SEGAL HIT WITH 11 MORE COUNTS OF FRAUD:
Michael Segal, the president and CEO of Chicago-based Near North National Group, was already under federal indictment for 17 counts of fraud and racketeering. Now federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois have added 11 more fraud counts to the table, accusing the former owner of Near North Insurance Brokerage of asking former Illinois Gov. George H. Ryan, a Republican, to intervene on his behalf with the state's insurance deparment. Segal has pleaded innocent to all the charges and his trial is scheduled to begin April 19. Segal, accused of illegally misappropriating more than $20 million from his firm's broker trust fund from 1990 through 2002, has repeatedly maintained that were there any problems with his accounting the insurance department would have spotted them.
ILL. UIM BILL WOULD ENCOURAGE 'STACKING,' SAYS PCI:
An Illinois Senate bill that would change the recovery system for uninsured motorists' (UIM) coverage is strongly opposed by the insurance industry because of its potential to allow the "stacking" of policy limits, according to the Property Casualty Insurance Association of America (PCI). SB 2830, which is currently in the House Committee on Rules, would change Illinois Insurance Code language on recovery from "difference in limits" to a "modified difference in limits." The bill could create a situation where insurers lose their ability to interpret one sentence as a reducing clause and it may allow for stacking of policy limits, the group said in a statement. "Stacking" refers to the process of combining uninsured/underinsured coverage limits.
HUB'S REVENUES UP BY 24 PERCENT:
Chicago-based brokerage Hub International Ltd. reported that 2003 net earnings increased 24 percent to $36.5 million as revenue grew 30 percent to $286.4 million, boosted by organic growth and a strong Canadian dollar. Diluted earnings per share for the year rose 8 percent to $1.14, in line with the company's most recent guidance. In the fourth quarter, net earnings increased 28 percent to $10.7 million, while revenue increased 24 percent to $78.7 million. Diluted earnings per share grew 27 percent to 33 cents in the fourth quarter. Martin P. Hughes, Hub's chairman and CEO, described the growth as encouraging, although he noted that the company did not attain an increase in net margin in 2003 and did not achieve its goals for acquisitions.
CINFIN VP REPORTED IN CRITICAL CARE AFTER AUTO CRASH:
Kenneth S. Miller, a senior vice president for insurer Cincinnati Financial Corp., was hospitalized in critical condition after an auto accident Feb. 29 in Fairfield, according to a statement released by the company. Miller's vital signs were stable, according to the insurer, which has not updated his condition since. Miller was recently named chief investment officer and his department staff is "transacting business as usual," according to CEO John J. Schiff Jr.
NEB. PLACES PROTECTIVE NATIONAL INTO LIQUIDATION:
On Feb. 12, 2004, the Lancaster, Neb. County District Court entered an order for the liquidation of the Protective National Insurance Company of Omaha, a Nebraska-domiciled insurer based in Omaha. The liquidation order was based on a finding by Insurance Director L. Tim Wagner that further attempts to rehabilitate the company would substantially increase the risk of loss to insureds, creditors, or the public and would be futile. The company has been the subject of rehabilitation proceedings since 1991. Ted Kessner has been appointed special deputy liquidator.
MINN. HOUSE COMMITTEE OKs MED-MAL LIMIT:
After deliberating whether it would hurt already injured patients and not lower health care costs, opponents of a measure that would limit damages in malpractice suits failed to strip the controversial provision from a House health care cost containment bill Monday, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Rep. Fran Bradley (R-Rochester), the bill's chief author, did ease some of the financial sting for injured patients by dropping a $300,000 cap on all medical malpractice settlements involving nonprofit hospitals. The newspaper also reported that he did, however, retain a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages awarded for things such as pain and suffering, disfigurement and loss of companionship.
WIS. COURT RULES FOR CONTRACTORS ON CGL OBLIGATIONS:
A Jan. 9, 2004 decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that standard commercial general liability (CGL) policies cover accidents caused by defective construction. Wisconsin's high court reversed the decision of an appeals court. It ruled that a contractor was without general liability coverage for millions of dollars of damages that resulted when a building foundation for a warehouse sank and rendered the warehouse unsafe for occupancy. The appeals court had reasoned that accidents caused by defective construction are never covered by common CGL policies issued to contractors because the policies excluded "contractually assumed liabilities."
