According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 31 million foreign-born people living in the U.S. -- 11.1 percent of the population, and a 57 percent increase from the 1990 census.

Insurance policies lack the standardization consumers, producers and regulators expect for homeowners and other liability coverages and only true transparency will solve this dilemma for buyers, a consumer advocate said.

The common perception is that a captive insurer or risk retention group entering rehabilitation has hit the skids and is on its way out, but the opposite is sometimes true, according to a captive management company.

Kessler joins CRC as executive vice president of its marketing and sales unit.