Daily Headlines: Friday, April 26, 2013

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April 26, 2013 News By Region  National  International  East  Midwest  Southeast  South Central  West Video Today's Headlines National U.S. P/C Industry 2012 Income $33.5B in Spite of $32B in Cat Losses U.S. property/casualty insurers absorbed net insured catastrophe losses of more than $32 billion last year, but still managed to post $33.5 ... Federal Judge Moves S&P Ratings Case Back to State Court A federal judge handed a legal defeat to Standard & Poor's, ruling that a lawsuit in which Connecticut accused it of fraudulently inflating ... Aon Reports Q1 Total Revenue of $2.9B; Net Income $261M Aon summarized the results from its various operations in the first quarter of 2013 as follows: - Total revenue was $2.9 billion with ... U.S. Court Rules Artist Richard Prince Didn't Infringe Photo Copyrights In a closely watched case in the art world, American artist Richard Prince won a federal appeals court order Thursday holding that he did ... Chubb Q1 Profit Rises 30% to $656M; CEO Says 'Market Remains Firm' Chubb Corp. reported on Wednesday $656 million net income for its 2013 first quarter, an increase of 29.6 percent compared to $506 million ... How to Grow Your Agency by Asking and Answering the Right Questions One of the "secrets" to building an agency, or any business for that matter, is to ask introspective questions and to answer them ... Zuraitis Resigns As President of The Hanover's P/C Cos. Marita Zuraitis, a member of The Hanover Insurance Group's executive leadership team and president of its property/casualty companies, is ... FirstComp Launches BOP Policy in Nebraska, Tennesse, More States to Come FirstComp, a division of Markel Service, Inc., has launched a new small business owner policy, FirstComp EssentialBOP, for ... ACE, Trust Risk Management Launch Small Healthcare Provider Program ACE USA's Medical Risk Group has expanded its relationship with Trust Risk Management Services, Inc. (TRMS) to offer an admitted ... Global Trade Market Uncertainties Increasing Demand for Trade Credit Insurance Trade credit insurance is not a new concept, says Kerstin Braun, executive vice president of trade credit insurer, Coface. But the recent... How Brains Of Effective Leaders Are Wired Effective leaders' brains may be physically "wired" to lead, offering the promise of more precise identification and... More National News East Maryland OKs Bill Allowing MAIF Policyholders Installment Payment Option Maryland's General Assembly has passed a bill this month that would allowing the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF) to offer ... Selective Insurance Q1 Profit Up 18% to $21.3M Branchville, N.J.-based Selective Insurance Group said its 2013 first quarter net income came in at $21.3 million, a 17.7 percent increase ... York Risk Services Group in New Jersey Appoints VP of Sales York Risk Services Group (York), a national provider of claims-management, specialized loss adjusting, alternative risk programs, pool ... More East News Midwest Ohio Workers' Comp Agency Proposes Cut in Private Sector Rates The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) has proposed a 2.1 percent base-rate reduction for private employers. The recommendation to ... Worldwide Facilities Adds Langan as Vice President in Chicago Chicago-based wholesale insurance brokerage and managing general agency, Worldwide Facilities Inc., announced it is expanding and has added ... North Dakota Workers' Comp Handling More Out-of-State Claims The boom in the western North Dakota oil patch has led to a workload increase for the state's workers' compensation agency. The number of ... The Horton Group Expands Construction Practice in Illinois The Horton Group, based in Orland Park, Ill., has expanded its construction practice with one new hire and one promotion in its ... Michigan Man Says Insurance Won't Cover Bullet Damage from Shootout A northern Lower Michigan man is upset insurance doesn't cover the damage done to his mobile home during a neighbor's shootout with police. ... More Midwest News Southeast Florida Senate Approves Citizens Reform Bill; Path Ahead Remains Uncertain Florida lawmakers have taken the first step towards reforming the state-backed property insurer, but not before significantly scaling back ... Report: Motorcycle Deaths Decline Slightly in Georgia New numbers show that Georgia has seen a slight drop in the number of motorcycle fatalities. The Georgia Governor's Office of Highway ... AssuredPartners Acquires Buckley & Company in Kentucky AssuredPartners Inc., through its Neace Lukens subsidiary, recently acquired Lexington, Ky.-based Buckley & Company insurance agency. The ... More Southeast News South Central Oklahoma Agents Group Pleased with Progress of State Legislation Oklahoma's independent insurance agent association says measures of interest to the group are moving so quickly in the state Legislature ... 