Best's Review articles from March 2008

Best's Review archives from March 2008

The green issue.(From the Editor's Desk)(green business opportunities)(Editorial)
March 1, 2008... Last August, Best's Review published its first article in our Climate Change series. Our March magazine features the second part of that series showcasing 10 stories that take a wide-ranging look at how insurers are responding to green...

A special thank-you to our subscribers.(Comments)
March 1, 2008... Best's Review would like to thank all of our eagle-eyed subscribers who notified us of the printing error in the February issue. We heard from you via phone calls and e-mail and appreciate the contact. Unfortunately, our printer inserted pages...

It's all about money.(Comment)(Property and casualty insurance)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... This letter was written in response to your November Property/Casualty article,"High Alert." We all recall the exchange between writers E Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway where Fitzgerald stated the rich are different, to which...

Quote/Unquote.(Comment)(Quotation)
March 1, 2008... Excerpted from BESTWEEK US./Canada and BESTWEEK Europe "I don't know any of our competitors who make an indication of how much premium they may write in the year to come. In the world of today, you have to be very careful in making forward...

Corrections.(Comment)(Correction notice)
March 1, 2008... * Please note that the copy in the Regulator Yearbook, February 2008 Best's Review, should read that the Ohio Department of Insurance Director Mary Jo Hudson has practiced law since 1989, which would be 19 years. * The brokerage firm...

Killer tornadoes strike in six Southern States.(Briefing)
March 1, 2008... Insurers in the Midsouth are continuing to process thousands of claims in the aftermath of one of the worst mid-winter tornado outbreaks in history. Dozens of twisters were reported to have roared through six states in the Mid-South on...

Senator forecasts cloudy outlook for national cat fund.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will devote hearings late this spring to legislation that looks to streamline state regulation of the surplus lines and reinsurance markets, the bill's primary Republican sponsor told attendees of the 2008...

China staggered by costly winter storms.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The bad weather that has paralyzed parts of China could cause insurance claims of up to 3.5 billion yuan (about $487 million), according to Guy Carpenter. The worst ice and snow storms in China in more than 50 years have affected 21...

Sizable losses reduce profits.(100 YEARS AGO in Best's Review)
March 1, 2008... Companies should not write insurance for a single large fire or conflagration that is disproportionate to their income, according to Best's Review. The year 1907 was profitable for fire underwriters, yet many companies did not average...

California health reforms may come in pieces.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The failure of comprehensive health care reform legislation in California will set back major reforms by at least a year, but the door may remain open for consideration of smaller-scale efforts in 2008. In the aftermath of the Jan. 28...

Meetings.(Calendar)
March 1, 2008... March 4-6 America's Health Insurance Plans: National Policy Forum, Ritz-Carlton Washington, Washington, D.C. Phone: (202) 778-3200 Web site: www.ahip.org March 5-7 Self-Insurance Institute of America: 22nd Annual Legislative/Regulatory...

Health insurers' financiai results will be tested as markets evolve.(By the Numbers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Despite competitive pressures, health insurers and managed care companies have maintained strong earnings in recent years because of stable medical cost trends, improved case management and technology efficiencies. Insurers, though, will have...

New USGS seismic hazard maps could affect industry.(U.S. Geological Survey )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Updates to the U.S. Geological Survey could change the way the insurance industry evaluates loss estimates for earthquakes. The USGS is finalizing an update of the national seismic hazard maps, which includes changes to the methodology and...

Credit default swaps discussed.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Regulatory reform of the financial guaranty insurance sector is likely to include new restrictions on the ability of bond insurers to underwrite complex structured products, several state insurance commissioners indicated in written comments to...

Duel in the sun.(Briefing)(case between Florida's Allstate Office of Insurance Regulation and Allstate Insurance Grou)(Calendar)
March 1, 2008... A timeline of the ongoing clash between Florida's Allstate Office of Insurance Regulation and Allstate Insurance Group: 2007 Oct. 16: Allstate companies doing business in Florida are subpoenaed by OIR for information and testimony...

