The Big Three: Trucking’s Trio of Severe Risks

By Anya Khalamayzer, PropertyCasualty360

Third-party liability from encountering other vehicles on the road is Quality Distribution Inc.’s biggest exposure, says Mike McDonald, vice president of enterprise risk management at QD.

Rest for the Road: New Regulations Help to Keep Truckers Alert

By Anya Khalamayzer, PropertyCasualty360

Recent regulations have helped in keeping truckers better rested.

Claims to Fame

By Anya Khalamayzer, PropertyCasualty360.com

In addition to his role as vice president of enterprise risk management at Quality Distribution, Mike McDonald also oversees QD Risk Services (QDRS), a subsidiary company that offers risk-consulting and claims-management services to both its parent and other firms.

In Select Lines, Risks Shifting to E&S Carriers

After suffering some unexpectedly substantial losses, P&C standard-lines insurance carriers have waning appetites for such types of risk as Catastrophe Exposed Property and Product Liability—shifting, as a result, some of these and other exposures to the E&S market.

Income Statements, Not Balance Sheets, Driving E&S Rate Increases

By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com

The E&S market may be seeing some positive rate movement, but a lack of supply or capacity isn’t the reason, says Lexington Insurance Co. President David Bresnahan.

Lloyd’s Reports Strong First Half; Says Underwriting Discipline ‘Top Priority’

By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com

Lloyd’s says its 2012 first-half net income more than doubled compared to last year because of benign catastrophe activity, but the insurance market admits that loss events in the second half of the year could still weigh on year-end results.

Avalon Sets the Pace in Customer Service, Risk Management for Logistics Industry

By Staff Writer

For an insurance agency servicing the global trade and transportation industry to be successful, it needs to be as fast and efficient as its logistics-obsessed clients.

Lucky Strike: Cavignac & Associates

By Laura Mazzuca Toops, PropertyCasualty360.com

Jeff Cavignac says he “lucked into” an insurance job right after earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles.

S.H. Smith: Crafting the Perfect Coverage Engenders Sales, Client Satisfaction

By Shawn Moynihan, PropertyCasualty360.com

Scott H. Smith, president of S.H. Smith & Co. Inc., offers a simple explanation for why his specialty-insurance brokerage continues to gain new clients while retaining previous ones: “We make it easy to do business with us.”

Ryan’s Rally: A Call for Innovation to Address New Risks

By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com

As the world becomes increasingly precarious, new risks have either not been addressed or have been excluded by the industry, says insurance industry legend Patrick G. Ryan.

Could Reinsurers’ Bundling of Risks Lead to a Financial Debacle?

By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com

A new study questions whether current underwriting practices could one day create a financial debacle for reinsurers.

Survey: Claim Officers Want More Investment in Technology Solutions

By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com

More investment in claims-management integration practices will benefit P&C insurers’ bottom line, chief claim officers (CCOs) say in a new survey from Towers Watson.

Appeals Court Says AIG Must Pay Retailer’s Computer-Hacking Claim

By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com

A U.S. appeals court has rejected one major insurer’s “direct loss” defense and ruled that a national retailer is entitled to recover nearly $7 million for a computer-hacking claim.

AIG’s Peter Eastwood: Better Days Ahead

By Shawn Moynihan, PropertyCasualty360.com

Following the U.S. Treasury’s recent sell-down to a minority stake in American International Group, two ratings agencies offered positive assessments of the insurance giant, with Moody’s Investor’s Service calling the development “another credit-positive milestone” and Fitch Ratings stating that the recent actions have rejuvenated AIG. Peter Eastwood, President & CEO...

Multiple Buildings, One Policy: The Vacancy Clause

By Susan Massman

Questions regarding coverage for vacant buildings come up frequently in the FC&S “Ask the Experts” queue. The following examples illustrate two different outcomes regarding multiple buildings insured under one policy.

Even in the Age of Online Insurance Shopping, Local Agents Still Valued by Consumers

By W. Kim Austen

The digital age has forever changed the way consumers view insurance—and a lot of that is for the better. Today’s consumers can better educate themselves about insurance products with a quick search on the Web, and that’s a good thing for all of us.