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Insurance brokers report that intellectual property insurance sales are very slow despite the interest of businesses in the coverage. Intellectual property insurance covers monetary losses from patent infringements. The high cost of coverage has been a disincentive to purchases of intellectual property insurance by smaller firms, according to the agencies peddling the specialized insurance coverage. In addition, many large companies do not believe that they need the coverage., Intellectual property may be a vital asset for patent and copyright holders, but it's hardly left them clamoring for specialized insurance coverage, according to underwriters and brokers. 'I've been offering [...]

Companies that provide insurance claims management services increasingly are focusing on offering customized services that complements the business goals of their clients. The move to customized service is client-driven as clients are demanding a higher level of individually focused customer service from their claims management services providers. Clients' needs include claims handling, loss prevention and managed care services., Operating in an era of corporate downsizing, widespread re-engineering and cost control, successful claims management providers are no longer just marketing products and services to employers. They're marketing customization. That's [...]

Insurance agents should be careful not to make any coverage promises, especially during a disaster, when agents feel the need to assure their clients that everything will be alright. Insurance firms face more risk of errors and omissions when the area of claims adjustments is confused with the underwriting area. During Hurricane Hugo and Andrew, many agents overstepped their boundaries., It's the day after the catastrophe at the XYZ Agency. Amid the chaos, anger and fear that is rampant in the community, agents attempt to offer solace to insureds: 'Of [...]

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) VP for External Affairs S. Joe Bhatia said that the globalization of manufacturing is magnifying risks for equipment and property. Global initiatives such as the North American Free Trade Agreement are encouraging the formation of commercial enterprises under conditions of unknown risk, he said. Bhatia's organization publishes internationally regarded product safety standards., NORTHBROOK, Ill. -- The increasing globalization of manufacturing is raising a new question for risk managers and insurers: when it comes to both equipment and property, how safe is safe? [...]

Deloitte & Touche National Business Insurance Consulting Dir William O'Connell, in remarks at a Risk and Insurance Management Society conference, said that natural disasters have taught companies about the need for disaster planning. Disaster planning recommendations that O'Connell made at the conference included the need for off-plot power endorsements, and extended periods of indemnification for business interruption insurance., CHICAGO--From earthquakes and hurricanes to riots and explosions, the devastating catastrophes of the last few years have left corporations with some hard-won insight into how best to prepare for and [...]

Officials from insurance agencies in Florida and California warn that natural disasters can adversely affect an agency's income, disrupt its personnel and destroy competitive insurance markets. Insurance agencies in Southern Florida have lost most of their clients or their links with insurance companies as hurricanes have created huge property losses. Insurance agency officials recommended that an agency have a disaster plan in place before a natural disaster occurs., HONOLULU--Natural disasters can wipe out an agency's income, decimate its staffers and chase previously competitive markets from the affected area, industry officials warn. Some firms can be thus left bankrupt [...]

Jim Masiello is planning to develop a national satellite agency network for small suburban and rural independent insurance agencies by using the same system he developed in creating the 36-member Masiello Group in New England. The Satellite Insurance Agency Alliance (SIAA), Masiello's newest group, will include large profitable firms, called partnership agencies, who will have master agency divisions that will establish regional networks for independent satellite branch small agencies. Masiello expects SIAA to have 40 master agencies grossing more than $2 billion in premium sales within 5 years., Jim Masiello thinks he has the ticket to survival for besieged, small independent agencies. Tucked away in Keene, N.H., he has since 1981 been building a model network of agencies, [...]

Lloyd's of London's first business plan that will be released by the end of Apr, 1993, is expected to adopt stringent regulations for underwriters and agents. The plan is expected to contain control measurers and standards for member agents and underwriters to prevent the losses and fraud of 1988-1991 that resulted from permitting freewheeling activities. Lloyd's member brokers will not be subject to the new rules., PALM DESERT, Calif.--Lloyd's of London is preparing to rein in the market's freewheeling elements as part of a universal reform plan that will, among other changes, mandate professional standards for [...]

Insurance company bankruptcy can cause numerous problems for insurance agents. Due to multi-state operations, multi-state claims, multi-state agents and multi-state coverage, insurance company failures can cause different problems for different regions. Insurance agents must remain aware of an insurance company's financial conditions to retain policyholders and ensure their own financial well-being., Bankruptcies, to one extent or another, are a part of virtually every industry. But in insurance, the problems caused by an insolvency can be particularly acute--for the customer who faces [...]

The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) defeated a resolution to hold a national election on a merger with the Independent Insurance Agents of America (IIAA) by a 4,035 to 2,218 vote. IIAA officials accepted the decision despite the claim of some PIA members that 1,500 proxy votes had not been counted. Despite acrimony during the merger talks, PIA voted to form joint committees with IIAA to make presentations to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and prepare policies on technical, legislative and insurance industry management issues., ORLANDO, Fla. - The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents has successfully fended off a proxy challenge aimed at forcing the group to renew, its efforts toward consolidation with the [...]

