News
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Consolidation Nation
The big state agency that oversees insurance producers in New York State will soon become a whole lot bigger — and that’s left a lot of agents in the Empire State wondering just how that will affect them.
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Gridlock in a Divided Congress? Maybe Not.
The nation now has a divided Congress: Republicans control the House, Democrats control the Senate. For many, this is a recipe for gridlock. But Leigh Ann Pusey, president and CEO of the industry’s American Insurance Association, isn’t so sure. In this interview with Insurance Journal’s Andy Simpson, she predicts the Obama Administration and a divided [...]
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Will Deficit Debate Affect Flood Insurance? Taxes?
Following the November elections, Congress and the White House, as well as states, have signaled that they will be focusing on deficit and debt issues in the year 2011. Might this debate affect the National Flood Insurance Program? Lee Ann Pusey, president and CEO of the industry’s American Insurance Association, thinks that is possible. In [...]
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How November Elections Changed Insurance Power in Washington
The November elections brought change to Washington as Republicans took control of the House of Representatives from Democrats. Leigh Ann Pusey, president and CEO of the industry’s American Insurance Association, discusses what the November elections may mean for the key Congressional committees that deal with insurance issues in this talk with Insurance Journal’s Andy Simpson.
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A Windfall for Storm Claims
The insurance industry just unveiled a giant, $40 million wind chamber that is capable of blowing down a house. The reason it was created? To test how improved construction methods and materials can prevent major damage during wind-driven catastrophes like hurricanes. Watch as Insurance Journal visits the facility — part of the Institute for Business [...]
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W.R. Berkley: Economic Recovery Depends on Country’s State of Mind
Economic recovery in the United States is now very dependent on the state of mind of the American public and its business leaders, according to William R. Berkley, founder, chairman and CEO of W.R. Berkley Corporation.
Berkley, a keynote speaker at the National Association of Surplus Lines Organizations (NAPSLO) annual convention in Atlanta, said that the [...]
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Leadership In an Age of Uncertainty
The September 11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the financial crisis, and more recently the BP oil disaster– all events that have contributed, in the opinion of Kevin Kelley, CEO of Ironshore, to what is our age of uncertainty. At the recent MarketScout Entrepreneurial Insurance Symposium in Dallas, Kelley shared his thoughts on how the insurance industry [...]
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CEA: Transforming Earthquake Insurance
Residents from Mexico all the way up Oregon, and around the world, have been rocking and rolling more frequently. The increase in seismic activity underscores the need for earthquake insurance. With a 99 percent chance of a mega-earthquake striking California in the next 30 years, California Earthquake Authority CEO Glenn Pomeroy shares how his agency [...]
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LexisNexis Insurance Exchange 1: What is It?
Agents and brokers have been dreaming about a single entry multiple company submissions system for a long, long time. The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, LexisNexis and a variety of insurance and technology partners are currently testing a dream model, the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange. In this interview at the MarketScout Entrepreneurial Insurance Symposium, Frank [...]
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Florida’s Troubled Property Market: The Agents’ View
Insurance Journal’s Andy Simpson interviews Jeff Grady, president/CEO, Florida Association of Insurance Agents, on Florida’s troubled and politicized property insurance market, the Citizens’ takeout program, reinsurance requirements, MGAs, how SB2044 will help and what more needs to be done to fix the system. Grady discusses how important the market is to independent agents and isn’t [...]
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Why Florida Is Rethinking Its 1-in-100 Reinsurance Requirement
Reinsurance for that 1-in-100 year storm. That’s a criterion that the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has used for years in assessing property insurers’ reinsurance programs. It’s also a standard that some rating agencies use. But Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has decided to take a fresh look. He wants to look not just vertically [...]
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MGAs Called Critical for Florida Property Market
In Florida it’s not uncommon for an insurance holding company to have an affiliated managing general agency to which it pays fees. Those fees have come in for some criticism lately by some who think that insurance companies that say they are losing money are actually funneling profits to their MGAs. State officials have looked [...]
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Florida Insurance Chief: 85% Medical Ratio Will Hurt Agents
Federal healthcare reforms call for major group health insurers to be held to an 85% loss ratio while insurers in the small and individual markets would have to achieve 80%. The government has some flexibility in setting the final ratios. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty is among those who thinks the ratio needs to be [...]
