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
 - $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
 - Supreme Court Weighs Insurer’s Conflict of Interest in Claim Denial
 - Chubb Posts Dip in 1st Quarter Profit
 - 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
 - Academy of Actuaries Appoints Hinchman as Executive Director
 - 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
 - Surplus Lines Association Launches Employment Web Site
 - S&P Puts Liberty and Safeco on CreditWatch Negative
 - Ratings Roundup: Centene, Illinois Casualty, States Self-Insurers
 - 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
 - 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
 - U.S. Watchdog Critical of FDA Foreign Drug Oversight
 - Maxum Specialty Names Turner as President and CEO
 - 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
 - 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?
 - Rep. Kanjorski: Feds Must Learn About Insurance Before Regulating It
 - Ratings Roundup: Indemnity, Safety, HCC, NAICO
 - 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
 - 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
 - Ratings Recap: Interstate Auto, EMC, Amica Mutual, CAPCO, CMG Mortgage, Clarendon
 - Legislation to Expand Liability Risk Retention Act Introduced into Congress
 - Total Bank Insurance Revenue Up Slightly in 2007
 - Tech-Backed Patent Lawsuit Bill in Trouble in U.S. Senate
 - New Storm Monitoring Technique Adopted by Hurricane Forecasters
 - 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
 - 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
 - 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
 - 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
 - Zurich North America Cuts 400 Jobs
 - OneBeacon Agents Can Access Hagerty Collector Car, Boat Coverages
 - 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
 - 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
 - Sloan Mason Offers New Coverage for Marine Risks
 - 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
 - Pinnacle Wins Partial Settlement over Katrina Damage to Mississppi Property
 - USGS Creates Flood Tracking Map
 - 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
 - Main Street America Adds States to Personal Auto Program
 - As Young Insurance Agents Look to Future, Many Eye Ownership
 - AIG Rebrands Domestic Insurance as P/C Group; Shuffles Executives
 - Survey: 1Q Commercial Lines Premiums Drop Most Since 2005
 - Ratings: SeaBright, Park, Zenith
 - 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.
 - What America’s Young Insurance Agents Like Most About Being Agents
 - FBI: Dollar Loss from Internet Crime Reaches All-Time High
 - U.S. Disaster Agency FEMA Improved But Still Lacking, Report Says
 - Ratings Recap: RSUI Group, Covington, AMERISAFE, Combined, UNAIC
 - America’s Young Insurance Agents Love Their Jobs
 - 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
 - Unitrin Completes Acquisition of Fire and Life Insurer Primesco
 - Actuaries Identify Hurricanes as Top Insurance Risk for 2008
 - Congress Seeks Review of SEC’s Enforcement Division Staffing, Funding
 - 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
 
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