Best's Review articles from September 2003

Best's Review archives from September 2003

Business continuity solutions for insurance.(Special Advertising Section)
September 1, 2003... INSURANCE IS ALL ABOUT ONE THING: PEACE OF MIND. FOR INSURANCE companies delivering that peace of mind--property & casualty and life & annuities writers and health benefits plan providers--the thing that lets their executives sleep at night is...

A question of conscience.(Editor's Prologue)
September 1, 2003... Several months ago, as the controversy over the use of the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange for underwriting homeowners insurance was gathering steam, I proposed an article on the debate to the Best's Review editorial board. Senior...

Realities of risk.(Comment)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Great story on FM Global. ("Engineering Success," August 2003) These kinds of deep dives are outstanding in terms of helping the industry explore new ways of doing business and especially thinking outside the box on how to measure, mitigate and...

In the spotlight*.(Comment)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... "There is a movement of labor overseas to politically sensitive countries. That is a growing concern for many companies that move call centers and other activities offshore." Bryan Squibb Managing Director of Aon Trade Credit ...

Clarification.(Comment)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The body mass index formula on page 28 of the August 2003 issue of Best's Review is based on the metric system: a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his or her height in meters equals the BMI. To convert the formula to the...

Correction.(Comment)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2003... Caption: The photograph on page 70 of the August 2003 print issue of Best's Review was not the dust explosion bunker at FM Global Research Campus as identified in the caption. The correct photo is at right.

Is ImageRight in your 2004 budget? It should be.
September 1, 2003... Document Management is one of three top initiatives Information Officers are planning to budget for in 2004, according to a recent study by Giga Information Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Forrester Research, Inc. According to the Giga...

Arch Capital Group Ltd.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Arch Capital Group Ltd. has named Constantine Iordanou president and chief executive effective Aug. 1. Iordanou succeeds Peter Appel, one of Arch Capital's founders, who remains on the company's board. Iordanou will be based at Arch...

John Hancock Life Insurance Co.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... John Hancock Life Insurance Co. has appointed James Logan vice president of Signator Financial Network, a distribution arm of John Hancock. He will be director of sales for Signator's direct brokerage operations and will be responsible for...

Cincinnati Financial Corp.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Cincinnati Financial Corp. has named Heather J. Wietzel as the company's first investor relations officer, with the title of assistant vice president of Cincinnati Insurance Co.

Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. has appointed Karl Mayr president and chief executive officer of Axis Re Europe. Mayr will lead the Axis Re Europe underwriting team in developing and servicing European reinsurance clients. This operation is...

Scandal, stocks standards dominate global seminar.
September 1, 2003... The "perfect storm" that has engulfed the insurance industry since Sept. 11, 2001--including corporate-governance reforms, turbulent financial markets and changing international accounting standards--made for lively discussion among 500...

TIAA-CREF.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... TIAA-CREF has appointed Susan S. Kozik to the position of executive vice president and chief technology officer. She will be in charge of companywide technology direction, and oversee systems engineering and architecture, technology risk...

Cigna Pharmacy Management.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Cigna Pharmacy Management has appointed James Bryant, a former Caremark executive, president. He succeeds Tom Croswell, who recently was named president of Intracorp Inc., Cigna's clinical and wellness management company.

Ace Ltd.(People in Insurance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Ace Ltd. announced Jaime Paredes as chairman and chief executive officer of Ace Latin America. Paredes comes to Ace from Skandia, where he most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Skandia Latin America. Acacio...

By the numbers.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Reinsurers Rebound Fifty of the major U.S. property/casualty reinsurers tracked by the Reinsurance Association of America reported a 12% increase in net premiums written for year-end 2002, and a significant drop in combined ratio as they...

Meetings.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Sept. 6-11 Rendez-Vous de Septembre, 47th Edition, Monte Carlo, Monaco. Web site: www.rvs-montecarlo.com. Sept. 10-14 National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Annual Convention, San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina,...

Travel policy claims based on cause.(Briefing)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The plans of thousands of travelers were disrupted during the August blackout, but how many insured travelers will collect claims will depend on the cause of the power outage and their policy terms. About 20% to 24% of travelers purchase...

Utilities' insurers exposed to BI claims.(Briefing)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... As power utilities and government agencies continue their probe into what caused the Aug. 14th blackout, those who manage the insurance programs of the affected utilities say the ultimate cause of the power failure will have much to do with...

