INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Tuesday, 11/21/06

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INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Tuesday, 11/21/06  

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

 

1) Louisiana legislature to take up insurance crisis - MIAMI, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco will call a special, 10-day session of the state legislature next month to consider using revenue surpluses for insurance rebates, tax cuts and pay raises for state worker.

 

2) ABN sells novel castastrophe securitization - By David Wigan - LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - ABN AMRO (AAH.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) has closed an innovative securitisation of natural catastrophe risks using a credit derivatives structure to distribute risk exposure.

 

3) INTERVIEW-Mexico touts plan for global catastrophe fund - By Gilbert Le Gras - SYDNEY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A Mexican proposal for a global fund to help developing countries cope with the costs of natural disasters is getting a good reception from leaders in other parts of the world, Mexico's finance chief said on Monday.

 

4) Genworth Financial Has Received SEC and Justice Department Subpoenas   - RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) today said that one of its business units has received subpoenas from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice related to an investigation of bid-rigging involving guaranteed investment contracts (GICs) sold to municipalities.

 

5) Flooded Vehicles Pose Safety and Consumer Risk Unless Insurers Share Info  - Auto Dealers Seek Insurers' Help in Keeping Flood-Damaged Cars Off the Streets - Insurance Company Voluntarily Discloses Flood Damage Info

 

6) Professional Employer Organizations to Grow 8% in 2007; Larger Companies Begin to Gain Competitive Advantage   - Staffing Industry Analysts Ranks Top 25 PEOs; No. 1 ADP Increases Gross PEO Revenue 26.9% - LOS ALTOS, Calif., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The competitive landscape for Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs), which provide outsourced human resources to companies across the nation, may be starting to tilt in favor of the largest PEOs, according to a new report by Staffing Industry Analysts, the premier provider of market intelligence about the contingent workforce.

 

7) Fitch Comments on Changing U.S. Life Reinsurance Landscape - CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings says the factors to be successful in today's changing life reinsurance marketplace favor large, financially strong and flexible, experienced participants with strong ratings.

 

8) Fitch Comments on Subpoenas of Municipal GIC Providers - NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Over the course of the past two days, several providers of municipal guaranteed investment contracts (GICs) have received subpoenas from several government agencies, including the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and/or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with an investigation of bid rigging of awards of municipal GICs. To date, those providers who have disclosed receiving at least one subpoena include: Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd. (FSA Holdings), parent of Financial Security Assurance Inc. (FSA); Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. (FGIC); Security Capital Assurance Ltd., parent of XL Capital Assurance Inc. (XLCA); and a subsidiary of XL Capital Ltd. Nearly all of these entities are specifically involved in the financial guaranty insurance industry. Given the apparent scope of the investigations, Fitch would not be surprised to see other providers of municipal GICs receive subpoenas as well.

 

9) Ernst & Young IAAS Announces Highlights from Its Insurance Industry Risk Leadership Roundtable on Economic Capital - -- Identifies Heightened Activity but Suggests Need to Enhance Strategic Approach -- NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Insurance and Actuarial Advisory Services (IAAS) practice of Ernst & Young LLP today announced highlights from its recent Economic Capital Methodology Roundtable of senior insurance executives discussing current initiatives and future plans, as well as opportunities and barriers to success. Preliminary results of a survey conducted by IAAS among insurers leading the trend to adoption were also discussed.

 

10) MetLife Completes Sale of Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town - NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) announced today that it has completed the sale of its Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town properties to a group led by Tishman Speyer and BlackRock Realty, the real estate arm of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK), for $5.4 billion.

 

11) INSURERS CONTINUE TO EMBRACE INTERNET FILING - KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 17, 2006) ? The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) today announced that electronic filing of its third quarter company financial statements has increased over 17 percent in the past three years.

 

12) SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS MADE DURING TWO-DAY COMPACT MEETING - Commission Members, State Legislators, Industry and Consumer Representatives Make Significant Progress at Annual Meeting - LANSDOWNE, Va. (Nov. 17, 2006) ? At the inaugural annual meeting of the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission (?Commission?) held in Lansdowne, Virginia on November 15 -16, 2006, the Commission continued to make significant progress in implementing a central point of filing and review for asset-based insurance products.  Twenty-seven compacting states participated in the annual meeting, with twenty-two Commissioners in attendance.

