Best's Review back issues from June 2005:
Rebuilding relationships.(Editor's Prologue)
Jun 01, 2005; ... As the insurance industry struggles to reshape itself in response to recent investigations into long-standing practices, Best's Review called together key players to talk about how that reshaping can be accomplished and what has to happen to make it a success. At a round-table discussion ...
Quote/unquote.(Comment)(Letter to the Editor)
Jun 01, 2005; ... "Contract certainty is crucial if the London market is to remain competitive, control its risks, and deliver the service our customers demand. A market solution is infinitely preferable to one imposed by a regulator." Nick Prettejohn Chief Executive of Lloyd's and ...
FBI turns industry probe toward allegations of corporate fraud.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)
Jun 01, 2005; ... The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is mobilizing dozens of agents from its Financial Crimes Section to investigate allegations of corporate fraud in the insurance industry, raising the specter of possible criminal charges against companies or executives in connection with probes of ...
SEC subpoenas GE, XL Capital in finite re probe.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... A widening investigation into the use of loss-mitigation products, including finite reinsurance, is spawning more subpoenas, this time for GE Insurance Solutions and XL Capital Ltd. General Electric Co. and Bermuda-based XL Capital both said they received subpoenas from the U.S ....
Study finds HSAs hit 1 million.(health savings accounts)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Enrollments in high-deductible health plans bundled with tax-free health savings accounts have more than doubled in the past six months, with many enrollees coming from the ranks of the previously uninsured, according to a new survey from America's Health Insurance Plans. As of ...
Finite reinsurance probe launched by Ga. regulator.(Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Some of the biggest names in the reinsurance are being called on the carpet by Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, who has issued more than 100 subpoenas seeking information on their finite reinsurance transactions. Oxendine said while he's aware the National ...
By the numbers.(insurance premiums)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005 ... Soft Market Continues MarketScout, the property/casualty insurance exchange that reports monthly on market trends, said its April numbers show a 2% reduction in property/casualty insurance premiums. Property coverage premiums saw a 3% drop. "Underwriters are reducing premiums, ...
Meetings.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)
Jun 01, 2005 ... June 8-10: America's Health Insurance Plans: Institute 2005, The Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas Phone: (202) 778-3225 Web site: www.ahip.org June 11-14 National Association of Insurance Commissioners: Summer National Meeting, Marriott and Westin Copley, Boston ...
About 49,000 claims open from Fla. Storms.(Florida)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... With the state-mandated deadline having passed for Florida insurers to settle claims from 2004's string of four hurricanes, about 49,000 residential claims remain outstanding, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. In mid-March, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the ...
Conning: another P/G profit predicted in '05.(Conning Research and Consulting Inc.)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Conning Research and Consulting Inc. is predicting another year of underwriting profits in 2005, but expects a downturn in 2006, according to a study released by the firm. "Higher prices, tighter covers and more effective deductibles are the key contributors to industry ...
NAIC is studying proposal to change reinsurance rules.(National Association of Insurance Commissioners)
Jun 01, 2005; ... The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is considering a proposal that would require insurers to identify any reinsurance contracts that have been accounted for in a nontraditional manner. Discussed at a May 10 meeting of the NAIC's Property and Casualty Reinsurance ...
NAPCO LLC.(David Pagoumian appointed as president and chief operating officer)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005 ... * NAPCO LLC has named DAVID PAGOUMIAN as president and chief operating officer. Pagoumian will be responsible for the operation and direction of the NJ.-based wholesale property and casualty broker. ...
HCC Insurance Holdings Inc.(Cory L. Moulton appointed as president and chief executive officer )(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005 ... * HCC INSURANCE HOLDINGS INC. has named CORY L. MOULTON as president and chief executive officer of its underwriting agency subsidiary, Professional Indemnity Agency. Moulton has ...
Conseco Insurance.(Matthew J. Zimper joined Conseco Senior Health Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005 ... * CONSECO INSURANCE has named MATTHEW J. ZlMPFER as senior vice president and associate general counsel for the Carmel, Ind.-based insurance companies owned by Conseco Inc. In his role, Zimpfer will be responsible for managing the legal operations department; serve as ...
