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.

Delaware insurance producers' administrativeburden when placing business in the surplus lines market will belighter thanks to passage of House Bill 40 in the state's GeneralAssembly. The legislation removes the notarization requirement onthe surplus lines diligent effort form (SL-1923).

Catastrophe risk managementfirm RMS announced that SunLife Assurance Company of Canada, one of the largestinsurers in Canada, has renewed its agreement to licensethe RMS Longevity Risk Model Canada for an additionalthree years.

The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and InsuranceCompany, part of Munich Re, hasintroduced a new Farm Equipment and Machinery Breakdown Coveragewith expanded insurance for mobile implements and the precisionelectronics that control them, among other enhancements. HSB'soptional insurance for mobile farm implements, such as seeders,spreaders, sprayers, tillers, and their controlling electronicsaddresses, for the first time, a major gap that has existed in farmowners insurance.

McNeil & Company, a nationwide leader inspecialized insurance programs, announced the expansion of coveragefor its Emergency Services Insurance Program (ESIP). ESIP is aleading provider of industry-tailored insurance and proactive riskmanagement to the emergency services industry.

CCC Information Services Inc. has acquiredDriveFactor, a provider of a highly robust, flexible technologyplatform for insurance telematics, in an effort to create the firstfull-service, open telematics platform for autoinsurance.