INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Tuesday, 12/19/06

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

INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Tuesday, 12/19/06  

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

 

1) BestWeek: P/C Profitability Approaches 50-Year Highs, but Market Softening Looms Large - To historians, 1953 was a year full of notable accomplishments. Jonas Salk unveiled his polio vaccine. Sir Edmund Hillary became the first man to successfully climb Mount Everest. But for U.S. property/casualty insurers, 1953 represents a different sort of historic milestone. It marked the last time the industry saw underwriting profitability of the sort it appears prepared to post in 2006, according to an exclusive article in the Dec. 18 BestWeek.

 

2) Ace says asbestos loss reserves rise by $200 mln - Property and casualty insurer Ace Ltd. (ACE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday that its gross reserve for potential asbestos claims had increased by about $200 million and reiterated that the reserve was adequately funded.

 

3) Marketing Executives Are Still Committed to Direct Mail - According to a poll of Philadelphia-area marketing executives taken at a recent W.A. Wilde hosted seminar, traditional mail continues to be a very powerful vehicle for obtaining customers. When asked what their most successful tool used in 2006 was, over half of the survey respondents cited traditional mail; Web projects were cited as the second most useful; and email marketing projects were cited as the third most useful.

 

4) ACE Announces Details From Brandywine Loss Reserve Studies - ACE Limited (NYSE:ACE) announced today additional details from the annual internal and biennial external reviews of the Company?s Brandywine run-off loss reserves, including asbestos and environmental liabilities:  As a result of the internal review, the Company concluded that its net loss reserves for the Brandywine operations were adequate and, therefore, no change to the carried net reserve was required, while the gross loss reserves increased by approximately $200 million.

 

5) Leaders of Nationwide Illegal Alien Employee-Leasing Conspiracy Sentenced - The two leaders of a six-person nationwide employee-leasing conspiracy that exploited hundreds of illegal aliens throughout the United States have been sentenced to terms in prison, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, announced today.

 

6) 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.

     

7) Axa to take full control of Moroccan affiliate - French insurer Axa (AXAF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) will take full control of its Moroccan affiliate Axa Assurance Maroc by acquiring local partner ONA's (ONA.CS: Quote, Profile, Research) stake in a holding company, the firms said on Monday.  Conglomerate ONA will sell Axa its 49 percent stake in Axa-ONA, the sole shareholder in Axa Assurance Maroc, in a deal valuing Axa-ONA at 5.9 billion dirhams ($694 million) that will be financed locally, they said.

 

8) The MMI Announces Assets in Separately Managed Accounts Reach a Record $805.8 Billion During 3Q 2006 - Assets under management in separately managed accounts (SMAs) have grown $32 billion, or 4.1%, to reach $805.8 billion in the third quarter, according to data published by the Money Management Institute (MMI), the national organization representing the managed account solutions industry. MMI?s data figures, compiled in partner with Financial Research Corporation (FRC) and Dover Financial Research, are based on program totals reported by investment manager and sponsor firms representing approximately 90-95% of the industry. Data tables providing a comprehensive overview of the industry?s third quarter data and other key statistics can be viewed at http://moneyinstitute.com/downloads/3Q2006datatables.pdf.

 

9) Assured Guaranty Ltd. Announces Agreement to Sell 1,150,000 Shares of Common Stock by ACE - At the request of ACE Bermuda Insurance Ltd. (?ACE?), Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE: AGO) (?Assured Guaranty? or the ?Company?) today announced that ACE has agreed to sell 1,150,000 shares of the Company?s common stock to Banc of America Securities LLC. Assured Guaranty will not receive any proceeds from this transaction.

 

10) RenaissanceRe Announces Redemption of 8.10% Series A Preference Shares - BUSINESS WIRE)--RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) announced today that it had called all of its outstanding 8.10% Series A Preference Shares (NYSE: RNRPRDA; CUSIP: G7496G 20 2) for mandatory redemption on January 15, 2007. The redemption price will be $25 per Preference Share, plus accrued and unpaid dividends to January 15, 2007.

 

11) Cadence Financial Corporation to Begin Trading on NASDAQ Market - Cadence Financial Corporation (AMEX: NBY) today announced that it has been approved for listing on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol ?CADE.? Trading on the NASDAQ is expected to commence on December 28, 2006. The Company?s common stock will continue to trade on AMEX until the market close on December 27, 2006 under the symbol ?NBY.?

