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Advisen Did You Know: Hospital Claims Benchmarking: Advisen Web Tour June 5

Publication Date: May 24, 2006
Source: Advisen -- Did You Know?

"How do hospitals evaluate the effectiveness of their risk management programs?
How do you compare the frequency and severity of claims to similar hospitals?"

"If you are a Healthcare Risk Management Professional who wants to see how one healthcare facility or system stacks up against others, you should join this Advisen Web Tour to view our Claims Benchmarking (CBM) for Hospital Professional Liability (HPL). This new Advisen tool enables Healthcare Risk Managers, Brokers and Underwriters to benchmark hospital claims against similar entities..."

Advisen Press Release: RIMS Benchmark Survey's 2005 Book Records Cost of Risk Down

Publication Date: May 25, 2006
Source: Advisen

"Annual Publication Illustrates Continuous Slide of Major Lines; Property Lines Affected by Hurricanes Though Influence Appears Short-lived"

"New York, May 25, 2006 According to the 2005 Annual Benchmark Survey from the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS), the commercial insurance industry remained a buyers’ market in 2005, and shows no signs of hardening any time soon. The 2005 RIMS Benchmark Survey book provides risk managers objective and actionable insurance market information based on the insurance programs of more than 1,400 participants from the U.S. and Canada the largest number of respondents in 25 years of benchmark surveys..."

Stock-option probes spark D&O concerns

Publication Date: May 24, 2006
Advisen -- Management Liability
Source: Business Insurance

"NEW YORK-Regulatory scrutiny over stock-option practices will trigger more intense questioning from directors and officers liability insurers at renewals, market sources say..."

EC3 - Lloyd's Modernisation - In bloom.

Publication Date: May 24, 2006
Advisen -- Insurers
Source: Post Magazine

"This year is about change at the oldest insurance market in the world. Lloyd's has come a long way since a few wealthy businessmen met in 17th century City of London coffee houses to arrange insurance for various marine assets..."

Contractor can regain business losses: Court

Publication Date: May 24, 2006
Advisen -- Property
Source: Business Insurance

"NEW YORK-The janitorial services contractor for the World Trade Center could recover up to $127.4 million in business interruption payments after a federal court ruled that the company should be compensated for lost income for the "hypothetical length of time'' required to rebuild the complex..."

Clinical trials set to come under the microscope

Publication Date: May 24, 2006
Advisen -- Casualty
Source: Lloyds List

"NEW proposals by the World Health Organisation are expected to subject clinical trials to much tighter regulation with implications for insurance and compensation if tests go wrong..."

Healey's call for medical malpractice reform would cut lawyer fees

Publication Date: May 23, 2006
Advisen
Source: Boston Business Journal

"Lieutenant Governor and gubernatorial candidate Kerry Healey announced plans to file sweeping medical malpractice reform insurance with provisions favoring out-of-court settlements, limiting lawyers' fees on high awards, making doctor apologies inadmissible in court and closing loopholes in the current law's $500,000 noneconomic damages cap..."

Lloyd's insurers weigh up warning of six big storms

Publication Date: May 23, 2006
Advisen
Source: Evening Standard

"LLOYD'S insurance market is assessing a new warning that the hurricane season starting next month could pound the southern US with six major storms..."

Ward Pushes Lloyd's Reform

May 23, 2006
The Insurance Journal

"A little less than a month after he assumed the position of Lloyd's CEO, Richard Ward is proving to be the kind of hands on executive Lord Levene and other Lloyd's managers wanted..."

Judge in La. Rules in Favor of Insurance Companies in Flood Lawsuit

May 22, 2006
The Insurance Journal

"Insurance companies are not responsible for hurricane-related flood damage if homeowners carry coverage only for windstorms, a federal judge in Louisiana has ruled in a lawsuit over dispute claims stemming from Hurricane Rita, the Associated Press reported..."

Insurance Economist Predicts Profitable 2006, Sees Premium Growth Grinding to a Halt

By Dave Kaiser
May 18, 2006
The Insurance Journal

"The last 24 months have been traumatic for the insurance industry, but the profit picture for 2006 is quite good overall, according to Robert P. Hartwig, Insurance Information Institute senior vice president and chief economist..."