Award-winner says insurance remains 'more a man's world'.(Insurance Woman of the Year award winner Marsha Cohen says)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Marsha Cohen, Who says women are making strides in achieving senior executive-level positions in the industry, has been chosen as the 2005 "Insurance Woman of the Year" by the Association of Professional Insurance Women. Cohen, senior vice president of state relations and ...
Cigna Healthcare.(Dennis Wilson joined Cigns Corp. Cigna Healthcare Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005 ... * DENNIS WILSON is the new president of the small business segment for CIGNA HEALTHCARE. Wilson will be responsible for sales, client management, distribution and service operations for Cigna's clients with ...
Coventry Health Care Inc.(John Langenus appointed as president of national accounts)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005 ... * COVENTRY HEALTH CARE INC. has named JOHN LANGENUS as president of national accounts for First Health Group Corp. and senior vice president of Coventry. In his capacity, Langenus will oversee ...
Commercial Travelers Mutual Insurance Co.(Paul H. Trevvett appointed )(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005 ... * COMMERCIAL TRAVELERS MUTUAL INSURANCE CO. has named PAUL H. TREVVETT president and chief executive officer. A Commercial Travelers ...
Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Co.(Annaclair Kiger, Henry Price, Jay Hutchins and Lonnie Etheridge appointed)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005 ... * COLONIAL LIFE & ACCIDENT INSURANCE CO. has named several new top executives. ANNACLAIR KIGER has been named senior vice president of customer service and information technology. Kiger's responsibilities include account services, policy holder services, information technology, ...
Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co.(Darin L. Kath appointed)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005 ... * DARIN L. KATH has been named president of JEWELERS MUTUAL INSURANCE CO. Kath also will retain his responsibilities as chief operating officer. Former President and Chief Executive Officer RONALD HARDER will continue in his role as CEO. Kath's responsibilities include the ...
ACE USA.(Larry Goanos appointed as senior vice president and financial services industry practice leader)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005 ... * ACE USA has named LARRY GOANOS as senior vice president and financial services industry practice leader. Goanos will be responsible for coordinating the marketing and distribution of Ace USA's financial services capabilities, as well as developing ideas for new ...
Name calling: marketing consultant says insurers need to take a risk with their advertising.(William Pitt of HawkPartners)(Interview)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Too many insurance ads are bland and boring. That's the opinion of William Pitt, a senior adviser at marketing consultants HawkPartners. He wonders why banks are so successful at building brands, but insurance companies aren't. "I think there is a certain irony that insurers are about ...
Move over Gecko.(GEICO Corp. new television commercials)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... GEICO is featuring that "demon on wheels" Speed Racer and "America's Personal Trainer," Tony Little, in its latest series of television commercials. The Speed Racer spot shows the animated character being told a bridge is out ahead, but there is good news--he can save ...
Blues plans grab Brand Awards.(AWARDS)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... THE BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD Association presented its Brand Excellence Award to 11 plans. They are: * Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama * Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona * Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield--Connecticut * Blue Cross and ...
Beauty and the duck.(Melania Trump and duck in Aflac Inc.'s new TV ad)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... MELANIA TRUMP, wife of megamogul Donald Trump, is starring in Aflac's new television commercial. In a takeoff of Frankenstein, two scientists are conducting an experiment to take the voice of Trump and place it into the Aflac duck,"to tell the world about the benefits of Aflac with sex ...
Branding.(Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... LIBERTY MUTUAL is going back in history in its latest corporate message-focused ads. The print, online and television ads are built around stories from history and folklore such as those about the Trojan horse and Custer's Last Stand. "We're taking stories everyone knows ...
Surveys pinpoint retirement fears.(SPOTLIGHT)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... The life industry continues to churn out studies on retirement income. A recent Prudential Financial survey of Americans aged 55 to 64, found that near-retirees simply don't know what to do with their nest eggs once they stop working despite their overwhelming preference for a guaranteed ...
Insurance program covers inns.(GE Insurance Solutions Corp. and NAIS Inc.)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... GE Insurance Solutions has launched an insurance program for innkeepers with a new partner, NAIS Inc., a multilines insurance agency based in Mt. Airy, Md. Program policies offer comprehensive coverage of the inn, owner and guests. The agency developed the Innkeepers Program in ...
