Best's Review articles from September 2008

Best's Review archives from September 2008

Money matters.(From the Editor's Desk)(Editorial)
September 1, 2008... As a New Jersey resident, I look to the Department of Banking and Insurance to keep an eye on auto and homeowners insurance rates; however, state insurance regulators take on many more tasks. They ensure the financial health of insurance...

Quote/unquote.(Comment)(Quotation)
September 1, 2008... "Axa's business strategy, is built to withstand severe economic conditions." Henri de Castries Chairman, Management Board Axa [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "A very small fraction of each of the risks is taken by quite a large number...

Clarifications.(Correction notice)
September 1, 2008... In the "Quality Business" story that appeared on page 49 of the July issue, the sumgraph should read "The Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. has maintained an A.M. Best Co. financial strength rating of A or higher since 1928.'" In the...

Vacant-property insurance sales go through the roof.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The skyrocketing rate of U.S. foreclosures has provided endless headaches for lenders, but the failures are actually creating opportunities for insurance wholesalers. RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, reported...

Olympic-size risks.(London Calling)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: OLYMPIC-SIZE RISKS: As the Beijing summer games got under way, insurers studied the spectacle for ideas on how to provide coverage for the XXX Olympiad in London in 2012. "People are looking at insurance for...

Bell leaves Alabama post.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(Walter Bell resigns )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell resigned last month, drawing kudos from colleagues and some criticism from a competitor. Howard Mills, New York State's insurance commissioner from 2005 to '07, recalled Bell as a strong presence...

Worth repeating.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(Quotation)
September 1, 2008... "You buy your straw hats in the winter." --Ed Wedbush, president of Los Angeles-based Wedbush Morgan Securities, noting that mass layoffs on Wall Street have helped small investment firms, which can now hire top-notch talent that was...

Credit concerns hit captives' portfolios.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... A direct effect of the credit crisis on captive insurance companies has been that fronting insurers have increased collateral requirements and are more closely scrutinizing the types of investments within the required collateral or trust. ...

Oil companies' risks grew in '08.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(Survey)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Oil companies face a range of potential risks, from energy price volatility and the availability of oil and gas resources to terrorism and other supply-chain threats, according to a new report from broker Marsh. Marsh surveyed national oil...

NAIC posts receivership web page.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(www.NAIC.org)(The National Association of Insurance Commissioners)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has released its online Global Receivership Information Database (GRID), an online clearinghouse with information on more than 1,200 receiverships, provided by all U.S. states and the District...

Indianapolis has sued 15 insurance companies for reimbursement of $5 million used to clean up hazardous materials at an old manufacturing site.(Litigation)
September 1, 2008... INDIANAPOLIS HAS SUED 15 insurance companies for reimbursement of $5 million used to clean up hazardous materials at an old manufacturing site. Defendants reportedly include Aetna Casualty & Surety Company of Illinois, Arkwright Mutual...

The U.S. government.(Reinsurance)(ZimRe Holdings Ltd.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... THE U.S. GOVERNMENT has frozen the assets of Zimbabwean investment and reinsurance holding company ZimRe Holdings as part of American efforts to pressure the regime of Robert Mugabe. The U.S. says ZimRe is one of 17 Zimbabwean parastatals used...

New York State.(Regulatory)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... NEW YORK STATE will enact a law in January limiting the ability of insurers to deny coverage based on delayed notice of a claim, unless the delay caused demonstrable harm to the insurance company's ability to respond to the claim. The new law...

Blue Cross gets favorable prognosis.(By the Numbers: Recently published Special Reports from A.M. Best Company)
September 1, 2008... Overall results remained favorable for Blue Cross Blue Shield companies in 2007 and should continue in '08. Only a few insurers are exposed to the subprime and equity markets and A.M. Best views the exposure as manageable. (A.M. Best Special...

Wildfires: bigger, costlier, on the rise.(By the Numbers: Recently published Special Reports from A.M. Best Company)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... After nearly $2 billion in claims from the Southern California wildfires in 2007, insurers face the prospect of another rough wildfire season and growing losses in the years ahead. The past two seasons have been the most severe on record and...

