AGENTS, EMPLOYEES RAISE $50,000
Allstate Insurance Company presented $54,890 to the Greater Houston Area Chapter of the American Red Cross to assist flood victims in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Allison. The money was raised through donations from Allstate agents and employees in Texas and was supplemented with a grant from The Allstate Foundation. The company said one of the goals of The Allstate Foundation is to help revitalize neighborhoods. Foundation officials expressed hope that the company's contribution will help revitalize the homes and communities of flood victims, but their spirits as well. The Allstate Foundation, founded in 1952, is an independent corporation funded by contributions from Allstate Insurance Company. The Foundation funds more than 1,000 programs each year and has an annual budget of $7 million.
TDI SETS MOLD HEARING
The Texas Department of Insurance will hold a hearing on mold coverage provided in the state's residential property insurance policies in Corpus Christi August 21. It is the second of three hearings planned by the department to gather information on mold issues. The first hearing, held in Austin on June 26, drew a crowd of about 700. The hearing was scheduled at the request of Corpus Christi area legislators, State Senator Carlos Truan, and State Representatives Vilma Luna and Gene Seaman. Through the hearings, TDI seeks to gather information and comments on mold coverage, the causes of mold and the health consequences of mold exposure. It is set to begin at 10 a.m. in the Warren Theater at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and will last as long as people are waiting to testify or until 5 p.m. People who wish to testify may sign up at the hearing. Written testimony and comments may be e-mailed to CommercialPC@tdi.state.tx.us, faxed to 512-463-6607 or mailed to the Texas Department of Insurance, Homeowners Division (MC 014-1F), P.O. Box 149104, Austin, Texas 78714-9104. An audio recording of the hearing will be available on TDI's website at www.tdi.state.tx.us/commish/audio.htm after the proceeding. A recording of the Austin hearing is currently available at that Web address.
EFI INITIATES MOLD INVESTIGATION
In response to the increasing number of mold-related claims in the United States, GAB Robins North America Inc. subsidiary, Houston-based Engineering and Fire Investigations (EFI) Inc., now offers specialized services that identify, analyze and assess mold-related losses for residential and commercial properties. The bundled services are available to insurance carriers, self-insured entities and businesses. According to the company, when a carrier assigns a mold-related claim to GAB Robins, an adjuster is assigned to assess the loss. If the adjuster determines that the loss is covered by insurance and that mold is involved, EFI engineers, toxicologists and microbiologists are sent in inspect, analyze and quantify the sources of mold growth, measure potential health risks and recommend a remediation plan. As part of the follow up, EFI performs clearance testing to confirm that contractors removed the mold successfully. EFI will also unbundle its mold analysis services for carriers and businesses that have not assigned a claim to GAB Robins. GAB Robins said it is considering offering similar services for residential and commercial properties in other parts of the world, as well as working with insurance carriers and possibly a medical research facility to determine what level of mold is acceptable healthwise.
A.M. BEST AFFIRMS A+ FOR HCC
A. M. Best Company affirmed the "A+" (Superior) rating of Houston-based HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. subsidiaries Houston Casualty Company, U.S. Specialty Insurance Company and Avemco Insurance Company and removed their negative outlook, according to HCC. The company said A. M. Best also raised the rating of HCC subsidiary, HCC Life Insurance Company to "A" (Excellent), with a positive outlook. HCC is an international insurance holding company with over $2.75 billion in assets. The company said its shares, which are traded on the NYSE, have a market capitalization of over $1.5 billion. HCC added that the company is rated "AA" (Very Strong) by Standard & Poor's.
KEMPER, AQUILA AGAINST SPIKES
Kemper Insurance Companies, Aquila Inc. and its wholly owned affiliate Aquila Re Ltd. have joined to market and underwrite products that protect buyers or sellers of electric power from unexpected spikes in the price of replacement power during unplanned generating unit outages. According to the companies, an unplanned generator outage can have a significant financial impact if the outage occurs when spot market prices for power are high. Generator owners that have fixed delivery commitments and power users or traders that have agreed to purchase power on a unit contingent basis can be forced into the spot market to purchase replacement power to meet their needs during an unexpected outage. Kemper's Power Generation Protection was developed to provide insurance that indemnifies customers for the difference between a pre-determined price and the cost for replacement power. Customers can also opt for an alternative that provides physical delivery of replacement power through Aquila. Aquila's GuaranteedGenerationSM provides customers with a contingent call option for power with physical delivery or financial settlement.
