Daily Headlines: Wednesday, December 19, 2012

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December 19, 2012 News By Region  National  International  East  Midwest  Southeast  South Central  West Video Today's Headlines National Senate Begins Debating $60 Billion Sandy Relief Bill The U.S. Senate on Monday began debating a $60.4 billion aid bill to rebuild communities devastated by Superstorm Sandy amid criticism by ... Asbestos Loss Estimate Now at $85 Billion: A.M. Best Insurance rating firm A.M. Best this week raised to $85 billion its estimate for losses that U.S. property and casualty insurers can ... The Griffith Foundation: 279 Teachers Receive Insurance Education Columbus, Ohio-based The Griffith Insurance Education Foundation said it has provided insurance education to 279 teachers through the ... Commercial Insurance Prices Rise as Carriers' Loss Ratios Improve Commercial insurance prices in aggregate increased by 6 percent during the third quarter of 2012. This marked the seventh consecutive... More National News East FEMA: Over 507,950 Individuals Registered for Assistance Post-Sandy More than 507,950 individuals in the Northeast have registered for the Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance in wake of Superstorm ... N.Y. Gov. Vetoes Supplemental Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists Bill New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo this week has vetoed a bill concerning the Supplemental Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists ("SUM") ... Conn.-Based SPARTA Insurance Taps Everest National Exec as Senior VP Hartford, Conn.-based SPARTA Insurance Co. appointed Mario Chiappetti as senior vice president of professional lines.Most recently, ... Insurance Agents & Brokers of Pennsylvania Adds New Board Member The Insurance Agents & Brokers of Pennsylvania announced Joseph Pastor, CEO of Barr's Insurance in Oil City, Penn., has joined the ... More East News Midwest Convicted Iowa Financier Says He Can't Afford Lawyer An Indiana financier and former chief executive of National Lampoon convicted of swindling investors out of $200 million says he can't ... Beazley Adds Sfikas to Management Liability Team in Chicago Pamela Sfikas, an experienced management liability underwriter, has joined Beazley in Chicago. Sfikas will specifically focus on building ... Food Borne Illness Cases Present Complex Coverage Questions One of the most heavily litigated insurance issues in coverage liability cases related to outbreaks of widespread food borne illnesses is ... More Midwest News Southeast Florida's Citizens Balks at Issuing HO-8 Policy Florida's quasi-governmental property insurer is resisting a statutory requirement that they start issuing an HO-8 policy due to a ... Court Dismisses Most Damage Claims by Duke University Lacrosse Players The bulk of a federal lawsuit filed by former Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of raping a stripper has been dismissed. The ... South Carolina Sentences Men for Severed Hand Fraud Scheme A South Carolina judge has sentenced the 58-year-old ringleader of a scheme to cut off the hand of a mentally disabled man to collect ... Atlanta Hospitals to Form Own Insurer Two of Atlanta's largest hospital systems have announced plans to form their own insurance company. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ... AmWins Group to Acquire Georgia-Based Gresham & Associates AmWINS Group Inc. -- the largest wholesale insurance brokerage in the U.S. by premiums placed -- announced that it reached a definitive ... Tennessee's Thompson & Smith Agency Joins Keystone Group Keystone Insurers Group has added Jackson, Tenn.-based agency Thompson & Smith Insurance as its 17th franchise partner in the state. The ... More Southeast News South Central Oklahoma Lawmaker, Texas Governor Want Teachers to Be Armed Teachers and school administrators who receive proper training would be authorized to carry firearms on school campuses and at school ... 78 Texas School Districts Without Safety Plan Seventy-eight Texas school districts either have failed to submit state-mandated safety plans in the event of a mass shooting or have filed ... Louisiana Levies More Fines Against Texas Brine over Sinkhole The Louisiana Office of Conservation has levied an additional $160,000 fine against Texas Brine Co. LLC. over a massive sinkhole. ... More South Central News West $1.1M Grant For Disaster Prep For Washington Schools Washington education officials are using a $1.1 million federal grant to help schools prepare for natural disasters. The Office of the ... Officials Tracking Debris off Washington Coast Federal, state and tribal officials are attempting to track a large dock that was reported drifting off the coast of Washington state, one ... U.S. Slaps Japanese Company on California Nuclear Power Plant Work A Japanese company that manufactured the troubled steam generators at a key nuclear power plant in southern California might be looking for ... Willis Named Operations Chief of Leavitt In Central California Salinas, Calif.