Coalition Of Insurers, Doctors Seek Delay Of New Diagnosis Code Set

Publication Date: May 18, 2006
Advisen -- Healthcare
Source: Inside CMS

"Insurers and physicians, normally strange bedfellows, are teaming up against a provision in a House bill that would require the adoption of a massive new diagnosis coding set by Oct. 1, 2009. The new ICD-10 diagnosis coding set contains 120,000 individual, seven-digit codes. Doctors currently report only 13,000 codes, under the ICD-9 code set..."

Lloyd's Releases 2005 Annual Report

May 17, 2006
The Insurance Journal

"Lloyd's has released its official 2005 annual report. The package also contains a report from acting CEO Luke Savage, a statement from Lloyd's Chairman Lord Peter Levene and a detailed breakdown of Lloyd's performance by its seven classes of business as well as an introductory industry overview of 2005..."

Oct. 1 Deadline for Agents to Register in Fla. Licensing System

By Dave Kaiser
May 16, 2006
The Insurance Journal

"Florida insurance agents have until Oct. 1 to complete their registration in the Department of Financial Services new Agency Licensing System. Hazel Muhammad, director of the Bureau of Licensing, told participants at the May 12 Professional Insurance Agents of Florida's Member Summit in Orlando, Fla. that agents who fail to register by that date can face a fine of up to $10,000 for failing to meet state licensing requirements..."

Minn. Supreme Court Considers Attorney Requirement on Malpractice Insurance

May 16, 2006
The Insurance Journal

"Many of the complaints the Minnesota Lawyers Board investigates get dismissed, including a large number filed by clients upset simply because their attorney lost, according to an Associated Press story..."

Doctors order 40pc of X-rays to cover against being sued

Publication Date: May 16, 2006
Advisen -- Medical Malpractice
Source: Daily Mail

"DOCTORS subject their patients to repeated and often unnecessary X-rays because of fears they will be sued for negligence..."

Doctors order 40pc of X-rays to cover against being sued

Publication Date: May 16, 2006
Advisen -- Medical Malpractice
Source: Daily Mail

"DOCTORS subject their patients to repeated and often unnecessary X-rays because of fears they will be sued for negligence..."

Wary doctors leave decisions to patients

Publication Date: May 15, 2006
Advisen -- Medical Malpractice
Source: The Australian

"DOCTORS fearful of being sued are increasingly leaving complicated decisions to their patients..."

Advisen People on the Move: As of May 9, 2006

Publication Date: May 9, 2006
Source: Advisen -- People on the Move

"...Rose Giunta joined AVRECO as Assistant Vice President in Chicago in April. She has worked in the property & casualty industry for over 25 years and was most recently at Kelly & Elliott. Contact Rose at 312.529.5528 or rgiunta@avreco.com..."

GOP wants malpractice limits inserted into Cover Tennessee bill

Publication Date: May 11, 2006
Advisen -- Medical Malpractice
Source: Associated Press Alert

"NASHVILLE, Tenn._Senate Republicans are holding up Gov. Phil Bredesen's Cover Tennessee health care proposal to get the administration to include limits on medical malpractice lawsuits..."

American Insurance Assoc. Calls Fla. Measure 'Balanced'

May 9, 2006
Insurance Journal

"As expected, the state's troubled property insurance market dominated the just-concluded session of the Florida Legislature, according to the American Insurance Association in Atlanta. The session concluded Friday night just after legislators approved a hotly debated, comprehensive property insurance measure..."

Medical malpractice filings decline: Doctors say progress has been made but stats are deceiving

By Jeff Blumenthal
Philadelphia Business Journal
May 7, 2006

"The Pennsylvania Supreme Court released state court medical malpractice statistics for 2005 that show a sustained decline in filings and a drop in large jury verdicts in Philadelphia and statewide. While the legal community says it is a sign that lawsuits and trial lawyers can no longer be blamed for so-called med mal insurance rates, doctors' groups contend the state continues to be inhospitable to doctors..."

SEC to hear complaints over Sarbanes-Oxley

May 8, 2006
Business Insurance

"WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. securities regulators will hear the business community's passionately held views this week on how to fix or kill post-Enron corporate reforms that many believe are hurting American competitiveness..."

