Daily Headlines: Tuesday, July 23, 2013

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July 23, 2013 News By Region  National  International  East  Midwest  Southeast  South Central  West Video Today's Headlines National House Lawmakers Introduce Patent Reform Bill Two U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on Monday to give companies another tool to fight lawsuits brought by companies that specialize ... W.R. Berkley Q2 Profit Up 6%; Rates Up 6.5%; CEO Comments on Berkshire W.R. Berkley Corp. reported $116 million net income for its 2013 second quarter, up more than 6 percent from $109 million net income posted ... Dartmouth, USC Under Investigation for Sexual Misconduct Responses Dartmouth College and the University of Southern California are under investigation by the U.S. Education Department for their responses to ... Travelers' Q2 Profit Climbs 85% to $925M; Auto Unit Layoffs Planned The Travelers Companies today reported net income of $925 million for its 2013 second quarter, an 85 percent jump from $499 million net ... Number of Hail Damage Insurance Claims Up 84% Since 2010 Insurance claims resulting from hail storm damage increased 84 percent in 2012 from their 2010 level, according to the National Insurance... Full Disclosure: Climate Change May Prove Risky For Insurers Insurance companies are in a tricky position when it comes to the issue of climate change. On the one hand, virtually... More National News East 2,700 New Jersey Homeowners Getting Money to Raise Houses About 2,700 New Jersey homeowners will get federal grants to elevate homes damaged by Superstorm Sandy. Gov. Chris Christie announced the ... IA&B Survey: Agencies Report Slight Decrease in Commercial Carrier Satisfaction Insurance Agents & Brokers (IA&B), a partnership of three agents' associations serving Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, said its latest ... Commentary: R.I. Court's Ruling on Self-Insured Retentions in Med-Mal Policies In a surprising decision, the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that a self-insured retention (SIR) endorsement in a nursing facility's ... Pennsylvania Agency Hart, McConahy & Martz Joins Keystone Insurers Group Keystone Insurers Group has added Erie, Penn.-based agency Hart, McConahy & Martz as a new franchise partner. Established in 1872, Hart, ... More East News Midwest Sheffield to Lead Missouri's Captive Insurance Program Missouri Department of Insurance has named Maria Sheffield as its new captive program manager. Sheffield has 17 years of insurance ... Crop Insurance Rule Causing Confusion for Some Midwest Farmers Last year's drought has contributed to confusion over crop insurance rules for some Upper Midwest farmers who couldn't get a crop in the ... With Double-Digit Growth, Lockton Reaches $1B Milestone Kansas City, Mo.-based insurance broker, Lockton, announced it has had a very good year - exceeding $1 billion in revenue for the first ... More Midwest News Southeast Alabama Sets Up State-Run Public School Teachers' Liability Insurance Plan Gov. Robert Bentley's administration has set up a new liability insurance plan for Alabama's school workers who previously relied on the ... Judge Dismisses Faulkner Estate's Copyright Claim Against Woody Allen Movie A federal judge in Mississippi has dismissed a lawsuit claiming that Woody Allen's 2011 film "Midnight in Paris" improperly used one of ... Severe Flooding Can Happen In a Flash, Tennessee City Learns This is why they call it a flash flood. A rainy night in South Pittsburg, Tenn., on July 10 quickly turned into something legendary. ... More Southeast News South Central Oklahoma Leaders Ask 'What Have We Learned' from May Storms? With thousands of destroyed houses, 46 deaths and damage estimates topping the $5 billion mark, victims of Oklahoma's two EF-5 tornadoes ... Federal Jury Convicts Former Texas Insurance Agent in Fraud Case A former Denton County, Texas, insurance agent has been convicted in an insurance fraud scheme that targeted elderly individuals, U.S. ... Arkansas Works to Reduce Prescription Drug Abuse Prescription drug overdoses account for about one death per day in Arkansas and state officials are working with educators, health ... Shelter Permits Sought in Norman, Oklahoma after Tornadoes Applications from Norman, Okla., residents looking to build storm shelters have increased sharply in the aftermath of deadly tornadoes that ... More South Central News West No Heat Technology On Rig That Hit SFO Asiana Survivor The fire rig that ran over and killed a 16-year-old Asiana Airlines crash survivor was not equipped with heat sensing equipment that might ... Utah County Considers Regulating Trampoline Parks Utah County officials are considering regulating trampoline parks after the county's emergency room doctors reported dozens of serious ... Dividend Declared in Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Liability Program Liberty Mutual Insurance recently declared a 5 percent dividend for businesses participating in the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging ... More West News International UN Warns of 'Vulnerabilities' in Mobile Phone SIM Cards as Cyber Security Risk A United Nations group that advises countries on cyber security, plans to send out an alert about significant vulnerabilities in mobile ... West Africa Pirates Seen Threatening Oil and Shipping for Years West African pirates will threaten the region's oil and shipping industries for years as the measures used to curb attacks in the Indian ... AIR Worldwide Analyzes Landslides, Building Damage from China Quake Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has released its analysis of the damages suffered by rural communities in northwest China's Gansu ... Canada's Intact Financial Sees $454 Mn Flood Losses; $24.2 Mn Train Crash Canadian P&C insurer Intact Financial said it expected quarterly results would be hurt by losses from a train derailment and fiery ... AIR Reports on Offshore Earthquake Near Wellington, New Zealand Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has issued a report on the M6.5 earthquake that struck New Zealand's Cook Strait, 54 km SSW of the ... Cooper Gay Help Launch New Lloyd's Coverholder Business in The Bahamas Cooper Gay & Co Ltd, part of the Cooper Gay Swett and Crawford (CGSC) Group, has participated in the establishment of the first Lloyd's of ... ACE Study: Reputation the Hardest Risk to Manage 92 percent of companies believe that reputational risk is the most challenging category of risk to manage, according to a major new study ... More International News Sponsored Content CIWA Announces Changes to Bylaws to Increase Number of Associate Members on Their Board Folsom, CA, 07/23/13 - In an effort to gain valuable insight about their company and vendor members, CIWA has elected to revise their ... More Sponsored Content Insurance Journal Blogs Burand's Agency E&O Blog: Tip #39 AOR/BOR Procedures for Benefits. For some unknown reason, I continually find Benefits Producers thinking the P&C AOR/BOR procedures are not ... More Blogs Join the Insurance Journal Network Insurance Journal TV From 3D Printing to Driverless Cars: Emerging Risks on the Horizon New technology is happening all the time, and with that comes new risks, says Graeme Newman,... Watch Now Oklahoma Opens Up to Captive Insurers Oklahoma this year will join the ranks of other states that aim to attract and keep captive... Watch Now Watch more videos at InsuranceJournal.tv New Discussions in the Forums Agency Management System Posted: Mon Jul 22 -- We just went live on Applied's Epic management system last Jan. We had been using Vertafore 360 for the last 5 yrs but we had to adjust to... FLCracker Need assistance for job advice please Posted: Mon Jul 22 -- You need first, to get real about the job market in its totality and secondly, in the claims area job prospects in particular. This is no... d's insurance store Met Life Retirement Insurance Posted: Fri Jul 19 -- My experience with Met Life Retirement: After denying a request for a small withdrawal, they contacted my job so they can investigate why I... migueloy1 The Age Old Question-How much to split Posted: Thu Jul 18 -- Yes, that is pretty weak. So far though, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. He does not cost me much, and the customers he does have are... yoyowordup Insuring Fabric Structures Posted: Thu Jul 18 -- I wouldn't think any insurance company in their right mind would insure this product for property coverage. The ASU football program had one... yoyowordup Life Insurance Companies for Independent Agents? Posted: Tue Jul 16 -- Thanks, I think that I am more towards "Brokers Alliance" .They offer decent street level commissions and (apparently) great service, a... manny79 Removing a Named Insured Posted: Fri Jul 12 -- If a partnership, both individuals can be interpreted as first named insured since the two individuals comprise the partnership (assuming... NYagent301 Medical malpractice for all states Posted: Fri Jul 12 -- I can help you with this. How shall I contact you? MedMal Man Applied Underwriters / Equity Comp Posted: Thu Jul 11 -- Does anyone have experience they could share (good or bad) with Applied's Equity Comp product? This would be the standalone WC product for... SFINS Go to Forums Reader Comments Administration Says Obamacare to Lower Insurance Premiums More Than Forecast Posted: Thu Jul 18 -- Perhaps the President could give Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. a call and reassure him on the union plans. I think good old Jimmy saw the handwriting on... Agent AIG Ex-Chief Greenberg Sues Spitzer for Defamation Posted: Tue Jul 16 -- AIG was too big to fail and needed to be bailed out. Why? Years and years of unethical business practices. Corrupt is just another word for... Celtica Insurers, Republicans Part Ways Over Global Warming Posted: Mon Jul 22 -- Agent: The fossil fuels emissions numbers are about 100 times bigger than even the maximum estimated volcanic CO2 fluxes. Counter claims... Libby Treasury Secretary Lew Urges Congress Not to Change Dodd-Frank Reforms Posted: Wed Jul 17 -- Good one Lou. I wonder if Treasury is going to crack down on insider trading by Congressmen and Senators. That has been going on a long time... Agent Companies Must Disclose CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratios Under SEC Proposal Posted: Mon Jul 22 -- "Across the Standard & Poor's 500 Index of companies, the average multiple of CEO compensation to that of rank-and-file workers is 204, up... Libby Go to Popular Comments Subscriber Tools Send this to a friend Subscribe Unsubscribe Submit News Contact Us Current Issue July 22, 2013 Excess, Surplus & Specialty Markets Directory, Volume II 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 Commercial Lines Customer Service Representative Underwriting Quality Specialist - Commercial E&S Territory Manager Claims Property Risk Manager Have a job opening? List it on our Web site. 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