Exclusions, 'time deductibles' to spare insurers from big blackout claims.(Briefing)
September 1, 2003... After the 1977 blackout that darkened New York City for two days, business saw about $2 million in insured losses. But the fires, theft and looting that broke out afterward cost nearly 15 times that much in insured damages. Insurers aren't...

Blackout might force businesses to consider cyber-risk coverage.(Briefing)
September 1, 2003... Although cyber insurance policies aren't designed to cover power losses, the August blackout could encourage more companies to re-evaluate the need for the coverage. "I think this will be a wake-up call for businesses. Maybe this will make...

Best's rating changes.(Ratings)
September 1, 2003... 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...

Doing the right thing: insurers struggle endlessly to balance their commercial interests with their role in meeting basic social needs. What needs to happen for them to succeed?(The Big Picture)
September 1, 2003... If America has a social contract, much of the fine print is in its insurance policies. When the terms of that contract come up for debate, the insurance industry often finds itself squarely in the middle, trying to balance the commercial...

Critical transfer: brokers should advise self-insured clients to carve out organ-transplant coverage to keep medical-benefits costs healthy.(Industry Strategies)
September 1, 2003... Critical-care procedures, such as organ transplants, can have a devastating financial impact on a company's health-benefits plan costs. With already astronomical medical costs going nowhere but up, many companies are choosing to self-insure...

Coming of age: arbitration--the reinsurance industry's method of settling contract dispute--is no longer effective and needs an update.(Industry Strategies)
September 1, 2003... The arbitration system, the predominant method of dispute resolution in the treaty reinsurance business, is broken. This system was conceived in a different era to resolve business disputes between partners in long-term (and usually profitable)...

The Sarbanes-Oxley solution: new corporate governance standards redefine directors and officers liability.(Industry Strategies)
September 1, 2003... Directors and officers of major U.S. companies have been hit by the perfect storm. That storm consisted of the shock of Enron, WorldCom and other companies; the response of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the difficulty insurance companies...

A glass half full: as the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act approaches its first anniversary, demand for terrorism insurance is low, but industry experts say the backstop is bringing capacity and stability to the marketplace.(Property/Casualty)
September 1, 2003... Terrorism insurance may not yet be a popular product, but the fact it's available at all is a sign that the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 has been successful, industry experts said, although they are still concerned that the act is just...

A burning question: as the suburbs sprawl even farther, homeowners insurers are adding new factors into their underwriting consideration.(Property/Casualty)
September 1, 2003... In the fiercely competitive homeowners line, insurance companies these days are focusing more on identifying the hazards that a risk is exposed to before they spend underwriting dollars to inspect the site and determine coverage. This...

No doubts: insurers that have formed Mutual Holding Companies are finding value in their restructuring and say it's a decision they wouldn't change.(Property/Casualty)
September 1, 2003... The select number of property/casualty insurers that have shed their mutual status to form mutual holding companies say it's a decision they don't regret. For United Heritage, forming a mutual holding company was a win-win situation. Not...

Battling rising prices: increases in costs of key components in claims drive price indexes for the property/casualty industry's major business lines.(Property/Casualty)
September 1, 2003... Physician services, hospital services, legal costs and auto-body repair expenses continued to outpace the general rate of inflation, keeping the price indexes for most of the property/casualty industry's major business lines above the consumer...

Like the real thing: insurers are testing the mettle of prospective agents and producers by putting them through evaluation simulations.(Property/Casualty)
September 1, 2003... Chest heaving, legs shaking and shirt soaked with perspiration, the trainee pilot staggers out of the cockpit after a terrifying engine flameout--thankful that if was just a simulation, hOt for real. Yet she's got a battered, one-sided grin on...

Survey reports fraud hits one in three companies.(Property/Casualty)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... More than a third of companies worldwide have been victims of economic crime or fraud in the past two years, and have lost an average of more than $2 million, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Financial services companies...

Highway safety: insurers win some, lose some.(Loss/Risk Management Notes)
September 1, 2003... With motor vehicle accidents costing an estimated $230 billion annually, insurers--who shoulder about half of that cost--are pressing for changes to state and federal vehicle laws. Insurers are cheering a growing trend for states to enact...

