INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Tuesday, 11/07/06

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INSURANCE NEWSCAST can be read online at www.insurancebroadcasting.com

INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Tuesday, 11/07/06  

Here is a quick look at the stories that will be in Tuesday's INSURANCE NEWSCAST.

 

1) Lloyds, Advisen warn insurers about profit drop - Mon Nov 6, 2006 1:21pm ET, By Ed Leefeldt - NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Property and casualty carriers could be headed for another "boom and bust" cycle, even as they report record profits, a leading company and an industry adviser both warned on Monday.

 

2) Allstate Insurance Company Seeks $2.6 Million From Michigan Medical Practitioners  - FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Allstate Insurance Company has filed a declaratory judgment action (DJA) against New Start, Inc., Another Step Forward, The Healing Place, Ltd., THP Intensive Services, Roman Frankel, Bruce Lessien M.D. and Thomas Kane D.O. for $2.6 million. The DJA includes: fraud, misrepresentation, corporate practice of medicine, unjust enrichment, practicing psychology without a license and illegal fee splitting.

 

3) Advisen and RIMS Announce Latest Benchmark Survey Findings - Insurance Premiums Fall - INSURANCE PREMIUMS FALL SLIGHTLY IN THIRD QUARTER --Property Insurance Premiums Continue to Increase in Regions Prone to Hurricanes and Earthquakes Although Average Property Premiums Reflect Stability

 

4) ?Have An Optimistic Day? Newsletter To Interview Walt Podgurski Of Insurancebroadcasting.com On Internet Radio, Wednesday, November 8^th 12:00 Noon Central Standard Time - San Antonio, TX ? 11/06/06 -- At Noon, CST, each Wednesday, you can listen to ?Achieving the Extraordinary? with Ron Graves on his 7thWaveNetwork Internet Talk Show. This is a one hour weekly talk show streaming worldwide dedicated to OPTIMISTIC living and people who ?Achieve the Extraordinary? in their lives. More information is available on the http://www.optimisticday.com  website or go to http://www.7thwavenetwork.com and download or listen on line to previous shows. Call in # is 1-866-472-5795 to talk to Ron or his guests.

 

5) AmeriFlex Acquires 1Point Solutions? Medical Spending Account And COBRA Business - October 2006 / Mount Laurel, New Jersey -- AmeriFlex announced today the acquisition of the FSA, HRA, HSA, and COBRA client base from the recently bankrupt 1Point Solutions, a Tennessee-based TPA that provided services to corporations and public organizations with an emphasis on customized, consumer-driven healthcare solutions. The purchase was conducted through bankruptcy trustee John C. McLemore, of Garfinkle, McLemore & Walker, in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

6) BestWeek: Trading Exchanges See Terror Exposure Multiply - OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Terrorism has been the overriding property insurance exposure for trading exchanges since September 11, 2001, due to their location in central business districts in some of the world?s largest cities, according to a story in the November 6 issue of BestWeek.

 

7) Berkshire Hills Bancorp Completes Acquisition of Five Insurance Agencies  - PITTSFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ: BHLB) the holding company for Berkshire Bank, announced today that it completed its acquisition of five insurance agencies on October 31, 2006. The agencies acquired by the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Berkshire Insurance Group, Inc., are Reynolds, Barnes & Hebb and McCormick, Smith & Curry of Pittsfield, Minkler Insurance of Stockbridge, and H.S. Andrews of Great Barrington (all in Berkshire County) and MassOne of Greenfield (located in adjoining Franklin County). Berkshire Insurance Group now operates through ten offices throughout the Berkshires and the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts.

 

8) SunGard Acquires Carnot, AG.  - BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SunGard (http://www.sungard.com) today announced that it has acquired Carnot, AG. of Frankfurt, Germany. Carnot is a leading provider of business process management (BPM) software that helps enterprises model, deploy, execute, monitor and optimize their business processes. The transaction, the terms of which were not disclosed, is not expected to have a material impact on SunGard?s financial results.

