Daily Headlines: Thursday, May 2, 2013

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May 2, 2013 News By Region  National  International  East  Midwest  Southeast  South Central  West Video Today's Headlines National Crop Insurance Subsidies Encourage Farmers to Buy Too Much Coverage: Economist U.S. farmers have collected a record $17 billion in crop insurance payments on drought-hit 2012 crops but the system could have spent half ... Zurich Expands Community Banking Products to Zurich Agency Services Agents Zurich is now working with Zurich Agency Services, Inc., to expand its community banks offering additional agents and brokers. As part of ... Schinnerer Adds Crime, Kidnap, Ransom Coverage to Non-Profit Program Victor O. Schinnerer & Co. has added crime and kidnap, ransom, and extortion coverages to its suite of offerings for non-profits. The new ... SNL: E&S Premiums Up in 2012; Top 30 Carriers Ranked Excess and surplus lines premiums in the U.S. were up for a second consecutive year in 2012, rising 10.8 percent to $25.44 billion, and ... Identifying and Mitigating Agent E&O Exposures in the High-Net Worth Segment As the Internet continues to take hold over the independent insurance agent's market share, the value-added services a broker can provide... PHLY's New CEO Looks Ahead To Innovation & Profit Philadelphia Insurance celebrated its 50 anniversary last year--before Robert O'Leary took the helm as chief executive... More National News East Prosthetics Industry Group Pledges to Assist Boston Bombing Amputees A prosthetics industry group has pledged to provide artificial limbs at no cost to Boston bombing victims who may require prosthetics in ... Delaware Police Issue 2,000 Distracted Driving Tickets Police in Delaware issued more than 2,000 tickets to drivers in a crackdown on using handheld cellphones behind the wheel. The Department ... Crackdown on Mass. Auto Insurance Fraud Leads to Big Savings: Report A crackdown on auto insurance fraud in Lawrence, Mass., prompted by the death 10 years ago of a great-grandmother in a staged accident has ... More East News Midwest Debate Stalls on Missouri Malpractice Liability Limits Legislation An effort to reinstate Missouri's cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits stumbled on April 30 in the state Senate. ... Amerisure Names Dennis Assistant VP of Claims Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Amerisure Mutual Insurance Co. has appointed Bill Dennis as assistant vice president of Claims. Dennis will ... Economic Survey Index: Growth Slows in Midwest, Plains States A monthly economic survey index for nine Midwest and Plains states dipped for the second consecutive month in April, but the survey's ... Keystone Insurers Group to Expand into Illinois Property and casualty insurance franchisor, Keystone Insurers Group, announced it will begin adding partner agencies in Illinois during the ... More Midwest News Southeast Florida Approves Cap on Physician-Dispensed Drugs for Workers' Compensation After years of struggling to rein in the cost of physician-dispensed drugs, Florida workers' compensation insurers finally reached a ... Florida Medical Malpractice Bill Fate Uncertain The Florida House this took up a bill that critics say would make it harder to pursue medical malpractice claims. But the bill also had ... Florida Lawmakers Advance Texting While Driving Bill The Florida House has passed its version of a statewide ban on texting while driving, but the proposal's fate is uncertain. The House ... More Southeast News South Central Oklahoma Senate Sends Workers' Comp Bill to Governor The Oklahoma Senate has approved a Republican-backed plan to overhaul the state's workers' compensation system and to cut more than $100 ... Oklahoma Governor Signs Uninsured Motorist Bill Starting November 1, law enforcement officers will be able to remove the tags of uninsured vehicles in Oklahoma, the state insurance ... Authorities Aim to Finish Texas Blast Probe by May 10 An investigation should be finished within the next two weeks into what caused a massive explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that killed ... 20 Texas Students Receive Insurance Education Scholarships Twenty insurance and risk management students at five Texas universities were recently awarded a total of $23,000 in academic scholarships ... More South Central News West New Mexico Applebee's Sued Over Drunk Pedestrian's Death A Taos, N.M. restaurant is facing a lawsuit over allegations that it overserved a pedestrian who was struck and killed by a pickup. The ... California Coffee Drinker, Safeway Settle Kona Coffee Lawsuit Safeway Inc. and a California coffee drinker have agreed to settle a lawsuit claiming Safeway committed fraud by selling coffee labeled as ... Oregon House Passes Immigrant Driver's Card Bill Tens of thousands of immigrants living in Oregon without legal permission will be able to get four-year driver's licenses starting Jan. 1 ... Lawsuit Accuses Nevada Police Of Discrimination