INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Tuesday, 05/08/07

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

INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Tuesday, 05/08/07

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

Liberty Mutual to buy Ohio Casualty for $2.7 bln - Mon May 7, 2007 8:50am ET - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Liberty Mutual Group reached a definitive agreement to buy Ohio Casualty Corp. (OCAS.O: Quote, Profile , Research) for $44 per share in cash, or $2.7 billion, the companies said Monday. - Ohio Casualty is the holding company of Ohio Casualty Insurance Co. and five other property and casualty insurance companies.

Nation Unprepared for Mega-Catastrophe - WASHINGTON, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Federal, state and local governments, the private sector, and American citizens themselves must be substantially better prepared to face the devastating impact of future mega-catastrophes. Governments at all levels, together with the private sector, must do a better job of attending to the human and economic needs of victims immediately after mega-catastrophes. These are two of the findings released in the new report "A Call to Action" by the Financial Services Roundtable Blue Ribbon Commission on Mega-Catastrophes. The report identifies other disaster preparedness needs and offers 25 recommendations to better prepare the nation for future catastrophes.

BestWeek: Romney, Dodd Lead White House Contenders in Insurance Contributions - OLDWICK, N.J., May XX, 2007? The 19 declared U.S. presidential candidates raised $1.53 million from the insurance sector in the first quarter, with Democrats taking an early lead over their GOP counterparts in the race for industry cash, according to an exclusive story in this week?s issue of BestWeek.

Buffett eyes $40 bln to $60 bln deals: report - Mon May 7, 2007 8:14am ET - PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said he could envision his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKa.N: Quote, Profile , Research) (BRKb.N: Quote, Profile , Research) insurance and investment company pursuing a $40 billion to $60 billion acquisition, according to a Bloomberg News report. -- "I would hope that something would come along that would force us to sell something that I like to buy (something) huge," Buffett said at a press conference. "We have plenty of things to sell if we needed to, but the cash is coming in faster than the ideas."

Buffett says Berkshire has halved hurricane risk - Mon May 7, 2007 6:41AM EDT - OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Sunday said his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKa.N: Quote, Profile, Research (BRKb.N: Quote, Profile, Research insurance and investment company has cut in half from 2006 its exposure to hurricane-related losses, citing a less favorable pricing environment.

Kerry Health Care Plan Eases Cost Burden for Small Businesses - WASHINGTON, May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Senator John Kerry (D- Mass.) introduced the Healthy Businesses, Healthy Workers Reinsurance Act of 2007, which will tackle the growing crisis of health care costs for families and businesses. Under Kerry's plan, the federal government will pick up part of the cost for the most catastrophic cases -- and in turn, businesses will cover all their employees with quality, preventative coverage. Premiums for all Americans will decrease by up to 10%. Healthy Businesses, Healthy Families is co-sponsored by Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.).

NAIC Affirms Confidence In Meetings Policies - KANSAS CITY, Mo. (May 4, 2007) ? The leadership of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) today reinforced its confidence in the structure of the Association?s business meetings, including its right to conduct some meetings in executive session. -- The NAIC meetings policy has been in place for decades. This approach provides a fair balance between holding open meetings on regulatory public policy issues while allowing NAIC members to conduct certain Association business in closed sessions.

Potential Board Member D&O Inquiries Hit All-Time High, According to Towers Perrin Survey - STAMFORD, CT, April 13, 2007 ? Public and private companies ¾ more than 66% of respondents ¾ have received a record number of inquiries from potential board members who are concerned about their current directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance, an increase of 16% from 2005, according to the D&O Liability 2006 Survey on Insurance Purchasing and Claims Trends conducted by Towers Perrin. Nonprofit respondents received similar D&O inquiries from approximately 32% of their boards, up slightly (3%) from 2005.

EZ Meds USA Has Developed One of The First Comprehensive ?Donut Hole? RX Plan for Medicare Part D Enrollees. - Scottsdale Arizona, - May 6, 2007 EZ Meds USA, a Scottsdale company providing a simple and affordable solution for Medicare eligible individuals to obtain costly prescription medications when they reach the Plan D ?Donut Hole?. This plan provides the top 1,100 name brand drugs with NO ? Deductibles, Co-Insurance, Co-Payments ? or Limit on the number of Medications taken per month.