 

9) UnitedHealthcare and HCA Reach New, Long-Term, National Agreement  - MINNEAPOLIS NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) company, and HCA Inc. (NYSE:HCA), today announced a new long-term nationwide agreement. The agreement provides United members access to HCA facilities, covers members into 2011 and recognizes HCA?s and United?s ongoing commitment to quality and accessibility.

 

10) McKesson to Acquire Per-Se Technologies for $1.8 Billion  - Acquisition builds scale and deepens market penetration. -- Strengthens product portfolio with three key customer sets: hospitals, physician practices and retail pharmacies.

 

11) NBIS Makes $6 Million of Capital Contribution to SCIC - ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NationsBuilders Insurance Services, Inc. (?NBIS?) announced today that it has contributed an additional $6 million of capital to its wholly owned subsidiary, Southwestern Casualty Insurance Company (?SCIC?).  SCIC provides quota share reinsurance to ProBuilders Specialty Insurance Services, RRG a Risk Retention Group that is exclusively managed by NBIS. Peter H. Foley, SCIC?s President stated, ?This is timely because NBIS is celebrating its fifth anniversary and the new capital will allow us to continue to support the increasing number of opportunities being presented to NBIS.?

 

12) MAJORITY OF CLAIMANTS ON LONG TERM CARE UNDER 65, UNUMPROVIDENT STUDY SHOWS - LTC insurance leader uncovers data regarding the under-65  insured population and long term care needs  -- CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Nov. 6, 2006) ? Nearly 58 percent of submitted claims for UnumProvident?s group long term care insurance are for people under age 65, the company reveals in its first annual Landscape of Long Term Care, a profile of claims activity.

 

13) BANK INSURANCE NEWS IN BRIEF - NOVEMBER 6, 2006

 

14) INSURANCE NEWSLINK Articles - Recent articles added to INSURANCE NEWSLINK, the worldwide, strategic concise intelligence database of over 27,000 articles including interviews, uniquely analysed by company, market, research, regulatory, and IT topics. Please click here for a content overview and a 15-day free review.

 

15) Class-action lawyers under fire ? again - Fri Nov 3, 2006 2:36pm ET By Martha Graybow -- NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of corporate America's favorite villains -- the class-action lawyer -- is getting pounced on again, even as the number of new U.S. securities fraud lawsuits has dropped.

 

16) Research Shows PBM Transparency Influences Employer Satisfaction - SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2006 Pharmacy Benefit Manager Customer Satisfaction Report released today by the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI) shows a clear link between transparency and employer satisfaction.

 

17) BISYS® Reaches Agreement in Principle with SEC Staff and Updates Status of 2006 Form 10-K Filing  - ROSELAND, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The BISYS Group, Inc., (NYSE:BSG), a leading provider of outsourcing solutions for the financial services sector, announced today that it has made an offer that the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has agreed to recommend that the SEC accept, which would, if approved, settle the previously disclosed SEC investigation into the Company's restatements of its financial results filed with the SEC on August 10, 2004 and April 26, 2006. The proposed settlement must be approved by the SEC and the court in which the SEC's complaint will be filed.

 

18) QCSI Continues to Drive Consumer-Directed Health Innovation with MyHealthBank Direct 2.2 - Newest Release Offers Enhancements in CDH Integration, User Interface, Customization, and Reporting -- PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--QCSI® (Quality Care Solutions, Inc.), a leading provider of advanced information technology and enterprise application software and services for health insurers and benefits administrators, announced today the release of MyHealthBank Direct Version 2.2 for consumer-driven healthcare (CDH) plans. MyHealthBank Direct, a Web-based online shopping platform with Health Savings Account (HSA) integration for individual CDH plans, delivers enhancements in CDH HSA integration, user interface, customizability, and reporting capabilities.

 

19) Russell Changes Asset Allocation Of LifePoints® Target Date Funds - New Russell Research Supports More Aggressive Glide Path in Earlier Years -- TACOMA, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Original research by Russell Investment Group has determined that typical defined contribution participants can benefit from more aggressive asset allocation in the early years of saving and investing for retirement. As a result, the firm has adopted a refined methodology for constructing target date funds and has announced changes to its LifePoints® Funds, Target Date Series, comprised of four target date portfolios available to defined contribution plan participants.

20) INSURANCE NEWSCAST ?Pictures Of The Day?

