Insurance Companies Tweet the Most, Study Finds

By Joe McKendrick
Insurance Experts Forum

A new study on social networking has just been released that shows the insurance industry leads in the use of Twitter. The study, which covers the Fortune 500 companies, was compiled and published by Nora Ganim Barnes at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Eric Mattson of Financial Insite. Overall, the results show that large organizations lag in blogging but are effectively leveraging Twitter as a communications strategy.

For the rest of the story, visit Insurance Networking News (www.insurancenetworking.com)

P&C Insurers Net Close To Triple In ’09, Highline Data Reports

U.S. insurers regained lost ground in 2009 with the property and casualty sector’s net income nearly tripling, to $35 billion, according to the Highline Data Performance Monitor. The Performance Monitor, which aggregates key statutory financial data reported by individual insurance companies every quarter, also found the life insurance industry saw net gain from operations more than triple to a five-year high of $76.2 billion, up from last year's five-year low of $17.6 billion.

For the rest of the story, visit National Underwriter (www.property-casualty.com)

E&S Experts Say Economic Recovery Would Harden Insurance Market

By Phil Gusman
NU Online News Service

An economic recovery could halt the movement by standard carriers into markets traditionally served by excess and surplus lines insurers, industry experts said. They made that prediction in interviews during the 2010 Mid-Year Leadership Forum last week of the Kansas City, Mo.-based National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Office Ltd.

For the rest of the story, visit National Underwriter (www.property-casualty.com)

Arizona Senate Committee Considers Changes to DMV Notification Rules

The Arizona Senate is considering reducing or eliminating the need for some risky drivers to maintain their automobile driving insurance filing. An amendment to Senate Bill 1030 would reduce or eliminate the need for drivers to maintain their SR22 filing. The SR22 filing is used by the State Department of Motor Vehicles to monitor the insurance coverage for a driver who has either a serious violation or a prior history of driving without automobile insurance, according to the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Arizona.

For the rest of the story, visit Insurance Journal (http://www.insurancejournal.com/)

Calif. Department of Insurance Reducing Licensing Fees 6%

The California Department of Insurance announced it will be implementing a 6 percent licensing fee rate reduction on July 1, 2010, including the fees paid by more than 300,000 liensed insurance agents, brokers and adjusters. The cost of renewing a license will decrease from $136 to $128. Total savings is estimated to be $3.4 million annually. This is the second year CDI has reduced licensing fees. The first 6 percent rate reduction took effect July 1, 2009.

For the rest of the story, visit Claims Journal (www.claimsjournal.com)

House Bill Would Allow Property Insurance Sales By RRGs

By Arthur D. Postal
NU Online News Service

Legislation will be introduced in the House allowing risk retention groups to sell commercial property insurance, according to an industry source. Risk retention groups, permitted under the 1986 Risk Retention Act, are businesses banded together to form a self-insurance organization and licensed in at least one state, but are currently limited to offering liability insurance with the exception of workers’ compensation.

For the rest of the story, visit National Underwriter (www.property-casualty.com)

Slump in Insurance Jobs Continues

By Pat Speer
Insurance Networking News

It appears that the insurance industry is playing catch up with the rest of the marketplace in response to a sluggish economy. According to a report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall insurance employment dropped by 7,600 in February. The report included new data previously unpublished, citing a January decline in insurance jobs of 5,200, rather than original stats that reported 4,400 jobs lost. These numbers do not coincide with the national unemployment rate, which remained steady at 9.7%, and the number of unemployed stayed the same at 14.9 million.

For the rest of the story, visit Insurance Networking News (www.insurancenetworking.com)

IT Spending To Rise in 2010

By Alex Vorro
Insurance Networking News

Sometimes good news needs to be taken with a grain of salt. That's the general message from independent research firm Ovum, part of the Datamonitor group, which today released its report, "IT Spending will Rise, yet 2010 will be a Year of Reckoning for CIOs." Based on responses from CIOs spanning a number of industries—including insurers, which comprised 7% of the respondents—Ovum found that global IT expenditure is expected to rise slightly this year for the first time since the onset of the global financial crisis. However, respondents felt that despite the positive trend in spending, any increases—as well as decreases—will be slight, likely between 1% and 5%.

