Monthly Archives: <span>July 2009</span>

How to Cut Costs Without Cutting Effectiveness

Technological Advances Can Improve an Agency’s Bottom Line In any business, large or small, there is one mantra that gets chanted over and over anytime the economy goes even a little weak: cut costs. Of course when the economy completely …

Recession Increasing Insurance Fraud

Areas Where Agents Might See an Increase in Fraud Does a bad economy increase crime? According to Mike McKee, senior special agent for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, it’s too soon for statistics to confirm whether the mortgage meltdown and …

Growth Beneath the Radar

Don’t be fooled by the news headlines: Not all of the insurance industry is in retreat mode. In fact, in some pockets, agencies, brokers and carriers are continuing to pursue downright aggressive growth strategies. And many are even seeing positive …

D&O Insurance: Cost Versus Value

Not Like Your Typical Running Shoes Most reasonably sophisticated consumers understand that the cheapest running shoes may be no bargain, that the least expensive cellular plan may have big gaps, and that selecting legal counsel based on which attorney charges …

Colorado’s Storm Damage Estimated at $161.1 Million

Mother Nature has taken Coloradans on a wild weather ride that began June 7 with a tornado and damaging hail in Aurora and the South Metro area, then pounded Northern Colorado with golf-ball and baseball-sized hail, and finally wrapped up …

California Considers Expanding

The California Legislature is considering expanding the types of insurance transactions that could be handled electronically. According to bill text of AB 328, “existing law generally permits parties to contract to conduct transactions by electronic means but excepts specific transactions …

California Commissioner Rejects Workers’ Comp Bureau Rate Increase

Citing testimony that self-insured employers have been able to reduce overall workers’ compensation costs, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has rejected the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s request for a pure premium rate increase of 23.7 percent. While the Department …

People

LoriAnn Lowery resigned from her position as president of Lloyd’s North America, after a little more than a year on the job. Sue Langley, Lloyd’s director of market operations and North America, said Lowery, who recently married, had resigned for …

Japanese Agents Tour U.S. Agencies to Learn Best Practices

Most of Japan’s 300,000 Agencies Are Small, But They Are Dreaming Big ‘I’-Like The owners and producers of Japan’s estimated 300,000 insurance agencies can only dream of the success and freedom that the 40,000 independent agencies in the United States …

Business Moves

AIG, 21st Century Insurance, Farmers Group Inc. American International Group has closed the sale of 21st Century Insurance Group, the wholly owned subsidiaries of AIG’s U.S. personal auto insurance business, to Farmers Group Inc. (FGI), a subsidiary of Zurich for …