Lincoln, Ameriprise beat crisis crunch.(Briefing)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A new study by Lehman Bros. shows "significant differences" in the exposure of different U.S. life insurers to possible future upheaval in the subprime mortgage market. Among the study's major findings are that two companies seem to have...

A.M. Best's stock indexes.(Briefing)(Statistical table)
March 1, 2008... Percent Change Index Month/ Year to Year/ AMB vs Dow Close Month Date Year AMB's Insurance Composite 1,206.70 -8.74 ...

Berkshire Hathaway buys 3% stake, 20% of P/C exposure from Swiss Re.(Briefing)
March 1, 2008... Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought a 3.03% stake in Swiss Re for an undisclosed sum, while also taking on 20% of Swiss Re's property and casualty reinsurance exposure through a quota share arrangement. Swiss Re said the Omaha-based...

Former U.K. Prime Minister to advise Zurich on climate change.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair has agreed to serve as an adviser to Zurich Financial Services Group on international political developments, including climate change issues through Zurich's neve Climate Change Advisory Council. ...

Heath Lambert Ltd.(Agent/Broker)(appointed Richard Cowling as chairman of its real estate division)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Independent U.K. broker HEATH LAMBERT LTD. has appointed RICHARD COWLING, former director of forensic insurance services at consultants KPMG, as chairman of its real estate division. Cowling, who has been in property insurance for almost...

Guy Carpenter & Co.(Agent/Broker)(appointments of Nick Frankland, Andrew Marcell and Ryan Ogaard)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Reinsurance broker GUY CARPENTER & CO. appointed three executives, NICK FRANKLAND, ANDREW MARCELL and RYAN OGAARD, to its executive committee. The committee is responsible for developing the firm's strategic plan, setting budgets,...

Batchelor to head operations in Europe, Africa and Middle East.(People in Insurance)(appointment of David Batchelor at Marsh Inc.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... David Batchelor will succeed Alex Moczarski as head of Marsh Inc.'s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Moczarski had been promoted to president of Marsh's international division, which includes the...

Captive Resources LLC.(Agent/Broker)(appointments)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... CAPTIVE RESOURCES LLC has named MICHAEL KILBANE and JENNIFER BEARD, respectively, as its president and chief operating officer. GEORGE RUSU, the founder and former president of the Schaumburg, Ill.-based captive insurance consultancy, will stay...

Willis Group Holdings Ltd.(Agent/Broker)(appointment of Alena Watchorn)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... London-based WILLIS GROUP HOLDINGS LTD. has named ALENA WATCHORN as an executive director of its mergers and acquisitions practice group. Watchorn comes to the insurance and risk holding company from HSBC Insurance Brokers, where she served...

Wellpoint Inc.(Health/Employee Benefits)(appointment of Leslie Margolin)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... WELLPOINT INC. has named LESLIE MARGOLIN to bccome president and general manager of its Blue Cross of California unit. She replaces BRIAN A. SASSI, whom WellPoint tapped as president and chief executive officer of its consumer business unit....

Amalgamated Life Insurance Co.(Life)(appointment of David J. Walsh )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... DAVID J. WALSH was named president and chief executive officer of AMALGAMATED LIFE INSURANCE CO. RONALD MINIKES retired from the post on Jan. 21. Minikes, who served as CEO for 12 years, decided to retire last summer and the board sought...

Farmers Group Inc.(Life)(appointment of Scott Lindquist)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... FARMERS GROUP INC. has named SCOTT LINDQUIST as its executive vice president and chief financial officer. Lindquist replaces PIERRE WAUTHIER, who since the fall of 2007 has served with Zurich's insurance division. Currently the controller...

Aegon.(Life)(retirement of Johan Van Der Werf )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Dutch insurer AEGON announced that JOHAN VAN DER WERF stepped down as chief executive officer of the company, effective Jan. 21. Van der Werf led the company since 2002 and worked for Aegon and its prede-cessors since 1982. Following his...

