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| News for property casualty insurers |
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- Groups ask Congress to scrap federal authority over troubled insurers
Legislation aimed at addressing the issue of systemic financial risk should not allow federal banking officials to regulate troubled insurers, according to letters sent by insurance trade associations to lawmakers. Regulatory reform legislation instead "should focus on truly systemically risky entities that are not currently regulated adequately for systemic risk and not already subject to an effective resolution system," PCI President David Sampson said. National Underwriter (free registration)
(11/2)
     
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| Industry Trends |  | |
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- Insurance premiums for hospitals dropped last year
Hospitals and other health care organizations saw their insurance costs for directors and officers liability slump by 6.5% last year, according to a report from Aon. The sector's workers' compensation premiums also dropped by 5.9% on the average last year. National Underwriter (free registration)
(11/2)
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- Third quarter saw jump in repair costs for crash-damaged cars
The adjusted cost to repair crash-damaged vehicles in the third quarter amounted to $2,520 -- a $164 rise from the same period last year, according to Mitchell International. Average collision losses during the third quarter were appraised at $12,188, lower than those for the same period last year, the firm said. National Underwriter (free registration)
(11/2)
- Researchers think bad driving could be hardwired
Researchers believe that a single gene found in a third of Americans could cause sloppy driving. Undergraduates who possessed the gene, which affects the brain's ability to rewire itself and thus its ability to learn new skills, made 20% more mistakes during a driving simulation than their more genetically fortunate peers. "The people who had this genetic variation performed more poorly from the get-go," says neurologist Steven Cramer. "It's up to society to say, how do we deal with that fact?" Wired.com/Wired Science
(10/29)
- Safety group: Power windows in vehicles endanger young passengers
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should require automakers to equip power windows in vehicles with an auto-reverse mode to prevent accidents that injure or kill young passengers, according to consumer group KidsAndCars.org. But the agency says the power windows do not pose a widespread problem, and an auto-reverse requirement could boost annual costs by about $588 million. The New York Times/Wheels blog
(11/2)
| Policy and Law | | |
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- Federal Insurance Office bill will be hashed out in the House
The House Financial Services Committee this week is set to discuss the divisive provisions of a bill that seeks to create a Federal Insurance Office and give it authority to forge international insurance agreements on prudential matters. Several insurance trade associations supporting the state-based regulatory system are opposing the proposed measure, while consumer groups warned the bill's broad language could adversely affect insurance policyholders. The Hill
(11/2)
- Photos, videos used as proof to fight workers' comp fraud
State regulators are using videos and photos of employees doing physically demanding tasks to prove they committed workers' compensation insurance fraud. "Desperate workers can be very imaginative when they smell workers' comp money," said James Quiggle from the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. ABC News
(11/2)
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| The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
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| Catastrophic Risk | | |
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- Air pressure linked to landslides, study finds
A study by U.S. and Japanese researchers found atmospheric tides -- air pressure changes because of solar heating and cooling -- could cause landslides. The atmospheric changes affect the friction between surface soil and the underlying rock, prompting landslide movement, the experts found. The New York Times
(11/2)
- El Niño may soon bring powerful tornadoes to Florida
Residents in Central Florida should prepare for dangerous tornadoes that could hit the region as a result of El Niño conditions, forecasters from the National Weather Service warned. "I think the bottom line is you always have to have a tornado plan, but in an El Niño year ... if tornado watches come out, you really need to pay attention," an expert said. Orlando Sentinel (Fla.)
(11/3)
- Rare fall flooding washes over parts of the Midwest
Recent heavy rains in the Midwest caused flooding in Missouri and Illinois -- an unusual occurrence according to government scientists. While it is hard to predict rain during autumn, seeing "such astronomically high amounts of precipitation, where we got several inches above the previous record levels, is very abnormal," said a meteorologist. USA TODAY/The Associated Press
(11/2)
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