 

13) 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.

 

14) BANK INSURANCE NEWS IN BRIEF - NOVEMBER 20, 2006

 

15) Nasdaq makes $5.1 bln bid for LSE - Mon Nov 20, 2006 7:42am ET - By Louise Heavens and Mark Potter -- LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. stock exchange Nasdaq (NDAQ.O: Quote, Profile, Research) launched a 2.7 billion pound ($5.1 billion) offer for the London Stock Exchange (LSE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday in a bid to become the world's first transatlantic bourse.

 

16) FACTBOX - 10 largest buyouts by financial sponsors - Nov 20 (Reuters) - The following list ranks the 10 largest buyouts or bids by financial sponsors, according to research firm Dealogic. The value of the deals excludes debt.

 

17) Bank of America buys US Trust for $3.3 billion - Mon Nov 20, 2006 8:30am ET - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp. (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the No. 2 U.S. bank, on Monday said it agreed to buy U.S. Trust Corp., the private banking unit of Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW.O: Quote, Profile, Research), for $3.3 billion to expand in the lucrative business of managing money for wealthy people.

 

18) Navigant Consulting Announces Increase in Bank Revolving Credit Agreement  - CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: NCI), an international consulting firm providing dispute, investigative, operational, risk management and financial advisory solutions to legal counsel, government agencies and companies experiencing regulatory or structural challenges, today announced it has amended its revolving credit agreement, increasing its line of credit from $175 million to $200 million, with the option to increase it to $350 million over the life of the facility.

 

19) Delta Dental Contributes $60,000 as Seed Funding for New NFDH Program  - Program Will Bring Dental Care to the Physically and Mentally Handicapped in Tennessee -- NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thousands of Americans are faced with the reality of no health or dental insurance because of the inability to work. To help some of those individuals within Tennessee, Delta Dental of Tennessee has provided initial funding to the National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped (NFDH) and Donated Dental Services of Tennessee (DDS) to offer free dental services to individuals who are disabled, elderly and/or medically compromised and cannot work because of their condition.

 

20) INSURANCE NEWSCAST ?Pictures Of The Day?

 

21) ACLI Raises Serious Concerns Over Korean Plans to Limit Insurance Offerings  - WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the leading life insurance company trade association in the United States, expressed serious substantive and procedural concerns over a plan that has been finalized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW).

 

22) MassMutual's Emerald Financial Resources Reaches $2 Billion in Life Insurance Coverage in Force  - MassMutual general agency credits milestone to financial expertise, client service and customer loyalty  -- BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Emerald Financial Resources, a Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) general agency based in Bridgewater, NJ, announced today it has reached a key milestone in its business -- $2 billion of life insurance coverage in force issued by MassMutual and its affiliates.

 

23) Did Baby Boomers Learn a Priceless Savings Lesson?  - Boomers Have Transformed a Life-Lesson Learned into Advice for Generation X  -- MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a classic case of ?Do as I say, not as I do,? a new nationwide survey of pre-retirees offers younger generations a glimpse of what baby boomers might do differently if they could turn back the clock and start their retirement planning over.

 

24) International Insurance Company, International Medical Group, Launches New Interactive Tool - Reinforcing Excellent Service  - INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--International Medical Group® (IMG®) announced today the release of MyIMGSM, a new website providing international clients with online access to easily manage their account information at anytime from anywhere.

 

25) EMI 911 rCard Puts Lifesaving Information in the Hands of Doctors, Emergency Personnel - Business-Card-Sized Device Enables Americans to Always Carry Key Health, Contact Information -- MACON, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A technology-driven emergency medical service launched today is poised to save thousands of lives each year by providing instantaneous access to critical health information for victims of accidents and other medical emergencies. The EMI r911 Card stores detailed personal health information on a device the size of a business card.

 

26) TD Bank Financial Group and TD Banknorth Inc. Agree to Going-Private Transaction - TORONTO & PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TD Bank Financial Group (TDBFG) (TSX and NYSE: TD) and TD Banknorth Inc. (NYSE: BNK) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement providing for the acquisition by TDBFG of all of the outstanding shares of common stock of TD Banknorth not currently owned by TDBFG for US$32.33 per share in cash.

