Bringing in the New Year

Preparing for the holidays can be a truly daunting experience. It seems like only yesterday we were ringing in the New Year with family, friends and a toast of good bubbly. But here we are again, quickly approaching the time of year when Americans loosen their belts to make room for cookies, hot chocolate, and champagne to prepare for yet another New Year’s resolution.

The Insurance Journal has been preparing for our resolution as well. Our ongoing resolution has stood the test of time, 80 years to be exact. In 2004, we will take this promise to readers from coast to coast. Our resolution will continue to be the same – a commitment to deliver the most complete industry coverage to independent agents and brokers. We have been getting ready to expand this commitment nationwide for many months now. But first, we end the year, and a good year it was, with a recap of the industry’s most noteworthy newsmakers.

In this issue, you can take a journey down memory lane with Managing Editor Charles Boyle to revisit some of year’s most famous and infamous insurance company newsmakers. You’ll also have a chance to review our top 10 individual newsmakers written by Managing Editor Dave Thomas. While there were many notables who made the headlines in 2003, IJ’s Top 10 selections, and then some, made the grade in our book.

Just as we are ending a year, we are beginning another with staggering forecasts on the horizon. Take a look at a comprehensive forecast of the property/casualty industry for 2004 written by Chris McShea, national director of insurance actuarial and advisory services at Ernst & Young.

Top industry executives, analysts and regulators also have a few opinions of their own on the current state of the market as well as the short-term outlook on next year’s market climate. Contributor Joseph Mangan reports from the 15th Annual Executive Conference in New York discussing the pursuing issues of civil justice reform, asbestos litigation and the future of insurance regulation.

You might be pleased to know that a three-month reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program passed Congress in late November. Managing Editor Kevin O’Reilly reports on the temporary reprieve and what’s in store for reform efforts in 2004.

From all of us at the Insurance Journal, we would like to wish you a happy holiday season and a safe and prosperous new year. We hope you enjoy our very special gift to you, a limited edition IJ calendar that has been made possible through the courtesy of our advertising sponsors. We thank our advertisers and our readers for your continued patronage in 2004 and beyond.

Topics Human Resources