Vermont governor Peter Shumlinsigned into law changes that will lower surplus requirements forcell captives and make technical changes in other areas of thestate's captive statutes. It will cut in half the minimum capitalrequirement for cell captives from $500,000 to $250,000. Inaddition, Vermont's captive law will now echo that for itstraditional insurers and allow marketable securities to meetcapitalization levels. Previously, the state would accept cash andcash equivalents, trusts and letters ofcredit.

The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies hasadded a leading global public relations firm to its network ofindependent crisis assistance service providers.Edelman has joined a list of three other providersthat help Chubb's commercial umbrella customers manage majorliability crises that could generate significant adverse mediaattention.

Acentria Insurance has announced a newpartnership with Lamar Dean & Associates InsuranceServices, which has been serving the Panhandle of Floridasince 2003, and offers both personal and commercial insurance.