XL Capital Ltd.(Life)(appointment of David Duclos)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... XL CAPITAL LTD. has named DAVID DUCLOS the company's new chief executive officer of insurance operations. Duclos, the current chief operating officer of insurance operations, will fill the post vacated by CEO CLIVE TOBIN, who will retire...

Flagstone Re Holdings.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets)(appointment of Migual Barrales)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Bermuda reinsurer FLAGSTONE RE HOLDINGS has hired MIGUEL BARRALES, a former Swiss Re executive, to lead Flagstone Underwriters LATIN AMERICA LTD. as chief executive officer. Barrales was vice president for client management within Swiss...

Wellington Plc.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets)(appointment of John O' Neill)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... JOHN O'NEILL, former group head of claims for WELLINGTON PLC, has been appointed chief operating officer of the U.K. insurance services division of runoff management specialist Randall & Quilter. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] O'Neill is a...

Scottish Re Group Ltd.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets)(appointment of David Carrick)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... SCOTTISH RE GROUP LTD. has named DAVID CARRICK to be the senior vice president and group controller of the Bermuda-based reinsurer. He reports to TERRY ELEFTHERIOU, Scottish Re's executive vice president and chief financial officer. An...

Swiss Re.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets)(appointment of Richard Schneider at Swiss Reinsurance Co.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... SWISS RE has named RICHARD SCHNEIDER as the head of its Mexico office in Mexico City. Schneider succeeds CARLOS BOELSTERLI as the office head of Swiss Brokers Mexico, and will manage operations and regional client operations for the...

CEO and president still all in the family at Lititz Mutual.(People in Insurance)(Lititz Mutual Insurance Company)(Henry H. Gibbel and Henry R. Gibbel are appointed)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Keeping with a tradition of family that has led Lititz Mutual Insurance Co. for more than a century, the company said Henry H. Gibbel was elected chairman and chief executive officer and Henry R. Gibbel was appointed president and chief...

Report shows withdrawal benefits value.(SPOTLIGHT)(Ibbotson Associates Inc.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Ibbotson Associates, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar Inc., has released a study showing that adding a lifetime guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit to a traditional stock and bond retirement portfolio can increase income while...

Program to help marine operators.(Property/Casualty)(Great American Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The Ocean Marine Division of Great American Insurance Group has launched the TOPS program of specialized insurance coverages for marine terminal operators. It offers marine liability, property, equipment, vessel pollution and other basic...

Insurance covers collector vehicles.(Property/Casualty)(Markel Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Markel American Insurance Co. has introduced a collector-vehicle insurance program to join its other specialty personal lines, including motorcycle and boat packages. The new program covers a variety of collector...

Hartford expands tech coverage.(Property/Casualty)(Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. introduced enhancements to its FailSafe Technology Errors & Omissions product suite. Designed to meet the specialized insurance needs of small-to large-size technology companies, the product suite...

Guardian adds to lifetime rider.(Life)(Guardian Insurance and Annuity Co.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, has improved its guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit rider, Lifetime Focus. Guardian increased the minimum amount the...

Gray hair over the estate tax.(SNAPSHOT)(Table)
March 1, 2008... Current law repeals the estate tax in 2010 and reinstates it in 2011 with the exemption limit reduced to $1 million. Here's how surveyed affluent have prepared: Written a will 81% Worked with 74% an...

No-lapse feature in survivorship UL.(Life)(Nationwide Financial Services Inc.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nationwide Financial Services has launched YourLife SUL, a low-maintenance survivorship universal life product with a no-lapse guarantee. It is designed for couples or business partners, ages 50 to 70, with high or...

CarInsurance.com adds new carriers.(Technology)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CarInsurance.com recently added more carriers to its current 28-state agency product offering. Throughout 2007, the Web site expanded its agency into 11 new states. At the site, consumers can do everything online...

Brokers form group with ACORD.(Technology)(Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development)(London Market Insurance Brokers' Committee )(ACORD Brokers Committee)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... ACORD and the London Market Insurance Brokers' Committee recently formed the ACORD Brokers Committee. The goals, as laid out by ACORD and LMBC, are to support and drive implementation of ACORD Standards among medium and small brokers in the...

