Insurance Journal » Editor’s Note http://www.insurancejournal.com Insurance Journal delivers the latest business news for the Property/Casualty insurance industry Fri, 24 May 2013 02:59:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Drowsy Driving http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/05/20/292078.htm Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Andrea Wells http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=292078 Four percent of U.S. adults nodded off or fell asleep at least once while driving in the previous month. You’ve been there. The midnight call from an important client that just experienced a devastating loss. Or the sick child who …

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]]> Apologies Necessary http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/05/06/290467.htm Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Andrea Wells http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=290467 Doctors do it. Kindergarteners do it. Should insurers do it? Despite the prevalence of apologies in our society — think Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Mel Gibson and Bill Clinton — the idea of offering an apology as a result of …

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]]> Armed and Growing http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/04/22/288677.htm Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Andrea Wells http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=288677 Guns are big business. Just ask some insurance brokers. According to a report on InsuranceJournal.com, proposals to change state and federal gun laws is having an unintended effect on the gun insurance market – unprecedented growth. Experts in this segment …

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]]> Personal Touch http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/04/08/286903.htm Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Andrea Wells http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=286903 Agents appear to be winning the race in home insurance — at least when it comes to claims. Home insurance claimants who file through agents show greater satisfaction levels — 50 points higher — than those who file claims directly. …

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]]> Unpredictable Tornadoes http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/03/25/285508.htm Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Stephanie K. Jones http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=285508 It’s tempting to think that climate change is bringing more frequent, stronger and larger thunderstorms and accompanying tornadoes, but climate scientists say they just don’t know if that’s the case. Tornadoes and the severe thunderstorms that spawn them are difficult …

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]]> Home Work http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/03/25/285512.htm Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Andrew G. Simpson http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=285512 Insurance Journal‘s own Don Jergler recently tackled the controversy triggered when Yahoo ended its liberal work-at-home policy. The tech firm decided that employees who work in offices with others have more opportunities to collaborate and be creative. Retailer Best Buy …

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]]> Go Home! http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/03/25/285520.htm Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Don Jergler http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=285520 When InsuranceJournal.com posted a story giving the Insurance industry’s take on workplace flexibility following Yahoo Inc. CEO Marissa Mayer’s announcement in February to bring telecommuters back into the office the story proved popular – particularly on LinkedIn.com. A number of …

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]]> Transitioning Jobs at MetLife http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/03/25/285544.htm Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Young Ha http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=285544 Insurance giant MetLife Inc. recently announced a plan to move some 2,600 positions into newly created facilities in North Carolina by the end of 2015. And this means a lot of folks in the Northeast could be facing some tough …

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]]> Industry Predictions http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/03/11/283663.htm Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Don Jergler http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=283663 San Diego, Calif.-based Mitchell, a provider of technology and information to the property/casualty claims and collision repair industries, recently released its predictions for trends related to cloud computing and big data analytics. The company homes in on trends it believes …

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]]> Agency M&A Landscape http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/03/11/283672.htm Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Young Ha http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=283672 Insurance Journal recently had a chance to chat with executives from MidCap Advisors, a New York-based mergers and acquisitions firm. The firm focuses on small- and mid-size brokers and agencies, offering advice on issues ranging from raising capital to selling …

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]]> Ounce of Prevention http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/03/11/283684.htm Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=283684 Why is it easier for society to spend lots of money after a disaster rather than emphasizing preparedness before one? Julie Rochman, CEO and president of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, tackled that question in a recent …

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]]> The Acquisition Cycle http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/03/11/283694.htm Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Stephanie K. Jones http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=283694 Insurance agency mergers and acquisitions were up last year, at an all-time high in fact, according to the Chicago-based M&A advisory firm OPTIS Partners. A recent survey conducted by the financial services consulting firm showed there were 291 reported agency …

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]]> Closing Sandy Claims http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/02/25/281815.htm Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Young Ha http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=281815 It’s been more than three months since Superstorm Sandy wrought havoc across the East Coast last fall. And since then, the property/casualty insurance industry has stepped up to deliver its promise to customers and assist them in rebuilding their lives. …

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]]> Property Focus http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/02/25/281824.htm Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Don Jergler http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=281824 Self-promotion is not a trait a lot of people respect, but when you think you really have something to offer, there’s no harm telling folks about it. Is there? Starting on page 22 guest columnist Carl Morello, vice president of …

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]]> Better Late Than Never http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/02/25/281837.htm Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Andrew G. Simpson http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=281837 Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has finally released the long-awaited report by a commission to study what to do about insurance availability and prices. Bentley first created the commission on April 6, 2011 – almost two years ago – to address …

