Monthly Archives: <span>December 2005</span>

News Briefs

House Passes Terrorism Insurance Bill: Legislation that will extend the 2002 Terrorism Risk Insurance Act for an additional two years passed the House of Representatives floor by a vote of 371 to 49. The Senate already approved its version of …

Settlement Proposed in Insurance Agent Class Action Against ChoicePoint

Insurance agents and agencies who provided personal information regarding potential or actual insureds to ChoicePoint Services Inc. between Jan. 1 1997, and Aug. 9, 2005, may be entitled to money and other benefits as a result of a proposed settlement …

Insurers Challenge “Underground Regulations” Insurance companies have filed a lawsuit against California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, challenging what they called “underground regulations” that would boost the cost of disability insurance. “Left unchallenged, the commissioner’s actions would drive the cost of …

Calif. Court Rules in Favor of Earthquake Policyholders

An insurance broker was a representative for the California Fair Plan Insurance Co. with regard to the Northridge earthquake revival statute, which gave policyholders another year to file lawsuits against their insurers in connection with the 1994 earthquake, California’s 2nd …

Potential for Avian Flu Pandemic Casts a Frightening Shadow Over Insurers

The possibility of a global avian flu outbreak is haunting insurers-property/casualty, life and health-and it appears that there’s not much they can do to mitigate losses prior to a pandemic. Nevertheless, carriers can take steps to prepare for a viral …

News Briefs

Alaska President Declares Alaska Major Disaster Following Fall Weather The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reported that President George W. Bush has declared a major disaster exists in Alaska and ordered …

New Markets

Bankers’ Professional Liability Nuts & Bolts: The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies has developed an errors and omissions insurance policy for large financial institutions. BPL for Financial Institutions addresses traditional banking exposures, but can also respond to emerging fee-for-service exposures. …

Meeting Today’s Challenges and Preparing for Tomorrow’s

Weather forecasters predicted that the 2005 hurricane season could be more active than normal, but no one thought it would produce 26 named storms and the most destructive storm on record-Hurricane Katrina. Katrina tested the mettle of the insurance industry …

Office Holiday Party Hanky Panky? Think Again

Why do sexual harassment claims spike in January? Because the holiday office party is often seen as a “no fault zone” for improper behavior, which leads to alcohol-fueled incidents that injure both employees and companies. “The corporate holiday party is …

Editor’s Note: Holiday High Jinks

The holiday season is a great time to eat, drink and be merry. But the last thing anyone wants is a visit from the Grinch. And an unfortunate side-effect of too much holiday reveling are accidents that can injure individuals …