK that it will adopt full electronic trading this year moves the London insurance market a bit closer to a long-sought goal. The change, involving Aon's specialist insurance and reinsurance operations, was...

Arch Insurance Group.(Property/Casualty)(named Charles Schmalz, Brian Hughes and Dennis Brand)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... * ARCH INSURANCE GROUP has named three people to executive positions. BRIAN HUGHES has been named senior vice president and chief actuary. Hughes joined Arch as chief pricing actuary in October 2004. Before coming to Arch, he was senior...

Nuclear Electric Insurance Ltd.(Property/Casualty)(elected David Ripsom)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... * NUCLEAR ELECTRIC INSURANCE LTD.'s board of directors has elected DAVID RIPSOM president and chief executive officer. Ripsom will succeed Quentin Jackson, who plans to retire. Ripsom joined Nuclear Electric in September 1994 as senior vice...

CNA Financial Corp.(Property/Casualty)
August 1, 2006... * CNA FINANCIAL CORP. has named GEORGE FAY executive vice president of worldwide property and casualty daims. Most recently, Fay was chief services officer of Chubb.

American International Group.(Property/Casualty)(named Anthony Galioto)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... * AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP named ANTHONY GALIOTO AIG Cos. senior executive, East. Galioto has been with AIG since 1985. He has held various management positions in Boston, NewYork, Paris and London.

Mark Lyons takes on new responsibilities at Arch Capital.(People in Insurance)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Arch Capital Group Ltd. has named Mark Lyons president and chief operating officer of Arch Insurance Group (U.S.). Lyons is responsible for each of the underwriting units of Arch's U.S.-based insurance operations. He reports to Ralph Jones,...

Praetorian Financial Group.(Property/Casualty)
August 1, 2006... * PRAETORIAN FINANCIAL GROUP has named MILAN RADONICH chief financial officer. Most recently, Radonich was chief financial officer of Benfield Inc.

Countrywide Insurance Group.(Property/Casualty)(named Myron Hendry)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... * COUNTRYWIDE INSURANCE GROUP has named MYRON HENDRY executive vice president and chief operations officer. He will be responsible for overseeing central operations, claims and information technology. Hendry has held senior management...

Progressive Corp.(Property/Casualty)(appointed John Sauerland)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... * Auto insurer PROGRESSIVE CORP. has appointed JOHN SAUERLAND president of the Progressive Direct group of companies. Sauerland is currently claims general manager for the Midwest region. He joined Progressive in 1991 as an assistant...

New York Life Insurance Co.(Life)(appointed Michael Oleske, Julius Alberico, Michael Oliviero and Michael Lackey)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... * NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE CO. has elected MICHAEL OLESKE senior vice president of the company. Oleske is the company's tax counsel and head of the tax department. MICHAEL OLIVIERO has been elected first vice president of the tax department. ...

Principal Financial Group.(Life)(named Kurt Shallow)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... * PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP has named KURT SHALLOW vice president of independent distribution. Shallow will be responsible for leading wholesale distribution of Principal's life insurance business. Most recently, he was vice president of...

Marsh and McLennan Cos.(Agent/Broker)(appointed David Spiller and John Drzik)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... * MARSH AND MCLENNAN COS. named DAVID SPILLER chief executive officer of reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Co. Salvatore D. Zaffino, the outgoing CEO, continues as chairman. Spiller has been president of Guy Carpenter and a member of the...

Integro.(Agent/Broker)(named Edward Nicholls and Wayne Snow)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... * Insurance broker INTEGRO has named EDWARD NICHOLLS managing principal and leader of its new aviation practice. Before joining Integro, Nicholls spent 13 years with Aon Corp. as an executive vice president. He also has been chief operating...

Ready for his close-up.(AUTO INSURANCE)(popular television advertisement)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... STATE FARM'S PARTNERSHIP with Disney/Pixar's Cars resulted in the 6th most-liked TV ad for the period May 22 through June 18, 2006, according to AdvertisingAge. In the ad, racecar Lightning McQueen and tattered tow truck Mater are strutting...

Space-age strategy.(MARKETING)(marketing strategy of UnumProvident Corp.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... SOME 250 NEWSPAPER and magazine reporters recently received a "meteor" to compare the astronomical odds of a home being hit by space debris to the more likely scenario that an illness or injury will result in lost wages. Leading disability...

Insurance celebration.(ADVERTISING)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... METLIFE HAS GONE BOLLYWOOD, with a series of ads aimed at South Asian Americans and their $88 billion in disposable income. In the campy wedding-themed "Tying the Scarf," celebrants in traditional attire sing and dance while extoling the...