 

12) Willis Group issues statement on Eric Dinallo's Nomination to New York State Insurance Superintendent - New York, December 15, 2006 ? Eric Dinallo, General Counsel of Willis Group Holdings, was today nominated by Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer of New York to serve as New York State Insurance Superintendent in the new administration.  Joe Plumeri, Chairman and CEO of Willis, issued the following statement:

 

13) Western-Southern Life Assurance Company Enhances Select Policies with Waiver of Premium Unemployment Rider - CINCINNATI ? Dec. 18, 2006 ? Western-Southern Life Assurance Company (Western-Southern Life) announced that it will begin providing a Waiver of Premium Unemployment Rider (Rider) with select policies it offers to consumers through their captive agency force.  The Rider will be available on ARCT, 10-, 15-, 20-, and 30-year level term plans. Western-Southern Life will waive the premium of the Rider and base policy to which it is attached for up to six months while the Rider is in force and while the insured is collecting unemployment benefits. The cost of the Rider is three percent of the total premium waived.

 

13) State Automobile Mutual to Purchase Texas-Based Beacon Insurance Group - COLUMBUS, Ohio - December 18, 2006 - State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company, Columbus, Ohio, announced today that, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, it has agreed to acquire the Beacon Insurance Group, Wichita Falls, Texas. Closing is expected in the first quarter of 2007, subject to regulatory approval.

 

14) Working-Age Adults Look to CareOptionsOnline for Education and Solutions to Disability, Eldercare and Long-Term Care Planning - December 18, 2006 ? Madison, Wisconsin ? NavGate Technologies (www.NavGate.org), a pioneering industry leader and developer of technology-based care solutions, has created CareOptionsOnLine (COOL) to educate working-age adults about the necessity to plan for their present and future care needs ? an area that is vastly misunderstood and lacking in accessible information and tools.  COOL helps people understand the issues, anticipate the costs and identify the resources necessary for the short- or long-term care needs for themselves or a loved one.

 

15) Advanced Insurance Direct Marketing Workshop 2007: ?Building for the Future ? Measuring Strategic Options? - Middletown, DE (December 6, 2006) ? ?Building for the Future ? Measuring Strategic Options,? a limited-attendance intensive workshop, will take place March 12-14, 2007, at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, VA.  The workshop will consist of both interactive and case study focused presentations covering every sector of insurance ? life, health, auto, and more. 

 

16) Man Convicted for Automobile Insurance Fraud, Reports U.S. Attorney - BOSTON, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- A federal trial jury today convicted a Shrewsbury man of mail fraud, health care fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in connection with false billings to automobile insurance companies for medical tests.  United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Kenneth W. Kaiser, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New England; and Douglas A. Bricker, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, announced today that SEVERIN YELAUN, age 32, of Framingham, was convicted by a trial jury sitting before U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, of 26 counts of mail fraud, one count of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

 

17) Willis Energy Market Review Reveals Changing Priorities - London, UK, December 18, 2006 ? After one of the most benign years on record in terms of energy losses, the end of 2006 shows signs of changing priorities within both the energy insurance buyer and supplier communities, with buyers seeking alternatives to commercial insurance and suppliers trying to protect their newly lucrative energy market share. These are the key findings of the latest Energy Market Review by Willis Group Holdings (NYSE:WSH), the global insurance broker.

 

18) HAGERTY INTRODUCES ELECTRONIC POLICY DELIVERY FOR AGENTS - New Program Offers a Tool to Simplify the Insurance Process.  TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (December 2006) ? In an ongoing effort to save agencies time and money, Hagerty announces the introduction of its Electronic Policy Delivery (EPD) program. EPD is state-of-the-art automation that provides immediate customer policy information to agents.  The efficient e-mail system will inform agents of the customer?s name and policy number, and outline the transaction type (e.g., new business, renewal, endorsement, etc.). Additionally, all policy paperwork will be mailed directly to customers, though agents will still be able to access the documents through Hagerty?s online policy management.