 

27) National Health Partners Announces Current Membership Base Has Increased an Amazing 62% from Q3 2006 Levels - Company Achieves 15,000 Membership Milestone as Membership Growth Continues to Accelerate  -- HORSHAM, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National Health Partners, Inc. (OTCBB: NHPR), a leading provider of unique discount healthcare membership programs, announced today that it has achieved the 15,000 membership milestone, representing an amazing 62% increase in members over Q3 2006 levels. The company stated that it expects to meet or exceed its previous forecast of between 20,000 and 25,000 members by the end of 2006 due to its rapidly accelerating growth in sales.

 

28) The Hanover Speeds Electronic Claims, Billing and Policy Inquiries with IVANS Transformation Station(TM)   - WORCESTER, Mass., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Reinforcing its commitment to offer agent partners the technology and tools to make it easy to do business, The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE: THG), a leading super regional property and casualty company, today announced the ability for agents using Applied Systems' The Agency Manager(R) (TAM), to perform policy inquiries from their desktop.    

 

29) Aon Increases Share Repurchase Program to $2 billion  - -- Repurchased 23.1 million shares for $861 million since November 2005 --  CHICAGO, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aon Corporation (NYSE: AOC) announced today that its Board of Directors has increased the authorized share repurchase program by $1 billion to a total of $2 billion available for share repurchase. Through the close of trading on November 17, 2006, the Company had repurchased 23.1 million shares for $861 million under the previously existing $1 billion share repurchase program authorized in November 2005.

 

30) Transamerica Corporation Announces Pricing of Tender Offer  - THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, November 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Transamerica Corporation, a US subsidiary of AEGON N.V., (LSE: AGN) (NYSE: AEG) announced today that pricing has been set in the cash tender offer for outstanding legacy debt securities issued by two affiliated trusts, Transamerica Capital II and Transamerica Capital III.    

 

31) Willis Appointed Broker for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai - New York, NY, November 20, 2006 ? Willis Group Holdings, (NYSE:WSH), the global insurance broker, is continuing to make great strides in China with its recent appointment as lead broker for the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

 

32) New Producers Get Intensive Training at California Producer School - AUSTIN, TX (November 17, 2006) ? The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research has announced that a three-week producer training program will be held in the Los Angeles area ? specifically City of Industry ? January 21-February 9, 2007, at the Pacific Palms Resort.  New commercial insurance producers will have the opportunity to learn technical product information and selling skills at the California Producer School.

 

33) ABA CONFERENCE HELPS BANKERS MANAGE RISKS, REDUCE INSURANCE COSTS - WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 ? Effective strategies for managing risks related to environmental liability, natural disasters, cyber fraud, terrorism and the pending pandemic will be presented at the American Bankers Association Insurance Risk Management Conference, Jan. 21-24 at the Naples Grand Resort and Club, Naples, Fla.

 

34) AAIS "Main Event" April 22-24 in Charleston - "AAIS MAIN EVENT" TO ADDRESS STRATEGIC-LEVEL PRODUCT ISSUES  -- Wheaton, Illinois, Nov. 17, 2006--The American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) is sponsoring a new national meeting concentrating on strategic concerns related to the development and maintenance of property/casualty insurance products.

 

35) Norvax And Warner Pacific Present Health Insurance 2.0: 1st Annual Carrier & Technology Innovators Summit - Norvax and Warner Pacific have announced their first joint symposium entitled "Health Insurance 2.0: 1st Annual Carrier & Technology Innovators Summit." The summit is designed to arm producers and carriers with the breaking technological innovations that will impact health sales in 2007.

 

36) PIANJ?s first-ever Women?s Business Forum educates and inspires - TRENTON, N.J.?The Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey Inc. held its first-ever PIANJ Women?s Business Forum yesterday at Forsgate Country Club, Monroe Township, N.J. The Forum featured keynote speaker Lisa Tepper, regional president of the Metro New York/New Jersey Region for Travelers Insurance.

  

 

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