2 Judges Consider State Farm Rates in Texas The state's consumer advocate has challenged State Farm Insurance Co.'s 20 percent rate hike for Texas homeowners as being too high. Public ... Storms Flood Streets, Damage Houses in Southeast Louisiana A fast-moving line of intense thunderstorms flooded streets, knocked out power to more than 30,000 people in southeast Louisiana on April ... Agents Group Puts Out Call to Help West, Texas The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas is calling for contributions to a fund created to help in the rebuilding of West, Texas, the site ... More South Central News West $3.45M Award In Death Of Washington Ship Worker Federal jurors in Seattle have awarded $3.45 million to the estate and survivors of a woman who drowned in 2010 while working on a ship ... Struggling Idaho Alt Energy Company Sued Again An Idaho alternative energy company beset by lawsuits faces another one, this time from a bike race that says it hasn't been paid millions ... Bolts On Northern California Bridge That Haven't Failed May Go Long seismic safety bolts on the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge that haven't failed may have to be replaced ... CompWest, Phoenix Risk Management to Offer WC for California Healthcare Workers The steady rise in employment in the health care industry over the last six years, as jobs in most other fields disappeared, has created an ... More West News International Brazil's BB Seguridade, Smiles SA Conclude IPO's - Boosts Insurance Brazil's BB Seguridade Participações SA sealed the world's biggest initial public offering in seven months at a time when confidence in ... AXA to Buy 50% of China P&C Insurer Tian Ping for $631 Million France's AXA Group announced that it has entered into an agreement with Tian Ping Auto Insurance Company Limited shareholders to acquire 50 ... EU Supports French Demand; Trade Talks with U.S. Should not Cover Culture European Union lawmakers have backed French demands to exempt culture from a proposed free-trade pact between Europe and the United States, ... White House Formally Notifies Congress of Japan Free-Trade Talks President Barack Obama's administration on Wednesday notified Congress it will start free-trade talks with Japan, bringing the world's ... McCann to Succeed Plumeri as Willis Chairman; Director Candidates Listed Willis Group Holdings announced that, at its regular meeting this week, the Board of Directors determined that the following individuals ... Best Affirms Platinum Underwriters and Subs Ratings; Outlook Stable A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of 'A' (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of "a" of Platinum Underwriters ... More International News Join the Insurance Journal Network Insurance Journal TV Greenberg's View: Finite Reinsurance The cornerstone of former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's campaign against AIG and... Watch Now Evolution of D&O Products D&O products have gone through a lot of changes lately. CNA Pro Claim's Todd Greeley sat down... Watch Now Watch more videos at InsuranceJournal.tv New Discussions in the Forums Agency Management System Posted: Fri Apr 26 -- How long has Quikfuzion been around? Roughly how many agencies do they work with? Have they developed previous AMS software? I am worried... aem84 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 Insurance Noodle vs. Superior Access vs. Agent Secure Posted: Mon Apr 22 -- mdagent, Superior Access and Consolidated are General Agents that submit your information to the respective companies for a quote. Then,... ziiqui Pole Barn W/Wind FL Posted: Wed Apr 17 -- Private property Autumnle465 Paperless Environment Posted: Tue Apr 16 -- I completely agree with Island Girl. We started going paperless 6 years ago. The first year was a royal pain with the initial scanning but... justthere Business Loss - Travel Insurance Posted: Tue Apr 16 -- This is true. However, most people do not realize that major credit card companies also provide insurance for lost or damaged goods while... chad37 TX - Workers Comp - Contractor Posted: Tue Apr 16 -- Have you considered a Professional Employer Organization (PEO)? SOI has locations in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio as well... DOrgant What is your biggest pain as an agent? Posted: Mon Apr 15 -- 1) Billing questions, non payment cancelations, reinstatement request of bad pay clients. 2) Binder requests... yoyowordup Go to Forums Reader Comments Deal OK'd in Muslims' False Advertisement Suit Against McDonald's Posted: Fri Apr 19 -- They shouldh't have to eat at home. Just open their own style restaurant and quit going to McDonalds. Nothing difficult about it. They should be able to eat out Woody Allen v. William Faulkner: Fair Use? Posted: Fri Apr 19 -- Heirs - get over yourselves. There's more going on in the world than your groveling over a quote. usa24 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 Oklahoma House Kills Texting and Driving Ban Again Posted: Thu Apr 25 -- What part of dangerous driving activity do these pinhead house members not understand? The cell addicts are pretty powerful in Texas as... Agent West Explosion Insured Losses Hit $100M Posted: Wed Apr 24 -- Why were so many homes, schools and businesses allowed to be built so close to the fertilizer plant? Why was zoning not taken into... 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