 

19) Exstream Software Partners with Fiserv Insurance Solutions - Companies Team to Deliver Straight-through Document Processing Solutions for Property and Casualty Insurers.  Exstream Software, Inc., provider of Dialogue, industry-leading software for enterprise document personalization, today announced a co-marketing partnership with Fiserv Insurance Solutions, a unit of Fiserv Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) and provider of software and outsourcing solutions for the insurance industry. The agreement aligns the two companies? efforts to provide document management solutions that streamline the entire document creation and delivery process for property and casualty insurers, resulting in faster time to market for critical communications, improved customer service, and significantly reduced production costs.

 

20) INSURANCE NEWSCAST ?Pictures Of The Day?

 

21) 50 Life Insurance Companies Ranked on How They Treat Online Customers; The Customer Respect Group - Industry Ranks Poorly for Privacy and Safeguarding of Personal Data Online; Communications Continues to Drop Behind Customer Expectations and Standards.  IPSWICH, Mass., Dec. 5, 2006-The Customer Respect Group, an international research and consulting firm that focuses on how corporations treat their online customers, today released findings from its Fourth Quarter 2006 Online Customer Respect Study of the Life Insurance Industry.

 

22) SHRM Calls Labor's Request for FMLA Information Welcomed and Overdue - FMLA Implementation Rules Need Clarification and Improvement, Says HR Profession.  (Alexandria, Va., December 1, 2006)?The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) today applauded the U.S. Department of Labor's announced plans to seek information on the current rules governing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  An official Request for Information on the FMLA's regulations was published in the Federal Register on December 1, 2006.

 

23) PIA receives MarCom Award for magazine, disaster preparedness manual - International awards competition recognizes outstanding work in marketing field.  GLENMONT, N.Y.-PIA Management Services Inc. has won two awards in the MarCom Creative Awards 2006 competition, including a Gold Award in the "magazine/association" category for its PIA magazine and an Honorable Mention in the "communications/PR/other" category for its Agency Preparedness & Recovery Plan.

 

24) Ebix to Move Financial Headquarters from Chicago to Atlanta as of January 1, 2007 - Finetre Executive Promoted to Ebix CFO Position.  ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2006--Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX), a leading international developer and supplier of software and e-commerce solutions to the insurance industry, today announced its decision to move its financial headquarters from Chicago to Atlanta as of January 1, 2007.  The company also announced that it will be closing its Chicago office effective December 31, 2006 and that its present CFO Richard Baum will be retiring as of the same date. In a related move, Carl Serger, formerly the president and chief financial officer of Finetre Corporation, which was acquired by Ebix in October, has been promoted to assume the senior vice president and chief financial officer position of Ebix as of January 1, 2007.

 

25) FOX POINT PROGRAMS ANNOUNCES AN ERRORS AND OMISSIONS PRODUCT FOR SECURITY BROKER DEALERS - Fox Point Programs has partnered with certain Underwriters at Lloyds of London to offer Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance for Securities Brokers-Dealers.  The coverage provides protection against allegations of wrongful acts committed by the Insured as well as those attributed to individual Registered Representatives operating on the Insured?s behalf.

 

26) Legendary Hall-of-Fame Quarterback Bart Starr and Wife Cherry Starr Named SecureHorizons® Spokespeople - MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ovations, the UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) company dedicated to improving health and well-being among Americans age 50 and older, today announced that one of its members, legendary Hall-of-Fame quarterback Bart Starr, MVP of Super Bowls I and II, and his wife Cherry Starr will serve as official spokespeople for SecureHorizons® by UnitedHealthcare, the leading name in Medicare Advantage.

 

27) Windows in Financial Services Delivers Its Own News, Adding New Editorial Staff, Expanded Coverage of Microsoft in the Financial Enterprise and Redesigned Web Site - Former Incisive Media Editor Renee Wijnen Caruthers Named Managing Editor.  NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Windows in Financial Services (WFS), the quarterly trade magazine and the only financial industry publication in the Americas dedicated solely to covering Microsoft in the financial enterprise, announced today a new editorial staffing structure and expanded editorial coverage under Renee Wijnen Caruthers, the new managing editor. The publication is also formally launching its redesigned Web site, www.windowfs.com.

 

28) Aetna Celebrates Southern Connecticut Nonprofits That Received $200,000 in Aetna Foundation Grants in 2006 - NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aetna (NYSE: AET) today convened a gathering of its 2006 Aetna Foundation grant recipients in order to celebrate their contributions to Southern Connecticut and provide opportunities for the non-profit organizations to forge new relationships, strengthen existing partnerships and share their vision of community service.  

 

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