Daily Headlines: Thursday, June 21, 2012

Contact us | Subscribe | Send to a Friend

June 21, 2012 News By Region  National  International  East  Midwest  Southeast  South Central  West Video Today's Headlines National The Business of Insuring Correctional Facilities Montana State Prison inmate files suit for $2.2 million in federal court after he injures a toe when his foot got caught in a grain auger ... Looming Agent Retirements: Carriers Face Major Turnover More than 25 percent of independent agency owners and principals are planning to retire or change careers and sell their firms sometime in ... Rise of Gadgets Doubles Costs of Lightning Damage – I.I.I. The cost of insurance claims for lightning strikes nearly doubled between 2004 and 2011, even as the actual number of claims shrank ... Best Affirms Ratings of Eastern Insurance Holdings and Subs A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of 'A' (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of "a" of the ... Ratings Recap: Auto Owners, Stonebridge, Tokio Marine (U.S.), Courtesy, Young America, Old Glory A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of 'A++' (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of "aa+" of ... Chartis Introduces Loss Prevention Services for Private Client Group Yacht Clients Chartis has introduced a suite of loss prevention services for yacht insurance clients within its U.S. Private Client Group. Claims ... Facebook Fiasco, ‘Blank Check’ Companies Disrupt IPO Insurance Market The Facebook initial public offering (IPO) fallout is just getting started, but its effects are already being felt in the insurance ... Public Companies Under Estimate Risk of D&O Lawsuit: Survey Public company executives may be in for a surprise lawsuit. Despite the odds that they and their directors will be sued in the next 12... More National News East Penn. Man Sentenced for Staging 15 Car Crashes for Insurance Money An Erie, Pennsylvania, man has pleaded guilty and been sentenced for heading a fraud ring that staged auto accidents to collect about ... N.Y. Marriage Equality Act Lawsuit Seeks Spousal Healthcare Benefits A New York hospital worker and her spouse have filed a lawsuit, saying spousal health benefits were denied to the same-sex couple. The ... N.J. Judge OKs Lawsuit Arising From Schoolyard Killings in 2007 A judge has denied an attempt by Newark's school district to throw out a lawsuit stemming from the murders of three college-bound students ... W.R. Berkley Appoints President for New Jersey-Based Surety Group Greenwich, Conn.-headquartered W.R. Berkley Corp. appointed Andrew Tuma as president of Berkley Surety Group. The appointment is effective ... Renaissance Alliance Adds 5 New Agency Members in Conn., Mass. Renaissance Alliance Insurance Services (RAIS), a New England-based network of specialty services for independent insurance agencies, added ... More East News Midwest Nebraska Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud One of three former Grand Island, Neb.-based insurance agents accused of defrauding more than 250 investors out of $29 million has pleaded ... Great American Insurance Promotes Bickley to Divisional Vice President Cincinnati, Ohio-based Great American Insurance Group has promoted Darrell Bickley to divisional vice president of its Trucking Division. ... Kansas Researchers: Most Large Truck Crashes Caused by Driver Error Two Kansas State University civil engineers working to make Kansas roads and highways safer by reducing the number and severity of ... Aon Risk Solutions Hires Hubbell in Cleveland, Ohio, Office Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon plc, has added Gregory M. Hubbell as senior vice president and Health and ... More Midwest News Southeast Appeals Court Throws Out Kentucky Bank’s Investment Lawsuit A Kentucky-based bank that lost at least $14 million on mortgage-backed securities failed to read documents associated with the investment ... Kentucky Governor Promoting New Drug Law for Miners Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is promoting a newly passed law that permanently revokes the credentials of miners who fail drug tests. Beshear ... Mississippi Man Jailed for Insurance Fraud A 31-year-old Jones County, Miss., man is jailed on an insurance fraud charge. The state attorney general's office told the Hattiesburg ... More Southeast News South Central Watkins Elected President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) elected Patrick Watkins, president of Watkins Insurance Group in Austin, to serve as ... Oklahoma Physician, Hospital Settle Fraud Case for $1.5M State and federal officials say an Oklahoma hospital and physician have agreed to a $1,550,000 payout to settle a health care fraud case. ... Suit Accuses Louisiana Companies of Exploiting Workers A group of Filipino guest workers who allege in a lawsuit that their Louisiana-based employers subjected them to inhumane working and ... More South Central News West Insurer Sues Nocal Surgery Firm Over Alleged Overbilling United Healthcare Services has filed a $39 million lawsuit against a Northern California company that manages five outpatient surgery ... Shasta County To Pay $855K To End Defamation Suit Shasta County in Northern California has agreed to pay $855,600 to settle a lawsuit that accused former District Attorney Jerry Benito of ... Report: Vehicle Theft Falls, California Still Dominates Top 10 List The National Insurance Crime Bureau reported 2011 is on track for another consecutive year of declining vehicle thefts, but California ... Assembly Insurance Committee Gives Thumbs Up To Spinal Implant Bill The Assembly Insurance Committee unanimously approved closing a loophole