Best's Review articles from May 2003

Best's Review archives from May 2003

The IT hat trick. (Editor's Prologue).(information technology)(Editorial)
May 1, 2003... When is a successful chief information technologist more than an information technologist? Today, tomorrow and probably from now on. Two developments in the past few years have significantly changed how many businesses, including insurance...

In the spotlight *. (Comment).(attitudes)
May 1, 2003... "Cheap reinsurance is a fool's bargain: When an insurer lays out money today in exchange for a reinsurer's promise to pay a decade or two later it's dangerous--and possibly life-threatening--for the insurer to deal with any but the strongest...

The California State Compensation Insurance Fund. (People in Insurance).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The California State Compensation Insurance Fund has appointed James F. Neary executive vice president. Neary, who has been vice president and a member of State Fund's executive committee since 1995, succeeds Norm Hansen, who retired March...

Royal Marine Insurance Group. (People in Insurance).(Brad La Bour)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Royal Marine Insurance Group has named Brad La Bour executive vice president of sales, responsible for all sales-related functions and serving as a senior member of the firm's management team. La Bour most recently was branch manager and...

Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) Ltd. (People in Insurance).(John F. Burke)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) Ltd. has appointed John F. Burke chief executive officer. Burke has been the company's chief financial officer since September 2001 and will continue in that role in addition to his new responsibilities. He...

SARS hits Asia-Pacific economies. (Briefing).(includes related article on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome )
May 1, 2003... The appearance of a dangerous, pneumonia-like virus in several Asia-Pacific countries, and its subsequent spread to other continents, has global health authorities scrambling to both identify and contain the threat. The disease's potential...

Fear of SARS not covered by travel insurance. (Briefing).
May 1, 2003... As concerns grow over the fast-spreading severe acute respiratory syndrome, travelers passing up trips in fear of getting sick are discovering that most insurance policies won't reimburse them for such cancellations. "There's no...

Princeton Insurance Co. (People in Insurance).(Andrea C. Kanefsky promotion)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Princeton Insurance Co. has promoted Andrea C. Kanefsky to the position of senior vice president and chief financial officer, and Charles W. Lefevre to the position of senior vice president and chief operating officer. Kanefsky has been...

All Risks Ltd. (People in Insurance).(promotes Matt Nichols)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... All Risks Ltd. has promoted Matt Nichols to executive vice president. Nichols joined All Risks three years ago to take over Florida operations. Before that, he worked in various underwriting, marketing and management roles with...

Insurance industry and the U.S. economy. (By the Numbers).(includes detailed employment data for the U.S. insurance industry)(Illustration)
May 1, 2003... The Alliance of American Insurers reports that more than 2.3 million people were employed in the insurance industry in 2002. The insurance industry contributes about 24% of the gross national product. In 2001, the industry paid $10.2 billion in...

Meetings.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
May 1, 2003... May 1-4 LOMA, Life Insurers Council Annual Meeting, The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo. (770) 9843724; Web site: www.loma.org/LICannual.htm. May 8-9 National Conference of Insurance Guaranty Funds, Annual Meeting, Royal Sonesta...

Agents seek changes to client lists laws. (Briefing).(Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America argues for changes in tax law)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Issues affecting client lists--among the most valuable assets an insurance agent has--are a federal legislative priority for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. The group wants changes both in the tax laws affecting how the...

U.S. Chamber poll: Delaware courts best. (Briefing).(United States Chamber of Commerce releases survey on best state legal systems)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The U.S. Chamber of Commerce gives most state legal systems a fair to poor grade of "C-" based on results of its second annual survey of corporate attorneys who were asked their perceptions of state legal systems. States with the best...

High Court limits punitive damages in an appeal of State Farm decision. (Briefing).
May 1, 2003... A new ruling by the U.S. supreme Court could lead to significantly smaller punitive-damage settlements across the country, exactly what liability tort reform has been attempting to achieve for years. The April 7 decision by the Supreme...

Best's rating changes.(U.S. insurance industry ratings)
May 1, 2003... This summary of Best's Rating Changes includes U.S.-domiciled life, health-care and property/casualty insurers as well as international insurers that had ratings assigned, changed or placed under review since this section last appeared in the...

Building credibility: five insurance technologists discuss project management, the Internet, legacy systems and other challenges, plus their evolving role in the industry. (Cover Story: Information Technology).(project management in insurance industry)
May 1, 2003... At a time when leveraging information is more critical than ever for insurance companies, technology leaders are finding their way into executive decision making and confirming their right to be there by the results they produce. They know that...

