Best's Review articles from June 2004

Best's Review archives from June 2004

To sue or not to sue.(Editor's Prologue)
June 1, 2004... As costs stemming from U.S. tort cases continue to climb, advocates for the injured and advocates for the accused argue on about a system that is predicted to become more expensive each year. A report by Tillinghast-Towers Perrin revealed that...

In the Spotlight *.(Comment)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... "The days of nobody looking are gone. Companies that are well run, companies that have figured out how to spend less than they make, will thrive in this kind of world." Joseph Plumeri Chairman and CEO Willis Group Holdings Ltd....

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. named Dick Mucci executive vice president and director of Hartford Life Inc.'s group benefits division. Mucci is responsible for the integration of CNA's group life, accident and disability business,...

Willis Group Holdings Ltd.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Willis Group Holdings Ltd. named John Verbich chief financial officer of Willis North America. Verbich is a 25-year veteran of the insurance industry. Prior to joining Willis, Verbich served as senior vice president and chief financial...

MBIA Inc.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... MBIA Inc. named Gary C. Dunton chief executive officer. Dunton succeeds Jay Brown, who will continue to serve as executive chairman through 2007.

MBIA Insurance Corp.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Former chief financial officer Neil G. Budnick was named president of MBIA Insurance Corp. and Nicholas Ferreri was named his successor as chief financial officer, effective immediately.

Expansion in the European Union: new members diversify big trading bloc.(Highlights from BestWeek)
June 1, 2004... The admission of 10 new member countries to the European Union on May 1 has firmly established the EU as the world's largest developed insurance market. The economic and political alliance grew to 25 countries from 15 with the accession of...

UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky Ltd.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky Ltd. named Lawrence J. Kissner president and chief executive officer. Kissner is a 22-year veteran of UnitedHealthcare, having served in both the California and Florida locations. Most recently, Kissner served...

Brown & Brown Inc.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Brown & Brown Inc. has named Cory T. Walker senior vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer. Initially, Walker served as the company's vice president and chief financial officer from 1992 to 1994. He later served as divisional...

American International Group Inc.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... American International Group Inc. has named David L. Herzog chief financial officer of worldwide life insurance operations. Herzog succeeds Nicholas A. O'Kulich, who is retiring but will continue to serve as an adviser to the company. ...

By the numbers.(Briefing)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Managed Care Profits Recover in 2003 What contributed to 2003's phenomenal earnings for most of the managed health-care industry? The growth rate for health-care costs fell for the first time in six years, although overall spending...

Meetings.(Briefing)(Calendar)
June 1, 2004... June 10-12 National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies, FOCUS Meeting, Sheraton New Orleans, New Orleans. Phone: (703) 383-3081. Web site: www.nailba.org. June 12-15 National Association of Insurance Commissioners,...

Twin towers insured loss estimate drops.(Briefing)(Insurance industry)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Final insured losses from the Sept. 11,2001, terrorism are likely to be 15% to 25% less than anticipated, according to the Insurance Information Institute, as fewer lawsuits have been filed by survivors of the nearly 3,000 World Trade Center...

Principal to sell mortgage business to Citigroup for $1.26b.(Briefing)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Principal Financial Group Inc. has agreed to sell its mortgage-banking business to Citigroup for $1.26 billion, as of April 30, saying the sale will help it focus on its core retirement and risk-protection businesses. Under the terms of...

Corporate giants to form pool to fill health-care gap.(Briefing)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Tired of waiting for Congress to pass a bill to help Americans without health coverage, more than 50 Fortune 500 companies said they plan to pool their uninsured workers and give them access to more affordable health care. Many in the insurance...

Best's rating changes.(Ratings)(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... This summary of Best's Rating Changes includes life, health-care and property/casualty insurers domiciled in North America, as well as international insurers that had ratings assigned, changed or placed under review since this section last...

