NU P&C’s Risk Management Editor Caroline McDonald reviews some of the tough choices municipalities face between balanced budgets and cuts in needed services and people, going on to review some smaller cuts of unnecessary spending, which governors of two large states are proposing.

With an eye toward jump-starting national momentum for reform, a North Dakota committee became the country’s first legislative body to approve a Surplus Lines Insurance Multistate Compliance Compact (SLIMPACT) this month, with Kentucky close behind.

The global financial crisis brought a new focus on risk management, with nearly 34 percent more institutions reporting they have adopted enterprise risk management programs compared to 2008, according to a survey by Deloitte.

The New Jersey captive law, slated to be signed any day by Gov. Chris Christie, could create jobs in the state without the burden of creating a whole new infrastructure, according to captive experts.

Legislation to update Montana's captive insurance law passed unanimously in the House Business and Labor Committee.

A greater international focus for businesses, including operations and supply chain, motivated the Vancouver location of the 2011 conference of the Risk and Insurance Management Society’s Annual Conference & Exhibition.

The Captive Insurance Companies Association announced that Michael R. Mead has been named recipient of the CICA 2011 Distinguished Service Award—the highest award in the captive insurance industry.

A number of issues, including regulation, medical and insurer costs are high on the radar this year for workers’ compensation experts, one who warned that buyers most likely will be looking at price hikes in 2012.