Cycle management: tough act to follow.(By the Numbers: Recently published Special Reports from A.M. Best Company)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... An A.M. Best cycle management study shows how hard it is for property/ casualty insurers to beat their peers' performance consistently. Only 14% of the companies in the study outperformed their composite medians over the most recent soft and...

Meetings.(Briefing)(Calendar)
September 1, 2008... Sept. 10-13 National Alliance of Life Companies: Fall Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Web site: www.nalc.net Sept. 10-13 National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices: Annual Convention, San Diego Web site:...

Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Co. leads as the AMBG declines -23.12% year-to-date.(Briefing: Stock Watch)(A.M. Best's Global Insurance )
September 1, 2008... The A.M. Best stock indexes cover 176 publicly traded insurance companies and brokers. Companies in the A.M. Best stock indexes include insurers and insurance-related organizations with financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, along with...

Genworth joins growing list of GIC probe-linked defendants.(Briefing: Stock Watch)
September 1, 2008... Genworth Financial Inc. (A.M. Best # 59197) confirmed last month that it has received subpoenas from Florida and Connecticut in connection with a multistate investigation of alleged bid-rigging in the sale of guaranteed investment contracts to...

Insurance jobs.(Briefing: Employment)(Statistical table)
September 1, 2008... U.S. insurance industry payrolls added 2,800 positions from June to July, even as total U.S. nonfarm payrolls declined for the seventh consecutive month and the unemployment rate spiked, according to seasonally adjusted data released Aug. 1 by...

Career wise.(Briefing: Employment)
September 1, 2008... Question: How should an insurance company select an executive search firm to work with while conducting a senior level search? Insurance organizations should consider the selection of an executive search firm as a critical sourcing decision...

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.(Life)(Robert Marino appointed)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... HORIZON BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF NEW JERSEY has named ROBERT MARINO executive vice president and chief operating officer. Senior vice president CHRISTY BELL will become the chief executive officer of Horizon Healthcare of New Jersey Inc., a...

James River Insurance Co.(Property/Casualty)(Joseph Morris appointed)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... JOSEPH MORRIS, most recently chief executive and president of the Philadelphia Contributionship, has been named chief executive officer and president of the Richmond, Va.-based JAMES RIVER INSURANCE CO. A 28-year veteran of the insurance...

Harleysville Group Inc.(Property/Casualty)(Gilbert Benjamin appointed)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Pennsylvania-based HARLEYSVILLE GROUP INC. has named GILBERT BENJAMIN as regional president for its Southeast operations. Benjamin takes his new post in the company's Atlanta office. He will oversee Harleysville's underwriting, agency...

New Erie CEO looks to enhance group's reputation for success.(People in Insurance)(Erie Insurance Group Inc.)(Terrence W. Cavanaugh appointed)(chief executive officer)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Terrence W. Cavanaugh, new president and chief executive officer of Erie Insurance Group, said his job is to not disrupt the reputation that the regional insurer owns for products and customer service, but to enhance it. [ILLUSTRATION...

American International Group Inc.(Property/Casualty)(appointment of Suzanne Nora Johnson)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Former Goldman Sachs Vice Chairwoman SUZANNE NORA JOHNSON was elected to the AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INC. board of directors. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Johnson will fill the seat held since 2001 by former ambassador and Assistant...

QBE Insurance Group Ltd.(Property/Casualty)(appointment of Chris Fish)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... QBE INSURANCE GROUP LTD. has named CHRIS FISH chief financial officer for its Americas wing. Fish will take up his new post with the New York-based QBE the Americas, the office for North American and South American underwriting and sales...

Ace European Group.(Property/Casualty)(appointment of Andreas Wania)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... ACE EUROPEAN GROUP appointed ANDREAS WANIA as regional manager for Central and Eastern Europe. Wania's role covers the region extending from Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States in the North through Central and Eastern Europe...

Willis Group Holdings.(Property/Casualty)(appointment of Gary Schmalzriedt)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... WILLIS GROUP HOLDINGS has appointed GARY SCHMALZRIEDT chairman of Willis Re. Schmalzriedt was responsible for Ace's International operations from July 2003 to September 2006. He joined Ace in 1999 as part of the acquisition of Cigna's...