Playing hard ball: independent agents are taking advantage of the hard market to grow their businesses through referrals, retentions, focused marketing and some in-the-field underwriting. (Industry Strategies: Agents).(U.S. insurance industry management)
May 1, 2003... In the midst of this hard market, when insurance companies have raised rates and turned away from writing unprofitable business, many independent agents are reaping the rewards in the form of increased volume, higher premiums and healthier...

Faces of the industry: a new multimedia gallery of the Insurance Hall of Fame honors insurance leaders from around the world. (Industry Strategies: Leadership).
May 1, 2003... Harry Truman once said, "Men make history; not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better." ...

Claims busters: Plymouth Rock's mobile claims adjusters mix technology with a personal touch to keep costs down while making customers happy. (Property/Casualty: Claims).
May 1, 2003... It's a Thursday morning and Joe Deboisbriand is about to head for work from his home in Salisbury, Mass. But before he hits the road as a field adjuster for Plymouth Rock Assurance Corp., he pulls up a chair at the roll-top desk in his living...

Filled to the brim: while workers' compensation insurance pools have grown rapidly in the past two years, they are still nowhere near the crisis levels reached more than a decade ago. (Property/Casualty: Workers' Compensation).
May 1, 2003... Pressured by double-digit medical cost inflation, concentration-of risk worries and falling investment income, workers' compensation insurers have become more selective about the policyholders they want to cover. With the voluntary market...

AIG renames auto division. (Property/Casualty: Marketplace).(AIG Specialty Auto renamed AIG Agency Auto)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... American International Group Inc. has announced that the name of AIG Specialty Auto, a division of American International Cos., has been changed to AIG Agency Auto to better convey the unit's commitment to the independent agency distribution...

St. Paul Cos. expands Kidnap & Ransom product. (Property/Casualty: Marketplace).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... St. Paul Cos. is making a significant expansion into the kidnap and ransom insurance marketplace. Its new product is targeted for U.S. and Canadian Fortune 500 companies with multinational operations and global insurance exposures. The security...

Liberty Mutual opens umbrella market. (Property/Casualty: Marketplace).(Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.'s new product)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Liberty Mutual's new commercial umbrella policy offers insurance brokers a tool for meeting the excess insurance needs of their large national clients. The product is provided by the national market area of Liberty Mutual--which provides...

Philosophy meets function: agency principals must translate operating philosophy into job design and workflow processes. (Property/Casualty: Selling Insight).(selling insurance)
May 1, 2003... The business of selling insurance is a practical, detail-oriented endeavor that requires unrelenting focus on executing the basics. There is no room for philosophy in this day-to-day battle. Or is there? After three decades in insurance,...

Regulations for Segways vary from state to state. (Property/Casualty: Loss/Risk Management Notes).(Segway Human Transporter from Segway L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The Segway Human Transporter isn't classified as a vehicle by federal regulators, so regulating the self-balancing, emissions-free, electric, scooter-like machine has fallen to the states. Made by Segway LLC, Segways have been available...

Study: Tokyo is riskiest city. (Property/Casualty: Loss/Risk Management Notes).(property insurance important in Tokyo, Japan)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... When it comes to natural disasters and insured property, Tokyo is the city most at risk, according to a study by Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurers. Munich Re examined 50 of the largest "megacities" in the world and factored...

Institute: new SUV designs decrease automobile passenger crash deaths. (Property/Casualty: Loss/Risk Management Notes).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Even though sport utility vehicles may have adjusted their designs to perform better on industry crash tests, that hasn't caused them to become more deadly to passengers in cars, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said. In a...

Movable coverage: successor coverage may be narrower than successor liability. (Property/Casualty: Loss/Risk Management Insight).(U.S. property and casualty insurance)
May 1, 2003... Complex insurance claims often involve questions concerning whether liability arising from an earlier company is covered under the earlier company's insurance. This question frequently arises in the environmental context because of the...

Leading the way: insurers are looking to employees with good leadership skills to face current market challenges with confidence. (Property/Casualty: Underwright Insight).(U.S. insurance industry management)
May 1, 2003... "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A leader's ability to cope when the "going gets tough"...

Health emergency: universal health care could be crafted to save the nation money and give insurers a major role. (Life/Health: Universal Health Care).(U.S. health care industry management)
May 1, 2003... Proponents have long portrayed universal health care as a moral imperative. Costs of ambitious plans, however, have tempered public enthusiasm, most recently in last November's referendum in Oregon. But now a perfect storm besetting the...