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]]> Cyber Vulnerabilities http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/02/25/281845.htm Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Stephanie K. Jones http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=281845 Cyber hackers are on the attack. Yawn, so what else is new? Nothing, except those attacks are happening more and more frequently and at higher and higher levels. A study released this month by the Government Accountability Office showed that …

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]]> Unfair Drivers http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/02/11/280142.htm Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Andrea Wells http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=280142 In its latest report on auto insurance premiums, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) said insurers charge higher premiums to safe drivers than to unsafe drivers. That claim seems to go against the grain when predicting risk in the insurance …

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]]> Tech, Tech, Tech http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/01/28/278262.htm Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=278262 A month down. The year is ticking away. And with the next Facebook, Google or Apple seemingly just around the corner, technology continues to be on many a mind in 2013. In fact in a poll conducted on InsuranceJournal.com in …

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]]> I-conomy http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/01/28/278276.htm Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Andrew G. Simpson http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=278276 Property/casualty insurance executives believe that the U.S. economy is still not on the right track. According to a survey conducted by the Insurance Information Institute, 77 percent of P/C leaders hold this view. The I.I.I. conducted a survey at its …

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]]> The Climate Change Conundrum http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/01/28/278217.htm Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Stephanie K. Jones http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=278217 For many people, the jury is still out on whether climate change is a man-made phenomenon, or even if it exists at all, and if so, that it is responsible for the spate of devastating weather and wildfires the world …

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]]> Liability Insurance for Gun Owners? http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/01/28/278232.htm Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Young Ha http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=278232 As policymakers and legislators around the country continue to examine gun-control ideas, one Massachusetts lawmaker introduced this month what appears to be one of the more novel, out-of-the-box approach: requiring gun owners to purchase liability insurance. As the news article …

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]]> Tasty, Healthy and Safe http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/01/14/276705.htm Mon, 14 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Stephanie K. Jones http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=276705 We are what we eat, the saying goes. So let’s hope what we eat is not only tasty and good for us, but safe as well. To that end, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed new food safety …

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]]> No Champagne http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/01/14/276714.htm Mon, 14 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Andrew G. Simpson http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=276714 Officials at Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance have dropped a plan to loan money to private insurers in exchange for these insurers taking some of the state-backed insurer’s policies. It turns out that insurers did not think it was a good …

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]]> Munich Re: Sandy Tops 2012 Disasters http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/01/14/276722.htm Mon, 14 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Young Ha http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=276722 A series of severe weather-related catastrophes led to higher-than-normal losses in the United States last year. The world’s largest reinsurer Munich Re took a close look at these catastrophes in its “2012 Natural Catastrophe Year in Review,” published on Jan. …

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]]> 4,500,000,000 AD – The World Ends http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2013/01/14/276730.htm Mon, 14 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Don Jergler http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=276730 Mark my words, you haven’t heard the last of the apocalyptic prophesies. The day after Dec. 21, 2012, I’ll bet a bunch of Mayans were rolling in their graves – the ones who bought into it at least. The world …

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]]> Cyber criminals will continue to find new ways to attack in 2013 http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2012/12/17/273796.htm Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=273796 Cyber Threats in the New Year This issue identifies certain developments insurance professionals can expect in the new year. Beyond those mentioned in the articles in this issue, there is one thing everyone can expect that would require its own …

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]]> Rising Cost of Sandy Damages http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2012/12/03/271870.htm Mon, 03 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Young Ha http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=271870 It’s been a month since Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc along the East Coast, devastating coastal towns and bringing a record storm surge and flooding and prolonged power outages. And the cost keeps rising. On Nov. 26, New York City Mayor …

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]]> Weathered Income http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2012/12/03/271877.htm Mon, 03 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Stephanie K. Jones http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=271877 Do poor- and middle-income residents in the United States suffer more, economically, from extreme weather than affluent people? According to a new report on the impact of extreme weather events that have occurred over the past few years they do. …

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]]> ‘Tis the Season for WWD http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2012/12/03/271891.htm Mon, 03 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Don Jergler http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=271891 W.W.D. It’s a fairly new acronym, and worth a few words with the holidays upon us. State Farm released its annual research report on distracted driving, and it seems there’s yet another reason to worry about your fellow motorists — …

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]]> ‘Tis the Season for WWD http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/editorsnote/2012/12/03/271899.htm Mon, 03 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Andrew G. Simpson http://www.insurancejournal.com/?p=271899 WWD. It’s a fairly new acronym, and worth a few words with the holidays upon us. Texting while driving remains a relatively new, albeit growing concern, on the nation’s highways. But now it seems an increasing number of people are …

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