Economy News

While Residents, Insurers Fret, Contractors Welcome Storms

With the 2007 hurricane season on the horizon, Steve Munnell acknowledges that the state’s roofing contractors are “praying for rain.” The executive director of the Florida Roofing, Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors Association said a slow 2006 storm season …

Auto Safety Backfires at NASCAR, Says Professor

A West Virginia University professor who examined 21 years of NASCAR accident reports and made a comparison to introductions of safety requirements, has concluded that more safety regulations in the popular sport has led to an increase in accidents. In …

Calif. Supreme Court Limits Employers’ Liability in Workers’ Comp

The California Supreme Court has ruled that workers’ compensation reforms adopted in 2004 do not supersede employer apportionment of compensation for permanent disability injuries. In reviewing cases from five workers’ compensation preceedings with two unifying aspects —the injured worker’s current …

Report Says Katrina Recovery Boosts Mississippi Economy

A new report says Mississippi recently has seen its strongest economic growth since the early 1990s, and most of the boost is from Hurricane Katrina recovery. The “Mississippi’s Business” report comes from the Center for Policy Research and Planning in …

Catching up on climate change

What insurers in U.S. and worldwide are doing to address the effects of climate change Recent mega-catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast have brought increased attention to the issue of global climate change and its impact on …

Fortified building standards: Gulf Coast market salvation?

Concrete houses sprouting up in southern Alabama, Mississippi and elsewhere in the Gulf Coast region are more than just fortified structures that will protect their owners from up to 250 mph winds and 36 foot storm surges – they are …

Disruptive forces in the insurance industry: Constructive or chaotic?

Capital markets, technology and the use of mass media could be disruptive forces in the insurance industry in the near future, according to Paula Reynolds, CEO of Seattle-based Safeco Insurance Co. Speaking at the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation’s 8th Annual …

Case Law Watch

Anti-assignment Clause Holloway v. Republic Indemnity Co. of America (Oregon, Nov. 16, 2006) Ruling: At issue on this appeal was whether an anti-assignment clause that provided that “[y]our rights or duties under this policy may not be transferred without our …

Case Law Watch

Anti-assignment Clause Holloway v. Republic Indemnity Co. of America (Oregon, Nov. 16, 2006) Ruling: At issue on this appeal was whether an anti-assignment clause that provided that “[y]our rights or duties under this policy may not be transferred without our …

Weather Report

Estimating the potential costs of future weather related events, linked to climate change, is, at best, an inexact science; there are just too many variables. Nonetheless, a picture is emerging that, whatever happens, the costs are likely to be huge. …