Best's Review back issues from July 2007:
Forget something?(Editor's Prologue)(Editorial)
Jul 01, 2007; ... According to the old saying, the shoemaker's children go barefoot. Our cover story, "Undercovered Agents" on page 30, reveals how many U.S. insurance agents, whose jobs are to ensure their clients are well protected, often overlook protecting themselves. Insuring their common business ...
Allianz's side of the story.(Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America)(Viewpoint essay)
Jul 01, 2007; ... The analysis of the Minnesota Attorney General's lawsuit against Allianz Life (see June 2007 Best's Review "Suitability Scrutiny") accurately described the lack of specificity provided by the suitability statutes and the allegations made by the Attorney General. That analysis is best ...
The Equitable effect.(European Parliament committee's recommendations for improved life insurance)
Jul 01, 2007; ... Debate has been picking up in Brussels over the past few years over how to regulate insurance among the 27 members of the European Union. Judging by recent developments, the effort may boil down to deciding who is best able to balance solvency with sovereignty--the EU apparatus or national ...
A life story.(100 YEARS AGO IN Best's Review)(Brief article)
Jul 01, 2007; ... The affairs of the Columbian National Life Insurance Co. of Boston, Mass., were important enough to print a full report in the July 1907 issue of Best's Review (life edition). An editorial preceded the full report in which two points open to possible criticism were discussed. * ...
Bermuda Insurers catch break with 2006 storms.(By the Numbers)(Brief article)
Jul 01, 2007 ... After Bermuda insurers braced for a chaotic 2006 hurricane season, the opposite occurred, as insured losses relating to catastrophes were only a fraction of 2005 losses according to the A.M. Best Special Report Changing Tide of 2006 Storm Activity Showers Benefits on Bermuda's Insurers ....
Influx of doctors a fairy-tale ending to Texas med-mal turmoil.(Briefing)
Jul 01, 2007; ... Once upon a time in Texas, 6,700 doctors, dropped by their carriers, were scrambling to find liability insurance and only four medical-malpractice carriers were operating in the state. The high cost of doing business in Texas was driving both doctors and carriers out of the ...
Terror mandate makes insurers ponder doomsday.(Briefing)
Jul 01, 2007; ... They are the doomsday scenarios that keep many Americans awake at night. A terrorist group explodes a tanker truck carrying chlorine gas. A "dirty bomb" is detonated in Times Square. Anthrax spores are released in a subway system. A suitcase nuke is opened in downtown ...
Platinum's Mitchell tapped for APIW honor.(People in Insurance)(Association of Professional Insurance Women)(H. Elizabeth Mitchell)
Jul 01, 2007; ... For more than 30 years, the Association of Professional Insurance Women has recognized a top female insurance executive for outstanding leadership and achievement. This year the honor goes to H. Elizabeth Mitchell, president of Platinum Underwriters Reinsurance, selected as the ...
Kemper offers tips to viewers.(HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE)(partnerships of Kemper Auto and Home and Quorum Productions)(Brief article)
Jul 01, 2007; ... KEMPER AUTO AND HOME has teamed up with Quorum Productions to provide insurance tips on the remodeling show, Designing Spaces. "Quorum Productions was looking for a company that would partner with them to be the exclusive homeowners insurance company for the show," said Mark ...
Withdrawals can begin at age 59 1/2.(Life)(Brief article)
Jul 01, 2007; ... John Hancock Life Insurance Co. has introduced Income Plus For Life, an optional lifetime withdrawal benefit that can begin as early as age 59 1/2. The initial annual income is 5% of the purchase payment, but the benefit base can increase by 6% for each year an ...
Undercovered agents: agents and brokers face a wide and fast-changing range of insurance exposures, but errors and omissions could be the most costly.(Agent/Broker: Errors & Omissions)(www.ambest.com.)
Jul 01, 2007; ... Agents and brokers sell insurance every business day, but do they pay much attention to their own risks as professionals? When it comes to common business risks, the answer is probably yes. But in the matter of professional liability, particularly errors and omissions, the ...
Best's Reviews top global: insurance brokers.(Agent/Broker: Leading Brokers)(Directory)(Financial report)
Jul 01, 2007 ... Best's Review presents its second annual global insurance-brokers ranking by revenues, with in-depth looks at leading firms' results and strategies. While Marsh and Aon held their respective rankings of one and two, Lockton Cos. Inc. took a big jump in the Top 20 by moving from No. 14 to ...
Gaining middle market expertise: education paired with experience yields the expertise needed to keep up with today's middle market customers.(Agent/Broker: Selling Insight)
Jul 01, 2007; ... To attract and retain today's middle market customer, it simply is not possible to offer a one-size-fits-all solution. In order to win business, agents must have a clear understanding of their clients' risks and bring pertinent solutions to the table. An agent must be perceived as an ...