Kingsway Financial Services Inc.(Property/Casualty)(appointments by Lincoln General Insurance Co. )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Mississauga, Ontario-based property/casualty insurer KINGSWAY FINANCIAL SERVICES INC. has made several executive appointments at two of its U.S. subsidiaries. ROGER BECK has been named as the senior vice president and chief underwriting...

Aon Corp.: Paul Hagy.(Agent/Broker)(appointment of )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... PAUL HAGY, a former vice president of investments and treasury, has been named AON CORP.'s corporate treasurer. Hagy replaces DIANE AIGOTTI in the Chicago-based broker's treasurer post. He will head up the company's capital, financial...

Marsh Ltd.(Agent/Broker)(appointment of Martina Baugh)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Insurance broker and consultant MARSH LTD. has named MARTINA BAUGH leader of its U.K. renewable energy practice. TRACEY FELTON and PETER LEWIS have been appointed account executives to the practice. Felton has worked in Marsh's energy...

Benfield Group Ltd.(Agent/Broker)(appointment of William Riker)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... WILLIAM RIKER, formerly the president and chief underwriting officer of Renaissance Re, has been named a non-executive director of London-based reinsurance broker BENFIELD GROUP LTD. Riker had served at Renaissance Re as president from 1999...

Poms & Associates Insurance Brokers Inc.(Agent/Broker)(appointments of Bryce Eddy and Seth Ford Gilman )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... POMS & ASSOCIATES INSURANCE BROKERS INC. has named BRYCE EDDY and SETH FORD GILMAN as two of its new senior vice presidents. Eddy and Gilman will be based in the insurance brokerage's Woodland Hills, Calif., corporate headquarters. Eddy...

Aon Corp.: Damien Guermonprez.(Agent/Broker)(appointment of )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... AON CORP. has named DAMIEN GUERMONPREZ chief executive officer of its Aon France unit to replace the outgoing VINCENT REDIER. Currently CEO of the consumer credit card and e-banking subsidiary of Banque Accord's Auchan Group, Guermonprez...

National Association of Insurance Commissioners.(Regulatory/Law)(resignation of Catherine Weatherford)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... CATHERINE WEATHERFORD resigned as executive vice president and chief executive officer for the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS, effective immediately, after 12 years at the helm. In a NAIC announcement, the organization said...

Beerli to retire, Stefan Lippe named deputy CEO and COO at Swiss Re.(People in Insurance)(Swiss Reinsurance Co. appointed Stefan Lippe)(retirement of Andreas Beerli)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Swiss Re has appointed Stefan Lippe deputy chief executive officer, assuming the function of chief operating officer effective Sept. 1. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lippe, who most recently was head of insurance and reinsurance products,...

Department of Insurance.(Regulatory/Law)(appointments of Sharon P. clark and John Burkholder)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Kentucky state government veteran SHARON P. CLARK has been appointed commissioner of the state Department of Insurance. Clark, who served most recently as the director of the Consumer Protection and Education division of the DOI, also spent...

Conseco Inc.(Life)(appointments of Steven Stecher and Russell Bostick)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Two executive posts at CONSECO INC. have new tenants, with STEVEN STECHER named president of the company's insurance group, and RUSSELL BOSTICK as the executive vice president of technology and operations. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets)(appointment of Dean Benner)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... AXIS CAPITAL HOLDINGS LTD. has named DEAN BENNER as its executive vice president and chief investment officer. With 30 years of experience in investment management, Benner comes most recently from a post as the managing director for...

Canopius Group Ltd.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets)(appointment of Stephen M. Hartwig)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... CANOPIUS GROUP LTD. appointed STEPHEN M. HARTWIG as senior vice president and head of excess casualty at its Bermuda-based underwriting agency, Canopius Underwriting Bermuda Ltd. In his new role, Hartwig will develop the division's...

Atradius.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets)(appointment of Peter Schmidt)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... PETER SCHMIDT, a current managing director with SWISS RE, has taken a post with the Amsterdam-based credit insurer ATRADIUS, where he will serve as the chief market officer for European operations, according to the company. Working out of...