Senate Rejects Award Limits In Malpractice

Publication Date: May 9, 2006
Advisen -- Medical Malpractice
Source: New York Times Full Feed

"The Senate on Monday once again rebuffed a Republican effort to limit jury awards in medical malpractice cases, taking the issue -- a high priority for both President Bush and the majority leader, Senator Bill Frist -- off the agenda for this year..."

Advisen Wire: Cyberspace Now on Terrorist Radar

Publication Date: May 5, 2006
Source: Advisen -- Risk Management

"Cyberspace Now On Terrorist Radar, Warn Experts At Jardine Lloyd Thompson Global Telecoms Seminar"

Sen. Burns Co-Sponsors Two Bills To Bring About Needed Medical Liability Reforms

Publication Date: May 4, 2006
Advisen -- Medical Malpractice
Source: US Fed News

"WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The office of Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., issued the following press release:"

"Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) joined an effort today demanding that needed reforms be enacted to address the growing crisis being inflicted on America's health care providers by trial lawyers. Specifically, he joined Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) in introducing S. 22, the Medical Care Access Protection Act of 2006 (MCAP), and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) in introducing S.23, the Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act. These two bills are intended to bring urgent relief to health care providers who are struggling under the rising costs of medical liability insurance premiums. Medical liability is in dire need of reform throughout the country. According to the American Medical Association: * One in seven obstetricians no longer deliver babies due to rising liability insurance costs..."

Advisen Did You Know: Property is Not the Only Hard Market

Publication Date: May 3, 2006
Source: Advisen -- Did You Know

"Certain market participants keep chirping about how the commercial insurance markets are softening. There are 250,000 Benchmarking programs stored electronically in Advisen, so it’s easy to isolate subsets of data by industry or size to determine market trends by coverage and by line of business..."

Appeals court affirms record malpractice verdict

Publication Date: May 5, 2006
Advisen -- Medical Malpractice
Source: Associated Press Alert

"CLEVELAND_A state appeals court has ordered the two sides of a medical malpractice case to reduce the $30 million that a jury awarded to a brain-damaged man and his mother..."

New medical malpractice insurer in Md.

Publication Date: May 4, 2006
Advisen -- Medical Malpractice
Source: Baltimore Business Journal

"Doctors in Maryland have another option for their medical malpractice insurance..."

R.I. Governor Carcieri Urges Medical Malpractice Reform

May 3, 2006
The Insurance Journal

"Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri is urging lawmakers to support his Health Care Tort Reform Act of 2006 which he says would bring balance to the state's current tort system..."

Med Mal News

Publication Date: May 2, 2006
Advisen -- Medical Malpractice
Source: Medical Malpractice Law & Strategy

Ensign leads push for tort reform

Publication Date: May 1, 2006
Advisen: Medical Malpractice
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)

By Steve Tetreault
Stephens Washington Bureau

"WASHINGTON With Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., as their point man, Republicans are planning a new push for caps on jury awards and limits on how much personal injury lawyers can collect from medical malpractice lawsuits..."

Bush Hints At Insurance Session

Publication Date: May 2, 2006
Advisen: Brokers
Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) (KRT)

"May 2--TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday raised the possibility of having a special legislative session to deal with Florida's beleaguered property insurance market..."

Understanding medical malpractice is very complex process

Column by Virgil Williams and Ron Eisenberg
InsideBayArea.com

"This is the first of two parts"

"MEDICAL malpractice is frequently in the news and it's helpful to have an overview of this complex subject. The most common basis for medical malpractice litigation is negligence, which is comprised of four specific elements, all of which must be proven at trial: duty, breach, causation and damages..."

Medical malpractice suits lead to rising health care costs

Column by Virgil Williams and Ron Eisenberg
InsideBayArea.com

"This is the second of a two-part series. To read last week's column, visit insidebayarea.com/health...."

Legislature Approves Medical Malpractice Bill

CBS 5 Phoenix Online
Source: Associated Press
Retrieved: May 1, 2006

"PHOENIX (AP) -- The House on Wednesday reversed itself and approved Senate-passed legislation to make it harder to win medical malpractice lawsuits over emergency health care..."

Property insurance: the premium/payout balance.

Publication Date: April 28, 2006
Advisen -- Property
Source: ABA Banking Journal

"According to property insurance experts Alexandra Glickman and Anne K. Anderson, there tends to be two types of bank policy buyers: those who under calculate" the needed funds to reconstitute a business and the overachievers, who want a windfall..."