Monthly Archives: <span>July 2011</span>

N.M. Snowstorm Cost $55 Million in Gas Claims

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) _ The natural gas shortage that slammed the state last winter cost insurance companies $55 million in claims. A memo from the state Public Regulation Commission’s Insurance Division says homeowners received the most help representing 7,422 …

New York Stops Tour Bus Operators Following Crashes

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, following a recent rash of tour bus crashes, said he will suspend the operating licenses of eight charter and tour bus companies and their 100 buses after repeated failures in safety inspections. “The frequent and …

Pennsylvania Arson Bill Caught Up in Mandatory Sentencing Debate

A proposal to stiffen sentences for arson in Pennsylvania has run afoul of a debate over the use of mandatory minimum sentences in the commonwealth. State Sen. John Rafferty Jr., R-Chester, introduced the measure in March in response to the …

BrickStreet Bids to Keep West Virginia Workers’ Comp Accounts

BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. has decided it wants to continue providing workers’ compensation insurance to state agencies. BrickStreet had said earlier this year that it wasn’t interested in continuing the coverage. The state then began seeking bids from other insurers. …

Chinese Drywall Supplier Told to Release Insurance Details

A South Florida judge has ruled that a Miami-based supplier of tainted Chinese drywall must disclose more details about a proposed $55 million class-action settlement. A Broward County judge ruled that Banner Supply Co. must release more information about its …

Florida’s Citizens to Seek Big Rate Hike for Sinkholes Today

Florida’s largest insurer of homes and businesses, state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., will ask its board to approve a sizable premium increase — 400 percent– for providing coverage on sinkhole policies, a company spokeswoman said this week. The company will …

North Carolina House Joins Senate to Override Veto of Malpractice Cap

Victims of North Carolina doctors guilty of medical malpractice will be limited to $500,000 what they can collect for pain, suffering and lost body parts under legislation the state House passed into law over a veto by Gov. Beverly Perdue. …

Tower President and CEO to speak at MarketScout’s Entrepreneurial Insurance Symposium

Lee to profile growth explosion at Tower DALLAS, TX, July 27, 2011 – Michael Lee, President and CEO of Tower Group Companies, will deliver a keynote presentation at the MarketScout 2011 Entrepreneurial Insurance Symposium, outlining the new business mix of …

Death of the Treasury Benchmark: James Saft Commentary

A U.S. default or debt downgrade may set off market fireworks but the longer-term effects of the death of Treasury bonds as a universal benchmark of risk may ultimately be more significant. The U.S. appears to be slouching towards a …

WTO’s Lamy Sees Paralysis in Global Trade Talks

The head of the World Trade Organization castigated its 153 members on Tuesday for failing to agree a watered-down global trade deal by December and called for “an adult conversation” over what to do next. “What we are seeing today …