A New Year, A New Look

Welcome to Insurance Journal of Texas, the 2001 Edition. We’ve given ourselves a facelift that we think you’ll enjoy. In addition to changing our look, we’ve also increased the number of issues we publish annually. The IJ will be distributed 24 times a year. Our website, www.InsuranceJournal.com has also been updated.

The New Year has always served as a convenient perch for peering at the events of the previous year. Beginning on page 12, we highlight some of the biggest stories of 2000. Of course, the biggest story that didn’t happen was the dreadful Y2K bug, which ended up being more of a pesky gnat than anything else. The stories of greatest magnitude involved individuals: Saul Steinberg, Chuck Quackenbush and Jim Brown.

Steinberg, who for years had been regarded as a financial prodigy, watched his creation, Reliance Insurance Group, crumble around him, overleveraged to the brink of bankruptcy. Even today, though the company still limps along, there is little hope of resuscitation.

The fall of California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush was almost as lengthy and painful, being drawn out over a three-month period and documented day-by-day by the Los Angeles Times and the California Legislature. When he finally resigned on June 28, 2000, it was a relief to all parties.

Louisiana Commissioner Jim Brown, who ran for office in a state that has a legacy of dirty politics, is still battling for his name to be cleared. In the meantime, he has to sit on the sidelines as a deputy commissioner takes charge.

Some of the stories from this year are really about predictions for 2001. Both nursing home litigation and construction defect litigation made their marks on some of the nation’s larger markets. We can expect coverage crises in both
arenas.

Until last week, when snow and ice paralyzed much of the South, Midwest and East, 2000 had been a relatively calm year. However, the tornadoes that ripped through Fort Worth were the most destructive Texas had seen in a while. Claims topped $520 million and the damage is still visible in Fort Worth.

Selling insurance over the Internet, which was a little like pie in the sky two years ago, became all the rage during the opening months of 2000. But when the stock market started to shake out unprofitable dot-coms, many of the industry sites began to consolidate. The stratification between those that will make it and those that won’t will continue in 2001.

We hope you enjoy our snapshot of the year. Happy New Year.