Grow together.(BRANDING)(Website overview)
September 1, 2008... THE IHC GROUP, made up of Independence Holding Co. and its operating subsidiaries, recently debuted its branding campaign that incorporates the company's new logo and Web address. The campaign emphasizes how IHC Group relies on producers to...

A new cornerstone.(SPONSORSHIP)(METLIFE )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] METLIFE recently reached an agreement in principle to be the first major marketing partner of the new Meadowlands stadium in New Jersey, the future home of the New York Giants and New York Jets. As a cornerstone...

A Creative Insurance Marketing Co.(ADVERTISING)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... A CREATIVE INSURANCE MARKETING CO. study of Insurance Marketing Communications Association members about challenges they're facing found more than 70% of marketing communications professionals said their roles are changing; 64% said budgets...

New program helps advisers.(SPOTLIGHT)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Financial advisers who want to become the one to whom clients turn for their retirement income strategy can get help from Retirement Blueprint, a program introduced by the U.S. division of Sun Life Financial. The blueprint is intended to...

Dental benefits for cancer patients.(Employee Benefits)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Chemotherapy and head/neck radiation therapy can cause mouth sores, infections and tooth decay. To treat these problems, the Principal Financial Group now allows insureds undergoing cancer treatment to receive up to...

Standard adds vision to group.(Employee Benefits)(Standard Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Standard Insurance Co. has introduced three vision plans for employers with as few as 10 employees. Available on an employer-paid or voluntary basis, the plans provide preferred pricing. Balanced Care Vision Plan I...

LTC policy offers flexibility.(Life)(Long term care insurance)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has introduced SignatureCare 500, which enables consumers to customize a policy and which may pay future dividends at the later of age 65 or 10 years. Buyers can choose a less-expensive, facilities-only...

Simplified-issue UL with many riders.(Life)(universal life insurance)(Foresters)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Fraternal benefit society Foresters has launched Armor, a universal life insurance product that offers simplified issue up to $250,000, lifetime lapse protection and seven optional riders. The cost-of-living adjustment rider increases the face...

Zurich covers product removals.(Property/Casualty)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Zurich's North America Commercial division has launched coverage for voluntary and government-mandated product withdrawals. The coverage is offered as an endorsement to Zurich's commercial general liability policies and is available to...

Public perceptions: key contributors to medical inflation.(SNAPSHOT)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Public Perceptions: Key Contributors To Medical Inflation Profits of drug 28% companies Lawsuits against 14% physicians Poor health of 10% the population Physician fees 9% ...

AIR models risks to rigs.(SPOTLIGHT)(Air Worldwide Corp.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... AIR Worldwide Corp. has introduced a new probabilistic model to help insurers and reinsurers better manage hurricane risk to offshore platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. AIR's U.S. Hurricane Model for Offshore Assets utilizes a...

Policy covers contractors' work.(Property/Casualty)(Motorists Mutual Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Motorists Mutual Insurance Co., based in Columbus, Ohio, now offers a contractors' errors and omissions product in addition to its contractors' professional liability coverage. The E&O policy goes beyond general...

Assurant offers deductible credit.(Health)(Assurant Health )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Milwaukee-based Assurant Health has rolled out its One Decreasing Deductible program that rewards healthy and loyal customers with semi-annual credits on selected plans. Assurant issues a 10% credit twice a year that is automatically applied to...

Hawaii MSA will offer health online.(Technology)(Hawaii Medical Service Association, Microsoft Corp. and American Well entered into a collaboration)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Nonprofit mutual benefit association the Hawaii Medical Service Association, a member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, along with Microsoft Corp. and American Well, entered into a strategic collaboration to make online health care...

Mass Mutual adds Web ExpressEnroll.(Technology)(Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The Retirement Services Division of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. added a newly designed feature on its participant Web site, The Journey, which allows retirement plan participants to enroll in their employers' 401(k) plan more...

By the numbers: recreational injuries.(SNAPSHOT)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... From January 2004 through December 2005, 63 U.S. emergency rooms treated 425,416 people for outdoor recreational injuries. Of those injured: 68.2% were male 27.4% suffered fractures, the most common diagnosis 6.5% had concussions...