Enhanced cover for brokers.(CalSurance and Quanta Specialty Lines Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... CalSurance, a national insurance sales, service and support organization based in Orange, Calif., has improved its specialized errors and omissions program for broker-dealers with 75 or fewer representatives. Quanta Specialty Lines Insurance Co. teams with CalSurance to offer the program. ...
UnumProvident ups disability cover.(Life)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... UnumProvident has enhanced its critical illness and individual short-term disability insurance products. The CI product's base coverage pays benefits for heart attack, stroke, permanent paralysis, kidney failure, organ transplant or ...
Blues offers has compatible plans.(Health)(Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Two health plans that can be used with Health Savings Accounts were recently introduced by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. The BlueEdge Individual HSA and the BlueEdge Individual HSA 5000 ...
Snapshot.(Near-Retirees' Most Important Focus At Present Time)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
Jun 01, 2005; ... <Pre> Near-Retirees' Most Important Focus At Present Time Continue to build nest egg 41% Preserve and protect savings 23% ...
Best's rating changes.(Ratings)(Illustration)
Jun 01, 2005 ... This edition of Best's Rating Changes reflects all rating changes--assignments, changes or placed tinder review--that occurred for life, health and property/casualty insurers domiciled in North America, as well as international insurance companies, since this section last appeared in the ...
Guide to best's financial strength ratings.(Glossary)
Jun 01, 2005 ... <Pre> GUIDE TO BEST'S FINANCIAL STRENGHT RATINGS A Best's Rating is an independent opinion, based on a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation, of a company's balance sheet, strength, operating performance and business profile. Best's Ratings are not a warranty of a ...
Restoring trust: relentless investigations and painful revelations have led insurers, brokers and risk managers to probe long-standing business practices to their very foundations.(The BIG PICTURE)
Jun 01, 2005; ... When Willis North America recently approached an insurer on behalf of some middle-market clients, the broker walked away from the discussion for a reason that, 18 months ago, might have seemed puzzling. "We rejected the appointment because we don't accept contingent commissions" ...
A new chapter in title insurance: state and federal probes are changing the way title insurers do business.(Property/Casualty: Title Insurance)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Undisclosed commissions. Improper steering of business to favored partners. Reinsurance transactions that don't seem to transfer risk. The headlines are familiar to anyone who has followed the bid-rigging and finite reinsurance clouds that have hung over much of the commercial ...
Under the gun: Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requires significantly more investment than public insurers anticipated. Now mutuals may have to comply as well.(Regulatory/Law: Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
Jun 01, 2005; ... As publicly traded insurance companies comply with the corporate governance mandates of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, lessons learned along the way might benefit mutual insurers, should they be required at some point to comply. Insurers that are well along the road to ...
Hook, line and sinker: life insurers and their policyholders could be the next targets of online phishing scams.(Technology: IT Security)
Jun 01, 2005; ... In the deluge of e-mails that enter individuals' in-boxes each day, a message with the subject line, "Your account is about to expire," may stand out among the rest. It looks authentic because it resembles e-mails received before from an insurer or financial institution. The text prompts ...
Coming back strong: sales of last-to-die life insurance rebounded greatly in 2004, fueled by estate-tax uncertainty and old-fashioned industry innovation.(Life: Survivorship Life)(Limra International on its survey of estate taxes and life insurance)
Jun 01, 2005; ... No one knows what the future holds for estate taxes in the United States, but that uncertainty didn't stop insurers last year from dramatically increasing their sales of survivorship life products, the kind of insurance best suited for estate planning. According to marketing and ...
Where to turn: stocks, bonds, cash--no investment option seems certain for insurers these days.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets: Asset Management)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Insurance companies are among the world's biggest and most influential investors, taking those tens of billions of dollars in premiums they collect and putting them to work in capital markets to earn a return before the dollars can escape as claims paid. Historically, many ...
