National News for April 2008 McCain Pushes Tax Credit, Choice as U.S. Health Care Fix Insurance- ‘Green’ Coalition Opposes Expanding Government Catastrophe Bailouts Wachovia May Face $1 Billion Charge after U.S. Court Tax Ruling Report: Insurance-Related Securities Could Prompt Disaster Coverage Cholnoky Promoted to President of General Reinsurance; Board Elected Hartford’s 1st Quarter Profit Tumbles 83%; Cuts Outlook Va. Tech Research: Inexpensive Roof Vent Could Prevent Wind Damage Travelers Increases Aviation Insurance Coverage Capacity to $50 Million 9 Catastrophes to Cost P/C Insurers $3 Billion in 1st Quarter Ratings Recap: CRM Holdings, Harleysville, Missouri Employers, Illinois State Bar Supreme Court Weighs Insurer’s Conflict of Interest in Claim Denial Chubb Posts Dip in 1st Quarter Profit $1.5 Million Pharmacy Robot Promises to Reduce Medical Drug Errors Experts See Boost to Genetic Testing if U.S. Anti-Discrimination Bill Passes Berkshire’s Buffett: U.S. Recession May Be Worse than Feared Disappointing CNA Insurance Results Hurting Loews Senate Expected to Pass Genetic Anti-Discrimination Bill Survey: Medical Liability Insurers Optimistic About Short-Term Market Ratings Roundup: Greenville, Delphi, First American, American Family, Well Point Liberty’s Ratings Remain Unchanged, Says A.M. Best Travelers Earnings Drop 11% in 1Q Allstate’s Profit Drops 77% in 1Q Zurich Introduces New Environmental Liability Policy Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on Disability Benefits Case Report: 2008 Insurance Agency-Broker Value Forecast Consumer Federation Says Prior Approval Works, Industry Says Not True Academy of Actuaries Appoints Hinchman as Executive Director Fireman’s Fund Insurance Expands Liquor Liability for Upscale Restaurants Liberty Mutual Unearths ‘Green’ Commercial Property Coverages Former Insurance Safety Executive Ryland Joins Wharton Risk Center Liberty Mutual to Acquire Safeco Insurance in $6.2B Deal Breitstone Named CEO of Aon’s ASPN Surplus Lines Association Launches Employment Web Site S&P Puts Liberty and Safeco on CreditWatch Negative Ratings Roundup: Centene, Illinois Casualty, States Self-Insurers U.S. Watchdog Critical of FDA Foreign Drug Oversight Maxum Specialty Names Turner as President and CEO Agents and the Recession: Agents Tend to Fare Better Than Their Customers Insurers to Build Research Center for Natural Disaster Property Losses AIR Worldwide Expands Consulting Group, Adding Fasking, Zhang Federal Mine Officials Issue Final Rule on Underground Seals CDC: Mounting Illness Reports Linked to Selenium Supplement Harry Potter Case Illustrates Blurry Line in Copyright Liability Hallmark Financial Services Plans Stock Buyback Program Supreme Court Won’t Hear Exxon Appeal of Louisiana Damages Award Rep. Kanjorski: Feds Must Learn About Insurance Before Regulating It Ratings Roundup: Indemnity, Safety, HCC, NAICO Drinkwater Succeeds Smith as President of AmWINS Brokerage Sen. Martinez Denies He’s Obstacle to Catastrophe Fund Bill Thornton Named Chairman of Berkley Regional; Rohde President of Acadia What’s An Agent to Do When a Potential D&O Claim Arises? U.S. Report Questions Safety of Chemical Used in Plastic Bottles Better Data Needed to Fight Cargo Thefts, Say Insurers, Law Enforcement Final Call: Agent Survey on Wholesale Market Liberty International Underwriters Appoints Seven New Execs States Tell Congress They Can Handle Insurance Regulation Ratings Recap: Interstate Auto, EMC, Amica Mutual, CAPCO, CMG Mortgage, Clarendon Legislation to Expand Liability Risk Retention Act Introduced into Congress Swett & Crawford Appoints Sadler as Chief Operating Officer, EVP Lighthouse Underwriters Introduces ElderCare Plus Program Wells Fargo Names Shopoff VP of Motorsports Race Team Programs Tech-Backed Patent Lawsuit Bill in Trouble in U.S. Senate Hargrove Joins AmWINS as General Counsel S&P, Best See no Ratings Changes as Brandon Leaves Gen Re Ratings Recap: National Fire, Alliance Mutual, Farmers Branch, Millers