Daily Headlines: Thursday, December 19, 2013

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December 19, 2013 News By Region  National  International  East  Midwest  Southeast  South Central  West Video Today's Headlines National The Agency Manager-Employee Operations Gap and E&O Risk: Survey Agency managers tend to have a rosier view of agency operations than their employees do, according to a survey that also suggests this gap ... Surplus of Capital Continues to Temper Property Rates: Marsh The surplus of capital among insurers and reinsurers continued to have an overall softening effect in the U.S. property insurance market ... Judge Allows Investors' Class Action Against Facebook, Underwriters Over IPO Facebook Inc. and the underwriters of its May 2012 initial public offering must face a class-action lawsuit by investors claiming the ... Toyota Camry Improves in Insurance Safety Test Toyota Motor Corp.'s Camry, headed for its 12th consecutive year as the best-selling car in the U.S., returned to Consumer Reports' ... Agents Say Getting More Carriers to Offer 'Real Time' Is Among Top Tech Priorities The industry should place its highest priority on "getting additional carriers to offer real-time capabilities," according to a survey of ... AmWINS CEO DeCarlo Named 2014 Honoree of City of Hope Charity The City of Hope and the National Insurance Industry Council said M. Steven DeCarlo, CEO of Charlotte, North Carolina-based AmWINS Group ... The PIA Partnership Launches Growth Tool For Agency Members The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) and its agency-company council, The PIA Partnership, have designed a new ... Not Just Hiring's, Headlines & Hoopla: Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Emerges from 2013 a Serious Player 2013 has been quite a year for Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) - or half of a year, anyway. Since opening its doors for... Inga Beale: The Backstory of Lloyd's Incoming CEO Official biographies of Inga Beale, who will be become the first woman to lead Lloyd's as CEO on Jan. 1, reveal her... More National News East New York to Provide $4M Grant Funding to Fight Auto Theft, Insurance Fraud New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the state will provide nearly $4 million in grant funding to 29 local police departments, district ... Financial Services Firm Cantor Fitzgerald Announces $135M Sept. 11 Settlement Financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost nearly two-thirds of its employees in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the U.S., ... Vermont Already Preparing for the Next Big Storm Vermont and federal officials Monday highlighted the state's ongoing efforts to prepare for what is expected to be increasingly severe ... Union Mutual of Vermont Companies Names New President/CEO Union Mutual of Vermont Companies announced Michael W. Nobles was elected to become the new president and chief executive officer of Union ... N.Y. Approves Esurance Program Aimed at Preventing Teen Texting and Driving New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration announced it has approved Esurance's new telematics program designed to help prevent teens from ... More East News Midwest Amid Criticism, Minnesota Health Insurance Exchange Chief Resigns The chief of Minnesota's health insurance marketplace resigned Dec. 17 after facing criticism over the troubled rollout and a questionably ... Another Missouri Appeals Court Questions Red Light Cameras For the third time in a month, a Missouri appeals court ruling has raised concerns about red light cameras. The Eastern District of the ... Over $9.4M in Safety Rebates Awarded by Ohio Workers' Comp Bureau The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) announced that thousands of Ohio employers are receiving more than $9.4 million in savings ... Tyson Foods Fined $147K for Safety Violations at Kansas Plant Tyson Foods Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for four workplace safety ... More Midwest News Southeast Florida Lawmakers Unveil Plan to Encourage Private Market for Flood Insurance With the chances of a federal solution to rising flood insurance rates waning by the day, Florida lawmakers are pressing forward with a ... Report Casts Light on High Cost of Homeowners Insurance in Florida Floridians are paying the highest homeowner insurance rates in the nation even though the state has not been hit by a hurricane in nearly a ... NICB: Florida Posts 23% Spike in Questionable Insurance Claims Florida's questionable claims rose 23 percent from 2010 to 2012, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau's (NICB) 2010-2012 ... More Southeast News South Central Texas Tries Again to Put Drunk-Driving Teen Behind Bars Texas prosecutors are trying a second time to imprison a teen who was sentenced to 10 years' probation for drunkenly driving his truck into ... LeBreton Joins Specialty Risk Associates in Louisiana Shreveport, La.