N.Y. AGENTS SEE E&O TROUBLE
New York insurance agents face potential errors and omissions claims if they follow a New York City requirement on certificates of insurance for road contractors, an agents group has warned. The city's transportation department requires sidewalk and roadway contractors to provide certificates with a notarized statement, signed by the insurance broker or company, attesting that the insured's coverage meets the requirements of specific city regulations.
But the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc. has advised agents and brokers not to sign this statement due to the potential E&O claims that may result and because they fear that doing so may violate state insurance department directives.
Representatives from IIABNY met with city transportation officials recently to air their concerns. IIABNY has agreed to draft revised certification statement language for the city to consider.
CHESAPEAKE BAY STORM WARNING
Scientists show that hurricane storm surges in the Chesapeake Bay could get dramatically worse than the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003. Under some conditions, the researchers found, a Category 4 hurricane could produce storm surges as high as 18 or 20 feet in Baltimore at high tide, 10 feet above Isabel's high mark. The 18-foot storm surges are possible along the shoreline of Baltimore County.
"I guess I'm a little surprised the values are as high as they are," said Wilson Shaffer, of the National Weather Service. He said the precise conditions needed to generate an 18-foot storm surge are rare but "within the realm of possibility."
INSURERS TO PAY $1.38 BILLION FOR Q1 LOSSES
U.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to pay an estimated $1.38 billion to homeowners and businesses in insured property losses from seven catastrophe events in first-quarter 2006, according to preliminary analysis by Insurance Services Office's Property Claim Services (PCS) unit.
PCS estimates that the seven catastrophes produced nearly 390,000 claims in 19 states. Personal lines claims accounted for 53 percent of the total, 12 percent for commercial lines claims and 35 percent for auto claims. The large number of vehicle claims stemmed from hail and tornado damage.
The quarter's costliest event was an outbreak of severe weather across six Midwest states from Kansas to Indiana. The insured damage from the event is slightly more than $800 million and the claims count is in excess of 222,000.
Missouri suffered the largest insured loss, estimated at $475 million, in the quarter, followed by Kansas at $113 million, Arkansas at $108 million, New York at $103 million and Illinois at $100 million.
Three winter storms and four wind and thunderstorm events constitute the quarter's seven catastrophes -- slightly above the average of six events during the past decade. Since 1997, 25 winter storm catastrophes in the first quarter have caused over $6 billion of insured property damage, PCS said. During the same period, severe weather outbreaks -- wind, hail, tornadoes and flooding -- produced 35 catastrophe events with $6.5 billion in estimated insured property damage.