in the law that allows double billing for surgical implants in ... More West News International Italy Regulators Conditionally Approve Unipol – Fondiaria-SAI Merger Italy's antitrust and insurance regulators have given conditional clearance for a plan by insurer Unipol to take over its loss-making peer ... Chris Becomes First Hurricane of Season – No Threat to Land The most recent bulletin from the National Hurricane Center in Miami confirms that tropical storm Chris has strengthened into a "category ... Pirates Shoot Grenades, Guns at Gas Tanker off Oman Pirates fired guns and rocket-propelled grenades at a liquefied natural gas tanker off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, and three shots hit ... London Stung by U.S. Attack on Bank Regulation Record Calling London a haven of regulatory loopholes that spawns financial trading disasters could make it harder to align new transatlantic ... ACE Appoints Page Division President for Int’l. Personal & Business Operations The ACE Group announced that Darryl Page has been named Division President, International Personal and Business Insurance. He will lead ... Best Revises Alterra Capital and Operating Subs Outlook to Stable A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to stable from negative and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of 'A' (Excellent) and ... Ratings Recap: Validus Re, African Re, Arab Orient, Bosna Re, SOGAZ A.M. Best Co. has removed from under review with developing implications and affirmed the financial strength rating of 'A-' (Excellent) and ... More International News Sponsored Content Insurance Journal's Directory of E&S / Specialty Markets. Coming soon to inboxes, emails, and iPads everywhere! More Sponsored Content Join the Insurance Journal Network Insurance Journal TV M&As Often Come with D&O Exposures Companies must do their due diligence when acquiring foreign entities or they could end... Watch Now Caution: D&O and Foreign Shareholders Firms that heralded a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case barring plaintiffs from bringing class... Watch Now Watch more videos at InsuranceJournal.tv New Discussions in the Forums Track Your CSR's Daily Sales Activity Posted: Thu Jun 21 -- Nothing more annoying to a person, than having some jerk running round with a stopwatch looking over your shoulder, making you log every... OldIndyAgent Commercial Named Non owner policy Posted: Thu Jun 21 -- Anyone know of a carrier that will write a Commercial Named non owner policy? JAM Do you use online leads services? Posted: Wed Jun 20 -- As serveral othes have indicated this subject has gone the gambit several times. I have been in the industry for close to 30 years. Like... Eagleeye Can an employer fire an employee because their pre-convicted Posted: Wed Jun 20 -- Lying on a job application could be. Was the employee asked about past problems with the law? If the employer knew about troubles in the... superdash8 Unfair Competition amongst brokers Posted: Tue Jun 19 -- Thankfully karma always has its way of coming around.. As was mentioned before, they probably are only making themselves look bad. I'd... Auds How to grow an Insurance Agency one client at a time. Posted: Tue Jun 19 -- I believe that part of running a successful insurance agency (and making great money in the process) is being a really great insurance... johnsharp IA start up with a twist Posted: Sat Jun 16 -- Thanks for the reply. Does this mean that this is how you started? Nothing new? Can you link me to a thread or article posted by someone or... JevonCC Go to Forums Reader Comments NV Couple Sues Boy Scouts Over Son's UT Drowning Posted: Mon Jun 18 -- "the boy experienced "great physical agony, pain and suffering in the knowledge of impending death, emotional distress ... as well as the... Assunta Maryland Man Whose Companion Disappeared in Aruba Sues Over Insurance Posted: Wed Jun 20 -- Hmmm...I wonder...did she have a policy in force for his untimely death while on vacation in Aruba? Maureen Actuaries: Health Costs to Go Up No Matter What Court Decides on Law Posted: Wed Jun 20 -- Sarah, Do you remember the meeting held at Blair House when Healthcare was the issue? You had Obama, Pelosi, Reid on one side and the... Agent In the Workplace, What Do Millennials Want? Posted: Fri Jun 15 -- Like Brokie I thought Somethoughts had a great response. My 2 cents: Right now we are seeing the older Boomers delay retirement longer than... Blue Massachusetts Motorist Pleads Guilty in 'Huffing' Crash Posted: Thu Jun 14 -- The world is lousy with morons. Sally Anne Fannymaker Go to Popular Comments Subscriber Tools Send this to a friend Subscribe Unsubscribe Submit News Contact Us Current Issue June 18, 2012 Umbrellas - Personal & Commercial; Construction; Apartment Buildings More Newsletters Choose Newsletters Daily Headlines Weekly Reader Picks Magazine Update Insurance Journal TV Classifieds Breaking News MyNewMarkets Daily Claims Daily Enter Your E-mail Market Directories Excess & Surplus Markets Programs Workers' Comp Markets New Insurance Jobs Commercial Producer Account Executive - Private Label Specialist Underwriter Workers' Compensation Renewal Supervisor - Commercial Lines Have a job opening? List it on our Web site. How to Advertise For information about advertising on this newsletter and Insurance Journal magazines, contact Julie Tinney at (800) 897-9965 x148. View our Media Kit for advertising options in our magazines and online properties. Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Send to a Friend | Contact Us Insurance Journal 3570 Camino del Rio North, Suite 200 San Diego, CA 92108 (800) 897-9965 Copyright © 2012 by Wells Media Group, Inc.