Arkansas News

Business Moves

EPIC Expanding its Southern California operations, Edgewood Partners Insurance Center (EPIC), a property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage firm, opened an office in Los Angeles. Chris McTigue was appointed managing principal. Ray Skarzenski was appointed principal of operations …

New Markets

The following markets were selected from the MyNewMarkets database of 25,000 coverages and programs. To find additional markets, or to submit markets, go to www.MyNewMarkets.com. Commercial Property Market Detail: RISC brings to market a commercial property program designed for a …

Ratings: Am. Underwriters, Western General, North Pointe, Ameriprise, Fairfield, R.V.I. Guaranty, Mid Georgia, Hermitage

A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A-‘ (Excellent) from ‘B’ (Fair) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a-” from “bb+” of Arkansas’ American Underwriters Insurance Company (AUIC) with stable outlooks. “These rating actions follow …

Documents Released to Plaintiffs in Arkansas Tainted Rice Lawsuit

A judge in Arkansas has released a handful of the million-plus documents offered under seal in a lawsuit over genetically modified rice. Some Arkansas rice farmers claim they lost money after genetically altered rice grown by the Riceland Foods Inc. …

People

The Chubb Corp. has made four executives appointments: John J. Degnan has been named vice chairman and chief operating officer. Degnan, a former attorney general of New Jersey who joined Chubb nearly 18 years ago, was previously vice chairman and …

5 Florida Regions Among Top 10 Tornado-Prone

The rural area to the northeast of Denver, Colo., tops the nation when it comes to regions most prone to tornados, according to Boston-based CDS Business Mapping LLC, an online hazard mapping firm. The top 10 most tornado prone metro-areas …

It’s Brutal Out There

I.I.I. puts the average claim for lightning at $5,321. Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry on July 15 toured drought-damaged areas in Cimarron County in the Oklahoma Panhandle, an area that has been experiencing drought so severe climatologists and longtime Panhandle residents …

Figures

50% – 70% Reliable estimates reveal that between 50 to 70 percent of homeowners do not have enough insurance to rebuild their homes in the event it is completely destroyed, insurance industry trade group Southwestern Insurance Information Service (SIIS) says. …

NATIONAL COVERAGE

S&P Says Nationals Safe, While Midwest-Focused Insurers at Risk N2 | Washington Report House Subcommittee Moves Key Federal Insurance Regulation Bills N4 | Home Insurers Bitten by $350 Million in Dog Claims Average Liability Claim Tops $24,000 N6 | Conning: …

Colorado Ranks High on Tornado Charts

Tornadoes are usually classified using the Fujita Tornado Scale, or FScale developed by Dr. T. Theodore Fujita at the University of Chicago in 1971, CDS said. Using FScale classifications, the study looked at whether there was any correlation between tornado …