Daily Headlines: Friday, October 7, 2011

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October 7, 2011 News By Region  National  International  East  Midwest  Southeast  South Central  West Video Today's Headlines National Officials Urged to Keep Minimum Health Benefits Affordable An advisory group urged U.S. officials to formulate a set of essential health benefits under President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul ... Allstate Closes on $1 Billion Acquisition of Esurance, Answer Financial The Allstate Corp. said it has obtained all required regulatory approvals and closed its acquisition of Esurance and Answer Financial from ... MetLife to Take $275M in Charges Related to Life Benefits, Catastrophes MetLife Inc., the largest life insurer in the United States, said Thursday it would take up to $275 million in third-quarter charges, in ... Del Monte, Barclays to Pay $89.4M to Settle Investors’ Suit Del Monte Corp. and Barclays Capital agreed Thursday to pay $89.4 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed they had not acted in investors' ... S&P Ups Harleysville’s Outlook; Affirms Ratings on Nationwide Deal Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has affirmed its 'A-' counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Harleysville Mutual Ins. ... S&P Affirms Liberty Mutual, Affiliates Ratings; Revises Outlook to Positive Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Liberty Mutual Group (LGMI, and the members of the Liberty Mutual ... Best Downgrades Kingsway and Affiliates Ratings; Assigns Negative Outlook A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to "c" from "ccc" and senior debt ratings to "c" from "ccc" of Kingsway ... Survey: A Few More Years Before Med Liability Market Hardens According to a new annual rate survey by Medical Liability Monitor, base-rate premiums for medical professional liability insurance (MPLI) ... HCC Insurance Opens New Primary and Excess Casualty Divisions Houston-based HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. has opened new primary casualty and excess casualty divisions led by Chris Day and Phil Joschko, ... Top 5 Technology Priorities for P/C Insurers Property/casualty insurance companies plan to invest in technology for underwriting, policy administration, consumer portals, predictive... More National News East Atlantic City to Bill Insurers for Emergency Calls Atlantic City has decided to bill insurance companies for fire department services. The City Council approved the ordinance this week ... Court Delays Sentencing in Rhode Island Insurance Fraud Case A federal judge has delayed the sentencing date for the only defendant waiting to learn his punishment for his role in a $40,000 home ... Federal Disaster Assistance Extended to Additional New York Counties New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this week that federal disaster assistance is now available for homeowners, renters, small ... AIG’s $725M Settlement with Pension Funds Gains Preliminary Approval New York federal court gave a preliminary approval to American International Group's $725 settlement deal with Ohio public pension funds. ... More East News Midwest Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires S. A. Freerks & Associates Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced it has acquired S. A. Freerks & Associates Inc., headquartered in St. Louis, Mo. Founded in ... Michigan’s JM Wilson Named 2011 MGA of the Year by PIA National The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents has named Michigan-based JM Wilson Corp. as recipient of its 2011 Managing ... Stine Sworn in as Nebraska Workers’ Comp Court Judge Judge Tom Stine has been sworn in to serve on the bench of the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court. Attorney General Jon Bruning opened ... Board Approves Univ. of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Malpractice Settlements State officials have agreed to pay nearly $400,000 to settle two medical malpractice lawsuits stemming from treatments at University of ... SIAA Adds Midwest Agencies in September Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance (SIAA) announced it has added 11 new member agencies from the Midwest. The new Midwest agency members ... More Midwest News Southeast State Farm Raises Rates on Alabama Inland Homes For the second time in three years, one of the largest homeowners in Alabama has indicated it will not raises rates along the coastline in ... Mississippi Homeowners Sign Up for Flood Buyouts Eighteen north Vicksburg homeowners who suffered damage from the Mississippi River flooding this spring have signed up for the city's ... Mississippi Lawsuit Against Bar Over Drunk Driving Death Leads to $15M Judgment A lawsuit and the state's dram shop law have led to a $15 million judgment in Mississippi against Slippery Nick's Saloon and Grill. However ... Lloyd’s Enters Florida Reinsurance Market Under Reduced Capital Rule Florida has added its first reinsurer from the United Kingdom to a list of reinsurers taking advantage of a state law that reduces ... More Southeast News South Central Texas Insurer in New York Boat Accident Pleads Guilty to Fraud A Houston man has pleaded guilty to a charge related to selling fraudulent insurance policies, including one to a company that owned a tour ... Atlantic Specialty Lines Acquires Financial Guarantee, American Tri-State Underwriters Atlantic Specialty Lines Inc. (ASL) announced it has acquired Financial Guarantee Underwriters Inc. and American Tri-State Underwriters ... Texas-based Capps Insurance Agency Adds Fraley as Sales Executive Capps Insurance Agency of Mount Pleasant, Texas, announced it has added Jim D. Fraley as a sales executive who will primarily cover the ... More South Central News West California Fights Regulation with Regulation In an odd twist, California