Daily Headlines: Friday, May 20, 2011

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May 20, 2011 News By Region  National  International  East  Midwest  Southeast  South Central  West Video Today's Headlines National How La Nina Might Affect Storm Season One major factor in whether the Atlantic Ocean will experience an active 2011 hurricane season is fluctuating thousands of miles away in ... Why Companies Try to Herd Shareholder Lawsuits to Delaware When International Coal Group Inc. announced plans this month to sell itself, investor lawsuits challenging the deal were quickly filed in ... Mitsui Agrees to Pay BP $1.1B Towards Gulf Spill Cleanup BP struck a key victory in its battle to share the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill when partner Mitsui & Co. agreed on Friday to ... Disaster Plan Should Include Social Media, Says Hurricane Center Nobody is going to push the "like'' button for a hurricane, but the National Hurricane Center hopes to get some Facebook fans for its storm ... Arthur J. Gallagher Appoints Three to Corporate VP Positions Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) appointed Norbert Chung, John Neumaier and William Ziebell to the positions of corporate vice ... General Star Launches Insurance Agents, Brokers E&O Program Through All Risks General Star Management Co. has launched an insurance agents and brokers E&O program, which will be offered through the National ... CEI Adds Secondary Driver Records to DriverCare Risk Manager The CEI Group, Inc. (CEI) has enhanced its DriverCare Risk Manager designed to help fleets better control the risks of accidents and ... Group Study: Largest Hedge Funds Buy More, Pay Less for Lawsuit Protection Large hedge funds with over $10 billion in assets under management (AUM) typically purchase $40 million or more in professional liability ... Intellectual Property Insurance: Coverage that Fits the Risk Many companies are unaware that the insurance they purchase may not protect their most valuable assets, intellectual property (IP). That's... More National News East N.Y. Agents Appealing Compensation Disclosure Ruling The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY) says it is moving forward with a legal appeal of a court ruling that ... Connecticut House Passes Municipal Liability Limits Bill The Connecticut House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a bill that limits the liability of cities and towns that make certain ... Vermont Companies Lauded for Workplace Safety Several Vermont companies have received recognition for their commitment to workplace safety, with King Arthur Flour of Norwich taking the ... Tornado Damages Philly Business A weak tornado spawned by strong thunderstorms descended on a northeast Philadelphia block Wednesday, tearing part of the roof off a beer ... More East News 25% to 33% of These Businesses Never Reopen NFPA statistics indicate that 115,000 - 130,000 business-related structures suffer fire damage every year. Many of these businesses never reopen, not because of the lack of property insurance but due to the lack of or improperly designed business income protection. This 5-Part live-training series is packed with information that Independent Agents can not afford to miss. Learn more and reserve your seat today! (save $100 when you register today!) Midwest United Fire & Casualty Announces New Officers and Directors Iowa-based United Fire & Casualty Co. announced new executive appointments and the election of four new directors for full terms on its ... State Auto Companies Elect New Officers Kyle B. Anderson, Diane M. Dierna, Winford (Win) L. Logan and Jeffrey (Jeff) D. Wilson have been elected assistant vice presidents by the ... Iowa's First Latino Majority Town Is Sign of Midwest's Growing Diversity For the first time in decades Iowa has a minority majority town, and a University of Iowa researcher said it shows how profoundly the ... More Midwest News Southeast West Virginia Seeks Bids on Workers’ Compensation for State Agencies West Virginia is prepared to solicit bids from workers' compensation insurers to provide coverage for its state employees. The West ... Mississippi Limits Home Premium Hikes Tied to Fire Risk Classification Mississippi regulators have moved to limit homeowners' insurance premium hikes that result from changes in an insurer's fire grading ... Fidelity National Seeks 27% Florida Homeowners Rate Hike Jacksonville-based  Fidelity National Property and Casualty Insurance Co., which covers some 12,000 homeowners in the state, is seeking a ... North Carolina Weighs Liability Protection for Drug Makers The North Carolina House postponed its planned vote this week on whether to make the state just the second in the country to protect ... Florida Fifth Graders Go on a P/C Insurance Tour During a recent field trip to The Main Street America Group's corporate headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., more than 60 fifth graders ... Mine Owner Massey Blamed for Deadly West Virginia Blast The worst U.S. coal mine accident in four decades, in which 29 miners died, was ''man-made'' and could have been avoided if the mine owner, ... More Southeast News South Central Oklahoma Commissioner Urges Passage of Uninsured Motorists Bill Uninsured motorists involved in a traffic accident would be unable to receive compensation for pain and suffering damages under a bill ... S&P Affirms Ratings of HCC; Upgrades Enterprise Risk Management HCC Insurance Holdings Inc., headquartered in Houston, announced that Standard & Poor's Corp. has affirmed the Financial Strength ... Innovation in Spotlight at MarketScout's Entrepreneurial Insurance Symposium Insurance industry leaders will share their companies' innovations and their own personal entrepreneurial experiences in September at a ... More South Central News West Wash. Lawmakers Continue to Struggle on Workers’ Comp Deal Leading Washington lawmakers are struggling to find a compromise that would alter the state's workers' compensation system and help seal a ... Colo. Court: Insurer Can’t Be Sued By Another Insurer for Failing to Cancel Policy A Colorado Court of Appeal has ruled that an insurer cannot file suit against another insurer for its failure to cancel a policy. According ... Fireman’s Fund Names Kenny VP of Tax Novato, Calif.