THE HARTFORD HONORS AGENCY
The Texas Insurance Agency of San Antonio was named the Hartford Financial Services Group's VIP Top Producer for personal insurance during 2000. Greg Stevens, vice president and CFO of Texas Insurance, accepted the award at The Hartford's Conclave conference held recently in Prague. Conclave is an annual business conference for The Hartford's VIP agencies that have met or exceeded their business objectives with the company. It recognizes the top VIP producers for their outstanding commercial insurance and personal insurance sales. This year's Conclave was attended by 175 of the 235 VIP agencies that represent The Hartford. To qualify for the VIP Program, commercial agencies must write a minimum of $2.25 million in annual written premium for commercial lines and exceed the regional office's growth objective by at least 10 percent. Personal lines agencies must write a minimum of $1 million in personal lines premium and 400 new policies annually. Agencies must meet specific growth, retention and profit objectives annually to remain in the program.
GSB OF DALLAS, HALLMARK PEN DEAL
Great Southwest Brokerage of Dallas and Hallmark Human Resources have come together on a marketing agreement. Great Southwest Agency, an insurance agency with more than 4,000 sales agents across the Lone Star State, and HHR, a wholly owned subsidiary of 21st Century Technologies Inc., signed the deal June 27. Hallmark is a professional employer organization (PEO), providing a combination of insurance, payroll and human resource administration services for its clients. The deal will offer the company a ready-made marketing system for Hallmark products with little added overhead, as the agents obtain commission only for sales and Hallmark will receive little or no additional office or advertising expense.
YOUNG AGENTS HEAD TO HAWAII
Young Agents from across the U.S. will gather in Hawaii for the Independent Insurance Agents of America's 26th Annual Young Agents Leadership Conference October 26-28 in Honolulu. The venue is also the site for IIAA's Hawaii InfoXchange October 27-30. According to IIAA President William F. Hofmann III, the annual young agent leadership conference is the industry's most effective springboard for up-and-coming producers. This year's theme is "Grow Your Business…Secure Your Future," and the IIAA anticipates record attendance. The opening general session, featuring Dave Gregory, sales trainer and independent agent, will focus on sales training and skills to overcome challenges while controlling stress. A panel featuring four insurance company CEOs, will offer attendees insight into the decision-making process at leading agency companies. The conference is not all work. The opening-night event allows agents to attend a traditional Hawaiian luau. Agents are encouraged to stay for IIAA's Hawaii InfoXchange where more than 2,000 insurance professionals are expected. The IIAA annual meeting will include a wide variety of technology workshops; continuing education classes; new best practices opportunities; speakers; one of the largest exhibit halls in the insurance industry; IIAA Sales School with Russ Granger; a professional seminar series with Ken Blanchard, author of One Minute Manager; plus other features. Registration forms for the conference and IIAA's Hawaii InfoXchange are available online at www.independentagent.com. These forms also are available by dialing IIAA's fax-on-demand service at (800) 296-0578 and selecting option 4010.
DOCUCORP, RACKLEY, LAUNCH 'FORM SPOT'
Dallas-based enterprise information systems provider, Docucorp International and Rackley Systems Inc., a provider of property and casualty insurance rating systems, announce the development of a compatible interface between Docucorp's Policy Production System (PPS) and Rackley's commercial lines rating system. According to Docucorp, the new module is available in all 50 states and will allow managing general agents and insurance companies using PPS to interface with Rackley's Windows-based system. Docucorp also announced the launch of an enhanced company-sponsored Website, The Form Spot (www. formspot.com), that automates insurance form selection and production. By aggregating more than 400 electronic ACORD insurance forms, the site provides state insurance departments, insurance companies and agents with the most updated industry forms. The Form Spot also provides services that simplify processing, workflow and form production. These expanded optional services, provided through the company's application service provider (ASP) capabilities, include saving documents as work-in-process, electronic archival of completed forms, exchange of transactional data to other parties via e-mail, and exporting data in other formats, including eXtensible Markup Language (XML). ACORD forms on The Form Spot are available in electronic format at no charge to all authorized ACORD members and their agents. The optional services are available for a nominal, per-transaction fee and a low monthly service fee.
THE ST. PAUL IMPLEMENTS NEW BROWSER
OneSource Information Services Inc. announced that The St. Paul Companies is implementing OneSource's Business Browser product line to access and use critical financial information. The business browser provides information on both private and publicly traded companies with the aim of enabling underwriters to most effectively evaluate current and potential customers.