Genworth Financial Inc.(BRANDING)(Genworth Financial Treasure Challenge)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... GENWORTH FINANCIAL INC. will provide the treasure being hunted by 10 multi-player teams in an NBC summer reality series filled with fast-paced adventure and mystery. The insurance company gets brand representation in every episode of...

Accidental death, dismemberment.(SPOTLIGHT)(Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.)(Chubb Group of Insurance Cos.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Two major insurers have recently added to their employee-benefits accidental death and dismemberment group product offerings. Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. has expanded its benefits offerings to cover certain costs of burglaries, break-ins...

Program to cover Artisan Contractors.(Property/Casualty)(Ohio Casualty Insurance Co.'s Artisan Contractors Package Program)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Ohio Casualty Insurance Co. has launched Artisan Contractors Package Program, which targets contractors that employ one to five workers. It combines the company's Artisan Contractors General Liability Coverage with a new feature that allows...

Va with built-in principal protection.(Life)(variable annuity )(Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.'s MassMutual Equity Edge)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has introduced MassMutual Equity Edge, a single-premium deferred variable annuity designed for investors preparing for retirement. Investors choose a benefit period of five, seven or 10 years, during...

Vul guarantees income stream.(Life)(variable universal life insurance)(American General Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... American General Insurance Co., a part of American International Group, has introduced a variable universal life policy that for an additional fee guarantees both a death benefit and a stream of income during retirement, regardless of...

EIA guaranteed lifetime withdrawals.(Equity-Indexed Annuity Line)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... AmerUs Group has introduced a minimum withdrawal benefit for its equity-indexed annuity line. Available through a rider, it provides steady income guaranteed for life regardless of contract performance. Policyholders may start or stop the...

Life product growth rates, 1Q 2005-2006.(SNAPSHOT)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Life Product Growth Rates, 1Q 2005-2006 Product Annualized Face # of Type Premium Amount Policies Universal 26% 12% 6% Variable -14% -8% ...

Best's rating changes.(Ratings)(Statistical table)
August 1, 2006... This edition of Best's Rating Changes reflects all rating changes--assignments, changes or placed under review--that occurred for life, health and property/casualty insurers domiciled in North America, as well as international insurance...

Building up to code: insurers back stronger building codes to lessen catastrophe losses, but progress is slow in two Gulf States.(Catastrophes: Property/Casualty)(Statistical table)
August 1, 2006... Stronger building codes have made a big difference in hurricane losses in Florida, and efforts are being made to bring some of that success to Louisiana and Mississippi in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But start-up problems plague...

The new frontier: global trade integration opens new territory for multinational insurers.(Developing Markets: Regulatory/Law)(Cover story)(Statistical table)
August 1, 2006... Market saturation and a highly competitive nature are driving multinational insurers farther afield in their search for new markets that can support rapid growth. Insurers and brokers surely have in mind the sudden transformation of...

Face to face: the forthcoming Reinsurance Directive will be a factor as renewal talks begin in Monte Carlo in September.(Rendez-Vous de Septembre: Reinsurance/Capital Markets)
August 1, 2006... As insurers and reinsurers gather in Monte Carlo, Monaco, for Rendez-Vous de Septembre, renewal talks will be affected by a growing awareness of the implications of the European Union's Reinsurance Directive. The directive will introduce a...

2006 top 35 global reinsurance groups.(Leading Writers: Reinsurance/Capital Markets)(Statistical table)
August 1, 2006... For the second year, Munich Re, Swiss Re Group, Berkshire Hathaway Group, Hannover Re and Lloyd's of London held their respective top five positions in A.M. Best's ranking of the top 35 global reinsurer groups. Despite shifts in the rankings of...

Living up to the hype: insurance CEOs see significant competitive advantages--and a new role for CIOs--as technology aligns with business.(Information Systems: Technology)
August 1, 2006... Technology has come a long way from its primary role of storing data. It's burgeoned into nearly every corner of insurance companies--all while building a critical bridge with customers and agents. Now chief executive officers have one more...

The makeup of ERM: extreme computing and big data are the DNA of enterprise risk management systems.(Technology Insight: Technology)(enterprise risk management systems)
August 1, 2006... Enterprise risk management systems are testing traditional risk management models, as well as the sensibilities of the insurance industry. A new paradigm of risk management and performance measurement has challenged the business consciousness...

Capturing retirement rollovers: life insurers have a lot to offer retirees rolling over money from qualified plans. Some are beginning to offer not just products, but specific programs.(Retirement Products: Life)
August 1, 2006... Life insurers are in a fight with other financial-services providers for the hundreds of billions of dollars each year in retiree rollover money. Their payout annuities and variable-annuity living benefits are winning some of it. But when it...

