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December 7, 2007 News for property casualty insurers   Top Story    Katrina insurers may benefit from changes in legal landscape A series of rulings by a federal appeals court on Hurricane Katrina cases may have helped the insurance industry while reducing potential payments to homeowners. Earlier this year, it was estimated insurers might have to pay more than $1 billion to resolve claims in Mississippi; now their financial burden may be less, according to an analyst at Fitch Ratings. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (12/7) Insurance 2020: Now What? Exploring initiatives for innovation. New IBM study explains why the power of innovation does not come simply from the use of a specific technology to overcome a problem, but from a willingness to try something different.   Industry Trends  Insurers continue to assess storm damage in Pacific Northwest Insurers are still assessing the extent of damage caused by storms that hit Washington and Oregon earlier this week. Flood waters are still receding from affected areas, they say. PropertyCasualty360.com (12/6) Ithaca, N.Y., adopts updated building codes The Ithaca Common Council on Wednesday adopted stronger building code enforcement and housing standards codes. It also approved a new law to enforce rules to minimize stormwater runoff. The Ithaca Journal (N.Y.) (12/7) FEMA will not release Rio Grande flood maps until 2009 FEMA said it will "most likely" complete flood maps for the Rio Grande Valley in 2009. Postponing the release of the maps will give the International Boundary and Water Commission time to repair parts of the 180-mile levee from Peñitas, Texas to Brownsville, Texas. The Monitor (McAllen, Texas) (12/6) Florida's Citizens wants to cut holdings in investment pool Florida's Citizens Property Insurance has already withdrawn $800 million from an investment pool and wants to further reduce its holdings. The state-run insurer now has nearly $2 billion of its surplus in the Local Government Investment Pool. The Miami Herald (free registration) (12/7)   Personal Lines  Michigan auto insurance board raises concerns among lawmakers Some Michigan lawmakers support adding public members to the board of the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association, a private consortium that covers the costs of seriously injured motorists. Some insurance companies oppose the proposal and say it would politicize automobile insurance rates. Detroit Free Press (12/7)   Commercial Lines  Employees who commit crimes would lose benefits under Utah proposal Members of Utah's Workers Compensation Advisory Council on Wednesday say they oppose a bill that would revoke workers' compensation benefits to injured workers who commit a crime and workers who are illegal immigrants. Supporters of the bill say it is necessary to keep some people from taking advantage of the workers' compensation system. The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah) (12/7)   Policy and Law  Appeals court upholds endangerment charge against W.R. Grace A federal appeals court ruled that W.R. Grace may not challenge an earlier ruling allowing a government charge to stand in an asbestos case against the company. The appeals court upheld the charge of "knowing endangerment." The Sun (Baltimore) (12/7) Other News Rep. Frank seeks "reasonable compromise" between House and Senate on TRIA PropertyCasualty360.com (12/7)   SmartQuote  Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then, by God, do something. Don't just stand there, make it happen." --Lee Iacocca, industrialist     Subscriber Tools       Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive | Privacy policy Advertise Sales Account Director:  Abiy Bekele (212) 450-7919 Download Media Kit   Read more at SmartBrief.com A powerful website for SmartBrief readers including: Industry Home Readers' Choice Search Archive Grab our News Widget Get this RSS Feed Publish your Press Release Download the SmartBrief Android app       Recent PCI SmartBrief Issues: Thursday, December 06, 2007 Wednesday, December 05, 2007 Tuesday, December 04, 2007 Monday, December 03, 2007 Friday, November 30, 2007     Lead Editor:  Angela Giroux-Scheide Contributing Editor:  Karen Kantor     Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2011 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information