Insurance agencies that have prospered during the recessionary environment of the early 1990s have done so because they have maintained a steadfast commitment to long term capital growth. The best-run firms have reinvested a significant percentage of their profits, while the firms that now face financial difficulties are those that paid out too much to owners during boom times. The Academy of Producer Insurance Studies' agency profitability report shows that overall industry revenue growth is declining., Burdened by one of the longest soft markets the industry has ever faced and stymied by seemingly unrelenting economic doldrums, insurance agents are again this year suffering from decreasing revenues, [...]

Independent Insurance Agents of America (IIAA) President-elect Eric Gustafson, in remarks before the IIAA annual convention, stated that independent agents must improve their productivity and efficiency if they are to continue to be competitive in the future. A special task force on productivity and efficiency has been created by the IIAA. Outgoing Pres R.C. Riley stated that the task force has been made necessary by the harsh marketing climate created by the recession., NEW ORLEANS - The economic and industry downturn that has hit independent agents so hard will best be resolved with dramatic increases in productivity and efficiency in all aspects of [...]

The drop to a 13.1% healthcare cost increase in 1991 from 1990's 16.4% increase rate is causing many Midwestern industries to center their cost-control efforts on healthcare program management and quality. A Midwest Business Group on Health-Intracorp survey, compiled from 86 replies out of 350 businesses contacted, reports that 81% expected a two-year cost increase in 1989, but now only two-thirds make that prediction. Ninety-eight percent feel that the healthcare system needs reform, as no existing program provides quality care and is cost effective., CHICAGO The dramatic spiral in health care costs that has left employers reeling in recent years is showing the first signs of moderating, according to a recent study of Midwest [...]

Automation has penetrated the bulk of independent agencies in this country, securing its place as a competitive tool to bolster the efficiency and effectiveness of insurance delivery, according to a [...]

WC Funds Gain Favor As Solution To Mkt. Woes Can competitive state workers' compensation funds stop the seemingly incessant hemorrhaging of assigned risk plans across the country? The answer, it [...]

Wholesalers, Lloyd's Form New Ventures Entrepreneurial wholesalers are seeking to create more direct links with Lloyd's by capitalizing on the new appetite for main street U.S. business there. For example, [...]

Insurers Win Key Pollution Dispute The Michigan Supreme Court has limited the pollution liability exposure of insurers, finding that coverage for a 'sudden and accidental' incident only applies to the [...]

Representatives of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents and the Independent Insurance Agents of America appear ready to re-open consolidation discussions next month, the first meeting on the matter [...]

Insurers have a duty to defend clients in asbestos property damage cases even when questions surrounding coverage remain cloudy, according to an Illinois Supreme Court ruling. The May 20, 1991, [...]

Agents Can Turn Errors Into Profit SAN FRANCISCO--Common marketing mistakes need not derail agency sales efforts. In fact, they can be leveraged into profits, according to Steven Anderson, a former [...]

Agents Push IIAA, PIA For Merger DALLAS--The counterproductive posturing that has come to characterize national agent association merger efforts is unacceptable to grass roots producers, who are more interested in [...]

Partnership To Manage LTC Risks Lincoln National Corp., Fort Wayne Ind., has unveiled a group long term care program that targets the needs of both large and small employers. Piloted [...]

Cost, Quality Key Health Reform Plan CHICAGO - The Midwest Business Group On Health has developed a five-year strategic plan to control the cost and improve the quality of health [...]

Business Grp. Plan Reforms Health Care CHICAGO--The Midwest Business Group on Health has developed a five year strategic plan to control the cost and improve the quality of health care [...]

USF&G Corp. Slashes Dividend; Cuts Costs USF&G Corp. is slashing its dividend payments by nearly 66 percent and cutting costs by $75 million in an effort to protect its capital [...]

Agents Profit From Bank Link-Ups Could the independent agency of the future handle bank products as easily as it does insurance products? If legislative barriers to bank insurance operations fall, [...]

Producers Respond To Int'l Changes The world is becoming a much smaller place these days, and not just for major corporations. Agents and brokers are finding themselves in the midst [...]

Agents Can Profit From Bank Link-Ups Could the independent agency of the future handle bank products as easily as it does insurance products? If legislative barriers to bank insurance operations [...]

Agent Groups Eye Int'l Concerns, Opportunities If you think 'international' is a characterization reserved oly for large insurers and major brokers, think again. The decisions made regarding international trade across [...]

Affiliates Of PIA, IIAA In Minn. To Consolidate The Minnesota Association of Professional Insurance Agents and the Independent Insurance Agents of Minnesota will consolidate their boards of directors, staffs and [...]

Insurers Blast Punitive Damages Insurance industry groups are lining up behind a constitutional challenge to excessive punitive damages, claiming such awards violate due process protections ensured by the 14th Amendment. [...]

RBH Reaps Benefits Of Expansion Strategy CHICAGO--It's been a busy few years for the Rollins Burdick Hunter Group. After embarking on an aggressive acquisition strategy through the mid and late [...]

Dismal Auto Market Saps Agency Profits By Ernest Smith's reckoning, the personal lines marketplace is as disjointed as it ever has been. And, after 40 years in the agency business, [...]