Managing longevity risk: the new retirement math is that living benefits in variable annuities can help hedge market risk.
August 1, 2006... While the sentiment, "if I'd known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself," pokes the at the prospect of outliving your health, outliving your wealth is no laughing matter in today's era of longer like spans and,...

Inside the medicine cabinet: health plans must decide whether to place a host of new prescription drugs on their formularies.
August 1, 2006... The shelves hi the medicine cabinet are becoming more crowded. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved several new prescription drugs mid is slated to approve several more in the coining months. Health plans are keeping a close...

More than a sales pitch: commercial buyers of insurance want brokers to offer more insight and advice, and anticipate potential business risks.(Selling Insight: Health/Employee Benefits)
August 1, 2006... Business buyers of insurance products and services, particularly those benefiting employees, increasingly want more than the requested products at a good price. They need to have a high confidence level that the salespeople, and the...

Making a move: when personal lines policyholders relocate, agents move, too--to set up their clients with the same insurer or a similar agent in the new neighborhood.(Client Retention: Agent/Broker)
August 1, 2006... Arthur Middleton Hughes knows two important things about policyholders who relocate: Insurance is often the last thing they think of, and, when they do get settled and consider insurance, they're more likely to buy additional products than are...

Life cycle risk management: agents and brokers are trying to earn a seat at the financial planning table.(Loss/Risk Management Insight: Agent/Broker)
August 1, 2006... It's a good time for independent insurance agents and brokers to build or strengthen strategic relationships with financial planners and other wealth managers. For while agents and brokers can educate these trusted advisers about identifying...

An uncommon vision: how a small monoline company saw demand for its only line of business fading away, but used the underwriting lessons it learned to expand into a niche property/casualty player that regularly outperforms industry giants.(Niche Underwriting: Property/Casualty)(Company overview)
August 1, 2006... RLI Corp. was started "in the cockpit of an airplane," said Jerry Stephens, who founded the company four decades ago. Stephens wore contact lenses, which were expensive in the early days. When he couldn't find anyone to sell him contact...

Businesses look to continuous auditing, monitoring.(Loss/Risk Management Notes: Property/Casualty)(Statistical table)
August 1, 2006... Companies used to take an annual look at the way their businesses were running, but pressured by new regulations and inspired by technology, auditing is becoming almost a continuous process in many companies, according to a study by...

Small, midsize businesses need continuity plan.(Loss/Risk Management Notes: Property/Casualty)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Hurricanes. Tornados. Avian flu. Large risks threaten businesses of all sizes, but small and midsize businesses are often too busy with day-to-day operations to make a business continuity plan, said Michael Mayers, senior vice president of risk...

Copyrights and trademarks and patents! Oh, my! Insurers need to know the uses, benefits and risks of intellectual property rights to protect their own businesses and to avoid infringing on competitors' rights.(Intellectual Property Rights: Regulatory/Law)
August 1, 2006... Intellectual property rights (copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets) can be valuable assets for insurers, but also can pose potentially significant risks--not only for willful "me too" infringers who intentionally copy approved...

Storm surge: nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina, Gulf Coast courts are beginning to weigh in on homeowners flood claims.(Legal Insight: Regulatory/Law)
August 1, 2006... When Hurricane Katrina came ashore last year in Mississippi, it left behind a path of unprecedented devastation and spawned a second tidal wave: one of litigation over the extent to which the damage was covered or excluded under standard...

Going it alone: in an age when most life reinsurance is sold by multiline companies, and the number of pure life reinsurers serving the U.S. market has shrunk, the few remaining players are going strong and a new player has joined them.(Life Reinsurance: Reinsurance/Capital Markets)
August 1, 2006... Pure life reinsurers are a rare breed. RGA Reinsurance Co. and Scottish Re (U.S.) Inc. were joined in September 2004 by Wilton Reassurance Co. as the only companies to sell the product line exclusively. Most life reinsurance in the United...

Plugging the leak: insurers are spending too much of their premium dollars on inefficient claims adjusting, but they can improve the process and their profitability.(Claims Processing: Technology)(Insurance Information Institute reports )
August 1, 2006... Suppose you inserted a $10 bill into a change machine with reasonable expectation of being returned that same amount in coins. How would you feel if $5 in quarters dropped out and the other $5 was lost to administrative fees? The...

Data-mining saves federal crop insurance program $456 million, director says.(Technology Notes: Technology)
August 1, 2006... The agency overseeing the federal crop insurance program has saved taxpayers $456 million since 2001 by using data-mining to weed out fraudulent claims before they are paid, the agency's director recently told a U.S. House of Representatives...

