Daily Headlines: Thursday, December 22, 2011

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December 22, 2011 News By Region  National  International  East  Midwest  Southeast  South Central  West Video Today's Headlines National Sex, Dogs and Heads That Rolled Among Top Insurance Journal News Stories in 2011 In 2011, Insurance Journal.com brought readers news on everything from dog bites to major catastrophes, including news on courts, ... Mines Must Disclose Safety Violations to Investors Under New SEC Rules Mining companies will need to disclose to investors information about health and safety violations under new rules adopted on Wednesday by ... E-Trade, Insurers to Settle Mortgage Class Action Lawsuit for $79M E-Trade Financial and its insurers have agreed in principle to pay $79 million to settle class action lawsuits brought against the online ... New Madrid Quake Cost = $110 Billion Impact Today AIR Reports A report from catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide notes that "this month marks the 200th Anniversary of the first in a series of large ... Ratings Roundup: Heritage, Euler Hermes (US) A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of 'A' (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of "a" of Calif.-based Heritage ... Best Affirms Ratings of Beazley Insurance Company, Inc. A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of 'A' (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of "a" of Beazley Insurance ... Ironshore Names Boren Head of U.S. Field Operations Specialty insurer Ironshore Inc. has appointed Joseph L. Boren as executive vice president of Ironshore Insurance Holdings, LLC  and as ... BofA’s Countrywide to Pay $335 Million to Settle Bias Case Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide Financial unit agreed on Wednesday to pay a record $335 million to settle civil charges that it ... Nursing Claims Costs Rise Again After Falling: CNA Study After a substantial dip in 2009, insurance claims in the nursing profession are costing more. The average total paid per claim is generally... More National News East Allstate Files $6.3M Insurance Fraud Case Against 83 N.Y. Defendants Allstate Insurance Company is seeking to recover $6.3 million against 83 New York area defendants in its seventh insurance fraud lawsuit of ... Connecticut, German Regulators Sign Cooperation Agreement Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi announced this week that the Connecticut's insurance department entered into its third ... Penn. Commissioner’s Advice: Take Steps to Prevent Holiday Mishaps The holiday season is an ideal time to review homeowner insurance policies and take steps to prevent holiday mishaps or tragedies, ... Brain-Damaged Woman to Get $7M From New York County Erie County will pay $7 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who suffered brain damage after she nearly drowned in a public pool ... Barclays Hires Insurance Chief for North America, Based in New York Barclays Corporate appointed Karla Maloof as New York-based head of insurance for North America. In her new role, she will be responsible ... Vermont Mutual Appoints Property Risk Control Manager Vermont Mutual Insurance Company, based in Montpelier, Vt., recently appointed industry veteran Donald Rung as property risk control ... More East News Midwest Indiana AG: 64 Claimants Accept State Fair Settlement Offers Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced that 64 of the 65 claimants who were offered settlements in the Indiana State Fair tragedy ... Kansas Insurance Regulator Rebuffs Proposed Workers' Comp Rate Increase Kansas' top insurance regulator has refused a proposed workers' compensation rate increase and actually got the rate to drop slightly, ... Internet Business Told to Stop Misrepresenting Kansas Health Exchange An Internet business operating out of Washington state has been told to cease misrepresenting itself as linked to any official Kansas ... More Midwest News Southeast Florida Commercial Health Plan Enrollment Continues Overall Slide Enrollment in commercial health insurance in Florida was down 4.3 percent in 2010, the fifth straight year it has dropped. The annual ... Air Force Building in Georgia Clears the Air for Workplace Safety A year ago, Building 169 at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia was the epicenter of the base's troubles with the Occupational Safety and ... More Southeast News South Central Oklahoma Court Strikes Down Part of Workers’ Comp Law The Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down on Dec. 20 part of a new law that prevents chiropractors and some other medical professionals from ... Uncommon December Tornado Hits Louisiana Hospital An uncommon December tornado ripped off part of a hospital roof in a southwest Louisiana city, causing several patients to be evacuated, ... Texas House Members Object to Medical Loss Ratio Waiver Request A group of lawmakers in Texas are urging the state's insurance commissioner to withdraw a request for a waiver to the medical loss ratio ... Louisiana Workers' Comp Costs Have Grown at Double-Digit