Government News

Mulryan to Replace Cain as Chair of California State Fund Board

Gov. Arnold Schwarzengger has appointed Larry Mulryan chairman of the California State Compensation Insurance Fund board. Mulryan replaces Jeanne Cain, whose term expired. The governor also appointed Scott Reid to the board. Mulryan was interim president and CEO of State …

BP’s Gulf Spill Costs Look Manageable 8 Months Later

As the Gulf oil spill gushed out of control, BP’s financial liabilities seemed big enough to sink the company. No more. Cleanup, government fines, lawsuits, legal fees and damage claims will likely exceed the $40 billion that BP has publicly …

Federal Audit Rips Spending for Texas Hurricane Cleanup

A scathing audit by the federal Department of Homeland Security questions whether some $45 million in public money was properly spent to remove debris in the cleanup of Chambers County, one of the Southeast Texas counties most devastated by Hurricane …

Calif. Regulator Urges Gov.-Elect Brown to Preserve Workers’ Comp Reforms

Calif. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced he has sent a letter to Gov.-Elect Jerry Brown to urge him to preserve the workers’ compensation insurance reforms that have reduced the Workers’ Compensation Cost Claims Benchmark by more than 60 percent since …

How to Fix Nation’s Flood Insurance Program

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is seeking a top-to-bottom review of the efforts to reform the nation’s flood insurance program. The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) has offered a set of reform proposals designed to improve the …

Oahu Property Owners Urged to Buy Flood Insurance

Emergency management officials are urging Oahu property owners to buy flood insurance at current rates before new flood maps — and resulting higher prices — kick in next month. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says new National Flood Insurance Program …

Maine Governor Seeks Disaster Assessment from Storm

Maine Gov. John Baldacci is requesting a damage assessment for the torrential rainstorm that deluged eastern Maine earlier this month. The Dec. 12 storm dropped 6 to 8 inches of rain in places, washing out local roads, flooding basements and …

U.S. Analyst: China May Be ‘Likely Bright Spot’ in Asia Climate Action

The outcome of U.N. climate talks in Mexico this month should boost steps in Asia to curb greenhouse gas emissions, with China a likely bright spot in 2011, a senior analyst at a leading U.S. think tank said. The talks …

Inspectors Find 2 Tennessee Dams in Need of Repair

State inspectors have found two privately owned hazardous dams in Tennessee that are in need of immediate repair, including one that the property owner seems unwilling to fix. An investigation by The Jackson Sun in May found that there are …

2011 Outlook: Too Much Capacity + Stagnant Demand = a Soft Market

A quick, and as yet incomplete, survey of re/insurance industry leaders indicates that the main concern they will have to deal with in the coming year isn’t climate change, or Solvency II, but the insurance industry’s ancient bugaboo, the soft …