TWCC SCHEDULES SAFETY SEMINAR

The Texas Workers' Compensation Commission (TWCC) will present a one-day educational seminar, Supervising for Safety, June 27, 8:30 to 4:30 in Tyler at the Holiday Inn. The seminar, which will be conducted by TWCC's Worker's Health and Safety division, will focus on providing supervisors with the tools and information necessary to implement an effective workplace safety program. Topics for discussion include principles of a safety program; job hazard analysis; emergency action plans; accident investigation; safety audit and inspection; documentation requirements and training requirements. For more information or to register, call 512-804-4632.

TAIFA CONVENTION SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED

The Texas Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors has ann-ounced the roster of speakers for its annual convention to be held in San Antonio July 18-21 at the Hilton Palacio Del Rio. Speakers include: John Bledsoe, "Estate Tax and Life Insurance for the Future"; Chris Carlson, "Disability Insurance"; Steven Schneider, "The Mortality Revolution"; Linda Behrens, "Under-standing the Client of Tomorrow"; and Patrick J. Kittell, "Insurance Regulation and Ethics." David Meador, National Blind Golf Champion and former insurance agent is scheduled to participate in the association's golf tournament. Industry leader Oscar Newton and National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) president, Dennis Meredith, are also slated to address the convention.

BVA PROVIDES INSUREZONE WITH $8.2 MILLION

InsureZone announced that it has secured $8.2 million in funding from Texas based Buena Venture Associates (BVA), an investment partnership focused primarily on the delivery of financial services over the Internet. BVA provided the capital for InsureZone's launch two years ago. Fort Worth financier Sid R. Bass is one of BVA's partners. Most of the new funding, about two-thirds or $5.6 million, is earmarked for technology initiatives, including delivery of a technology platform that will allow InsureZone to achieve end-to-end integration with the rating and underwriting engines of an insurance carrier. The company said such integration will enable it to quote and bind coverage in a completely automated fashion for small-business products such as Businessowners Policy (BOP) and Workers' Compensation. InsureZone said it has strategic alliances with Chase Manhattan Bank, Wells Fargo & Co., PurchasePro, BuildNet and other brand names known to small-business owners. The company plans to use some of the new funding to expand its business model to address the needs of local and regional agents and national brokers.

HOUSTON'S GALTNEY GROUP ACQUIRED BY GALLAGHER

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired the privately held property and casualty insurance brokerage firm, The Galtney Group Inc., of Houston. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. According to the company, The Galtney Group specializes in placing and structuring medical malpractice, professional liability insurance and other insurance coverages for the healthcare sector, including directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions, stop loss for physicians and hospitals involved in managed care contracts, and workers' compensation. The company also provides litigation and claims settlement and risk management services to the healthcare industry. The organization will operate as Gallagher Healthcare Insurance Services Inc., under the direction of Galtney's current management.

TDI FINES TOTAL $112,000 IN MAY

The Texas Department of Insurance has issued a list of enforcement actions taken by Comm-issioner Jose Montemayor that became final during May. The actions include nine license revocations, one license denial and fines totaling $112,950. Copies of Montemayor's orders may be obtained by calling the TDI at (512)463-6425. Only final orders are listed. An order imposing disciplinary measures becomes final 20 days after the agent or insurance company has received notice of the order unless a motion for rehearing is filed within that period. A motion for rehearing stays the finality of an order until the Commissioner of Insurance acts upon the motion or upon the operation of law. Commissioner's orders are subject to appeal to state district court. Summaries of the major orders regarding p/c lines include: Benchmark Title Services, L. L. C., Frisco, Consent Order; Alleged Receiving Referral Fees from Lawyers; Escrow Account Violations, $20,000 and Cease-and-Desist Order; Hosch, James Donald, dba Senior Services, Lubbock, Advertising Violations Misleading Trade-Style Name, $5,000 fine; McKnight, Laurie A., dba "The Bail Bond Center," Longview, Charging Excessive Rates for Surety Bonds; Payment of Comm-issions to Unlicensed Persons Local Recording Agent's License Revoked and $3,000; Osborne, William Anthony, Plano, Material Misrepresentation on License Application, $5,000; Federal Insurance Co., Warren, NJ, Failure to File Commercial Auto Experience Rating Data, $7,500; Gulf Insurance Co. and Select Insurance Co., New York, NY, Auto Experience Rating Data, $1,450; and Reliance National Indemnity Co., Madison, Wis., Consent Order; Alleged Use of Unapproved Policies and Endorsements $20,000.