For the rest of the story, visit Insurance Networking News (www.insurancenetworking.com)

Failure Of Suit To Halt N.Y. Agent Fee Disclosure Rule Predicted

By Mark E. Ruquet
NU Online News Service

Any legal effort to block New York’s compensation disclosure rule for insurance producers will likely fail, a former regulator told agents and brokers who met here. Attorney Richard C. Hsia, a past New York deputy insurance superintendent, made his comment during last week’s Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America Diversity Luncheon, held with the association’s Legislative Conference and Convention.

For the rest of the story, visit National Underwriter (www.property-casualty.com)

Insurer CEOs See Slow Economic Recovery, Long Soft Market

By Laura M. Toops
NU Online News Service

Executives at four top insurers see improvement in areas such as housing starts, discretionary spending and gross domestic product, but they predict a slow recovery and extended soft insurance market. Safeco President Michael Hughes, CNA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom Motamed, Fireman’s Fund President and CEO Michael LaRocco, and Hartford Chairman and CEO Liam McGee spoke Friday at the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America annual conference here.

For the rest of the story, visit National Underwriter (www.property-casualty.com)

MarketScout Finds Pricing Still Soft In February

The soft market continued last month for the property and casualty insurance industry with the composite rate declining 5 percent, MarketScout reported. The lone exception has been coastal property, which has seen firming in rates, the Dallas-based electronic insurance exchange found. MarketScout Chief Executive Officer Richard Kerr said rate reductions have held to a pattern over the last six months, declining 4 and 5 percent each month during that span.

For the rest of the story, visit National Underwriter (www.property-casualty.com)

More Males Filing Sexual Harassment in Workplace Claims

By Sam Hananel
Associated Press

John Pilkington's boss wouldn't take no for an answer. During more than two years as a food runner at an upscale steakhouse in Scottsdale, Arizona, Pilkington says his male supervisor groped, fondled and otherwise sexually harassed him more than a dozen times. "It was very embarrassing,'' Pilkington said. "I felt like I had to do something because the situation was just so bad.'' Now Pilkington, a married father of two, is the star witness in a U.S. federal lawsuit against Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and one of a growing number of American men claiming they are victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.

For the rest of the story, visit Insurance Journal (www.insurancejournal.com)

AIG Sells ALICO Life Unit To MetLife For $15.5 Billion

American International Group Inc. said it had an agreement to sell American Life Insurance Company to MetLife Inc. for approximately $15.5 billion. The sale is the second huge life unit to be sold by the company since March 1, when the company announced the sale of American International Assurance Group Ltd. to London-based Prudential plc for approximately $35.5 billion.

For the rest of the story, visit National Underwriter (www.property-casualty.com)

Agents' NARAB II Bill Passed By House

By Mark E. Ruquet
NU Online News Service

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers reform act that would ease multi-state activity by producers. Approval came last night on a voice vote for the bill, commonly known as NARAB II (H.R. 2554). The measure is an amendment to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to reestablish the national registration of insurance agents as a nonprofit corporation to allow for agent reciprocity across state lines. The bill now moves to the Senate where it faces an uncertain future.

For the rest of the story, visit National Underwriter (www.property-casualty.com)

CA Insurance Commissioner Poizner Announces 6 Percent Fee Reduction

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner today announced a six percent reduction for a number of fees charged by the California Department of Insurance (CDI), including the fees paid by more than 300,000 licensed insurance agents, brokers and adjusters.

"Since my first day in office, I have worked to make the Department of Insurance more efficient and cost effective," said Commissioner Poizner. "Because of that hard work, we have cut our state operations budget by 15 percent and cut the fees used to fund the department four separate times. These fee cuts have reached a cumulative total of $22 million."

The fee cut, which will take effect on July 1, 2010, will apply to hundreds of fees charged by CDI. The most common fee is paid by agents, brokers and adjusters for their licenses. Going forward, the cost of renewing a license will decrease from $136 to $128. When Commissioner Poizner took office, this fee was $144. The total savings is estimated to be $3.4 million annually.

