Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Daily Headlines: Tuesday, January 24, 2012

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Insurance Journal Daily Headlines
January 24, 2012
News By Region  National  International  East  Midwest  Southeast  South Central  West Video

Today's Headlines

National

New U.S. Consumer Agency Pledges to Avoid Rule Duplication

The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said on Monday it would coordinate rulemaking and enforcement with the Federal Trade ...

Should Insurers Cover Experimental Treatments?

When your health insurance provider denies an experimental treatment or a high-cost drug, how much are you willing to pay for the care you ...

Philadelphia Insurance Adds Coverage for Sleep Centers

Philadelphia Insurance Cos. has started offering coverage for sleep centers and laboratories, a growing industry designed to help combat ...

Travelers: Q4 Profit Down But Pricing Rebounds Sharply

Travelers Companies Inc. reported a smaller profit for the fourth quarter, as it released less money from its reserves than a year earlier, ...

Workers’ Compensation Turn a Profit? Fahgettaboudit!

Workers' compensation carriers with visions of profits over the next few years are dreaming. It ain't goin' to happen, according to ...

Best Affirms American Modern Home Insurance and Subs Ratings

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of 'A+' (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of "aa-" of ...

Best Withdraws Harleysville-Atlantic and Harleysville Ohio Ratings

A.M. Best Co. has withdrawn the financial strength rating (FSR) of 'A' (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of "a" of ...

From MyNewMarkets.com Political Season Is Here But Insurers Aren't Running to Cover Campaigns

Death, taxes and elections. You can count on all of them, but elections might be the easiest to predict, at least when it comes to...
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East

AIG to Merge Group Benefits Units From Chartis and American General

Two American International Group units -- Chartis U.S. Accident and Health, and American General Life Companies -- are planning to merge ...

Pennsylvania Whistleblower Claims Hospital Medicare Fraud

A former northwestern Pennsylvania cardiologist says in a lawsuit a hospital improperly paid doctors who performed unnecessary procedures ...

N.J. to Use Face-Recognition Technology, Scan License Photos for Fraud

New Jersey is preparing to use facial-recognition technology to scan 18 million photographs for signs of driver's license fraud. Photos ...

Irene Flooding Left Vermont Home on Unexpected Island

June Tierney and Kellie Burke never envisioned island living in the Vermont woods, but Tropical Storm Irene had other ideas. Their home, a ...

Del. Regulator Offers Advice on Healthcare Options for Early Retirees

Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart expressed concern for soon-to-retire Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964), ...

N.Y. Program Lets Uninsured Artists Exchange Art for Medical Services

A new program lets uninsured New York City artists exchange their art for medical services. Tony-Award winning actor Lin-Manuel Miranda and ...

Former Red Sox Catcher Wins Claim Against Merrill

Former Red Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli has earned another victory, this time off the field. An arbitration panel ruled on Jan. 13 that ...
Midwest

AssuredPartners Acquires Ohio’s Dawson Companies

AssuredPartners, a portfolio company of the Chicago, Ill-based equity firm GTCR, has acquired the Dawson Companies. Based in Cleveland, ...

Founders Insurance Offers Renter’s Endorsement in Illinois

Founders Insurance Co. of Des Plaines, Ill. has launched a property and liability endorsement for its personal automobile policies in the ...

Willis North America Appoints Monat to M&A Leadership Position

Willis North America, a unit of Willis Group Holdings, the global insurance broker with operations in Chicago, has appointed William ...

RLI Hires Diefenthaler as VP, Chief Investment Officer

RLI Corp., a specialty insurance company based in Peoria, Ill., has hired Aaron P. Diefenthaler to serve as its new vice president, chief ...
Southeast

Alabama Rescuers Search Homes for Tornado Survivors

Searchers in the Birmingham area were going from house-to-house early Monday in an effort to rescue people trapped in their homes after ...

Many Georgia Day Cares Fail to Meet Safety Standards: Report

Almost 2,500 day care programs in Georgia have failed to meet the state's standards for children's health and safety at least once in the ...

Mistakes at Tennessee Nuclear Reactor Cause Work Stoppage

Mistakes by construction workers at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar reactor project, described last Friday by the utility's ...

Alabama Tornado Recovery Report Delayed

The severe weather prompted Alabama Governor Robert Bentley to cancel a meeting this week where he was supposed to receive a study from a ...

Accident Insurance Hires Sadler to Cover Tennessee

Pam Sadler has joined Accident Insurance Co. as a business development representative for the state of Tennessee. Sadler joined AIC in ...
South Central

Hailstorms, Heat and Wildfires Made 2011 a Rough Year in Texas

With weather forecasters issuing severe weather alerts for Texas as a slow moving cold front rolls across the state, many Texans may be ...

Texas Approves 13 Companies to Self-Insure for Workers' Comp

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC) approved 13 renewals of the Certificates of Authority for ...

Former Texas Financier Stanford Heads to Court

No one calls him Sir Allen Stanford anymore. He is inmate number 35017-183. On Monday, the Texas financier headed to court in Houston to ...
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West

Networked in California Joins LexisNexis Exchange

Grass Valley, Calif.-based Networked Insurance Agents has signed on with LexisNexis Risk Solutions Insurance Exchange, a significant step ...

