Declarations

Declarations

Mass. Expansion

– Vermont Mutual CEO Thomas Tierney, commenting on his company’s decision to enter the Massachusetts personal auto insurance market. It is the second company this month – along with American International Group – to announce it would sell personal auto insurance in the Bay State.

Keystone Safety

– Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, commenting on newly passed legislation that improves safety standards at the Keytone State’s approximately 200 bituminous coal mines. The 250-page bill has been in the making since 2002, when nine miners were rescued from the flooded Quecreek Mine in western Pennsylvania.

Look Out: Falling Premiums

“The outlook for the next three years – through 2010 – is generally soft for the property-casualty industry as a whole. We project continued deterioration in underwriting margins and implied return on equity.”

– Clint Harris, analyst at Conning Research & Consulting, commenting on a newly issued report that says, despite a soft market, the financial condition of the property-casualty industry is strong, and should be able to withstand the current price deterioration.

Flood of Calls

“I get a lot of calls from communities that talk about the age of the maps, and we all wish they were updated, but there’s a cost factor involved.”

– Jennifer Gilbert, New Hampshire coordinator for flood plain management for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, commenting on a study that show New Hampshire’s flood maps are decades out of date and inadequate for evaluating a flood risk.

Sweet Suffering

“The women do not know what was in what they tested.”

– Robyne D. LaGrotta, a lawyer for three former taste-testers at candy-maker Cadbury in New Jersey who are suing their former employer. The three allege they were seriously injured while sampling something sweet and also claim Cadbury hindered treatment by its failure to disclose the ingredients to a dentist. The women claim they suffered permanent injuries and assert Cadbury Adams failed to maintain a safe workplace, as required by New Jersey law. They are seeking unspecified monetary damages for medical expenses and suffering.

Topics Flood Market