Rates Workers' compensation costs per claim for Louisiana grew at a double-digit rate in recent years, the fastest growth among all states in a ... More South Central News West Consumer Group Hammers Mercury Rate Increase Filing in California A California consumer group is challenging a rate hike bid by Mercury Insurance because the group claims the company is trying to pass ... Jones Clears Way for California's ‘Principally At-Fault’ Regulations California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Wednesday announced the final approval of amended regulations that simplify the ... Washington's Kreidler Fines GEICO for Overcharging GEICO, an auto insurer based in Maryland, has been fined $100,000 for a computer database error that caused the company to overcharge ... More West News International FERMA Confirms Risk Managers’ Concerns with Supply Chain Insurance "Commercial insurance buyers generally want better insurance products to cover their supply chain risks," according to a recent survey ... QBE to Acquire Puerto Rico-based Optima Insurance Group The QBE Insurance Group announced that it has agreed to acquire Optima Insurance Group, an underwriting group in Puerto Rico that posted an ... Willis Report Highlights P&I Market’s Record Financial Results in 2011 The Protection & Indemnity (P&I) market "delivered a blockbuster financial performance last year," according to a report from ... Willis President, Global Chairman Millwater to Step Down Willis Group Holdings announced that Grahame J. Millwater, who currently serves as President of Willis Group Holdings and Chairman & ... Best Affirms NIPPONKOA Insurance Company (Asia) Limited’s Ratings A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of 'A' (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of "a" of Hong Kong-based ... Ratings: Transsib Re, Tokio Marine Pacific, MAPFRE Panama, Union Nationale, Sovereign (NZ), Labuan Re, Tugu, ARIG A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has upgraded the issuer credit rating to "bb+" from "bb" and affirmed the financial ... More International News Join the Insurance Journal Network Insurance Journal TV Swiss Re Chief Economist Analyzes Current Market Conditions Swiss Re's chief economist Kurt Karl discusses the challenges the insurance industry faces,... Watch Now Interesting Times in Medical Liability The medical liability market continues to perform well even as the nation struggles to... Watch Now Watch more videos at InsuranceJournal.tv New Discussions in the Forums Oil drilling Insurance Texas Posted: Thu Dec 22 -- You might wanna check out few more resources, just type "water drilling insurance in Texas" in google and try to get as much info as... jacobs CertsNow 24/7 or CSR24 Posted: Thu Dec 22 -- I whole heartedly agree that for client retention hands on and direct support is needed. I have several large (100 +) unit assocations and... MT_Agent Facebook Posted: Wed Dec 21 -- I agree with Big dog. When I go to facebook, I am just interested in what my friends are doing. Not interested in business dealings. I would... marydavis AZ Home "Flipper" Insurance Coverage Needed Posted: Wed Dec 21 -- I know your post is almost a month old but you should work with the folks at ... threed Are Insurance Agents Employees or Independent Contractors? Posted: Wed Dec 21 -- Get a good accountant! If you treat each licensed producer as a separate business entity, transferring a % of commission into their account... OldIndyAgent Security training traveling to Saudi Arabia (life, health) Posted: Tue Dec 20 -- You may want to check and see if some one like ACE ... beyert1 LBPS, Seterus, QBE, IBM-LBPS Posted: Tue Dec 20 -- Wonder if any one else here has had severe issues with certificates of insurance demanded by any of the above entities which are the same... CIScommercial MERCURY INSURANCE QUESTION (CA) Posted: Mon Dec 19 -- It usually does with Mercury. But Mercury writes business under at least 3 different company names in California, and polices change from... bwjames Go to Forums Reader Comments N.Y. Consumer Report Accuses Insurers of Needlessly Raising Rates Posted: Thu Dec 15 -- I don't suppose they would do a study on the harm lawyers do to the public and insurance rates for slip & fall & products lawsuits that have... Brian SF Bay Area Chuck E. Cheese Restaurants Fined Posted: Thu Dec 15 -- Yes, by all means we need to protect the chilren from operating a dough mixer! Nanny-state at it again. krenem Risk Managers Find Santa Exposed, Urge $1 Billion Coverage Plan Posted: Mon Dec 19 -- OK, this all gave me the holiday spirit. I'm taking the bear trap out of the fireplace. Anejo Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg Wins Leadership Award From Yale University Posted: Tue Dec 20 -- No kidding - I guess lifetime leadership only means building an empire, not sustaining it long term? Becky Elderly Michigan Woman Protests High Home Insurance Bill Posted: Mon Dec 19 -- Bob, I think Assisted Living might be what this lady needs. But that has nothing to do with how poorly AO is treating her. 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