U.S. tort costs down.(SPOTLIGHT)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... U.S. tort costs fell by 5.5%, to $247 billion in 2006, according to a report by the Tillinghast insurance consulting practice of Towers Perrin. It's the first decrease in tort costs since 1997, but signs indicate the trend won't continue. ...

Safest cars.(SNAPSHOT)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... 2008 top safety picks by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Large cars: Audi A6 Cadillac CTS Ford Taurus (with optional electronic stability control) Mercury Sable (with optional electronic stability control) ...

Chart topper.(ADVERTISING)(www.allstate.com/teen)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A song written for an ALLSTATE commercial cracked the 2007 Billboard Top 100 list. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From Where You Are was written by Jason Wade, a singer in the band Lifehouse, for a 60-second spot promoting the insurer's safe...

A home run.(BRANDING)(The Progressive Corp. change its name to Progressive Field)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cleveland Indians fans soon will be cheering on their team in a newly-named facility. THE PROGRESSIVE GROUP OF INSURANCE COS. recently purchased the naming rights of the Cleveland ballpark formerly known as...

Geico and the association of zoos and aquariums.(SPONSORSHIP)(GEICO General Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... is engaged in a nationwide tour featuring a live gecko exhibit, the popular Geico Gecko costume character and a series of animated television commercials. The three-year partnership between Geico and the association will take the traveling...

Rating actions.(Ratings)(Statistical table)
March 1, 2008... This edition reflects all rating actions--assignments, changes or placed under review--that occurred for life, health and property/casualty insurers domiciled in North America, as well as international insurance companies, since this section...

The green wave: insurers are rolling out new products that tap into the growing--and potentially profitable--environmental movement.(Property/Casualty: Green Markets)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Like an increasing number of Americans, Steve Bushnell is concerned about the environment. He recycles. He uses public transportation when he can. He keeps his home's thermostat at a reasonable level. As a...

Why going green matters: an environmental expert says insurers see business opportunities in the environmental market and intolerable losses if climate change is ignored.(Property/Casualty: Environmental Issues)
March 1, 2008... Climate Change: Insurers Respond The Second Part of a Series Evan Mills is a staff scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has studied the implications of climate change for the insurance...

The green agent: transforming your agency into a clean, green insurance machine can help save the planet and grow your bottom line.(Agent/Broker: Environment)
March 1, 2008... Climate Change: Insurers Respond The Second Part of a Series [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DeWitt Stern Group's dedication to the greening of its business began on a whim. "It's a funny story," said David H. Paige, chief operating...

Building business: agents and brokers have a role in making the government more energy efficient.(Agent/Broker: Selling Insight)
March 1, 2008... When the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 became law, headlines focused on the bill's higher automobile gas mileage standards. But tucked away was another "green" provision to reduce energy usage, while giving brokers and agents an...

Greening health care: a growing number of health plans are helping preserve the environment and create eco-friendly workplaces.(Health/Employee Benefits: Green Initiatives)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Climate Change: Insurers Respond The Second Part of a Series When Kaiser Permanente introduced various energy conservation strategies across the company, it recognized a $10 million annual savings. Since the...

Saving their energy: large insurers have found energy conservation to be good for business.(Life: Energy Conservation)
March 1, 2008... Climate Change: Insurers Respond The Second Part of a Series One might not expect large life insurers to be in the energy-conservation business. If so, one would be wrong. Admittedly, it's not as though energy conservation is a product...

Unnatural disaster: insurers are taking climate solutions seriously, but so far it's a lonely job.(Regulatory/Law: Legal Trends)
March 1, 2008... Climate Change: Insurers Respond The Second Part of a Series The first insurance policy was written--on parchment, probably--after somebody Way Back When finally realized a great truth: Nature will always hold the winning hand....

Clear skies: the dawn of carbon credit trading is opening the door for new insurance and capital products.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets: Carbon Trading)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Climate Change: Insurers Respond The Second Part of a Series The idea of trading carbon emissions that someone who produces less carbon could "trade" that credit to someone else--is fairly new, yet one that could...