Guide to best financial strength ratings.(Ratings)(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... GUIDE TO BEST'S FINANCIAL STRENGTH RATINGS A Best's Rating is an independent opinion, based on a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation, of a company's balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile....

Tort reform: more than damage caps: arbitration, class actions and loss control are important pieces of a very complex puzzle.(The Big Picture)(Cover Story)
June 1, 2004... America's adversarial legal system seeks to give the accused and the aggrieved equal chances at justice. But some would argue that the system is choking on its own built-in contentiousness and weighing down the nation's economy with runaway...

Patents pending: insurers no longer enjoy open season on the product innovations of competitors.(Patents)(Insurance industry)
June 1, 2004... Imitation no longer is the sincerest form of flattery in the insurance industry. For as long as anyone can remember, carriers have felt free to copy the competition's breakthrough products. But that timeworn approach to saving on...

Winning small: insurers that pressure agencies to increase their books of business may be initiating their own demise.(Industry Strategies)
June 1, 2004... Most insurance carriers work with agencies with books of vastly different sizes. How does book size affect the insurer? Does a carrier's profit margin vary for an agency with a $500,000 premium book vs. an agency with a $4 million premium book?...

Old cat--new tricks: creative new uses for catastrophe bonds help generate more capital, deals and investors.(Securitization)
June 1, 2004... Sales of catastrophe bonds, a capital-market alternative to traditional catastrophe reinsurance, grew significantly in 2003, and experts say the main drivers of this upturn were pricing and limited capacity in the reinsurance market, as well as...

Preparing for the fall: risk managers usher in new soft market.(RIMS Conference)(Risk and Insurance Management Society, Insurance industry)
June 1, 2004... The beginning of another soft market was a hot topic among insurance industry leaders during the Risk and Insurance Management Society's annual conference and exhibition in San Diego. Several key executives told risk managers and other...

Hartford: D&O underwriters demand more.(RIMS Conference)
June 1, 2004... New corporate-governance regulations, such as the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act, are a double-edged sword for writers of directors and officers liability coverage, said executives at Hartford Insurance Group who specialize in writing the coverage...

Zurich's Schiro seeks to lessen fluctuation of industry's cycles.(RIMS Conference)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... If the insurance industry--and insurance buyers--could agree to maintain "the technically correct price," it could end the fluctuating hard and soft market cycle and benefit everyone's bottom line, said James J. Schiro, chief executive officer...

Survey: poor service leads many clients to switch.(RIMS Conference)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Poor service from insurance carriers has led 90% of property insurance brokers to recommend that a client switch carriers, according to a survey by Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Co. The survey found 46% of insurance buyers have switched...

Lloyd's chairman says insurers must focus on profitable business.(RIMS Conference)(Interview)
June 1, 2004... As chairman of the influential Lloyd's market, Lord Peter Levene had made it a point to repeatedly warn the industry in countless speeches throughout the past year that, despite a good year in 2003, there are dangers ahead. Lloyd's itself...

'Tag-along' suits help spark rise in fiduciary liability premiums.(RIMS Conference)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Historically a low-frequency line of business, fiduciary liability insurance is now getting more notice as "tag-along" lawsuits follow in the footsteps of the numerous securities class-action lawsuits filed against Fortune 500 firms. ...

Liberty Mutual and Axa forge U.S.-Euro alliance.(RIMS Conference)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Liberty Mutual Group, the largest private writer of workers' compensation in the United States, has announced a strategic initiative with France's Axa Corporate Solutions to provide U.S. and European coverage to multinational companies. ...

XL Capital skips acquisition route, enters U.S. primary casualty market.(RIMS Conference)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... XL Capital Group, the Bermuda-based company perhaps best known for providing reinsurance and specialty insurance coverage, will enter the U.S. primary casualty risk market. The company has already offered such lines--including general...