Capital, First American Total Bank Insurance Revenue Up Slightly in 2007 New Storm Monitoring Technique Adopted by Hurricane Forecasters Invasive Weed Adds Fuel to Fire Risk in Drought-Parched Southeast Berkshire Says General Re Chief Brandon Resigns S&P Rates Berkshire Hathaway Assurance ‘AAA’; Outlook Stable CCC Information Services and Mitchell International Merge Berkshire Hathaway Municipal Bond Insurer Wins Top S&P Rating Analysts See Increase in P/C Mergers Ahead; Rate Climate Change Top Issue Generation Xers More Glum than Boomers on Retirement Finances Report: Lobbyists Spend $17 Million a Day on Congress; Insurance Ranks Second Zurich North America Cuts 400 Jobs OneBeacon Agents Can Access Hagerty Collector Car, Boat Coverages Prosecutors Allegedly Pressing Berkshire to Remove Gen Re Head AIG Names Executives for New Commercial Insurance Group Agent Survey: Views on Wholesale Market Report: Underwriting Hurt Insurers’ Bottom Lines in 2007 State-Federal Showdown over Real ID National License Averted Mid-Size Cars Show Improved Safety Rush of Mortgage Lawsuits Expected, But Winning May be Tough Judge Approves $4.5M Settlement Against Tyson Foods Directors Mines Lack Safety Equipment 2 Years After Sago Tragedy, U.S. Says Report: Obesity Costing Firms $45B a Year in Work Loss, Medical Costs Hurricane Forecasters Issue April Update for 2008 Season Ratings Roundup: Imagine, Amerigroup, American Modern/Midland Sloan Mason Offers New Coverage for Marine Risks S&P Lowers Ratings on 4 Mortgage Insurers; Conference Call Today Credit Agency Downgrades U.S. Mortgage Insurers Auto Insurer Progressive Reports Q1 Profit Down 34% S&P Warns Soft Market Could Mean Downgrades for Commercial Insurers Fireman’s Fund Expands Yacht and Watercraft Coverage Bear Stearns, Deloitte & Touche Sued over Hedge Fund Losses Insurers Keen on NCAA’s Basket-Full of Opportunities Main Street America Adds States to Personal Auto Program AIG Rebrands Domestic Insurance as P/C Group; Shuffles Executives Survey: 1Q Commercial Lines Premiums Drop Most Since 2005 Ratings: SeaBright, Park, Zenith Pinnacle Wins Partial Settlement over Katrina Damage to Mississppi Property USGS Creates Flood Tracking Map As Young Insurance Agents Look to Future, Many Eye Ownership Fireman’s Fund Expands Medical Facilities Market Coverage Collectify Offers Home Inventory Software to Agents AIG Cuts CEO Sullivan’s Pay 48% to $14 Million Citigroup Confirms $33 Million Smith Barney Gender Bias Settlement U.S. Disaster Agency FEMA Improved But Still Lacking, Report Says Ratings Recap: RSUI Group, Covington, AMERISAFE, Combined, UNAIC Court Says Web Site Can’t Ask Discriminatory Questions U.S. Appeals Court Tosses $800 Billion Tobacco Class Action Suit Clinton Plan Would Cut Tax Benefit for Foreign Insurers Competing for Business in U.S. FBI: Dollar Loss from Internet Crime Reaches All-Time High What America’s Young Insurance Agents Like Most About Being Agents Fireman’s Fund Expands Coverage in Medical Facilities Market RLI Opens Its Small Fleet Trucking Insurance to More Agents Individual Year Hurricane Forecasts Found Weaker Than Multi-Year U.S. Class Action King Weiss Pleads Guilty to Racketeering, Apologizes Mitchell to Acquire Fair Isaac’s Workers’ Comp Medical Cost Business Ohio Casualty Offers New Custom Protector Products Monoline Downgrade: Triad Guaranty Liberty Mutual Launches Specialty Products Group America’s Young Insurance Agents Love Their Jobs Congress Seeks Review of SEC’s Enforcement Division Staffing, Funding Unitrin Completes Acquisition of Fire and Life Insurer Primesco Actuaries Identify Hurricanes as Top Insurance Risk for 2008 Pet Cause: More Lawyers Training in Field of Animal Law Some U.S. Homes Now Worth Less Than Their Copper Pipes U.S. Insured Mortgage Defaults Up 38% in February Monoline Downgrades: FGIC, Security Capital,CIFG Ratings Recap: Nationwide, Southern Pioneer, Navigators, Allied World Re, Excess Re National News Archives
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