Play it forward: Liberty Mutual's growth in 2006 boosted its rank among top U.S. property/casualty writers.(Property/Casualty: Leading Writers)(Company overview)
Jul 01, 2007; ... Movement is rare atop the U.S. property/casualty writers' mountain, but in 2006 one Top 10 player advanced by growing 10% in net premiums written. Liberty Mutual, which has held the No. 8 spot on the list since 2001, climbed to No. 7, according to A.M. Best Co.'s Top U.S. ...
Underwriting baby boomers: boomers will be a powerful consumer group for the next 20 years.(Property/Casualty: Underwriting Insight)(bennett@thehartford.com.)
Jul 01, 2007; ... The times, they are a-changing. It's been more than 40 years since Bob Dylan wrote the words that became an anthem of the early baby boomers, and the changes haven't stopped. As the oldest boomers move into their seventh decade, they continue to prove just how different they remain from ...
A mixed bag: brokers try to sort out the possible effects of a proposed merger between Highmark and Independence in Pennsylvania.(Health/Employee Benefits: Highmark/Independence Merger)
Jul 01, 2007; ... The proposed merger of Highmark Inc. and Independence Blue Cross has brokers on both sides of the fence as they consider how combining Pennsylvania's two largest health plans would affect them and consumers. Some brokers believe a union would result in administrative ...
A small bright star: indexed universal life insurance was the fastest-growing product line in the individual life insurance galaxy last year, and specialists expect fast growth to continue.(Life: Indexed Universal Life)(Financial report)
Jul 01, 2007; ... The newest star in the life insurance universe-based on sales growth, at least--is indexed universal life insurance. According to Advantage Compendium, the St. Louis-based research and consulting firm, sales in 2006 rose to $352 million, up by 89% over those in 2005. The big ...
A big boost: the buyout of Allstate's variable annuity book makes Prudential the second-largest U.S. life insurer based on admitted assets, bumping AIG to third.(Life: Leading Writers)(Company rankings)
Jul 01, 2007; ... Prudential Financial Inc.'s acquisition in June 2006 of the variable annuity business of Allstate Financial helped boost it to the second-largest U.S. life insurer based on admitted assets, climbing a notch from the No. 3 position in 2005. Prudential of America Group's admitted ...
Deal or no deal: companies risk losing focus if they begin to chase deals over solid organic growth.(Life: Management Insight)
Jul 01, 2007; ... We like to think of America as "the land of opportunity," but it may be more accurate to say America is "the land of the deal." Gee, how we love doing deals. There is a roguish aura that goes with being considered a wheeler-dealer. Little wonder that Let's Make a Deal was such a long ...
Moving toward economic capital: diversification of risks could reduce the capital insurers are required to hold.(Life: Reserving Insight)
Jul 01, 2007; ... When more sophisticated risk measures were first introduced, they led to the recognition of greater risks through increased capital requirements. Think early fixed annuities and, more recently, variable annuities. While it often took regulators and rating agencies some time to catch up, ...
Going mobile: with communications technology so prevalent across the country, carriers are responding with state-of-the-art wireless devices for their in-house and field employees.(Technology: Wireless Communications)
Jul 01, 2007; ... Mobile technology has become widespread across America that many insurance companies have jumped on the real-time information bandwagon to improve field sales communications and operations. "The major areas in which we're seeing increases are P/C claims for field adjusters and ...
Report proposes P/C insurers use mobile claims technology.(Technology: Technology Notes)(Property/casualty)
Jul 01, 2007; ... A recent report from Needham, Mass.-based research company TowerGroup suggests U.S. property/casualty insurers embrace mobile solutions for claims processing, which would drive down overall costs. The report finds adoption of mobile claims processing has been "haphazard at ...
Security weaknesses persist at FDIC.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)
Jul 01, 2007; ... In March, Congress's investigative arm found 26 problems with the way the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. handles its information security. As of the end of May, 21 of those 26 problems have been addressed, but the FDIC still has some data-security holes, the Government Accountability ...
Instant access: some state insurance departments are making public access to company financial information as easy as logging on.(Regulatory/Law: Online Financial Statements)
Jul 01, 2007; ... In a slow-moving trend, a handful of state insurance departments are posting domestic insurance company financial statements on the Internet, for all to see. This online access separates those states from most others, which depend on the central repository of insurer financial ...
Decision: hold, or not to hold: insurers must decide whether a litigation hold is a necessary step in the claims process.(Regulatory/Law: Legal Insight)(Zubulake v. UBS Warburg)
Jul 01, 2007; ... As part of my work with the American Bar Association, I recently received a great question from the manager of the coverage litigation department of an insurance company: Is a claims department required to issue a litigation hold for all coverage denials? The term "litigation ...