Backs to the wind: for prudent insurers, climate change means greater risks and bigger opportunities.(Property/Casualty: Business Strategy)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Climate Change: Insurers Respond The Second Party of a Series The climate change issue is converging upon the insurance industry like rapid fire. With so many new developments on the horizon, it's difficult for...

A new commitment: insurers can cut operational costs with green computing.(Technology: Green Computing)(Penn National Insurance)(ImageRight)(Celent Insurance Group)
March 1, 2008... Climate Change: Insurers Respond The Second Part of a Series [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bill Jenkins Vice President and Chief Information Officer Penn National Insurance, Harrisburg, Pa. "IT is traditionally looked at by a...

Accustomed cycles: reinsurers feel the soft-market squeeze.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets: Renewals)
March 1, 2008... Looking back at 2007, it seems to have been a year of reunions,with the Spice Girls, Led Zeppelin and The Eagles all getting together again. The reinsurance market, on the other hand, had its own, darker reunion, in which it came face-to-face...

Motivating the middle market: life insurers large and small have begun to crack the code on how to reach middle-income customers.(Life: Middle-Market Sales)
March 1, 2008... Middle-income Americans need more life insurance, and the industry is starting to figure out how to get it to them. Today, the proliferation of Internet technology and the enlistment of new distribution partners has helped insurers of all...

Think inside the distribution box: insurers are struggling to find their footing on a constantly changing field.(Life: Selling Insight)
March 1, 2008... Clearly the life insurance industry faces serious challenges. Increased competition within the financial services industry, the changing role that the life insurance industry will play in the retirement market and the need for new types of...

Rethinking portable group life benefits: insurers should be cautious about requests for higher benefit amounts and waived age-reduction schedules.(Life: Underwriting Insight)
March 1, 2008... Portability is an important benefit in a marketplace featuring more voluntary products and an aging and more fluid workforce. Employees want benefits they can take with them, and employers and group insurers have increased those types of...

Quant loves data: Enterprise Risk Management works best when insurers look for information in all the right places.(Technology: Technology Insight)
March 1, 2008... As any good "quant" (quantitative analyst) or actuary will tell you, analyses of current risk positions and future estimation models are only as good as the data that are analyzed and used by the models. Quants also will tell you that data...

Stable for now: the upcoming presidential election will bring some changes in the next few years, but 2008 should be quiet for medicare.(Health/Employee Benefits: Medicare)
March 1, 2008... Is Medicare on tap for another year of changes? Some industry experts believe it's unlikely. Rather, they see 2008 as a passive year of "stability" and a stepping stone for bigger changes to come. However, others see this as a year of...

Captives in paradise: regulators in the Aloha State are touting Hawaii's ultimate destination package: insurance haven.(Property/Casualty: Captive Insurers)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Hawaii always has had a reputation as a tourist destination, with its sandy beaches, exotic flora and enviable climate. All it needs now is a heavier concentration on insurance. At least, that's how regulators...

Captive domiciles.(Property/Casualty: Captives)
March 1, 2008... Captive domiciles are usually formed through enabling legislation and must be prepared to take on the tasks of oversight and regulation. Domiciles may use different criteria to define captives. In some places, the law may permit captives, even...

Big results possible with small agencies.(Property/Casualty: Loss/Risk Management Insight)
March 1, 2008... Small-agency life insurance salesman was competing with a larger life broker."Don't let me frighten you into a hasty decision," the agent told a would-be client."Sleep on it tonight. If you wake up in the morning and you're still alive, give...

Agents are customers, too: insurers should provide their field forces with the same top-notch service as their policy holders.(Agent/Broker: Customer Service)(Survey)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In a recent survey, insurance company executives indicated that strategic priorities are starting to shift from an internal, predominantly operational focus to an external, market-driven one. With this shift...

Gearing up for cleantech.(Property/Casualty: Underwriting Insight)
March 1, 2008... Environment-friendly technology is making its way, into the insurance mainstream. he cleantech industry is exploding, and insurers will need to figure out quickly how to handle the different nuances of this complicated market--and how to reap...

