Declarations

Pricing Worries Persist

“There are clear concerns surrounding pricing in this soft P/C insurance market. And, there appear to be indications that this market will persist over the nearer-term.”

—Scott Marcello, of KPMG, which recently released a survey showing that insurance industry leaders are increasingly concerned that underwriting profits will suffer over the next three years – due largely to weak pricing and increased federal regulation. Of those insurance industry execs surveyed, 62 percent see only a moderate ability to increase underwriting profit, while more than a third characterized the chance of increased profit as “weak.”

Ground Zero Settlement

“We have no desire to be fighting in court with those who acted unselfishly and heroically in their response to that attack, both on 9/11 and in its aftermath.”

—New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg imploring thousands of ground zero workers, including firefighters and police officers, to sign on to a $713 million settlement for injuries they sustained in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. The settlement requires that 95 percent of the plaintiffs sign on by Nov. 8.

Sea Safety

“It’s still going to be a hazardous occupation, but this will make it safer. This will help.”

—Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank (D), sponsor of a new federal bill that would require mandatory safety inspections of all commercial fishing boats and training for vessel operators. The bill, which awaits a signature from President Obama, also includes stricter safety standards for smaller fishing vessels. Frank has been pushing the bill since 2006 in response to fishing deaths off the New England coast, primarily from the Port of New Bedford. Similar safety issues also have been hotly debated at southern New Jersey ports, including Cape May, where nine fishermen died at sea in 2009.

Topics Market