 

21) Critical Point Group Launches Income Continuation Solution - Insures Deposit Accounts against Temporary Account Holder Failure -- CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Critical Point Group, a provider of insured risk solutions, account valuation analysis tools and outsourced marketing technology for banks, credit unions and similar financial institutions, announced the release of its Income Continuation Solution (ICS), an income protection product that provides coverage against specific, verifiable, unforeseen events such as job loss, physical disability or death of a ?breadwinner? for up to six months.

 

22) Workway Forms Alliance With Via Solo to Offer New Health Benefits Program to Associates  - BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Workway, a Burbank, Calif.- based staffing firm specializing in serving the financial and other technical industries, announced the formation of a new alliance with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Via Solo, a marketing provider of affordable health benefits with individualized enrollment that enable temporary employees to choose a health program specific to their needs.

 

23) AIG VALIC Selected by Nassau Health Care Corporation as Exclusive 457(b) Plan Provider  - Nation?s Second Largest Provider of Retirement Plans to Health Care Organizations Selected Based on Personal, Face-to-Face Client Service and Comprehensive Financial Planning Capabilities

 

24) Milliman to Provide GASB 45 Services Package to New York State Association of Counties  - SEATTLE, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Milliman today announced development of a GASB 45 services package to meet the actuarial needs of the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC). This package has many advantages for NYSAC members, including:

 

25) MetLife Timberland Finance Group Provides Financing for $3.16 Billion Timberland Acquisition  - MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The MetLife Timberland Finance Group, a division of MetLife, Inc.?s Agricultural Investments unit, announced today that it has placed a long-term, first mortgage loan secured by approximately 2.6 million acres of timberland and timber across the Southeastern United States. The borrower is Red Mountain Timberlands, LLC, whose assets are managed by Resource Management Service, LLC of Birmingham, Ala.

 

26) Principal Real Estate Investors Acquires Five Office Buildings in Southern California - DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Principal Real Estate Investors, the real estate investment group of Principal Global Investors, has acquired five Class A office buildings in Cerritos, Calif. Developed in stages from 1989 to 1998, the five office buildings make up the Cerritos Towne Center. Principal Global Investors is a diversified asset management organization with world-class investment expertise in fixed income, equities and real estate.

 

27) AIR Worldwide uses proprietary crop yield model to Win Commodity Trading Competition for Third consecutive Year  - BOSTON, Nov. 3, 2006 ? For the third year in a row, AIR Worldwide Corporation?s agricultural risk group has won the FACTSim Futures and Options Trading Competition using the company?s industry-leading crop yield model.  AIR was presented with the award at the annual Southern Region Agricultural Outlook Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The AIR crop yield model forms the basis of AIR?s probabilistic crop loss model for insurers and reinsurers.

 

28) Financial Services Companies Ranked on How They Treat Online Customers; Industry Continues to Struggle With Privacy and Trust Issues  - Online Communications Performance Improves; Four out of 65 Reach Excellent Rating in Online Customer Respect Study

 

29) Multi-Million dollar Companies Abuse the Contributory Negligence Law!  - Mr. Joseph Carnegie, an elderly male tripped and fell over an unstable piece of carpet in a McDonald?s restaurant, located at 921 West Broad Street, St. Paul?s, North Carolina. Mr. Carnegie sustained systemic injuries, pain and suffering, unpaid medical expenses, in which each are relevant to his fall. McDonald?s owner has accepted accountability and has not denied negligence. However, the McDonald?s restaurant is represented by a Multi-Million dollar Company, GAB Robins North America. GAB Robins of North America refuse to properly compensate Carnegie because North Carolina has Contributory Negligence Law.

 

30) Moody's: Rating Trigger Usage Flat in U. S. Life (Re)Insurance - New York, November 06, 2006 -- Moody's Investors Service says its 2006 Rating Trigger Survey of the US Life (Re) Insurance industry indicates that "the number of triggers embedded in the financial and insurance contracts of the insurers has stayed steady for the second year in a row." "Moreover," Moody's notes, "the life insurers' and reinsurers' rating triggers themselves remained, in aggregate, relatively benign."

 

 

 

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