business groups applauded Governor Jerry Brown for signing legislation Thursday to create a new layer of ... California Rep Introduces Earthquake Insurance Affordability Act in House California's U.S. Rep. John Campbell (R-48), who today introduced H.R.3125 – companion legislation to S.637 introduced by U.S. Sen. ... Court Orders Takeover of Utah Man’s Businesses A U.S. bankruptcy court judge has ordered a forensic accountant to take control of businesses run by a Kaysville man suspected of taking ... Arizona’s Running of Bulls Revival Credited to Lower Insurance Cost Phil Immordino was literally looking for a bull market to bring back a controversial event that will likely to draw hundreds of weekend ... California’s State Fund to Lay Off Up to 1,800 Workers A restructuring at the government-controlled State Compensation Insurance Fund to be implemented in 2012 will result in a reduction in ... USG Announces New Arizona Branch USG Insurance Services Inc., a national wholesaler and MGA, has opened a new office in Tempe, Ariz. The office will be run by Chris Kops, ... More West News International FSA Changes Date for Solvency II Implementation, Lloyd’s, Aon Benfield Comment On October 3, the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced a revision to the dates on which it plans to implement the provisions ... Aon Benfield Reports Asia Monsoon Economic Losses near $7 Billion Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp, has released the latest edition of its Monthly Cat Recap ... Commodity Pricing Volatility Increases Under-insurance Risks Says Marsh Marsh has issued a report, which highlights the rising gap between insurance coverage amounts and the actual costs that may be incurred in ... Northbridge Insurance Details management for Merged Company Northbridge Insurance, which comprises the existing "broker companies" of Lombard, Markel and Commonwealth, is preparing for the ... Tunnicliffe Rejoins Aon to Lead Global Risk Consulting Aon Risk Solutions, the risk management business of Aon Corp., announced the appointment of Andrew Tunnicliffe to the position of chief ... Travelers Launches New Plastics Package Travelers has launched a new insurance product for the plastics industry that will provide a range of commercial covers including property ... More International News Sponsored Content The e-Marketing Minute is a bi-weekly video series designed to help insurance agents learn how to grow their agency utilizing the Internet. Check it out. More Sponsored Content Join the Insurance Journal Network Insurance Journal TV Thinking Globally, Operating Locally All insurance is regional, according to conventional wisdom, so maintaining strong local... Watch Now Triage Nurses Cut Costs in Workers' Comp What if a business could lower its workers' compensation claims costs by as much as 30... Watch Now Watch more videos at InsuranceJournal.tv New Discussions in the Forums Why Would an Agency Retain Trust Account Service? Posted: Fri Oct 7 -- It amazes me that insurance agents don't understand their FIDUCIARY DUTY. If you ask an escrow agent, an attorney, a real estate broker or a... patriot Carrier Login credentials & agency staff Posted: Fri Oct 7 -- Great suggestions, thanks! I wonder how common it is in agencies where only certain level staff members are permitted to actually log in to... threed Insurance Noodle vs. Superior Access vs. Agent Secure Posted: Fri Oct 7 -- I have a small IA in California and I can tell you from experience that both the Noodle and SAIS suck!!! I have lost thousands of dollars... Lemore Hazardous waste hauler Posted: Thu Oct 6 -- Kathy, MarketScout Wholesale can help with their WastePac program for private waste haulers including hazardous waste. This program is... jonpatton condos in ca owned by LLC Posted: Thu Oct 6 -- Hi, A&M has a number of Markets that will consider coverage for condos including liability and inner wall coverage. Please feel free to... Will_Hullinger Apartment complex wants to be additional interest Posted: Thu Oct 6 -- The word is 'copyright' people, not 'copywrite' ... threed Social Media Posted: Tue Oct 4 -- I'd like to invite agents and company folks to participate in a survey we put together to gather some good, and more reliable, data on how... JasonBHBCo Attorney considering CPCU- thoughts? Posted: Tue Oct 4 -- If choose between ARM and CPCU I'd choose the latter ast gives you more options (imo, sure) lawyevara Professional indemnity insurance for individual partners Posted: Tue Oct 4 -- Have any of you come across a situation in which partners of an unlimited liability partnership obtain professional indemnity insurance to... hksb Go to Forums Reader Comments The Hartford Plans Staff Cuts; Sells Subrogation Services Unit Trumbull Posted: Wed Oct 5 -- How much is too much when it comes to executive salaries? Hartford's 23 corporate executves have an average salary of $4.77 million per... The Other Point of View Chartis to Trim Workforce Posted: Wed Oct 5 -- The 2008 Financial Crisis continues to affect employment as another 400 or so employees will lose their jobs. Sad that so many hard working... The Other Point of View Nationwide, Harleysville CEOs Reassure Agents: Merger All About Growth Posted: Fri Sep 30 -- Watch out Harleysville employees. I can see a downsizing and takeover with Nationwide in charge. It happens every time with mergers. Longtime Agent One Frustrated Florida County Tackles Auto Insurance Fraud On Its Own Posted: Fri Sep 30 -- Auto insurance reform is so difficult because the "trial lawyers" own the state legislature. Look what it took to get WC reform back in 2003... temblor Boeing Arrest Points to Workplace Drug Problem Posted: Tue Oct 4 -- I thought Boeing paid good wages, but most of those arrested were dealing and not using so I guess they were supplementing their income.... 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