New RMS model outlines probabilities for 10 cat risks.(RIMS Conference)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... A new catastrophe model has identified 10 major catastrophic classes of risk that have a 1% chance each of occurring during the next year, according to the model's developer, Risk Management Solutions Ltd. The catastrophe classes range...

Terror, cat risks prompt AIR to model property exposures.(RIMS Conference)(Air Worldwide Corp., Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Boston-based AIR Worldwide Corp. said it has launched a new consulting service that will analyze the potential risk of terrorism, earthquakes and high winds against individual high value or strategically significant properties. Called...

Drilling down on fraud: auto insurers can attack the big problem of fraud by paying attention to the details hidden in claims.(Auto)
June 1, 2004... When the notorious bank robber, Willie Sutton, was asked why he robbed banks, he replied, "Because that's where the money is." The Willie Suttons of today have more sophisticated methods, and today's victims are more likely to be no-fault...

AIG offers commercial coverage for public venues.(Marketplace)(American International Group)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The American International Group has launched Venue Liability Protector, a commercial coverage designed to address the casualty risks of public venues and accident risks of patrons at performance and hospitality events. Venue Liability...

Hartford targets midsize financial services companies.(Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.)
June 1, 2004... Do automatic teller machines need specialized insurance? They sure do. Recognizing that midsize banks, credit unions, investment firms and insurance companies have a range of specialized insurance needs--from property coverage for ATMs,...

NAS offers HIPAA protector coverage.(Marketplace)
June 1, 2004... Defense costs, fines and penalties arising out of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act proceedings are now available from NAS Insurance Services. NAS offers the coverage via a stand-alone HIPAA Protector policy. It is...

Stressing the positives: more Americans view insurers favorably, but there's still dissatisfaction over the use of credit in auto insurance.(Selling Insight)
June 1, 2004... Despite the hard market we are experiencing, 59% of Americans hold a positive view about our industry--the third highest rating since the Insurance Information Institute began measuring public attitudes in 1968. This compares with 56% for life...

Surviving the squeeze: managing general underwriters must travel the tough road back to pricing accounts accurately and profitably.(Underwriting Insight)
June 1, 2004... In an era when many managing general underwriters are being squeezed or find themselves struggling to survive, how does an organization manage to stay strong and prosper? The answer lies in a managing general underwriter's ability to...

Cozen O'Connor forms Canadian subrogation unit.(Loss/Risk Management Notes)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Philadelphia-based attorney Cozen O'Connor recently formed an independent subrogation consulting company to provide recovery analysis, claims training services, and forensic evaluations to insurers with losses in Canada. Cozen O'Connor...

AIG to protect anti-terrorism products, technologies.(Loss/Risk Management Notes)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... American International Group has introduced a new set of policies designed to cover companies that develop and sell anti-terrorism products and technologies under the Support Anti-Terrorism By Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002. ...

GE Commercial seeks to insure Masonic associations.(Loss/Risk Management Notes)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... GE Commercial Insurance has launched a new program created specifically for Masonic associations. Thompkins & Co., an independent agency specializing in Masonic associations, will underwrite the coverage for the property, inland marine, crime,...

Saturday night dangerous time for teen drivers.(Loss/Risk Management Notes)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Teen drivers are 200 times more likely to be involved in a drunken-driving accident at 1 a.m. Sunday morning compared with 10 a.m. Sun day morning, according to a study by San Francisco-based Quality Planning Corp. The company examined...

Most home-based businesses lack separate insurance coverage.(Loss/Risk Management Notes)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Most of the 11 million home-based businesses in America lack adequate insurance coverage, according to a survey by the Independent Agents & Brokers of America. The survey, conducted by International Communications Research, found one in 10...

The real thing: distinguishing good models from bad ones relies on some rules of thumb.(Lost/Risk Management Insight)
June 1, 2004... Halfway through the meeting, I sensed that something was wrong. Along with my risk analysis group (with a former employer), I was attending a demonstration of a supposedly sophisticated software product that purported to help us analyze our...

