Publication Date: March 31, 2006Advisen -- CasualtySource: Miami Herald, The (KRT)"Mar. 31--TALLAHASSEE -- In a major triumph for Gov. Jeb Bush and the business lobby, the Florida Legislature on Thursday repealed a 33-year-old law that allows a court to shift the damages in a liability lawsuit from a guilty party who can't pay to a deep-pocketed defendant who can..."
Publication Date: March 27, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: Associated Press Alert"ST. LOUIS_The president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce applauded Missouri's efforts to limit the amount of money juries can award in wrongful death and medical malpractice cases _ and criticized Illinois and other states for failing to make changes it supports..."
Publication Date: March 27, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: BestWire Services"Since the 2003 health-care liability reforms in Texas, an increasing number of medical-malpractice insurers are cutting rates..."
Publication Date: March 27, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: Bestwire Service"HARRISBURG, Pa. (BestWire) - Insurer advocates aren't happy with Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell's veto of legislation that would have put the reins on joint-and-several liability litigation..."
Publication Date: March 27, 2006Advisen -- InsurersSource: Lloyds List"BERMUDIAN reinsurers registered a total net loss of $2.8bn in 2005, a sharp swing from the profit of $5.5bn the previous year, according to the latest Benfield Bermuda Quarterly report..."
Publication Date: March 27, 2006Advisen -- EnvironmentalSource: BestWire Services"During 2004, U.S. property/casualty insurers narrowed the funding gap in their asbestos and environmental loss reserves, principally for asbestos liabilities, as a result of last year's pretax charge of nearly $6 billion..."
Publication Date: March 27, 2006Advisen -- PropertySource: Bestwire Service"OLDWICK, N.J. (BestWire) - Last year's natural disasters exposed huge gaps in the business-continuity and disaster-recovery plans of some of the nation's financial institutions, particularly in the community banking sector, where risk managers found in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that business-interruption and extra-expense costs were grossly underestimated..."
Publication Date: March 26, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: Associated Press Alert"RICHMOND, Va._Except for a crop of gray hair, the enrollees in Sean Byrne's malpractice course at the University of Richmond Law School look like normal students. They sip Starbucks coffee and tap out notes on their laptop keyboards. And with lumpy hair and bleary eyes, a few looked like they rolled out of bed after a few hours of sleep..."
Publication Date: March 24, 2006Advisen -- RegulationSource: Cincinnati Post (OH)"COLUMBUS -- Gov. Bob Taft intends to sign into law a ban on medical malpractice lawsuits that claim a severely disabled child would have been aborted if the underlying genetic disorder had been diagnosed before birth, his spokesman said..."
March 24, 2006The Insurance Journal"In a speech at the "Forces of Nature" conference in London Julian James, Lloyd's Director of Worldwide Markets, said that the time has come for the insurance industry to rethink how it handles catastrophic risks..."
Publication Date: March 23, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: PR Newswire Europe (inc. UK Disclose)"NAPA, Calif., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The Doctors Company, the nation's leading physician-owned medical malpractice insurance provider, is pleased to announce that its premiums for new and renewing policyholders in Texas will drop by an average of 18 percent beginning April 1, 2006 for new policyholders and July 1, 2006 for those renewing their coverage..."
Publication Date: March 23, 2006Advisen -- HealthcareSource: Pittsburgh Tribune Review"Half of U.S. hospital executives say they could save as much as $10 million a year and cut patients' costs if more insurance claims were handled electronically, a study found. While electronic fund transfers have been around for decades, only about a third of U.S. insurance companies use them, most preferring to pay hospitals by check, said PNC Financial Services Group Inc. spokeswoman Paula Fryland. Few hospitals have synched their payment systems with those of their insurers, said PNC, which commissioned the study. 'Hospitals are essentially operating like a student doing a term paper for five different professors, some who want it single-spaced, others who want it double-spaced,' Fryland said. Americans spent $571 billion on hospital care in 2004, according to a study published last month in Health Affairs. About half of insurers process hospitals' claims electronically, and a third pay that way, according to PNC, which surveyed 150 hospital, insurance and health system executives..."
Publication Date: March 22, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: The Business Journal (MILWAUKEE )"Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has signed a bill that reinstates a limit on medical malpractice pain-and-suffering awards..."
Publication Date: March 22, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: Business Insurance"ORLANDO, Fla.-The once-hot market for health care captives has cooled somewhat since the boom of a few years ago, but hospitals and other facilities are keeping some warmth in the market, creating the insurers to address their professional liability coverage needs..."
