Spencer Educational Foundation Inc., affiliated with the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. in New York, said today it appointed Warren J. Mula to its board of directors.

The investigation of February's Colgan Air crash that killed 49 persons in Buffalo, N.Y., highlights the importance of pilot training in aircraft insurance policies, according to a legal expert.

Two groups have named prize winners for research on topics touching on insurance supply in developing economies, emerging market insurance strategies and Takaful insurers.

The National Conference of Insurance Legislators announced it has written Congress advising that proposals for financial services regulatory reform should involve state and federal regulators as equal partners.

Andrew Archambault joins the company with 31 years of experience in the reinsurance business.

Theresa Brown of Sandia , in an Aon flu outbreaks teleconference, said schools need to close before 1 percent of the population is infected, and the statement there is "high probability" H1N1 will recur in Mexico was not made by Dr. Brown.

Despite talk of a hardening market on the horizon, commercial insurance rates continue to fall, down by an average of 7 percent in April--matching March's experience, according to Dallas-based MarketScout, an online insurance exchange.

Itasca, Ill.-based insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it has acquired Sellers Group, LLC, of Woodlands, Texas. Financial terms were not disclosed.