Advice for sale: employers are expecting more service from their employee benefits professionals than ever before.(Employee Benefits)
June 1, 2004... Once upon a time, an agent selling health insurance to employers might have had a successful business by simply placing the policy, collecting the commission and relaxing until next renewal season. Today, being a health insurance agent,...

Who shot equitable life? When one of the United Kingdom's most respected insurance companies collapsed, observers blamed managers, auditors, regulators and the government, but who is most at fault?(Financial Strength)
June 1, 2004... The British government has some strong suspects in the financial whodunnit surrounding Equitable Life Assurance Society's collapse, but achieving some kind of rough justice in the matter may be a good deal harder than fingering the culprits....

Insuring hope: insurance for individuals with AIDS in Africa is hard to come by, but carriers are making changes to help the millions infected with the disease.(AIDS in Africa)
June 1, 2004... Millions of African citizens live under a dark cloud. The threat of HIV/AIDS looms over the continent, and those affected by the disease are in dire need of medical attention, financial protection for dependents and coverage to pay for...

A picture of health: MetLife's database has spawned an illustrated guide to understanding and managing the health issues behind employee absenteeism.(Disability)(Interview)
June 1, 2004... As a disability insurer, MetLife has compiled an extensive database of short- and long-term disability claims information over the years. This wealth of data inspired MetLife's national medical director to create a visual reference guide to the...

Aetna.(New Products and Services)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Aetna is now marketing three new preferred provider organization plans for insured individuals and families in 50 Pennsylvania counties and the state of Delaware. The new plans offer flexible plan designs, affordable premiums and comprehensive...

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.(New Products and Services)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America launched its "Get to know us for Life" marketing campaign. Anchored by a new generation of trend-setting universal life and term life insurance products, the Allianz Life portfolio offers market...

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.(New Products and Services)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America launched a new suite of pension trust whole life and annuity policies for the 412(i) market. The product suite is funded and guaranteed with life insurance and annuity products. Other features...

The Principal Financial Group.(New Products and Services)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The Principal Financial Group launched a universal life insurance product--Principal Universal Life Protector--that can fit the needs of a customer from age 25 to 85. The product is also beneficial to business clients looking for...

Nationwide Insurance launches $27 million advertising campaign.(Marketplace)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The "On Your Side" company--Nationwide Insurance--has launched a $27 million advertising campaign in 15 regional markets to remind consumers how quickly they must plan for "Life." "We're launching this ad campaign--the largest umbrella...

ACLI opposes proposal for annuity sales.(Marketplace)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Proposed new federal regulations governing suitability in the sale of deferred variable annuities are just a form of "regulatory grandstanding," and are not needed because adequate regulations already exist, said a vice president with the...

Undercover agents: life insurance companies have finally heard the consumer and are bringing understandable, less costly and appealing products to market.(Selling Insight)
June 1, 2004... As many older life agents slow down and retire, there seems to be a thinning of the ranks. Some lament a lack of recruitment. Others suggest that many young people, wanting a quick payoff, aren't willing to put in the time needed to achieve...

Conceive the inconceivable: the risk exposures are real, and so are the tools to manage them.(Underwriting Insight)
June 1, 2004... When Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992, the damage was unprecedented, inconceivable and a wake-up call for the property/casualty industry, which had to rethink its underwriting and risk assessment procedures. Today, rating agencies and...

Talking in code: will a mandate to update the national medical coding system help health-care providers and minimize the coder shortage--or add significant costs for insurers and providers without benefits?(Health Care)(Medical records)
June 1, 2004... While the United States explores the possibility of updating its current medical coding system, those who use the codes debate the effects of the change. Some say moving from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM for diagnosis codes and ICD-10-PCS for...