Florida Legislature Adjourns, Unwilling To Address Market-Based Solutions To Property Insurance Challenge - ATLANTA, May 7, 2007 -The Florida Legislature has adjourned after giving final approval to a property insurance measure that makes some minor improvements to the law enacted in the January special session, yet also continues to expand the state?s ability to provide property insurance coverage, according to the American Insurance Association (AIA). The session concluded Friday afternoon, just after legislators approved a hotly debated property insurance measure.

Illinois Governor's Expansion of Healthcare Coverage Attempts to Reach State's Uninsured - NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's plan to expand access to healthcare coverage to the state's 1.4 million uninsured adults will be at a cost of $2.1 billion per year. According to the latest Illinois Health Plan Analysis, Blagojevich proposes to fund the $60.1 billion budget with $7 billion in new business taxes, including a gross receipts tax, which would take the place of the state's current corporate income tax, a lease of the state'slottery and $16 billion in additional debt.

As Many as 319,000 Community Health Center Patients, Including More Than 212,000 Children, Expected to Lose Medicaid Coverage as a Result of Medicaid Documentation Requirements - WASHINGTON, May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Medicaid documentation requirements enacted by Congress in 2006 are already having a major and measurable impact on health centers and their patients, according to a new analysis issued by The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (GW/SPHHS). These new requirements -- affecting both children and adults nationally -- are disrupting coverage for thousands of Medicaid-enrolled health center patients, while delaying applications and enrollment for thousands more. Health centers' ability to provide care for both their insured and uninsured patients is being affected.

WellPoint Chairman, President and CEO Establishes 10b5-1 Equity Plan - INDIANAPOLIS, May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) announced today that Larry C. Glasscock, the company's chairman, president and chief executive officer, has established a personal stock trading plan in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and the company's policies with respect to insider sales.

Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc. Chairman Adopts Rule 10b5-1 Plan - SOUTHFIELD, Mich., May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Meadowbrook Insurance Group (NYSE: MIG) today announced the Company's Chairman and Founder, Merton J. Segal, has established a pre-arranged stock trading plan, in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act, under which he has authorized the sale of up to a maximum of 400,000 shares of the Company's common stock. Under a Rule 10b5-1 plan a shareholder is allowed to sell shares at a time when it would ordinarily not be in the market because of the shareholder's subsequent acquisition of material non-public information or a company's trading policy.

CCC Information Services Trusted by Industry for 100 Millionth Time

CHICAGO, May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- CCC announced today that the 100,000,000th collision repair estimate has been processed into its data warehouse, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of its extensive and detailed repository of estimatics data. CCC, a leader in information technology to the auto-claims industry, thanks customers for their continued trust in its products and services and looks forward to further expanding the warehouse in the future.

Owensboro Independent Schools and MassMutual Team Up to Enable Families to Apply For Free Life Insurance - OWENSBORO, Ky., May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The MassMutual Financial Group today announced that it is teaming up with the Owensboro Independent School District and The Kentucky Commission On Women to offer its eligible families free $50,000 term life insurance policies under MassMutual's philanthropic LifeBridge(SM) Free Life Insurance Program. If an insured parent or legal guardian passes away during the 10-year term of the policy, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) will put $50,000 in trust to pay solely for the educational expenses of dependent children.

The Woman's Guide to Life, Disability and Long-Term Care Insurance - ONTARIO, Calif., May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Unfortunately, many women are too busy attending to everyone else in their world and their own insurance needs are the last thing that get attention, says Frank N. Darras, the nation's leading disability and long-term care insurance lawyer. -- If you're young, single and no one depends on you for income or financial support and you have enough money for burial and funeral expenses, life insurance may be unnecessary. -- For the rest of us, the monetary pain of making life insurance premium payments should be alleviated by the peace of mind and security of knowing we are leaving our loved ones financially secure.