Designing the package: employers are aligning employee benefits with corporate strategies.(Health/Employee Benefits: Benefit Choices)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Job applicants are looking for more than answers about their salary during an interview. They now are asking potential employers two other critical questions: what benefits employers offer and how much they contribute to those benefits. Benefit packages increasingly are becoming ...
Wrapping up a solution: underwriters and contractors are discovering a new way to address long-tail construction defect exposure.
Jun 01, 2005; ... Recently, general contractors have found it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to find general liability insurance that includes affordable coverage for "completed operations" The cause for this change in appetite has been proliferation of latent construction defect claims. This is ...
A lesson learned: TIAA-CREF once owned the educator retirement savings market. New competition led to a studied new approach to promoting the brand.(Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association College Retirement Equities Fund)
Jun 01, 2005; ... The scene is a packed university lecture hall. Students focus on the professor at the front of the room. The background music: "There's a Place for Us." The message: TIAA-CREF provides financial services for the greater good. This is one in a series of television commercials ...
Doomed like dinosaurs: institutions need to adapt to their changing environment or face extinction.(Life: Selling Insight)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Flash back with me a few years--say 65 million of them. If you find it difficult to get the feel for so many millions of years, then think of being locked in a room with an actuary for a week. Wandering the Earth of 6,500 centuries ago, we would find the laws of nature not too ...
Enough 'exceptionitis': failure to use underwriting judgment and exercise resolve damages insurers, reinsurers and the industry as a whole.(Life: Underwriting Insight)
Jun 01, 2005; ... With "-itis" as the medical suffix for inflammation, "exceptionitis," a convenient neologism, might be defined as an inflammatory process in the decision-making locus in the underwriter's cerebral cortex. When unchecked by a countervailing force (judgment), it induces migraine-equivalents ...
Continuous impact: an Arizona court case may have set a precedent in accepting the continuous trigger theory of insurance coverage.(Regulatory/Law: Continuous Trigger)(Associated Aviation Underwriters vs. Wood)(Outdoor World vs. Continental Cas. Co.)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Time and cause of an event are key elements in determining whether an insurance claim is covered under the terms of a specific policy, so cases deciding how these elements are defined can have a wide impact on the insurance industry. One such case in Arizona, Associated Aviation ...
Degrees of separation: what ties permit one company to claim benefits under a policy issued to another company?(Regulatory/Law: Legal Insight)(Column)
Jun 01, 2005; ... One of the biggest current concerns in insurance is corporate connections. Much like people, policyholder companies are often connected by only a few degrees of separation. Companies are tied together through mergers, acquisitions and asset purchases. A company existing today might, in ...
7 rules of attraction: follow these simple steps to capture more agents' business.(Agent/Broker: Underwriting)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Insurance companies enjoyed a remarkably profitable year in 2004. In fact, U.S. property/casualty writers made an underwriting profit for the first time since 1978, according to the A.M. Best Co. The market is softening quickly though, faster than most insurance company executives are ...
Real people, real time: Best's Review survey shows insurance agents want quick answers from live underwriters, rather than more technology.(Agent/Broker: Business Relationships)
Jun 01, 2005 ... Fast turnaround time is the most important service an insurer can offer agents and brokers, and communication with a knowledgeable underwriter is almost as vital, according to a recent survey conducted by Best's Review. Survey respondents, 70% of whom are agents, brokers or ...
Good grades on reports: accurate data input and training are among the solutions for agencies struggling to produce accurate management reports.(Agent/Broker: Selling Insight)
Jun 01, 2005; ... When agency computer systems were developed more than 20 years ago, they had the capability to produce management reports, albeit limited at the time. The systems recorded accounting information, carrier premiums, and client policy and coverage information providing basic reports about the ...
Data flow: inexpensive third-party data and mathematical models now allow insurers to underwrite small and midsize commercial accounts as thoroughly as big risks and personal lines.(Technology: Underwriting)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Underwriting insurance for small and midsize businesses has been something of a stepchild for the industry. Premiums per risk are typically small, so insurers can't afford to conduct the same level of intensive underwriting scrutiny as is typically done for large accounts. Nor is there the ...
The other SOA in insurance: service-oriented architecture is gaining business application success for the insurance industry.