ACORD.(Tech Bytes)(Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... ACORD recently launched streaming video-on-demand on its Web site (www.acord.org) that is designed to inform, advocate and educate the insurance industry on the role of ACORD data standards. A featured video clip plays on ACORD's main page, and...

The American Association of Insurance Services.(Tech Bytes)(online residential valuation service)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... The American Association of Insurance Services, a national insurance advisory organization that develops policy forms and rating information used by property/casualty companies, is offering insurers that use forms and manuals developed by the...

Aon Consulting.(Tech Bytes)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Human capital consulting organization Aon Consulting launched its Electronic Discovery (E-Discovery) unit of its IT risk consulting group, which is part of the organization's Financial Advisory and Litigation Consulting Services practice. Aon's...

Mega changes on the horizon: a Texas life and health insurer regroups with a new name and a new objective: lowering the high cost of health care.(Health: Health/Employee Benefits)
August 1, 2006... When the life and health insurer formerly known as UICI officially changed its name in April to the more descriptive HealthMarkets, change began to happen almost immediately. President and Chief Executive Officer William J. Gedwed saw it...

Compelling the consumers: benefits brokers can provide the traction employers need to switch workers to consumer-driven health plans.(Consumer-Driven Health Care: Agent/Broker)
August 1, 2006... Let's play microeconomics. You are a distributor of a product that has been experiencing annual price increases of as much as 20% for several years. Your revenue is a percentage of that ever-climbing price. When the price goes up due to...

The long haul: aligned interests and a shared passion are crucial concerns for independent insurance agents when choosing a carrier.(Selling Insight: Agent/Broker)
August 1, 2006... An independent insurance agent has to consider two main qualities when choosing a carrier with which to do business: financial stability and risk control expertise. But how can an agent distinguish among the many other qualities to determine...

The Empire State strikes back; in trying to fix troubled workers' compensation systems, New York and other states can learn from California and Pennsylvania.(Workers' Compensation Insurance: Property/Casualty)
August 1, 2006... In creating a federal republic, the founding fathers designed states to serve as "laboratories of democracy" that would adopt policies and initiatives designed to meet the specific needs of their citizens. This spirit of local experimentation...

Playing to win: a good insurance operation knows the secrets of a good basketball team.(Underwriting Insight: Property/Casualty)
August 1, 2006... I recently attended a clinic for basketball coaches, and the speakers that day, some very successful college and high school coaches, covered a wide variety of topics. But through it all, they kept coming back to three common themes: teamwork,...

Ace sells runoff reinsurers to London management firm.(Companies)(Ace Ltd.)(Ace American Reinsurance Co.)(Brandywine Reinsurance Co.(UK)Ltd.)(Brandy-wine Reinsurance Co.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Ace Ltd. has sold three runoff reinsurance entities that had been at the center of a dispute between Ace and some of its competitors. Ace said the sale of Ace American Reinsurance Co., Brandywine Reinsurance Co.(UK) Ltd. and Brandy-wine...

Lloyd's withstood storms well, reinsurance broker says.(Lloyd's Life Assurance Ltd.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Lloyd's "relatively small" loss in 2005 marked a "strong" underlying performance in the face of massive hurricane claims, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Co. said in its fourth annum report on the Lloyd's market. Net hurricane losses of...

Canada's Onex Partners to acquire Aon Warranty Group.(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Global broker Aon Corp. intends to sell Aon Warranty Group to Toronto-based Onex Partners for approximately $710 million. Onex Partners, the private equity arm of Onex Corp., one of Canada's largest companies with global operations in...

St. Paul Travelers to drop 3,000 Florida commercial accounts.(Companies)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... St. Paul Travelers said it will not renew approximately 3,000 commercial accounts in Florida. The insurer described the accounts as small coastal commercial properties. "These are coastal properties categorized as having inferior...

Allianz to cut nearly 7,500 jobs in German restructuring.(Companies)
August 1, 2006... Citing declining market share and the need to improve client services, Allianz A.G. announced a major restructuring that will cut up to 7,500 jobs and eliminate 11 of 21 administrative locations in the insurer's Germany base. Allianz said...

Coming up ... in September.(Terrorism Insurance)(changes in insurance business after terrorist attacks)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Term Life Market Report: Sales of term life seem to be holding their own even in the face of burgeoning sales of no-lapse universal life. Includes top U.S. life writers by line. Terrorism Insurance: In observance of the fifth anniversary of...

'A drop in the bucket': by writing against the risk of drought and starvation, one reinsurer is offering both hope and self-reliance to a third world nation.
August 1, 2006... Earlier this year, French reinsurer Axa Re became the first carrier to offer insurance for humanitarian emergencies. The policy, a derivative contract based on a rainfall index, was taken out by Rome-based United Nations World Food Programme...