Focusing on value: there is an optimal level of risk that maximizes a firm's shareholder value.(Property/Casualty)
September 1, 2003... British wit Samuel Johnson once was asked whether there were any benefits of being sentenced to hang. Perhaps one, he replied: "It wonderfully focuses the mind." Financial reporting has much the same effect--by focusing attention on the next...

Writinq for differences: multilayered underwriting is a tremendous advantage to agents, insurers and policyholders.(Property/Casualty)
September 1, 2003... For years, insurers have been underwriting personal auto accounts as though all drivers in the household were like peas in a pod. Characteristics of one driver could dramatically influence the underwriting of the entire policy. The simple...

Return policy: sales of variable universal life insurance have been down for more than two years. A healthier stock market and new product guarantees may mean a rebound.(Life/Health)
September 1, 2003... Is variable life insurance poised for a comeback? With equity markets up more than 20% in the second quarter, many life insurance writers are doubtlessly hoping that their most innovative and complicated instrument may be on the verge of...

To a future of good health: health plans are learning that predictive modeling, a mainstay of property/casualty insurance, can help them set more accurate rates and reduce costs.(Life/Health)
September 1, 2003... Predictive modeling, long used by credit-card companies, the retail industry and even property/casualty insurers, is seeing increasing application in the healthcare field. For health plans, this technology can analyze demographic, medical and...

A price to pay: health plans are discovering accreditations bring the added responsibility of clinical outcomes and the possibility of medical malpractice claims.(Life/Health)
September 1, 2003... Consider, if you will, a managed care organization that had recently earned a "seal of approval" from one of the national accrediting organizations. The managed care organization proudly began to market its new accreditation to existing and...

What's the score? By using a distribution profit & loss statement, companies can ensure their management teams are using the same rules to keep score.(Life/Health)
September 1, 2003... Imagine playing on a very competitive sports team where everyone plays aggressively, but by different rules and keeps score in different ways. Welcome to the life insurance distribution business: a "game" in which company-teams compete...

Prudential Technology helps win retirement-plan contracts.(Life/Health)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Prudential Retirement, a business of Prudential Financial, has become the administrator of several retirement plans, reportedly due to its GoalMaker asset allocation program, its information technology and its personalized employee-education...

ING Advisors Network offers top marketing ideas.(Life/Health)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... ING Advisors Network has compiled what it believes are the best growth initiatives for advisers to pursue this year. The top 10 list includes support and training for executing the initiatives. The top 10 ideas are exploring...

The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S.(New Products)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S., a New York-based subsidiary of Axa Financial, has introduced a series of life products aimed at addressing concerns about product inflexibility and underperformance leading to policy lapses. The...

New group products lead surge in work-site marketing.(Life/Health)
September 1, 2003... Work-site marketing--the sale of insurance products to employees through voluntary payroll deduction--is growing at a brisk pace. In 2002, estimated new annualized premium topped $4 billion, according to Avon, Conn.-based Eastbridge Consulting....

Blues enrollment reaches record high.(Life/Health)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Total enrollment in the 42 independent Blues plans hit 88.7 million at the end of the first quarter, the highest number ever, according to the Chicago-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Nearly one in three Americans is covered by a...

Concentration of risk: direct writers of group insurance could gain competitive advantages from better understanding the risks of disasters where they can cause the most harm.(Life/Health)
September 1, 2003... Many group life, medical and disability insurers weren't directly affected by Sept. 11, 2001, so why should they be worried about it? The short answer is, because a similar scenario could happen again. Today it's clear that the threat of...

A business leader in technologist's clothing: Barbara Piehler focuses a career of life insurance management experience into building new technology at Northwestern Mutual.(technology)
September 1, 2003... One of Barbara Piehler's occasional challenges is explaining exactly why she's the one running the technology department of Northwestern Mutual. Piehler, who just celebrated her 20th year at Northwestern Mutual, is the company's chief...

Reaching out: insurers need to match technology with agents' needs.
September 1, 2003... Technology is becoming more and more important ha keeping agents and insurers connected, but as it grows, insurers and agents need to have open communication to use technology to their advantage, according to industry leaders. "When the...

Translating the vision.(technology standpoint of Selective Insurance Group's aim to be easiest company with which agents can do business)
September 1, 2003... Selective Insurance Group Inc.'s commitment to technology stems from a plan: It wants to be the easiest company with which agents can do business. "We develop our technology in concert with our agent strategy participants and our agent producer...