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Assessing Florida’s Omnibus Bill, SB2044
Florida insurance leaders rate the recently passed property insurance legislation (SB2044) and how they expect it to help carriers, agents and consumers. Insurance Journal’s Andy Simpson interviews Jeff Grady, president/CEO, Florida Association of Insurance Agents; Kevin McCarty, insurance commissioner; James Graganella, president/CEO, Southern Fidelity and Capitol Preferred; and Jay Newman, chairman, one-year old Sawgrass Mutual.
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Florida’s McCarty on Why Rates Are Not The Problem in Homeowners Market
Florida has not deregulated homeowners insurance rates as some wanted and the Office of Insurance Regulation has been busy handling insurer rates filings—more than 1,300 since last April. Since January, close to 400 requests have been filed, with about 225 of all different types and sizes approved. Insurance Journal’s Andy Simpson asked Florida Insurance Commissioner [...]
Featured
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Norwood on Workers’ Comp
John, principal of Norwood & Associates, has been an lobbyist for insurance and financial services sectors across several decades. Norwood offered a focused looking at the all-important workers’ compensation issue, and he gave his thoughts on health insurance exchanges. In fact, Norwood forecast that 2012 will rank as an important one when it comes to [...]
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Lobbyist Norwood Analyzes Consumer Watchdog Legislation
John Norwood is one of California’s best known legislative advocates for the insurance and financial services sectors. Norwood spoke to the Insurance Journal about legislation and regulation, including a proposal by a consumer advocacy group that would establish prior approval for healthcare insurance and would make major changes to auto insurance and homeowners insurance in [...]
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At-Home Insurance Careers for Disabled Veterans
For insurance agents Gary Trippe and Jim Pender, the idea for DVIC, or Disabled Veterans Insurance Careers, which aims to guide disabled veterans into careers in insurance, evolved in part from their own personal experiences with disabled family members. In this interview with Insurance Journal’s Andy Simpson, the two share their dream of an organization [...]
Popular
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Entrepreneurial Technologists
This year the Entrepreneurial Insurance Alliance (EIA), sponsored by MarketScout, named Vertafore and Risk Metrics, as winners of it 2011 Entrepreneurial Award in technology. Vertafore’s WorkSmart and Risk Metrics’ Insurance 360 technology products received recognition from the EIA as being some of the industry’s most innovative concepts in technology. Each year, the EIA receives hundreds [...]
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How Insurance Distribution Is Changing
Retail and wholesale brokers face the challenge —and opportunity— of redefining their relationships and value proposition in today’s changing insurance distribution world, according to Glenn Hargrove, president, MarketScout Wholesale, Dallas, Tex. In this interview from the recent Western Insurance Agents Association’s Insurance Industry Roundtable in California, Hargrove outlines the value proposition of agents and brokers [...]
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Interesting Times in Medical Liability
The medical liability market continues to perform well even as the nation struggles to implement health care reform. Robert Allen, senior vice presidents at Torus Insurance, says many health care institutions are implementing new strategies to be successful in today’s health care reform world. In this interview with Insurance Journal’s Andrea Ortega-Wells from the annual [...]
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Pat Ryan Asks, ‘Are You Happy?’
Patrick Ryan is an innovator who sees opportunity. And it was opportunity that drove him to launch Ryan Specialty Group in early 2010. Success lies in hiring “good people,” Ryan says. In this interview from the annual National Association of Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO) annual convention in San Diego, Ryan says his newest venture gave [...]
Random
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Forensic Engineering and Consulting During Economic Lows
An increase in fraudulent claims has been attributed to the recession and its effect on the economy. In this interview with Claims Journal, Shawn Shoop, VP of Marketing & Business Development for ProNet, talks about the importance of forensic engineering and consulting in the face of insurance fraud.
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Florida Agents Under Pressure
FAIA’s Jeff Grady offers the agents’ viewpoint from the Demotech/Insurance Journal Florida Private Sector Summit.
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Target Markets’ Best Practices Initiative
Target Markets is preparing to launch a new Best Practices initiative for its members. Richard
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Mitch Dunford tells the story of his previous life as Jack Bauer
Astonish Results CEO and Founder Adam DeGraide interviews Insurance Journal CEO, Mitch Dunford to discuss how his previous SWAT team experience with the Redmond Police Department relates to the insurance industry.
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