Will insurers ever be able to project the positive image it has of itself to the public at large, wondered NU Associate Editor Mark Ruquet after attending an industry love fest honoring Joe Plumeri of Willis.

The House passed the wide-ranging Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, drawing an immediate and generally favorable reaction from one insurance trade group and a lukewarm response from another.

Insurers are increasingly offering products and promoting behavior that address the growing risk of climate change, according to presentations delivered at an insurance regulators' Climate Risk Summit.

Consumer advocate Birny Birnbaum came up with some intriguing suggestions on how to level the playing field between consumers and insurers when setting regulatory policy, says NU Editor Sam Friedman in his blog at www.NUSamSoapBox.com.

Chicago-based insurance brokerage Aon said Sandeep Malik has been named to the new position of chief executive officer of Asia Risk Services

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that workers' compensation insurance rates in the state will be relatively stable and increase by an average of only 4 percent in 2010.

The property/casualty insurance industry is expected to see an underwriting loss this year, with no let-up in the soft market through 2010 barring a substantial market shift, according to Fitch Ratings.

The inflation rate for workers' compensation drug costs, which had been slowing, has now increased 7.5 percent, driven upward by overuse of medication, according to a new poll.