Calvin Beyer, head of manufacturing for Zurich North America Commercials customer industry segments, offers this list of the best practices it looks for at the companies whose Workers Compensation programs the carrier is considering covering.

Two effective Workers Compensation cost-control strategies involve the carrot and the stick.

Catastrophe-bond activity reached record levels in 2012s first quarter, exceeding last years placements by more than $300 million, says Guy Carpenter. The reinsurance broker issued a report saying that total global catastrophe-bond placements reached $1.34 billion issued through eight transactions.

Open communication among all parties involved in Workers Comp claims has been growing in cost-control importance over the last few years, says Maureen McCarthy, senior vice president and manager of Workers Comp and managed care at Liberty Mutual.

Every year, National Underwriter proudly recognizes those with outstanding loss-control, safety and return-to-work programs. If you have a unique risk-management approach or success story in how to better handle Workers Comp costs and exposures, enter yours in the award program today.

Chubb Corp. says 2012s first quarter saw renewal-rate increases across the board in U.S. commercial and specialty lines, while Q1 net income fell slightly to $506 million from $509 million in 2011.

While Chubbs fire lab has all the accoutrements of a typical classroomwhite boards and rows of desksit also is the sort of place that would cause the eyes of a child to light upor those of any adult with an inclination to learn how cool stuff works.

Saying the role of risk managers is growing in importance, the president of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) declared there are no boundaries to the level of influence professionals will ultimately have with the C-suite.