Weaving compensation into the whole: Enterprise Incentive Management can help insurers influence diverse distribution channels and gain an overview of channels, products and markets.(Distribution)
June 1, 2004... Insurance industry executives recognize that, with the exception of a few niche markets, competitive advantage in the financial-services industry will come from distribution excellence, not product innovation. The move toward distribution...

6 steps to mission accomplish: avoid over-budget and incomplete IT projects by starting out with a focused list of business requirements.(Project Management)
June 1, 2004... Developing a new property/ casualty policy system always takes a lot of work, but it's often far more expensive and time-consuming than it should be. Like Boston's "Big Dig" tunnel project, information technology projects infamously run into...

Unlocking value: outsourcing is an important tool to help insurers manage claims.(Technology Insight)
June 1, 2004... Leading carriers are increasingly considering creative solutions such as outsourcing to unlock the value in claims. Claims payments and loss adjustments consume nearly 80% of property/casualty insurers' annual revenue, yet few carriers have...

Axa Distributors LLC.(Web News You Can Use)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Axa Distributors LLC launched an online application and sales tool to its Online Wholesaler Web site--the Sales Wizard. It allows advisers and brokers to complete an entire sales package, including an Accumulator variable annuities series...

MassMutual.(Web News You Can Use)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... MassMutual has redesigned its online education resource--www.halfapaycheck.com--to provide individuals and small business owners with an interactive understanding of how key life events and business lifecycles highlight specific and changing...

Health Net Life Insurance Co.(Web News You Can Use)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Health Net Life Insurance Co. recently introduced Net Saver, an Internet-only health plan for individuals and their family members who do not have access to employer- or government-sponsored health plans. Once a secure, encrypted application is...

Afni Insurance Services.(Web News You Can Use)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Afni Insurance Services announced a new module--a Forms Designer--to enhance the AIS WebEngine 1.0. It allows agencies to create their own forms for their Web sites, and enables users to create fields, tables and columns and replicate the look...

Cat modelers take separate paths in search of common standards.(Technology Notes)(EQE International Inc. risk management )
June 1, 2004... Insurers, reinsurers and other industry executives should use their collective influence to pressure risk data modeling firms to move toward open standards, according to Rick Clinton, the president of Oakland, Calif.-based modeling firm Eqecat...

Fortis launches fund, gains banking licenses in China.(Companies)
June 1, 2004... Dutch-Belgian financial services group Fortis extended its reach into China's market on two fronts--through a new investment joint venture and a Shanghai banking license. Fortis launched an investment fund with Chinese partner Haitong...

Safeco sells wealth manager to Mellon Financial Corp.(Companies)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Seattle-based Safeco Corp. has reached agreement to sell another noncore segment of its business, as Mellon Financial Corp. agrees to buy SafecoTrust Co. for undisclosed terms. The sale marks another step in Safeco's plan to return to its...

Arthur J. Gallagher to acquire specialty advisory services.(Companies)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Less than a month after acquiring a North Carolina company, insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it bought a Morristown, N.J., consultancy that focuses on development and placing of specialized insurance programs for industry...

Quotesmith.com completes acquisition of Life Quotes Inc.(Companies)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Online insurance broker Quotesmith.com has completed its acquisition of Colorado insurance agency Life Quotes Inc. As part of the Life Quotes asset acquisition, Quotesmith.com plans to sell 2.4 million shares of common stock at a price of...

Oxford expanding Medicare offerings in northeast.(Companies)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Thanks to heightened reimbursement rates brought about by last year's Medicare overhaul, Connecticut-based Oxford Health Plans will once again offer Medicare products in several New Jersey and New York markets. Oxford said it would offer...

Time in a bottle: Hardware Mutual preserved the present and predicted the future 50 years ago.(Sentry Insurance opened the time capsule aftre 50 years at its 100th anniversary)
June 1, 2004... The year was 1954. Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and Richard M. Nixon was vice president, The United States was home to 163 million people, and many of them were listening to chart toppers such as Frank Sinatra's "Young at Heart," Doris...