INDUSTRY MAG FOLDS
Insurance West, a Seattle-based magazine owned by The National Underwriter Company, will cease publication, according to Publisher Dick Moessner. The final issue of the bi-monthly magazine will be Dec. 15. "The magazine has been losing money," Moessner said. "We had a healthy forecast going into next year, but I guess it was just a business decision." Insurance West, formerly known as InsuranceWeek, was founded in 1933 by IW Publications Inc. National Underwriter purchased the magazine in 1999, and changed the name as it no longer came out weekly.
NO RULING FOR NORTHRIDGE
The California Supreme Court refused to rule in a case brought forward by several insurance groups that contested the constitutionality of a state law giving Northridge earthquake victims an additional year to reopen damage claims. Parties involved in the filing of the petition seeking the court's action include the Association of California Insurance Companies, the Personal Insurance Federation of California and the National Association of Independent Insurers. The court provided no explanation for its decision to decline the case. The law was passed in reaction to the scandal which erupted earlier this year with respect to alleged secret deals between former California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush and six insurance companies following the 1994 Northridge quake.
NYSE MAY DELIST 2 INSURERS
The New York Stock Exchange announced Dec. 5 that it plans to suspend trading in the common stock and other NYSE-listed securities of Reliance Group Holdings Inc. and will move to delist the issues from the exchange. It is taking the action because of Reliance common stock's abnormally low selling price, which closed Dec. 4 at 1/32, matching a 52-week low. The troubled insurer is also in violation of other listing criteria. NYSE also announced its plan to delist the shares of Frontier Insurance Group Inc. The liability and medical malpractice insurer has fallen below the NYSE listing standards requiring companies to have a market value of not less than $50 million and maintain a share price greater than $1. Frontier's share price plummeted from a high of $38.75 in October 1997 to less than $1 in June where it has remained. A review of the decision will be held by a committee of NYSE board directors and should be completed near the end of January. In the meantime, Frontier shares will continue to trade on the NYSE.
GETTING INTUITIVE
Intuit Inc. and InsWeb Corp. announced on Nov. 27 they have reached a set of definitive agreements to allow InsWeb to acquire certain assets in exchange for an equity stake. Under the agreements, InsWeb will acquire selected assets of Intuit's QuickenInsurance business. In exchange, Intuit will receive a 16.6 percent post-closing equity stake in InsWeb. The equity value of the transaction is expected to be approximately $14 million. In addition, under a separate five-year agreement, InsWeb will become the exclusive consumer insurance aggregator for Quicken. com and QuickenInsurance websites and certain consumer desktop products. In exchange, Intuit will share in associated revenues, which are subject to certain minimums. Intuit plans to cease the online operations of its QuickenInsurance business, which are operated by its Intuit Insurance Services Inc. subsidiary in Alexandria, Va. Approximately 75 Intuit employees will be impacted by this closing.
YATES/CHAIX SETTLE
Yates & Associates Insurance Services and R.E. Chaix & Associates agreed to an out-of-court settlement in the lawsuit filed March 16, 2000, by Santa Ana-based Yates against Newport Beach-based Chaix. Orange County Superior Court granted Yates a temporary restraining order against Chaix on March 20 after George Michael Ravelo and Colleen Hippard resigned from Yates and relocated to Chaix. The TRO was dismissed in June.
BIG RIDE, BIG PREMIUM
Auto insurance giants Allstate and Progressive will raise liability premiums for sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and big vans because of evidence they cause more damage in accidents. Until now, drivers with similar records often have paid similar premiums for liability and personal injury coverage, whether they own a small car or SUV, according to The New York Times. The companies maintain that bigger vehicles cause more damage to other cars, but they aren't necessarily safer for the people riding in them. Premiums are likely to rise or fall by $150 or less a year under the new plans, insurance executives said. Allstate and Progressive's announcement comes on the heels of a decision by State Farm, the nation's largest auto insurer, to reduce the cost of personal injury coverage for drivers of the "safer" vehicles, including some large luxury cars, vans and SUVs.
SEISMICALLY SPEAKING
On Nov. 28, the California Department of Conservation released Seismic Hazard Zone maps used to plan for safer buildings to help protect life and property in the event of an earthquake. The maps detail four areas-Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Ontario and Mt. Baldy-that are susceptible to the secondary earthquake hazards of landslides and liquefaction. With the release of these official maps, property sellers must disclose to buyers if the property is in a state-mapped seismic hazard zone.