Jun 01, 2005; ... Insurance executives may first think of the Society of Actuaries when they hear the term "SOA." However, there's another "SOA" in insurance--Service-Oriented Architecture. Much as actuaries are critical to the back and front-office functions within the insurance industry, the use of SOA ...
Security breach adds fuel to fire over credit-based insurance scoring.(Technology: Technology Notes)
Jun 01, 2005 ... The recent breach of security at data broker ChoicePoint Inc. has added fuel to the fire in the debates over use of credit-based insurance scoring and loss-history reports in insurance underwriting. Nearly all insurers use ChoicePoint to get credit-based insurance ratings ...
The Chubb Group of Insurance Cos.(Web News You Can Use)(company redesigned its Web site)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... The Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. has redesigned its Web site, www.chubb.com, to make it easier to do business with the insurer and help increase agent productivity. The upgraded Web site features new content, easy-to-use navigation, a simplified design and ...
Minnesota Life Insurance Co.(Web News You Can Use)(introduces online services)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Online quotes and underwriting exam scheduling, along with application status notification via e-mail are the latest innovations introduced by Minnesota Life Insurance Co. to make employer-provided group life insurance easier to use. The online quotation helps employees see how different ...
OneBeacon Insurance Group.(Web News You Can Use)(company launched a new Web site)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... OneBeacon Insurance Group launched a new Web site, www.onebeacon.com, to provide more comprehensive access to OneBeacon products and services for customers, prospective employees and its agency partners. The site features detailed information about the company's ...
Risk managers, brokers square off as compensation rift spurs tension.(Property/Casualty: RIMS Conference)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Thousands of risk managers gathered in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, the week of April 18 for their annual conference, but at times there seemed little love lost between these corporate insurance buyers and the brokers who serve them. The event marked the first major ...
Risk managers grill top brokers over fees.(CONTINGENT COMMISSIONS)
Jun 01, 2005; ... On the lunch menu at the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc.'s annual conference on April 19: Caesar salad, a tasty fish and a pair of grilled brokers. Under hard questioning by risk managers, two titans of the brokerage industry disagreed on whether brokers ever should receive ...
Willis' Plumeri leaves them standing.(CONTINGENT COMMISSIONS)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Them Standing The head of a global insurance brokerage has called for abolishing broker contingent commissions throughout the industry. In doing so, Joe Plumeri, chairman and chief executive officer of Willis Group Holdings Ltd., took on a red-hot topic. And risk managers and other ...
Marsh settlement yields pros and cons.(CONTINGENT COMMISSIONS)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... More than 200 risk managers listened at their annual conference as two attorneys and a consultant walked them through the pros and cons of opting in to the $850 million settlement that broker Marsh & McLennan Cos. has reached with New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. ...
Failure on broker commissions.(CONTINGENT COMMISSIONS)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... The incoming president of the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. has warned that regulators are bound to step in if the insurance industry fails to agree on a new distribution model in the wake of the controversy over broker contingent commissions. "What we have done is ...
RIMS survey: prices rebounding.(PRICING)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Prices in the commercial insurance industry may be signaling a rebound, according a study by the Risk and Insurance Management Society and Advisen Ltd. Pricing declined steadily in 2004 in the first year-long soft market since 1998. However, RIMS and Advisen predicted last ...
Lloyd's underwriters see pressure mounting.(PRICING)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005; ... From the point of view of Lloyd's underwriters, the landscape in commercial property/casualty underwriting is changing in fundamental ways, with risk managers, many of whom now are finding themselves in higher-profile positions within their companies, pushing for more favorable terms on ...
Aon says terror risk continues to rise.(RISK)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Iraq, Israel/Palestine, India, Nepal and Russia are the top five locations for terrorist incidents, according Aon Corp.'s updated terrorism map for 2005. Aon raised the terrorism risk ratings of 31 countries, almost haft of which are in Western Europe. The Netherlands, Germany, ...
Insurers see cyber extortion on the rise.(RISK)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Extortion isn't just a business for local neighborhood thugs anymore. While the Internet has helped both small and large companies expand their businesses, it's also opened the door to criminals savvy in technology. Today, companies can be threatened by organized criminals in ...