National Underwriter P&C January 16, 2012
Cover Story
Underwriting Undertakers
Given the myriad problems that can arise in the handling and preparation of a dead person’s body, funeral homes face a number of unique risks that must be addressed by their insurance policies.
Market Report
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Aviation Market Flies Under Radar of ‘Hardening’ Market
The start of 2011 found aviation insurance brokers expecting a hard market for the year, instead, the year witnessed decreases and that track is expected to continue into the 2012, baring an unforeseen development.
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Rates Are Flat Across General Aviation—Except for Helicopters
Brokers say that pricing conditions in the General Aviation market, which covers everything from propeller-driven planes to corporate fleets, range from flat to some buyers seeing some rate reductions.
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Super-Sized Risk Sets Sail
The world’s largest shipping company is adding to its fleet by having built 20 of the world’s largest ships—each with the ability to haul 18,000 containers. With that many containers making the trek aboard the same vessel, insurers will bear the brunt of a vast array losses—from potentially multiple clients.
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State of Ocean Marine Market: Flat to ‘Slightly Off’
The U.S. Ocean-Marine insurance market is “certainly not hard,” says Bob Gallagher, president of International Marine Underwriters, part of the OneBeacon Insurance Group. He says the market is flat to “slightly off.”
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Emerging Markets Create Marine Opportunities
Emerging markets in Brazil, Columbia India and East Asia are creating opportunities for Ocean Marine underwriters.
Special Report
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Silver Hearse & Purple Nails Distinguish Brooklyn Undertaker
Doris Amen, funeral director and proprietor of the Jurek Park Slope Funeral Home in Brooklyn, N.Y., sends her clients out in style in a 1978 silver hearse, for which she carries commercial insurance. The vehicle is anything but subtle. “People know I’m coming,” says Amen, who also favors a purple...
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Media Companies, Like Much of Corporate America, See Increasing Need for Cyber Coverage
As traditional media companies adapt and attempt to thrive within the rapidly changing digital space, they are discovering—sometimes painfully—that their insurance coverage also must evolve.
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With Rise of Social Web, Almost Every Company Must Now Consider Itself a Media Player
One of the fundamental business changes wrought by the Web and the explosion of digital commerce and social networking is that essentially every large company is now a major creator of content.
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Large-Scale Media Layoffs Lead to Coverage Questions Regarding Freelancers, Syndicators
Laying off full-time journalists in favor of relying on freelancers and syndicated content providers has become an increasingly common strategy for media companies seeking to maintain their profits.
News
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2012 Will See Well-Capitalized Industry Face Down Several Challenges
While three separate analyses of the insurance and reinsurance markets in 2012 were unable to determine whether the industry will be able to sustain recent rate increases, all agree that the industry will face challenges this year ranging from the economy to the implementation of new regulations.
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Louisiana Citizens Asks State High Court to Reconsider $100M Award
Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. doesn’t think the state Supreme Court addressed all the issues it should have before reinstating what has become a judgment of more than $100 million for policyholders.
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Ryan Specialty Acquires Willis’ Global Special Risk
Ryan Specialty Group says it has acquired Global Special Risks, a provider of product offerings for the Energy and Marine markets in London and North America.
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With Regulatory Nod, XL to Start Insurance Operations in Brazil
XL Group says it now has final approval from Brazilian regulators to start insurance operations in the South American country.
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Improved Employment Figures to Help Broker Earnings
The drop in unemployment numbers for December could translate into improved earnings for insurance brokers as increased employment means growth in employee-related premiums, one financial analyst notes.
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IIABA Asks Treasury to Throw Weight Behind NARAB
Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA) is trying to enlist the Treasury Department to support targeted legislation that would create true agent-licensing reciprocity across the country.
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Loss-Cost Impact of Aging U.S. Workforce May Not Be as Severe as Once Thought
The American workforce is aging, but the impact that having more employees in their 50s and 60s will have on workers’ compensation loss costs may not be as negative as originally thought, according to new research from the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. (NCCI).
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Engineering Perspective Can Provide Clarity Around Likelihood, Extent of Property Losses
Corporate risk managers looking to protect their property—and by extension, their organizations’ overall financial stability—should consider looking at their facility risks through an engineering perspective, according to one catastrophe-risk expert.
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Celent: Telematics-Based Auto Insurance Could Improve Claims Handling, Pricing
The benefits of telematics-based auto-insurance products could go beyond better risk selection and pricing—and could include better fraud detection and the ability to provide feedback to consumers on CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and other factors that may lower the cost of driving, a new Celent report says.
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Not All Carriers Worry About Replacing Core Systems
Policy-administration system replacement remains a top priority for insurers in 2012, particularly for large and midsize carriers, according to Matt Josefowicz. However, it is less of a priority for smaller carriers.
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Oracle Releases New Versions of Revenue Management, Billing Solutions
Oracle Insurance has introduced the latest version of its revenue-management and billing solution, a rules-based system that enables insurers to manage billing, payments and collections using a single solution.
Opinion
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Risks, Risks Everywhere
I’m approaching my one-year anniversary as editor of NU, and the job, without question, has affected the way I see the world.
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Bullying: Who’s Covered for the Loss?
Hardly a day goes by without a news story of someone being bullied—children, teenagers and even adults at the workplace.
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Cringe or Cry: Recent Results for P&C Insurers Are Full of Bad News
Read ’em and weep, folks! I couldn’t help but cringe a bit as I reviewed the P&C industry’s consolidated results for the first three quarters of 2011. It was bad news galore. Even the few bits of “good” news had a negative tinge.
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