ONLINE PAYMENTS AN OPTION

Most of Dallas-based Unitrin Property and Casualty Insurance Group's customers can now receive and pay their bills online through a system of websites developed and operated by Atlanta's CheckFree Corporation. Accor-ding to CheckFree, personal lines customers of various Unitrin P&C subsidiaries are eligible to use CheckFree's ezBillPay service. In addition to receiving and paying bills, customers can keep track of their payments and the status of the their accounts. Unitrin P&C companies currently participating in the CheckFree system include Milwaukee Casualty Insurance, Milwaukee Mutual Insurance, Milwaukee Safeguard Ins-urance, Security National Insurance, Trinity Lloyd's Insurance, Trinity Universal Insurance, and Trinity Universal Insurance Co. of Kansas. TrinFlex customers of Unitrin P&C are also eligible, and the service will soon be available to personal lines customers of Valley Insurance Co. and Valley Property & Casualty Insurance Co.

PROPERTY CATASTROPHE RATES UP

U.S. property catastrophe rates increased at January 2001 renewals for the first time since 1994, according to Paragon Reinsurance Risk Management Services, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Benfield Blanch Holdings, Inc. Rates were up an average of 7.2 percent. The last increase followed Hurricane Andrew and the Northridge earthquake. Nevertheless, property catastrophe pricing still remains below 1994 levels. The Paragon index stood at 1.73 in 2001, compared to 2.47 in 1994. The Catastrophe Price Index is a relative measure of composite domestic U.S. property catastrophe prices. It compares the average market price at each renewal date with the average market price of one year prior. The January 2001 Catastrophe Price Index is based on a sample of over 150 companies representing almost 500 treaties, and approximately 40% of estimated industry subject premium. A standardized industry distribution reflecting variation in region, company size, limits, and retentions is used to compare the price of reinsurance over time. The index reflects overall market prices separate from shifts in actual reinsurance purchased. Weights used to compute the index are adjusted periodically and will reflect changes in the distribution of market purchases over an extended period of time.

IIAT SCHEDULES CONTRACTS WORK-SHOPS IN AUSTIN, DALLAS AND HOUSTON

The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas has scheduled several July workshops entitled "Contracts, Leases, Add-itional Insureds and Certificates." The workshops will take place in Austin on July 10, Dallas on July 11 and Houston on July 12. They are designed for sales and service personnel experienced in dealing with commercial liability coverages. Allen Messer, an agent and experienced educator specializing in liability coverages and contractual issues, will be the instructor. The program has been filed for 6 continuing education credit hours. Check the IIAT website at www.iiat.org or call 800-880-7428 for

information.

WEB-BASED STATE FILING

Uniform Information Services, Inc., has released AuthenticWeb for state filing. AuthenticWeb is a combination of Uniform's traditional product offerings in insurance forms and forms manuals. The new web-based product allows users to access forms electronically as well as related regulatory information from one source on their desktops. As a result of this newly created forms solution, insurance companies can now more quickly integrate state filing forms into their existing systems and provide access to needed regulatory and filing information to all users.

ING UPS STAKE IN SEGUROS

Comercial America: Dutch financial services conglomerate ING Group said it has agreed to buy an additional 45 percent stake in Seguros Comercial America (SCA) for $791 million. The deal is part of a step taken in February 2000, when ING initially purchased 42 percent of Mexico's largest insurance company. The transaction is expected to close this quarter and will hurt 2001 earnings slightly, ING said. The increased stake in SCA will give ING a bigger share of Mexico's insurance market. In terms of total sales, SCA has an 18 percent share of Mexico's life and health insurance market. It has a 39 percent share of the country's p/c insurance market.

TOUGH TIMES FOR MED-MAL

Decreases in investment income, coupled with increases in the severity of lawsuits and the rising costs of reinsurance, are likely to make medical malpractice a difficult market in the near future, according to Conning & Company. The study, "Medical Malpractice Insurance: A Prescription for Chaos," revealed that in 1999 the medical malpractice line of insurance ended a 12-year streak of outperforming the p/c industry as a whole. This coincided with insurer reserve deficiencies growing to $1.7 billion, leaving insurers little margin for any negative surprises in 2001. The difficulty is due in part to disproportionate claims against nursing homes, although hospitals also contributed. The loss ratio of the nursing home line was approximately 300 per- cent in 1999, an extreme number that accounted for much of the entire medical malpractice industry's disappointing combined ratio of 129.5 percent. The Conning study also focuses on the forces that will most likely define the changing medical malpractice market: reinsurance affordability, government regulation, and the increased use of the Internet by consumers, providers and insurers.