Under treatment: as oncologists struggle with the traditional process of charging patients for chemotherapy medication, insurers are offering their own cure for the situation. (Life/Health: Medical Costs).(medical insurance guidelines)
May 1, 2003... Cancer doctors are finding them selves caught between perception and what they say is reality. In the past few months, oncologists have been the target of bad publicity caused by the revenue they receive from the sale of chemotherapy drugs to...

The mighty duck: Aflac is boosting sales and name recognition with its ubiquitous duck, and now the marketing icon is also reaching audiences in Japan. (Life/Health: Marketing).(American Family Life Assurance Co.)
May 1, 2003... In a barber shop, baseball legend Yogi Berra discusses accident insurance with the shop's owner. Outside the window, a white duck quacks "AFLAC!" response. The amusing scene is one of many commercials from American Family Life Assurance Co....

Left holding the bag. (Life/Health: Self-Insured Health Plans).(services of U.S. insurance brokers and agents)
May 1, 2003... Agents and brokers who sell unlicensed health plans to self-insured employers face the prospect of being liable for unpaid medical claims, losing their state insurance license and serving time in prison. Over the past year or so, as a...

Next survivor show? Industry associations are competing against each other for membership and prestige and must refine their focuses to stay afloat. (Life/Health: Selling Insight).
May 1, 2003... Industry associations are facing possible extinction if they don't learn to deal better with their dwindling membership and anemic budgets. For instance, look at the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. The...

Guardian plan to protect retirement plan contributions. (New Products and Services).(Guardian Life Insurance Company of America Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America has introduced Retirement Protection Plus, a program of disability income insurance protection for retirement-plan contributions. The New York-based insurer's wholly owned stock subsidiary,...

New York Life Rider offers extended death benefit. (New Products and Services).(New York Life Insurance Co. introduces benefit)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... New York Life Insurance Co. has launched a life extension benefit rider for its NYLIAC Pinnacle Series products that maintains a death benefit beyond age 100. The Pinnacle Series is designed for business owners and high-net-worth clients...

TIAA-CREF adds to level-premium term lineup. (New Products and Services).(TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Co., New York, has added 10-year and 15-year level-premium term life insurance products to its portfolio available to the general public. The minimum face amount is $100,000. The new products complement an existing...

New federal LTC program attracts 265,000 applicants. (Life/Health: Marketplace).(U.S. insurance industry)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Some 265,000 federal employees applied for long-term-care insurance during the open season of the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, according to the company formed to run it. Long Term Care Partners LLC, a partnership of John...

Companies form foundation to promote college savings plans. (Life/Health: Marketplace).(College Savings Foundation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Several large financial-services companies, including Manulife Financial, have created the College Savings Foundation to help support tax-advantaged plans authorized under Section 529 of the Tax Code. Founding members of the Washington,...

A time for self-promotion: underwriters play a central role in the life-insurance business, but insurers may not fully recognize their value. (Life/Health: Underwriting Insight).(life insurance industry management)
May 1, 2003... Many professions associated with the life insurance industry have done an admirable job promoting their craft. The life insurance underwriting profession needs to join these ranks and describe how what it does, matters. And it does matter....

Eyes on India. (Technology: Global Outsourcing).(companies are outsourcing work to India)
May 1, 2003... Moving technology operations to india is giving insurers and insurance software providers cost savings and high-quality results. In March 2001, New York Citybased Guardian Life Insurance Company of America began outsourcing information...

Fitting the bill: technological advances have made the elusive target of electronic bill presentment and payment for group bills an attainable goal.
May 1, 2003... Using the Internet for billing and payment for complex billing in group lists and commercial lines is at the nascent stage. Electronic bill presentment and payment, which is old news when it comes to individual insurance products or simple...

Power house: utility computing can lend itself immediately to providing business benefit. (Technology: Technology Insight).
May 1, 2003... To some observers, utility computing, also known as on-demand computing, is not that far removed from the days of mainframe time-sharing. Adding capacity was a basic exercise of adding more central processing units, disk storage or random...

Zurich doubles its sales for e-commerce policies. (Technology: Technology Notes).(Zurich North America Financial Enterprises)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Zurich North America Financial Enterprises, a unit of Schaumburg, Ill.-based Zurich North America, recently announced that last year it more than doubled the number of insurance policies it's underwritten to cover e-commerce risks. The...

Study names top 529 plan Web sites. (Technology: Technology Notes).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Kasina, a strategy consulting firm for the financial services industry, recently named its findings of the top 529 plan Web sites. In its study entitled, "2003 Top Web Sites--529 Plans," Kasina also identified deficiencies in the sites, in...