Auto Ins. Premium Growth Lags The auto insurance industry showed unimpressive earned premium growth for 1989, with total gains in commercial and private passenger auto of less than 2.3 percent, [...]

Agents Gauge Insolvency Risks At the first sign of trouble, Don Brain Sr.'s Kansas City-based independent agency stopped writing business for Iowa National Mutual Ins. Co., a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based [...]

Illinois Senate Bill 252, which became law in Jan 1994, required that independent insurance adjusters become licensed private detectives in order to practice. This legislation did not require staff insurance adjusters to follow this mandate. The insurance industry is unsure whether this legislation is appropriate and the National Assn of Insurance Commissioners does not plan to implement licensing regulations., You can just imagine their exasperation. Independent adjusters across the state of Illinois last year found themselves in the precarious state of 'being illegal' thanks to a piece of legislation [...]

Insurance agencies dealing in property-casualty insurance should not ignore the advice of agency consultants to diversify into the life-health market since diversification is the best means to thrive in an increasingly competitive insurance market. Independent property-casualty agencies typically only generate 10% of their revenues from the life-health sector, but consultants recommend that property-casualty agencies up their life-health share to 25% to enhance their competitiveness., For more than a few years, agency consultants have been urging property-casualty producers to develop and solidify a presence in the life, health and employee benefits marketplace. And for at [...]

Commercial property and casualty insurance agents can build long-term customer relationships and retain accounts longer by cross-selling employee benefits and health insurance policies. Bundling health insurance benefits with a property and liability policy will add longevity to an account since most employers do not change employee benefits very often., Drained by cutthroat competition in the commercial insurance business, many independent agents and brokers are focusing on health insurance and other employee benefits sales to salvage retention levels, boost flat [...]

Industry analysts are somewhat cautious about Zurich Insurance Group's acquisition of Kemper Corp. A.M. Best, Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service are reviewing possible financial implications of Zurich's ownership of Kemper. The agencies believe that Zurich's ability to pay claims may be adversely affected, even if the company's long-term financial position is improved., Zurich Insurance Group's primary role in the acquisition of Kemper Corp. could impact the company's financial strength, according to leading rating companies, even though the Swiss giant believes the deal [...]

The downside to an increasing scrutiny of the insurance industry by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) is the likelihood of it intensifying the competition between insurers and mutual funds for investment dollars. The SEC has been advocating for several years, as part of an emphasis on sales practices of the financial services industry in general, a change in the law that exempts insurer participant-directed plans from disclosure regulations with which mutual funds must comply. The Investment Company Institute supports such a course of action, and is developing a simplified disclosure prospectus that would be standard for all investors to use., TUCSON - A growing insurance focus at the Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to create new pressures on carriers competing with mutual funds for investment dollars even as it [...]

Wall Street analysts expect Kemper Corp's life insurance units to benefit greatly from the proposed acquisition by Zurich Insurance Group and Insurance Partners. The $2-billion agreement comes at the end of a year of acquisition uncertainty for the two life insurance units, which have seen sales and renewals suffer as a result. When the deal is finalized, Zurich will have 51% of the units, and Insurance Partners 49%. Zurich intends to use the purchase to expand its presence in the US, which is considered the world's largest life market., Stung by more than 12 months of ownership uncertainty, Kemper Corp. should finally see stability return to its Long Grove, Ill.-based operations as it pursues the sale of its business [...]

Risk purchasing groups (RPG) have increased in popularity with insurance buyers, carriers and agents despite a softening market. The number of RPGs operating in the US increased 10% to 458 in 1994 compared to 1993. Premium growth for RPGs increased to $1.56 billion in 1993 from $575 million in 1988. One insurance executive observed that RPGs are attractive to insurers because pricing and underwriting are easier when working with specific types of insureds., CHICAGO -- Agents, carriers and insurance buyers are all showing an increasing interest in the use of risk purchasing groups as a means to maximize the benefits of underwriting a [...]

The National Assn of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) may be losing its authority to implement insurance regulations in the various states as a variety of state regulators and trade groups are speaking out about problems in the NAIC accreditation process. Several insurance industry officials challenged the NAIC's legal authority at the 1995 annual conference of the National Risk Retention Assn., CHICAGO--Cracks are beginning to appear in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' 'regulatory wall' as alternative market officials, insurers, state lawmakers and governors step up their challenges to NAIC authority, [...]

Michigan state Rep Pat Gagliardi has asked for an investigation into former Michigan Insurance Commissioner David Dykhouse's handling of Confederation Life Insurance Co. Gagliardi wants the US Attorney's office and the Michigan Attorney General to determine whether Dykhouse neglected to take action when Confed was in trouble, and whether he is benefitting from his own inaction by taking a position as a deputy rehabilitator with Confed. Gagliardi claims the rapid growth of Confed's assets and increase in repurchase obligations should have prompted Dykhouse to intervene in 1993., A Michigan state legislator is urging the U.S. Attorney's office and the Michigan Attorney General to launch an investigation of former Michigan Insurance Commissioner David Dykhouse for his handling of [...]