-based Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. has announced that Bill Kenny joined the company as vice president of tax. He will lead ... Calif. Workers’ Comp Bureau Declines Again to Make Mid-Year Filing The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California's Governing Committee has decided, again, not to make a mid-year rate ... More West News International Catlin Stokes Broker Compensation Controversy The simmering compensation conflict between London's broker community and the underwriters they work with erupted following a keynote ... NOAA Forecasts ‘Above Normal’ Atlantic Hurricane Season The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season will be "above normal'', spawning six to 10 hurricanes of which around half could become major, the U.S. ... European Insurance Forum Kicks Off May 23 in Dublin Around 200 global re/insurance specialists will gather for the European Insurance Forum in Dublin next week to analyze the current state of ... Willis Launches All Risk Cover for Company Directors Willis has responded to the "increasingly challenging" regulatory environment in the UK by introducing an enhanced professional liability ... APEC Members Want to Salvage WTO Talks, Says U.S. Trade Rep Asia Pacific trade ministers agreed Thursday not to give up on ailing world trade talks but to work over the next seven months on the best ... Sony Hacked Again Sony Corp has been hacked again. So-Net, the Internet service provider unit of Japan's Sony, alerted customers that an intruder broke into ... Best Assigns ‘B++’ Rating to Dubai Insurance A.M. Best Europe" Rating Services Limited has assigned a financial strength rating of 'B++' (Good) and issuer credit rating of "bbb" ... More International News Insurance Journal Blogs Best Assigns ‘B++’ Rating to Dubai Insurance A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has assigned a financial strength rating of 'B++' (Good) and issuer credit rating of "bbb" ... More Blogs Join the Insurance Journal Network Insurance Journal TV Interstate Compacts? Forget About Them In preparation for new surplus lines regulations, states are considering whether to join a... Watch Now Producer Compensation: The Good and the Great Creating a compensation plan that is both fair to producers and the agency is critical in... Watch Now Watch more videos at InsuranceJournal.tv New Discussions in the Forums how should i compensate my producers? Posted: Fri May 20 -- This discussion brings up a lot of interesting points. Having worked on both sides of this... RKunz2 Purchasing X-Date Data Posted: Fri May 20 -- On the logic of insurance being from the date of house purchase, wouldn't this also seem to hold for the date of business incorporation (for... scotp watercraft (jetski )rental Posted: Thu May 19 -- Need coverage for small jetski rental operation in CA? Ani ideas as to who offer this type of coverage? Thanks JAM Need comp in Ca for structural steel contractor Posted: Thu May 19 -- This is an interesting one. The lapse makes it difficult but, if you wanted to evaluate the CA market for all companies that write this... tylerdurden "Pay As You Go" Work Comp Posted: Thu May 19 -- My E & O Alarm is ringing. If I am understanding this correctly, and Agents and Brokers can be in the payroll business as private label you... PLCinsurancetraining Agency Management System Posted: Thu May 19 -- Scott, I'll go out on a limb here and give you a straight opinion. After all, what else is this forum for... gforaker (CA) Looking For Market For Long Term Tree Farm Posted: Wed May 18 -- You might try Googling "standing timber insurance." I don't know where you are located, but there is an active market for this coverage. rcb 4-H & FFA group Posted: Wed May 18 -- Prior to my putting a total package with regional insurer West Bend for our local Extension Council, the only standard market offering a GL... BKCPCU Incentives for Clients Posted: Tue May 17 -- Why don't you try offering something of real value like risk management, loss control consultation, perhaps a plan that will pay dividends... wlunday Go to Forums Reader Comments Starbucks Sued for Firing Dwarf from Barista Job Posted: Wed May 18 -- I think the fact that Starbucks offered the job in the first place validates that they were practicing equal opportunity employment - if... Bob Allstate Targets Online Insurance Sales; Buys Esurance, Answer Financial Posted: Wed May 18 -- Hmmmmmm.... I wonder how the Allstate agents feel right now. Who is next? State Farm? Lets see, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual went to the... Sarah Allstate Targets Online Insurance Sales; Buys Esurance, Answer Financial Posted: Wed May 18 -- After 34 years in this business, I have decided that virtually all insurance companies can trace their origins to the world's oldest... Jack J Maniscalco Starbucks Sued for Firing Dwarf from Barista Job Posted: Wed May 18 -- I would think a stool behind the counter would be a hazard. Also employees of Starbucks move around frequently. A stool would be of a... William Monahan Allstate Targets Online Insurance Sales; Buys Esurance, Answer Financial Posted: Wed May 18 -- That shows their lack of committment to agents, captive or independent. Looks like its time to give Encompass the boot out of our office.... 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