-based Leavitt Central Coast Insurance named Ted Willis chief of operations. Willis will oversee Leavitt's production and ... More West News International Swiss Re Estimates 2012 Economic Losses at $140 Billion; $65 Billion Insured According to Swiss Re's sigma preliminary estimates, economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters will likely reach at ... UBS Admits Fraud in Libor Rigging Scheme; To Pay $1.5 Billion Fine Swiss bank UBS swallowed a $1.5 billion fine and admitted to fraud on Wednesday after a global probe revealed its staff orchestrated the ... PartnerRe to Acquire Calif.-based Presidio Re Group Bermuda-based PartnerRe Ltd. announced a definitive agreement to acquire California-based Presidio Reinsurance Group, a U.S. specialty ... AXIS Capital Announces New $750 Million Share Repurchase Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings Limited announced that the Company's Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of $750 million ... Cooper Gay Targets Treaty Business in Asia with Yip Appointment Independent insurance and reinsurance intermediary Cooper Gay, has appointed David Yip as Head of Treaty for Cooper Gay Hong Kong, as part ... W. R. Berkley Names Steen President of Berkley Canada W. R. Berkley Corporation announced that Andrew Steen has been named president of Berkley Canada, effective January 7, 2013. The bulletin ... Latest Sandy-Loss Estimates From Axis Capital, Platinum, Beazley Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. said this week its preliminary estimate of the total net financial impact of Sandy is around $300 million -- net ... More International News Sponsored Content Insurance Journal now available on the iPhone - Download it free today! More Sponsored Content Join the Insurance Journal Network Insurance Journal TV Contractual, Regulatory Requirements Effects on Cyber Marketplace Federal and state privacy laws and contractual requirements are driving interest and demand of... Watch Now Privacy & Security Coverage and Trends Richard Betterley, president of Betterley Risk Consultants, says cyber liability policies have... Watch Now Watch more videos at InsuranceJournal.tv New Discussions in the Forums carriers for multistate trucking/warehousing work comp Posted: Mon Dec 17 -- You might want to check into Alaska National out of Seattle. This might not fit due to the high mod but last I knew they were a good market... Shagster1261 WC account Losses 189 X-mod hard class codes Posted: Mon Dec 17 -- Last years premium was $110K. Prior mod was a 147. They frequency and severity claims both. I love the freakonmics lesson. I will pass that... dgarzoli California Raw Milk Sales( Products Liability Markets ) Posted: Sun Dec 16 -- Are you looking for product liability or products contamination/recall coverage? e-mail me at ... INTLXS Insurance directories?? Posted: Fri Dec 14 -- I'm of the belief currently that it's pretty insane to try and start a general lines/personal lines agency from scratch and that... d's insurance store Deposit into the trust account or operating account? Posted: Thu Dec 13 -- I concur- Option A is the correct procedure. sacman Contractor License Question Posted: Thu Dec 13 -- I would think having a contractor working under another's license and initiating new policies under that license could also create a... Shagster1261 Can an employer fire an employee because their pre-convicted Posted: Thu Dec 13 -- Technically "convicted" means until the person (employee) has exhausted the appeals process... consult1 Go to Forums Reader Comments New Jersey Gov. Christie Vetoes State-Run Health Exchange Bill Posted: Wed Dec 12 -- I am sure that no one with existing coverage from an employer will be required to do anything. there are some employers who will try to... Stush Suit Alleges Excessive Force By New Mexico Police Posted: Tue Dec 18 -- Tenorio shouldn't be suing the police department, but his mother for the fetal alcohol syndrom that he has. If it wasn't for that, he would... Baxtor Deaths of Bicyclists, Large Truck Occupants Rise as Other Traffic Fatalities Fall Posted: Wed Dec 12 -- yoyowordup: It is too simplistic to blame bicyclists for the increase in deaths. The riders are, after all, killed by car & truck drivers.... Brian Kuehn Small Business Owners Face Health Insurance Dilemma Posted: Thu Dec 13 -- Sargent, did you see the news about the 17 prominent Democratic Senators who sent a letter to HHS to not implement the Medical Devices tax... Agent Insurance Costs Forcing Sale of Civil War Cannons at Ohio Cemetery Posted: Mon Dec 17 -- So I don't get it. If they sell the cannons for $50,000, how much do they think the reproductions will cost???? They can't just go to... 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