-based Specialty Risk Associates Inc. announced that Sue LeBreton joined the firm as a commercial lines underwriter. Prior ... Gentry to Retire from Insurance Council of Texas Rick Gentry, executive director of the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) since 1997, has announced that he will retire from the association ... Questionable Insurance Claims on the Rise in Texas: Report Questionable insurance claims rose by 38 percent in Texas from 2010 through 2012, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports. ... More South Central News West Farmers Sues Radiological Corporations for $3 Million Los Angeles-based Farmers Insurance Exchange filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California against two radiological corporations ... Tougher Drunk Driving Laws on Way in Colorado Colorado drunk driving laws are about to get tougher in 2014. Starting on Jan. 1, any Colorado driver who refuses a sobriety test will be ... California's $1.1B Paint Ruling Could Prompt More Suits Paint makers could face a surge of lawsuits after a California state court judge ordered three companies to pay $1.1 billion to help ... Rate Hikes in California Workers' Comp: SNL Financial AmTrust Financial Services Inc. hiked rates by 15 percent on its California workers' compensation business in 2013, and it is not alone. ... Utah, Chevron Agree On $5.35M Fuel Spill Settlement Utah officials say they've come to a tentative $5.35 million settlement with Chevron after a pipeline leaked about 20,000 gallons of diesel ... More West News International Liberty Mutual Group to Buy Rest of Irish Unit from IBRC Liberty Mutual Group Inc. said it will buy the 49 percent stake in the former Quinn Insurance Ltd. in Ireland that it doesn't already own ... Willis Appoints Owens as CEO of New Global Captive Management Unit Willis Group Holdings announced the appointment of Paul Owens as CEO of the newly formed Willis Global Captive Management business, ... Torus Appoints Milne to Accident & Health Team Torus, the global specialty insurer, announced that John Milne has joined the company as Accident & Health Underwriter. The bulletin said ... More International News Join the Insurance Journal Network Insurance Journal TV Coastal Agents Alliance Stays Focused on Coastal Homes: Byrne In 2004, Tim Byrne and his brother were growing their Cape May, N.J. agency just fine. Then... Watch Now Markets in Motion - Sports & Entertainment Venue The 650,000 square foot Honda Event Center in Anaheim, Calif. holds thousands of people at any... Watch Now Watch more videos at InsuranceJournal.tv New Discussions in the Forums Broker fees Posted: Thu Dec 19 -- Who's bragging? I'm just asking as simple question.. I feel like I'm dealing with underwriters here... ABMCalifornia Question on estimating a business value Posted: Wed Dec 18 -- I'm sure that valuation professionals are great at what they do, but do you (or anybody) know of any good online tool that could provide a... mlwhite79 Looking for used CPCU books Posted: Wed Dec 18 -- Hi there, I am looking to start the designation with CPCU 500 as soon as possible. Does anyone know where I can purchase used books? meghankleavy1088 Christmas Bonus? Posted: Tue Dec 17 -- I completely agree with D on this one. We are "very" generous with our Christmas bonuses, perhaps too much with some.... Smalltownagent Lakefront Motels Posted: Sun Dec 15 -- If you still need help feel free to get in touch, I have a few markets that love this type of risk. ABMCalifornia SEO and buying back links Posted: Sun Dec 15 -- I would never recommend buying links. If there's one thing I learned over the past five years it's don't ever try to trick Google into... ABMCalifornia errors and omision Posted: Sun Dec 15 -- Justin, I'm not sure what state you plan on doing business in but if you have not already been helped feel free to get in touch. I've taken... ABMCalifornia New Insurance Agency Posted: Fri Dec 13 -- A couple of more resources, one rarely mentioned but I know they help a lot of independent agencies: agentequity.com. specifically their... gregg@prospect Go to Forums Reader Comments Death Spiral Unlikely for Obamacare: Study Posted: Wed Dec 18 -- Come on 'Whodathunkit'! You've been told that the numbers add up! Don't you believe what you've been told? Why would you question anything... Pete Probation Sentence in Texas Teen's Fatal DWI Wreck Stirs Ire Posted: Fri Dec 13 -- It starts out very innocently. Conservatives make the case that the top 1% of Americans are job creators and that reducing their taxes will... naksuthin South Carolina Jury Awards $890K to Man Wrongly Accused by Condo Board Posted: Mon Dec 16 -- Good for Mr. King. These condo association board members think they are the big guy in the sky, judge and jury. Not all, but most are... Serves them well Obamacare November Enrollment Tops 250,000; Sebelius Seeks Probe of Botched Launch Posted: Sat Dec 14 -- Well Insurance 102 I don't care what to like kind gender do to eat other as long as they don't flaunt their orientation in my face or try to... Sargeant Major Family of North Carolina Teen Killed by Stray Bullet Sues Gunmaker Posted: Thu Dec 12 -- Surprised Travon's parents have not sued Snapple and skittles yet. jack Go to Popular Comments Subscriber Tools Send this to a friend Subscribe Unsubscribe Submit News Contact Us Current Issue December 16, 2013 The Charity Issue - 10% of Net Sales Go to IICF & City of Hope; Photos of Your Organization Involved in Charity Work; Insurance Heroes 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 Business Development Manager Business Development Manager - Personal Lines Motor Truck Cargo/Liability/Physical Damage Adjuster Commercial Underwriting Supervisor Have a job opening? List it on our Web site. 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