When Commissioner Poizner took office in January 2007, CDI staff projected that in the 2010-11 budget year, the department's Fees and License account - the largest unrestricted pool of money that pays for the department's activities - would face a $17 million deficit. When faced with this grim prediction, Commissioner Poizner undertook an effort to streamline and modernize the Department's operations. He led the department's creation of a strategic plan -- the first in recent history, conducted a top down review and undertook a business process survey. These audits created a roadmap for the CDI to achieve efficiencies and reduce costs.

Due in part to the immense efficiencies found under Commissioner Poizner's leadership, he was able to increase the overall projected fund balance in the Fees and License account by $30.8M. Consequently, Commissioner Poizner was also able to reduce revenue in the Fees and License account by a cumulative $10 million through fee cuts. As a result of these efforts, that account is now projected to have a $3.6 million surplus at the end of the 2010-11 budget year.

Today is the fourth time fees have been cut due to Commissioner Poizner's efforts to modernize and streamline CDI.

In January 2009, Commissioner Poizner announced a six percent fee reduction for more than 300,000 licensed insurance agents, brokers and adjusters - the vast majority of whom work in California's small businesses. This specific fee had never been cut since the Insurance Commissioner became an elected position in 1990. The total savings are $3.3 million annually.

In November 2009, Commissioner Poizner announced that fees paid to CDI's regulatory activities had been cut 9.8 percent. The fees are collected to reimburse CDI for actual costs incurred by the department. These activities include work related to rate filings, providing consumer information and assistance in resolving insurance related problems and conducting studies related to auto ratings. Because Commissioner Poizner's efforts have made the department more efficient, fewer resources are needed to complete these activities. The total savings from the 9.8 percent rate cut is expected to be $2.4 million in fiscal year 2009-10 and $2.0 million in fiscal year 2010-11.

Commissioner Poizner has reduced a fraud assessment from $5,100 to $2,100, a direct result of lower estimated operating costs. The cut will result in approximately $3.8 million in savings for ratepayers.

Source: California Department of Insurance (http://www.insurance.ca.gov/)

Health Insurers Challenged to Justify Rate Increases to the Public

By Liz Sidot
Associated Press

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the nation's leading health insurers Thursday to justify publicly a spate of double-digit premium hikes that have infuriated consumers in at least half a dozen states. Meeting at the White House with the chief executives of WellPoint Inc., Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealth Group as well as several state insurance commissioners, Sebelius asked the companies to post online their justification for proposed rate hikes primarily affecting customers who directly purchase their own coverage.

For the rest of the story, visit Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com)

Police Partner with License Plate Readers

By Trevor Hughes
USA Today

A growing number of police departments are turning to mobile camera systems to fight motor vehicle theft and identify unregistered cars. The cameras read license plates of parked and moving cars — hundreds per minute — and check them against vehicle databases, said Lance Clem, a spokesman for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which purchased several systems for its police vehicles last fall.

For the rest of the story, visit USA Today (www.usatoday.com)

Nevada Insurance Division Offers Earthquake Coverage Guide

Nevada may be the third most-active state for earthquakes after California and Alaska, but most homeowners don't purchase earthquake insurance coverage. In light of Nevada Earthquake Awareness and Preparedness Week (Feb. 22-26), the Division of Insurance's "Earthquake Insurance Nevada Consumer's Guide." The Division of Insurance urges Nevadans to visit the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council's Web site www.unr.edu/earthquake/index.html.

For the rest of the story, visit Insurance Journal (www.insurancejournal.com)

No-Fault Auto Insurance Popularity Declines Due to High Medical Costs

No-fault automobile insurance, once seen as a way to limit court costs and lower premiums, has declined in popularity among both insurers and consumers because it largely has failed to accomplish either goal, according to a new study issued by the RAND Corp.

For the rest of the story, visit Insurance Journal (www.insurancejournal.com)

Senate Approves U.S. Flood Program After Delay

By Arthur D. Postal
NU Online News Service

After a lawmaker agreed to drop his objections, the Senate voted final approval last night for legislation that included a reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program. Senate action followed an agreement by Sen. Jim Bunning R-Ky., to end his filibuster and allow the Senate to move forward with H.R. 4691, a composite spending measure that in addition to reviving the NFIP until March 28 extended several other federal programs that had expired last Sunday.

For the rest of the story, visit National Underwriter (www.property-casualty.com)