Hybrid Vehicles Making Inroads in Colorado City

Residents in Boulder, Colo. appear to have some kind of drive to buy hybrid vehicles. The Daily Camera reports statistics from the Boulder ...

Train Kills Man Standing On Tracks South Of San Francisco

A commuter train south of San Francisco, Calif. has hit and killed a man as he stood on the tracks. San Mateo County Transit spokeswoman ...
International

Hannover Re Expects Major Loss from Costa Concordia Capsize

German reinsurer Hannover Re AG says it expects the fatal capsizing of the Costa Concordia cruise ship to cost it tens of millions of euros ...

Ratings Roundup: Taiping Re, First Insurance

A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to stable from positive and affirmed the financial strength rating of 'A-' (Excellent) and issuer ...

Fine Arts Consortium Increases Capacity for 2012

Ironshore's Pembroke Consortium has increased capacity to $116 million for 2012 to meet new demand, an expansion over the $105 million it ...

UPDATE: Insured Loss Estimates from Thailand Floods

Last year's flooding in Thailand is shaping up to be one of the costliest natural disasters in history, with insured losses alone estimated ...

Chevron Appeals $18 Billion Judgment Ruling in Ecuador Lawsuit

Chevron Corp has filed an appeal with Ecuador's National Court of Justice to review a judgment that the U.S. oil company pay $18 billion in ...

Harris Joins XL Group from Chartis as Chief Executive-International P&C

The insurance segment of XL Group plc announced the appointment of Jason Harris as Chief Executive of its International P&C Insurance ...

Xchanging Names Binns Executive Director – Technology Services Business

London-based Xchanging plc, a business process and technology services provider and integrator, has announced that Andrew Binns was ...

Best Upgrades Arch Re, Operating Affiliates Ratings to ‘A+’

A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength ratings (FSR) to 'A+' (Superior) from 'A '(Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) ...
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New Discussions in the Forums

Tracking Producer Comission
Posted: Tue Jan 24 -- The stand-alone system that I wrote is geared more for Brokerage General Agents (BGA) and tracks the complete payout of cases including who... RAC30188
Farmers - your opinion
Posted: Tue Jan 24 -- The fact that there is such a disproportionate number of current & ex Farmers agents overwhelmingly recommending people to NOT go with this... lonestar
Producer Compensation-Florida
Posted: Tue Jan 24 -- When a producer brings in an account on an AOR, what is the typical compensation for when the account renews. Is it the same as new biz, or... saabins
My CPCU journey - almost finished.....
Posted: Mon Jan 23 -- I am starting this month with CPCU 530 and wasn't sure if I should get the flash cards, etc. After reading this post, I'm going to stick... AnMarieB
The transition from underwriter to producer...
Posted: Sat Jan 21 -- Just found this for ya! Looks like a slam dunk to me!... dm307799
Taxi company - CA 25 Units
Posted: Sat Jan 21 -- Hello, Can anyone beat Mercury's rate of approximately 4k a unit? My client is paying $100,000 AP and has 30,000 in losses in last 3 years.... InsureTime
SOCAL Brush
Posted: Wed Jan 18 -- Anyone know of standard carriers that wil write in CA Brush line? Travelers, Hartford, Fidelity have all said no. Value is $1.1. I know... JAM
Workers comp for janitorial services
Posted: Wed Jan 18 -- You can try First Comp-Markel if they have less than 20k payroll. If over 20k Tower has some decent rates for 9008 new venture guys. EricCBIAIns
Study tips for the California Life Agent Exam
Posted: Tue Jan 17 -- How? hawnbiz

Reader Comments

Murderer, Fake FBI Agent, Amateur Arsonist Enter Insurance Fraud Hall of Shame
Posted: Tue Jan 17 -- Some of these are unbelievable for their stupidity. I can't believe the one on the $163 Million scam of Medicare and they get only 3 years... Amazed
Lawyer Hits Jailing of Amish Men in Kentucky Over Buggies
Posted: Mon Jan 23 -- This isn't just an "Amish thing", it has to do with safety on the roadway..PUBLIC roadways. It's fine if the Amish want to put *their*... Susan
Mississippi Supreme Court to Hear Grocery Store Parking Lot Beating
Posted: Mon Jan 23 -- INSANITY prevails. Come on, an armed guard in the parking lot? What a ridiculous presumption of safety. Shame on the jury of me, women and... reality bites
Mississippi Handling 20 Cases of Teacher Misconduct with Students
Posted: Wed Jan 18 -- That is definitely scary; however, one thing that bothered me is that a hug was considered sexual. I think that's a shame that because of... Doug
South Carolina Jury Awards $1M to Teens in 'Choking Game' Claim
Posted: Tue Jan 17 -- Were you there when this happened? Maybe you should give the benefit of the doubt to the people involved in this case who witnessed it,... Just wondering

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Excess, Surplus & Specialty Markets Directory Vol. I
January 23, 2012

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