Rating actions.(Ratings)
September 1, 2008... This edition reflects all financial strength rating changes--assignments, changes or placed under review--that occurred for life, health and property/casualty insurers domiciled in North America, as well as non-U.S. insurance companies, since...

The cost of regulation: U.S. insurers pay $1.5 billion for states to regulate them. Outcomes vary widely.(Regulatory/Law: Governance)(Cover story)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia are projected to spend more than $1.54 billion in 2009 on the regulation of insurance, up 1.8% from this year and averaging roughly $5 for every man, woman...

Foreign policies: some U.S. life insurers have opened for business elsewhere, and find growth comes with many challenges.(Life: Global Markets)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Greg Boyko estimates he bad visited Japan 25 times before his company, Hartford Life Insurance, decided to start a business there selling variable annuities. "The biggest challenge is to size up the markets,"...

The simple truth: what happened to selling life insurance?(Life: Selling Insight)
September 1, 2008... Two questions rank high when it comes to the current climate in the life business: Why do life insurance sales remain flat, and why are so few people entering the sales force? Maybe it's time to reassess our approach. Most everyone who...

A history lesson in insurance screening: a cancer marker being proposed for screening life insurance applicants could be a wolf in sheep's clothing.(Life: Underwriting Insight)
September 1, 2008... It is said that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. In the spirit of this truism, a specter looming in underwriting is in dire need of sobering historical perspective. Once upon a time, a cancer marker that showed initial...

Worlds apart: competitive reality, not regulatory requirements, is bringing the integrated economic model to the United States.(Regulatory/Law: Accounting Standards)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The need keeps increasing for life insurance companies to adopt a more effective financial and risk management framework. Efficient and effective management of financial performance, risk and capital has been a...

The young and restless: saddled with living expenses, student loans and credit card debt, few young adults consider health insurance a priority.(Health/Employee Benefits: Health Plans)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ramen noodles and college students go hand-in-hand. For years, the quick and inexpensive meal has been commonplace in dormitories. So, it's no surprise that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota included the...

Know your way around a claim: a few techniques can help move claims meetings along and result in success.(Property/Casualty: Loss/Risk Management Insight)
September 1, 2008... A woman goes to the doctor and he tells her that he has bad news: "You only have three months to live." The woman sighs, "What am I going do?" The doctor replies, "Marry an insurance claims manager." "Will I live longer?" asks the...

High-tech prep: disaster planning tools keep agents open for business even after catastrophes strike.(Agent/Broker: Disaster Planning)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The trail of broken lines of communications--no telephone service, a lack of electricity, the unavailability of computers and no access to the Internet--that followed the 2005 hurricane season, especially in the Gulf...

Lessons learned: no train, no gain: though times are tough, it's smart to keep your staff primed for the rebound.(Agent/Broker: Selling Insight)
September 1, 2008... Agencies large and small are struggling with expenses as the market continues to soften and the economy continues to wane. At times like this, many agencies cut training dollars in an effort to reduce expenses. While this may provide a...

Between the lines: the economy has hurt life insurance-linked securities and monolines, but spared property-cat products.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets: Securities)
September 1, 2008... Turmoil in the credit markets has affected the life insurance-linked securities and property catastrophe securities markets in totally different ways. On the life side, experts say securitizations are slowing down due to the unavailability...

Solvency II could offer advantages: companies may find opportunities in this integrated approach to risk management.(Technology: Technology Insight)
September 1, 2008... The U.S. insurance industry could find itself challenged by increased risk management processing and regulatory requirements in the not-so-distant future. Solvency II is a European Union legislative initiative currently underway that will...

Getting real with real time: direct writers conduct business 24/7 on the Internet, but is agency automation up to speed?(Technology: Agent Automation)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If you ask Agents Council for Technology's Executive Director Jeff Yates where the industry is on the agent automation front, he'll say, "We're headed in the right direction." In fact, Yates, who for years has...

New directions: unimpressive results cause disability insurers to try different growth tactics.(Health/Employee Benefits: Disability Insurance)
September 1, 2008... Government statistics show that disability insurance covers about half the workers in the United States, roughly the same amount as in 1986. That means premiums have grown along with the number of companies, employees and salaries, but the...