An Elko, Nev. police officer claims she was forced to resign after three months on the job because of a hostile work environment. Cassandra ... Arizona Third State to Allow Posting Policies Online Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill that allows a property/casualty insurer to post policies online and send a link via email to ... More West News International EU Considering Action; Pope Comments after Bangladesh Building Disaster The European Union is considering trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its garments, to ... Swiss Re Reports $1.4 Billion Q1 Net Income; Combined Ratio of 72.4% Swiss Re's earnings report reflected the lack of significant catastrophe events in the first quarter of 2013, which, except for the nasty ... RSA Posts 7% Premium Growth in Q1 2013; Net Asset Value up 5% UK-based RSA reported an "encouraging start" for 2013 in its Interim Management Statement with premium growth in the first quarter of the ... AJ Gallagher Acquires UK's Property & Commercial Limited Arthur J. Gallagher announced the acquisition of UK-based Property & Commercial Limited from Barbon Insurance Group. Terms of the ... More International News Sponsored Content Farewell to our Friend and Colleague, Brad Wolf of InterWest Insurance Services Bradley Michael Wolf 3/27/1979 - 4/26/2013 Sacramento, CA, 05/02/13 - On April 26, 2013 the insurance industry lost one of the most ... More Sponsored Content Join the Insurance Journal Network Insurance Journal TV Fireman's Fund Chief Looks to Future Lori Fouché became Fireman's Fund's president and CEO in July, 2011. The head of the U.S.... Watch Now Greenberg's View: Finite Reinsurance The cornerstone of former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's campaign against AIG and... Watch Now Watch more videos at InsuranceJournal.tv New Discussions in the Forums Insurance Noodle vs. Superior Access vs. Agent Secure Posted: Thu May 2 -- They have a lot of names within the P&C world: Agency Networks, Agency Groups, Clusters, Premium Aggregators, Agency Franchises, etc. They... El Phil Better Comparative Rater than FSC? Posted: Wed May 1 -- I am an indy broker in California who is currently using FSC Rater. I have quite a few issues with FSC my major one being that you cannot... shiftins What is your biggest pain as an agent? Posted: Wed May 1 -- Right now my biggest pain is customer service. Its hard to sell, market and service as a one man shop. It never seems like there is enough... shiftins CA-Sales of defibrillators & CPR Training Posted: Wed May 1 -- Market(s) for WC & BOP for 1 office, 5 employees $1MM ann. rev. for company that provides CPR training, sales and consulting of... Buttonwillow Long haul trucking- CA Posted: Wed May 1 -- Hi I work for a PA and I'm the underwriter for our stand-alone Auto program. I acn't do long-haul but I can do other for hire risks. Feel... tanya01 Non Standard Farm/Ranch account Posted: Wed Apr 24 -- What are the codes and the premium? I just quoted a restoration company with similar issues and a 2.37 x-mod with a PEO. What should have... Chad Filley Go to Forums Reader Comments U.S. Expected to Seek Limits on Car Touchscreens Posted: Thu Apr 25 -- I think cars should be updated with a version of Apple's Siri or similar software with voice recognition. That way, when I get road rage and... reality bites Experts Weigh Boston Bombings' Impact on Government-Backed Terrorism Insurance Posted: Tue Apr 30 -- "Under TRIA, an event cannot be considered as a terrorist act unless the U.S. Treasury secretary, the secretary of state and U.S. attorney... Dave Texas AG: Same-Sex Marriage Benefits Unconstitutional for Public Entities Posted: Wed May 1 -- Boo! Boo! Boo Abbot and Patrick! So, if 75% of voters said they wanted witches burned at the stake, would you take up a search and commence... Captain Planet West Explosion Insured Losses Hit $100M Posted: Fri Apr 26 -- Dang...how can someone "Dislike" Captain Planets comments??? I swear if he commented "kittens are cute" or "the sky is blue" you guys would... Questionning Administration Shortens Health Care Application Posted: Wed May 1 -- "The health care questions will disappear, but they'll be replaced by questions about your income." New "simplified" application - 4... wvagt Go to Popular Comments Subscriber Tools Send this to a friend Subscribe Unsubscribe Submit News Contact Us Current Issue April 22, 2013 Top 50 Apps for Insurance Agents; Entertainment, Sports & Special Events; Directors & Officers Liability More Newsletters Choose Newsletters Daily Headlines Weekly Reader Picks Magazine Update Insurance Journal TV Classifieds Breaking News MyNewMarkets Daily Claims Daily Enter Your E-mail Market Directories Excess & Surplus Markets Programs Workers' Comp Markets New Insurance Jobs Customer Service Manager - Personal Lines Manager, E&O Dept Underwriting Analyst Consulting Chief Underwriting Officer - W.C. Have a job opening? List it on our Web site. 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