March 22, 2006The Insurance Journal"The northeast U.S. coast could be the target of a major hurricane, perhaps as early as this season, according to the AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center..."
Publication Date: March 21, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: Delaware State News (KRT)"Mar. 19--DOVER -- Medical personnel would receive protection from lawsuits when providing care in large-scale emergency situations under legislation the House of Representatives unanimously approved last week..."
March 21, 2006The Insurance Journal"Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that its criteria for measuring catastrophe risk for primary insurers will be revised early in the second quarter of this year. (For reinsurers, there are no current plans to further revise these criteria, which were last updated in July 2005.).."
March 20, 2006The Insurance Journal"Beazley announced it has hired two senior underwriters to assist with the company's U.S. operations mid market commercial property business a focus..."
Publication Date: March 21, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: Belleville News-Democrat"Illinois' first shot at lowering malpractice insurance rates for thousands of doctors is drawing criticism from key players, but its chief architect promises it will provide much-needed relief..."
March 10, 2006The Insurance Journal"Lloyd's Chairman Lord Peter Levene may finally get his wish, as U.S. insurance regulators have instructed a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) task force to examine options for a reform of the U.S. rules on allowing credit for reinsurance..."
Publication Date: March 7, 2006Advisen -- CasualtySource: Associated Press Alert"OKLAHOMA CITY_A comprehensive lawsuit reform measure that supporters say will reduce frivolous lawsuits and cut litigation costs passed its first hurdle Tuesday when it was approved by a legislative panel and sent to the House floor for a vote..."
Publication Date: March 7, 2006Advisen -- RegulationSource: Bestwire Service
"ORLANDO, Fla. (BestWire) - The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has taken a final step in adopting standards inspired by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act into its Model Audit Rule..."
March 7, 2006The Insurance Journal"Lloyd's has selected Richard Ward, former head of the London-based International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) as its new CEO..."
Publication Date: March 7, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: Associated Press Alert"OLYMPIA, Wash._Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a medical malpractice compromise into law Monday and immediately trained her sights on the next target for reform _ the state's medical watchdog panel..."
Publication Date: March 6, 2006Advisen -- RegulationSource: Bestwire Service"ORLANDO, Fla. (BestWire) - Three months after President Bush signed legislation allowing a two-year extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, regulators and key members of the U.S. Treasury Department are setting the groundwork for what comes next..."
Publication Date: March 6, 2006Advisen -- RegulationSource: PR Newswire"WASHINGTON, March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents has reaffirmed its opposition to any proposals that call for a so-called 'optional' federal charter for insurers..."
March 6, 2006The Insurance Journal"Standard & Poor's Ratings Services announced that it has reviewed its Lloyd's Syndicate Assessments (LSA's). S&P rates Lloyd's 'A' with a stable outlook. The individual assessments of the syndicates follows the rating agency's 'review of syndicate information and confirmation of membership of the Lloyd's Market for the 2006 underwriting year.'..."
Publication Date: March 5, 2006Advisen -- RegulationSource: Associated Press Alert"MILWAUKEE_Health care providers could investigate cases of medical error without worrying attorneys could subpoena the results in malpractice lawsuits under a bill sent to the governor for consideration..."
Publication Date: March 4, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: St. Paul Pioneer Press"MADISON Medical malpractice victims in Wisconsin would be limited to $750,000 in damages for pain and suffering under legislation the Assembly passed Thursday after the governor vetoed an earlier proposal that would have set the cap much lower..."
Publication Date: March 2, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: Associated Press Alert"FRANKFORT, Ky._Supporters of limiting medical malpractice victims' awards for pain and suffering were stymied Wednesday in trying to put the perennial proposal on the ballot..."
March 1, 2006The Insurance Journal"Americans for Insurance Reform (AIR) has released a new study confirming the wholesale decline of medical malpractice insurance rates nationwide..."
Publication Date: March 1, 2006Advisen -- Medical MalpracticeSource: The Olympian (Olympia, WA)(KRT)"Mar. 1--The state House approved the recent compromise on medical malpractice legislation Tuesday, sending the agreement to Gov. Chris Gregoire for signing..."
March 1, 2006Insurance Journal"Following last week's World Insurance Forum in Bermuda, Lloyd's chairman Lord Peter Levene undertook to give his answers to some important questions in a Q&A format on the Lloyd's Website (www.lloyd's.com)..."