One or the other or both: in the battle between J2EE and .NET, insurers must determine which platform best fits their needs.
September 1, 2003... Although insurers have been able to choose between J2EE and .NET technology platforms for nearly a decade, the decision is still far from easy. Sun Microsystems' Java 2, Enterprise Edition, better known as J2EE, is a programming standard that...

Old world meets new world through Websphere.
September 1, 2003... Insurers are harnessing IBM WebSphere Software platform to simplify communication among agents, customers and suppliers by linking legacy systems to new Web-based technology. WebSphere Application Server conforms to J2EE (Java 2, Enterprise...

Reeling in the .NET.(Technology)
September 1, 2003... For insurers already venturing into the Microsoft .NET world, the reusability and reliability achieved by the platform is paying off in big ways. Microsoft .NET technology includes components such as Visual Studio.NET--a multilanguage...

J2EE: the great communicator.
September 1, 2003... As insurers face the challenges of selling through multiple channels, competition from banks, the pressures of creating new products to meet customers needs and the issues of pricing and regulation, they also find themselves at a technological...

EFusion 2003: insurance-driven technology: September 28-30 Hyatt Regency Hotel, Philadelphia.(Technology)
September 1, 2003... Sessions and speakers subject to change. Sunday, Sept. 28 7 p.m. Hot Buttons, Hot Topics, Hot Coffee: A special interactive town hall-style meeting in which speakers and attendees share insights, challenges, best practices and lessons...

Pay as you go: utility computing helps insurers reduce costs by paying only for the services they need when they need them.(Technology)
September 1, 2003... Not since the advent of such innovative developments as extensible markup language and application service providers has the technology world been as abuzz with speculation as it is about utility computing. The phenomenon, in which companies...

Staying competitive: business process outsourcing is helping insurers drive value for core processes.(Technology)
September 1, 2003... Relentless global pressures to cut costs, reduce capital outlays and maximize operational efficiencies are causing insurers to take a new look at business process outsourcing. Traditionally, business process outsourcing, which is the...

ePolicy Solutions Inc.(Web News You Can Use)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... ePolicy Solutions Inc. has formed a marketing alliance with InSystems Corp. to further enhance its Web-enabled RightRisk insurance technology by integrating document, rating, workflow and business rule engines. Under terms of the agreement,...

Zurich North America small business.(Web News You Can Use)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Zurich North America Small Business announced a new Web site to give agents and brokers direct online access to their customers' billing information, including the status, current balance, last payment, current amount due, next bill amount,...

Nationwide financial.(Web News You Can Use)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Nationwide Financial has begun using a single platform--the AdminServer Policy Administration System--to support the complete policy life cycle for all income products with quick-to-market product delivery. The system uses the Microsoft .NET...

OnePointCity.(Web News You Can Use)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Customers using OnePointCity, the Web-based settlement system from Geotrac, can now access title and closing products from American Title Inc. through OnePointCity's seamless connection. American Title products and services available through...

Insurers oppose regulation of call centers in New Jersey.(Technology)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... A New Jersey bill that would allow the Division of Consumer Affairs to regulate call centers would seriously complicate companies' call-answering systems and interfere with efforts to respond to customers quickly and efficiently, according to...

Report highlights questions to application service providers.(Technology)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Independent agents and brokers assessing the benefits of using an application service provider now have a source to turn to for help in analyzing issues that should be addressed to ensure that the ASP provides the agency with the secure,...

Mercury General allowed to use insurance scores in N.J.(Companies)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Mercury General Corp., the first automobile insurer to enter New Jersey in seven years, will be the only insurer in the state to use credit-based insurance scores when underwriting, according to regulators. Regulators are allowing Mercury...

Safeco exits California homeowners market.(Companies)(Safeco Personal Insurance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Citing inadequate rates and new regulations on underwriting procedures, Safeco Personal Insurance has stopped selling homeowners policies in California, prompting the state's insurance commissioner to label its stated explanation for the...

Benfield opens site in China.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... London-based broker Benfield Group plc said it opened a representative office in Shanghai, China, in an effort to expand its capabilities in Asia. Benfield said the office will focus on enhancing services provided to the company's existing...

Coming up ... in October.
September 1, 2003... Thinking Young: Some auto insurers are relying on the Internet and price comparison to cater to the growing teen market. Includes the annual list of leading auto writers by line and by state. Switching Investment Gears: Insurers, whose...