Insurance Blog

We often link to other insurance blogs from this site, so it’s an honor for Terms + Conditions to receive a nomination to be considered one of the LexisNexis Insurance Law Community’s Top 50 Insurance Blogs for 2009. Announcing the awards nomination, ILC says:
As many of you know, there are blogs, and then there are blogs. When we consider a blog for membership in ILC’s annual Top 50, we look for frequent posts, timely topics, and quality writing. Only the best may gain admission. Our readers have come to expect nothing less, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

An initial list of nominees for ILC’s Top 50 includes such notables as Sam Friedman’s A View From the Press Box, Tim Dodge’s Ask Tim, Guy Carpenter’s GCCapitalIdeas, InsureReinsure published by Edwards, Angell, Palmer & Dodge, Joe Paduda’s Managed Care Matters, and The D&O Diary published by Kevin LaCroix.
There are many more […]

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Forget the category for Best Picture. With the Academy Awards just two days away, it’s the riskiest films of the year that insurers are thinking about. And, the awards go to “2012,” “Crazy Heart,” “Inglorious Basterds,” and “Nine,” according to Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, the leading insurer of major Hollywood films for more than 85 years. Over to Wendy Diaz, entertainment underwriting director at Fireman’s Fund: “While people enjoyed watching these movies, most weren’t aware of the risk challenges involved when filming complex sequences that included air and watercraft stunts, strenuous dance sequences, air balloon explosions, and simulated natural disasters.” She notes that these types of scenes contribute appreciably to a film’s overall risk and Fireman’s Fund helps by creating solutions to cover specific exposures. Take Best Picture nominee “Inglorious Basterds.” Filmed in Germany and the UK, this period piece is based in World War II and includes many stunts, […]

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Munich Re and the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) jointly present an overview of natural catastrophe activity in the 2009 Natural Catastrophe Year in Review webinar at 11:00am today. Speakers will cover a range of topics including an overview of both U.S. and global catastrophe activity. I.I.I. president Dr. Robert Hartwig will also discuss the economic implications of the U.S. natural catastrophes that occurred in 2009. A commentary on the Haiti earthquake including potential insurance claims implications will also be provided by Ernst Rauch of Munich Re. To register for the webinar, click here. Munich Re recently reported that natural catastrophe losses were far lower in 2009 than in 2008 due to the absence on the whole of major catastrophes and a very benign North Atlantic hurricane season. However, the total number of destructive natural hazard events, at 850, was above the long-term average. Check out further I.I.I. facts and stats on global […]

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The 14th annual Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum will be held tomorrow at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The Forum, sponsored by 16 leading property/casualty insurance trade associations, was created to provide p/c insurance and reinsurance company leaders with an opportunity to meet and discuss topics of general interest. A panel of experts will first discuss the insurance industry from the perspective of those who regulate, analyze and write about the business. This will be followed by a panel of industry CEOs who will discuss general trends in industry services. A reception and dinner that evening will feature an address by Kimberley Strassel, a member of the editorial board and columnist at The Wall Street Journal. For more information on the Forum, contact Loretta Worters at the I.I.I. on 212-346-5545.

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Legal decisions have a big impact on the insurance industry, so it’s fitting that we see out the year with a couple of great round-ups from the legal experts. Music fans will enjoy the tribute to pop legend Michael Jackson in Thriller: 9th Annual Review of the Year’s Ten Most Significant Insurance Coverage Decisions by attorney Randy Maniloff of law firm White and Williams LLP. Maniloff’s new rendition of the MJ classic “Beat It” may just reach the top of the insurance charts. His accompanying 2nd annual Coverage for Dummies special report also makes for an entertaining read with its summary of the not-to-be-believed behavior that causes injury and the filing of a lawsuit, followed by the inevitable insurance claim. U.S. Supreme Court decisions have the ability to change the course of entire categories of litigation and with them the fortunes of insurers. Over at Lawyers USA, Kimberly Atkins summarizes some […]

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As the end of the year approaches, it’s a good time to review the most significant events of 2009 for the insurance industry. Among the various year-end musings offered by our fellow insurance bloggers, National Underwriter’s Sam Friedman reminds us that 2009 could have been worse. Some of the positives? The property/casualty insurance market, while still soft on the commercial lines side, at least began to stabilize. Insurers were also spared any major natural or man-made disasters compared to the multi-event years seen far too often in this decade, Friedman notes. And despite the coverage crisis headlines, Chinese drywall is far from becoming “the next asbestos.” In a similar vein Business Insurance’s Rodd Zolkos offers a not-so-fond farewell to a tough, testing year noting that another item on the plus side of this year’s ledger was the mild hurricane season – the calmest in 12 years, according to the I.I.I. […]

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In the wake of the global financial crisis and amid the unraveling of numerous financial scandals including Madoff, Stanford and Galleon, the 22nd International PLUS Conference in Chicago this week would be anything but dull. Add to the mix an opening day keynote by former President Bill Clinton and a forecast on the industry by I.I.I. president Dr. Robert Hartwig and you have the ingredients for a showstopper. In a speech that spanned major topics such as global warming, healthcare reform, and the struggling economy to name just a few, Clinton gave the crowd of professional liability insurance executives and media (seated in the back row of the conference hall) something to think about. A key theme to come from Clinton and one that is very pertinent for insurers is the interdependence of the world we live in. Interdependence brings both benefits and risks, Clinton noted: “Interdependence means being tied […]

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NBC’s Tom Brokaw will be the special guest speaker at the annual dinner of the New York division of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) being held on December 9 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Pierre Ozendo, chairman and CEO of Swiss Re America Corp and the 2008 honoree will serve as this year’s dinner chair. IICF will honor Brokaw’s commitment to philanthropy with a grant to the Youth Program of the International Rescue Committee, where he serves on the board of overseers. Proceeds from the event will provide significant grants to other children’s charities in the New York tri-state area such as Boys Hope Girls Hope and the Starlight Children’s Foundation. For Gala information, including ticket sales, please contact the IICF Benefit Office at 212-763-8593 or iicf@cmevents.net. According to a Conference Board survey, the insurance industry ranks among the top 15 contributors when it comes to […]

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A memorial service for Dr. William E. Bailey J.D., CPCU, special counsel to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) since 1986 and prominent industry spokesperson will be held September 26, 2009, at 11am at Trinity Church, 730 Main Street, Waltham, MA. Dr. Bailey died of cancer on Friday, Aug. 21. He was 68 years old and resided in Chelsea, MA, with his wife, Rene. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to the Scholarship Fund at Belmont Hill School, 350 Prospect Street, Belmont MA, 02478-2662, in memory of Bill Bailey, Class of 1958. “All of us will greatly miss Bill’s multitude of talents, perceptive intelligence, life-long dedication to learning, quick wit and boundless enthusiasm. We also remember with appreciation Bill’s outstanding work in disaster communications, having served as director of the first Hurricane Insurance Information Center following Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and working at the scene of […]

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It would be remiss of us to end the week without giving a resounding cheer to the 10 Chubb colleagues who hit the jackpot this week with a $216 million (or $140 million one-time payout) Mega Millions lottery win. Now what are the odds of that? The lucky 10 have been working in Chubb’s IT department in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey from seven to 30 years. We’re happy for their win. And finally a blog update: those of you who read us regularly will be aware that you can now sign up to follow us on Twitter. Just click on the Twitter button on the lower right-hand side to begin tweeting. Another way to follow the blog is via my network on LinkedIn – again click on the button on the right to join my network. 

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