Big opportunities: banking still holds untapped growth potential for insurers.(Property/Casualty: Banking)
September 1, 2008... Expectations ran high in the autumn of 1999 when Congress passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that repealed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. For decades, federal laws had barred various combinations of banking, brokerage and insurance activities...

Loss reserving: a fresh look: the difficulty in setting reserves and the risk of insolvency are just two of the many reasons to revisit reserving.(Property/Casualty: Underwriting Insight)
September 1, 2008... Property/casualty industry loss and loss adjustment expense reserves (LLAE) totaled $537.5 billion as of March 31--$21.9 billion more than the industry's statutory surplus at the time. But loss reserves are merely estimates of the amounts that...

Take a lead: insurers should start preparing for the Model Audit Rule that will debut in 2010.(Regulatory/Law: Model Audit Rule)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In 2002, the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act, otherwise known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or SOX, was passed as a result of corporate governance scandals. Many viewed this drastic measure...

Aiming for fair and accurate: a conflict of interest must be considered in judicial review. But how?(Regulatory/Law: Legal Insight)
September 1, 2008... Most group disability policies are governed by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Although ERISA does not prescribe a standard of judicial review for benefits decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed this issue...

Critical injuries: bodily injury liability insurers need protection against unseen risks in Medicare Set-Aside settlements.(Health/Employee Benefits: Medicare Set-Asides)
September 1, 2008... New risks for bodily injury liability insurers are coming to light concerning the Medicare Set-Aside relationship to injury claims, including those filed under self-insurance, no-fault insurance and workers' compensation. One seldom...

Beating the system: insurers may be able to overcome legacy problems by using the 'agile' approach.(Technology: Project Management)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Amica Mutual Insurance Co. asked Andy Boruta to join the team that would replace its aging legacy claims system in 2005, he did not anticipate reevaluating everything he knew about project management. After all,...

A more e-ffective strategy: maintaining an outdated Web site is no way to attract today's customers.(Technology: E-Commerce)
September 1, 2008... Over the past 15 years, insurance companies have made considerable investments in their Web sites and e-business infrastructure. Many of those carriers that have continued to invest in and fine-tune their Internet strategy are recognized as...

South African insurer Liberty Group has launched Liberty Life Swaziland, which it describes as its latest move in an African expansion strategy.(Africa)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... South African insurer LIBERTY GROUP has launched LIBERTY LIFE SWAZILAND, which it describes as its latest move in an African expansion strategy. According to Liberty, the launch comes less than a year after the Swaziland life assurance industry...

Insurance services provider Assurant said it has bought up one million of its common shares from Dutch insurer Fortis for $59 million (39.14 million [euro]).(Europe)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Insurance services provider ASSURANT said it has bought up one million of its common shares from Dutch insurer FORTIS for $59 million (39.14 million [euro]). The shares were purchased in a private after-market block transaction, the company...

Lloyd's underwriter Amlin plc said its Lloyd's Syndicate 2001 acquired the renewal rights for general commercial motor fleet insurance business from HCC Underwriting Agency Ltd.(Lloyd's)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... LLOYD's underwriter Amlin plc said its LLOYD'S SYNDICATE 2001 acquired the renewal rights for general commercial motor fleet insurance business from HCC UNDERWRITING AGENCY LTD. The acquisition provides renewal rights to about 20 million...

Swiss Re announced a big life insurance acquisition in the United Kingdom, even as it disclosed a double-digit drop in second-quarter profit.(Mergers and Acquisitions)(Swiss Reinsurance Co.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... SWISS RE announced a big life insurance acquisition in the United Kingdom, even as it disclosed a double-digit drop in second-quarter profit. The reinsurer will buy BARCLAYS LIFE ASSURANCE CO. LTD. for 753 million [pounds sterling] (around $1.4...

Safeco Corp. shareholders approved the merger with Liberty Mutual Group, which is to pay $68.25 per share in cash for all outstanding Safeco shares of stock.(Property/Casualty)(Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... SAFECO CORP. shareholders approved the merger with LIBERTY MUTUAL GROUP, which is to pay $68.25 per share in cash for all outstanding Safeco shares of stock. The transaction is valued at about $6.2 billion. The purchase is still subject to...