New Jersey

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  AccuWeather Predicts Three Land-Falling Hurricanes for 2013 Season

  By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 15, 2013

  As the June 1 Atlantic Hurricane season approaches, AccuWeather.com echoes earlier predictions by saying Atlantic basin residents can expect an active hurricane season.

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  DeWitt Stern Designs Super Bowl-Related Cancellation Policy for NY Metro Area

  By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 15, 2013

  Insurance brokerage DeWitt Stern has come up with a way for businesses looking for a big payday from the 2014 Super Bowl to protect expected revenues.

• PIA Survey: Northeast Property Rates Up; Underwriting Changes Significant

  By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 14, 2013

  A survey of independent agents representing four states in the Northeast says the combination of escalating rates and stricter underwriting forced 93 percent to increase their remarketing efforts over last year.

• NFIP Rate Hike Delay Unlikely

  By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 13, 2013

  Members of the Senate are scrambling in advance of a May 14 vote to craft an amendment dealing with politically-sensitive hikes in federal flood insurance premiums that would retain the rate structure imposed by a previous law to extend the program.

• New Jersey to Adopt Homeowners Policy Summary Sheet

  By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 13, 2013

  In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, insurers in New Jersey will be required to add a summary sheet to homeowners policies issued to consumers.

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  Authorities Launch Criminal Investigation of West Fertilizer Explosion

  By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 10, 2013

  A criminal investigation has been launched into the West, Texas fertilizer plant that exploded last month.

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  N.Y. Labor Law for Construction Doubling Rates, Scaring Away Carriers

  By Bonnie Cavanaugh, PropertyCasulaty360.com  |  May 10, 2013

  Insurance rates in the state have risen steadily over the past five years, since the New York lawmakers enacted statutes to its Workers’ Compensation Law to give broader rights to injured construction employees.

• Federal Bills Incentivize States to Adopt Uniform Building Codes

  By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 9, 2013

  Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate aimed at providing additional incentives for states to adopt and enforce uniform building codes.

• Louisiana Senators Push for Delay in NFIP Rate Hikes

  By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 8, 2013

  Louisiana’s two senators are proposing an indefinite delay to flood insurance premium hikes mandated by legislation enacted in 2012.

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  W.R. Berkley Attorney: Limited Coverage Held by West Fertilizer ‘Irresponsible’

  By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 7, 2013

  Paul A. Grinke, an attorney with McCathern in Dallas, predicts his clients and others involved in lawsuits against the West, Texas facility that exploded last month will "be left holding the bag."

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  West Fertilizer Co. Had $1M in Liability Insurance

  By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 6, 2013

  The West Fertilizer Co., site of a massive explosion last month that killed 15 people and damaged or destroyed more than 100 homes, two schools, and multiple businesses, carried $1 million in liability insurance, PC360 has confirmed.

• N.J. Begins Mediation Program for Unresolved Non-Flood Sandy Claims

  By Staff Writer  |  May 3, 2013

  Residents with unresolved non-flood insurance claims related to Superstorm Sandy can have their cases mediated through the American Arbitration Association, at their insurer's cost.

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  Copper Theft a Hard-Wired Risk for Insurers, Businesses, Homeowners

  By Anya Khalamayzer, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 2, 2013

  Copper was targeted in 96 percent of all metal thefts in the past three years, reports the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), with criminals going after business owners and homeowners evenly.

• ‘Core’ Specialty: Core Programs' Apartment-and-Condo Niche

  By Anya Khalamayzer  |  May 1, 2013

  Richard Trezza, president of Morristown, N.J.-based program administrator Core Programs LLC, recalls discovering his own personal niche in the insurance world: “I graduated with a business administration degree, decided I don’t like corporate America and went into my family’s small insurance business,” he says. “That’s how I learned insurance.”

• Shell Shocked: Six Months After Sandy, Agents Look Back

  By Mark E. Ruquet  |  May 1, 2013

  Flooding. Power outages. Debris removal. Rebuilding. Many insurance agents faced the same issues as their clients in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, but they all shared an additional responsibility: to make themselves available to the victims of the storm, helping them to process the claims that would help them make...

• New Study Finds the Independent-Agency Generation Gap is a Chasm

  By Laura Mazzuca Toops  |  May 1, 2013

  How to manage the millennial generation in the workplace is stumping both baby boomers and Gen-Xers. But the generation gap is especially acute in the independent agent-broker (IAB) universe, where 84 percent of employees say there are real generational differences regarding work, and 72 percent agree that these differences pose challenges in...