An uncomfortable pause: New Orleans risk managers continue to negotiate claims and evaluate exposures post Katrina.(Property/Casualty: Risk Management)
Jul 01, 2007; ... More than 21 months after Hurricane Katrina, risk managers are still negotiating insurance claims, reassessing their exposures and seeking reasonable coverage from a market retreating from coastal properties. Handbooks on emergency preparedness did little to prepare risk ...
What's your number? How an executive's simple question spawned a revolution in thinking about risk.(Property/Casualty: Loss/Risk Management Insight)
Jul 01, 2007; ... The insurance industry thrives by getting paid to assume risk. But until recently it has focused far more on its revenues than on quantifying the risks it assumes. Here's the story of a little-known key event that launched the current emphasis on Enterprise Risk Management. In ...
Study: climate change increases claims exposure.(Property/Casualty: Loss/Risk Management Notes)
Jul 01, 2007; ... Insurers' exposure to liability claims and lawsuits is heightened by the causes of climate change and the costs to adapt, a study by three climate change experts said. The insurance industry faces "material liability exposures to the causes and consequences of climate change and ...
Critical care: as more Americans contend with serious illnesses, insurers are trying to dispel misconceptions and show how critical insurance can fill a void in traditional medical plans.(Health/Employee Benefits: Critical Illness Insurance)
Jul 01, 2007; ... Adrienne Sutton's triple bypass in 2004 resulted in hospitalization for several days, loss of income when her husband took family leave to be with her, and an ongoing pile of bills. But the financial load was eased by a critical illness insurance policy that paid many of the family's ...
Market response: midyear reinsurance renewals show signs of softening as companies look for fresh ways to deploy excess capital.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets: Renewals)
Jul 01, 2007; ... Midyear renewals for global property catastrophe reinsurance are being affected by the capital freed up by Florida's newly expanded, state-sponsored catastrophe reinsurance fund. Catastrophe modeler Risk Management Solutions is now projecting the cost of a 1-in-100-year loss to ...
NAIC adopts life settlements model act.(Regulatory/Law)(National Association of Insurance Commissioners)
Jul 01, 2007; ... National Association of Insurance Commissioners regulators have adopted a revised model law that seeks to thwart so-called stranger-originated life settlements. With the NAIC's new model law criteria in place, much of the debate that preceded adoption of the revised Viatical ...
Interim classification continues for hybrid equity products.(Regulatory/Law)(Brief article)
Jul 01, 2007; ... An interim answer to classifying hybrid equities will stay around longer than expected, following inaction by a working group of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. At the heart of the issue is the lack of historical data on the hybrid product--which shares both ...
NAIC adds SOX-inspired accreditation standard.(Regulatory/Law)(National Association of Insurance Commissioners)(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
Jul 01, 2007; ... Language derived from the "best practices" sections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and tucked into the financial reporting model law of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has come one step closer to becoming an NAIC accreditation standard. The Financial ...
Seattle-based Safeco Insurance Cos., the eighth-largest writer of homeowners multiperil in California, said it intends to expand that line of business in the state, introducing rate reductions up to 30% for new home policies and providing identity theft coverage that includes the services of a case manager.(Homeowners)(Brief article)
Jul 01, 2007 ... Seattle-based SAFECO INSURANCE COS., the eighth-largest writer of homeowners multiperil in California, said it intends to expand that line of business in the state, introducing rate reductions up to 30% for new home policies and providing identity theft coverage that includes the services ...
Ace European Group Ltd.(Property/Casualty)(Brief article)
Jul 01, 2007 ... ACE EUROPEAN GROUP LTD. continues its expansion into the Central and Eastern European markets with the opening of offices in Hungary's capital, Budapest, and Prague in the Czech Republic. David Furby, Ace's ...
As part of a series of strategic moves, Munich RE has acquired underwriting manager Bell & Clements Group, which operates in the United Kingdom and the United States.(Reinsurance)(Bell and Clements Group)(Brief article)
Jul 01, 2007 ... As part of a series of strategic moves, MUNICH RE has acquired underwriting manager BELL & ...
Survival skills: life lessons and experiences are helping a TV-reality-show winner make the transition from firefighter to employee-benefits salesman.(The Last Word)
Jul 01, 2007; ... In 2005, Tom Westman endured rigorous physical challenges and mentally taxing tribal councils to become the last man standing on Survivor: Palau. Now the former firefighter, who won the respect of his tribe while besting 19 other castaways, is taking on a new challenge: employee-benefits ...