Top of mind: Best's Review's survey reveals taxes, health care and retirement are key issues for the industry in this year's presidential election.(Regulatory/Law: Insurance Industry Survey)
March 1, 2008... Taxes, health care and retirement security top the list of issues insurance industry professionals would most like to see the presidential candidates address in the 2008 campaign, according to an exclusive Best's Review and BestWeek survey....

Conviction not required: a felonious act, even where the insured has not been charged, may still be considered a felony for insurance purposes.(Regulatory/Law: Legal Insight)
March 1, 2008... Accidental death policies usually contain exclusions for criminal conduct. Recently, in Steele v. Life Insurance Company of North America, the Seventh Circuit ruled that an accidental death policy's felony exclusion applied even though...

Commercial and industrial property insurer FM Global has opened a representative office in Beijing after getting approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.(Asia/Pacific)
March 1, 2008... Commercial and industrial property insurer FM GLOBAL has opened a representative office in Beijing after getting approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. The approval was granted to FACTORY MUTUAL INSURANCE CO., which does...

The Honover Insurance Group.(Commercial)(Hanover Insurance Co.)(Verlan Holdings Inc.,)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... THE HANOVER INSURANCE GROUP has announced it will acquire VERLAN HOLDINGS INC., which writes insurance to distributors and manufacturers of chemical-related products such as paint and solvents.

Swiss insurer Baloise Group said it is in negotiations with German counterpart Gothaer Versicherungsbank about a strategic partnership and the merger of their German activities.(Europe)(Baloise Insurance Group)(Gothaer Versicherungsbank VVAG)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Swiss insurer BALOISE GROUP said it is in negotiations with German counterpart GOTHAER VERSICHERUNGSBANK about a strategic partnership and the merger of their German activities. According to Baloise, a letter of intent has been signed and both...

Zurich Financial Services Group will expand services for corporate customers in Norway and Denmark by founding two new branches of Dublin-based Zurich Insurance Ireland Ltd.(Europe)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... ZURICH FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP will expand services for corporate customers in Norway and Denmark by founding two new branches of Dublin-based ZURICH INSURANCE IRELAND LTD. The new branches will become operational in the first quarter of 2008....

Unitedhealthcare has completed its $775 million acquisition of mostly all of the health-related businesses of Fiserv Inc.(Health)
March 1, 2008... UNITEDHEALTHCARE has completed its $775 million acquisition of mostly all of the health-related businesses of FISERV INC., a provider of information management systems and services to the financial and insurance industries.

White Mountains Insurance Group has acquired a 42% stake in Answer Financial, an Internet-based personal lines agency, for $30 million.(Property/Casualty)(Answer Financial Inc.)(White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... WHITE MOUNTAINS INSURANCE GROUP has acquired a 42% stake in ANSWER FINANCIAL, an Internet-based personal lines agency, for $30 million. Answer Financial, of Encino, Calif., offers consumers the ability to compare quotes for auto and...

American International Group Inc. has terminated its $730 million Bermuda-based sidecar Concord RE, which was set up to reinsure U.S. property risks written by AIG subsidiary Lexington Insurance Co.(Reinsurance)(Lexington Insurance Co)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INC. has terminated its $730 million Bermuda-based sidecar CONCORD RE, which was set up to reinsure U.S. property risks writtin by AIG subsidiary LEXINGTON INSURANCE CO. AIG confirmed that assets in the...

Trusting research and capital, new broker targets Hispanics.(Companies)(Confie Seguros)(Genstar Capital L.L.C.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... With two years of research and planning completed and about a quarter of a billion dollars in financing, a new broker targeting the Hispanic community in the western and southern United States began business recently. New York-based Confie...

Staying for a little while longer: Dutch insurers step in to help spare the life of a historic tree.(The Last Word)
March 1, 2008... Several insurers recently climbed new heights to help preserve a piece of history. Last year, the Dutch Association of Insurers and four of its members joined in an effort to help save from destruction a chestnut tree that figured in Anne...