A.M. Best Special Report: European Life and Non-Life Markets?As Market Conditions Deteriorate, Some Segments See Profitable Growth - OLDWICK, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., May 4, 2007?Life insurers have experienced strong growth over the past few years, a trend that continued in 2006. The strong demand for unit-linked products has been fuelled by good investment conditions and the companies? focus on selling capital efficient products, this according to a special report by the A.M. Best Co.. However, previous experience indicates that should investment volatility develop into a more persistent trend, unit-linked sales are likely to suffer first.

A.M. Best believes that the market is likely to return to more reasonable levels of growth in 2007, with sales expected to increase by 5% to 7% during the year. - The new business strain has been significant and was exacerbated by the product mix being heavily biased toward pensions. This was not enough to upset a very strong market performance, with pretax earnings likely to have grown by approximately 12%. Strong investment performance, despite the decline in equity markets in May 2006, meant that U.K. life insurers were able to more than offset the new business strain.

Identifying the Need for Cancer Insurance - Millions of Americans have health insurance coverage in the form of Health Maintenance Organizations, Preferred Provider Organizations, Point of Service Plans which are offered by various insurance carriers. Americans feel that this insurance coverage will take care of the costs of catastrophic claims; therefore, they do not see the need for any specified disease coverage, such as cancer insurance.

Insurance Research Program Announces Winning Research - NEW YORK, NY, May 4, 2007 --- The Geneva Association and the International Insurance Society, Inc, have announced the winners of their collaborative insurance research program ? sponsored jointly by the two organizations - and designed to foster high-quality practical research on current issues. The award-winning papers will receive a $10,000 stipend and the authors will present their research during the International Insurance Society?s seminar in Berlin, Germany, July 8 ? 11, 2007

Safeco Upgrades Commercial Auto Policy - Making It One Of The Best In The Industry - SEATTLE, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Safeco Insurance (NYSE: SAF) today announced enhancements to its commercial auto policy with coverages and features not available on standard auto policies. --- In addition to the exciting product enhancements, agents can now write more than 90% of the total available commercial auto insurance market in just minutes online at www.safeconow.com.

The 6.6 Percent Retirement Income Solution? ? Executive Summary - Based on The Grangaard Strategy®?Invest Right During Retirement - by Paul A. Grangaard, CPA -- Retirement income planning is the #1 topic in the financial world?and it will be for a long time. - But many in the industry have missed a fundamental change in the market. It?s no longer just about getting the message out?we?ve done that. People know we?re facing a retirement crises.

PIMA Announces 2007 Summer Conference: Soaring Above the Competition - (Fort Worth, TX) ? The Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA) announced that its 33rd annual Summer Conference will take place July 26-29, 2007 at the Stoweflake Resort & Conference Center in Stowe, Vermont. The event ? which draws insurance agencies, TPAs, and brokers & carriers engaged in association, worksite & affinity direct marketing ? is a forum for education and business development.

Goldman to buy S.Korea asset manager from Macquarie - Mon May 7, 2007 8:11am ET - By Kim Yeon-hee - SEOUL (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Monday it has agreed to acquire a South Korean asset management firm majority owned by Australia's Macquarie Bank (MBL.AX: Quote, Profile , Research), its first entry into the country's domestic asset management business. - The deal, the value of which was not disclosed, underscores growing interest from global financial services firms in the country's $250 billion asset management sector as retail assets flow into investment products from bank deposits for higher returns.

New Century Execs' Multimillion-Dollar Bonuses Tied to Lowballing Risks, Highballing Income From Subprime Mortgages, FinancialWeek Reports - NEW YORK, May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- New Century Financial, the highest-profile casualty of the subprime lending meltdown to date, had an old-style bonus formula that may have fueled management's overstating of income and understating of risks for the subprime loans it was feeding into Wall Street's securitization machine, FinancialWeek reports in its May 7 issue.

TSA Statement on Employee Data Security Incident - WASHINGTON, May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Yesterday the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) became aware of a potential data security incident involving approximately 100,000 archived employment records of individuals employed by the agency from January 2002 until August 2005. An external hard drive containing personnel data (including name, social security number, date of birth, payroll information, bank account and routing information) was discovered missing from a controlled area at the TSA Headquarters Office of Human Capital. It is unclear at this stage whether the device is still within headquarters or was stolen. TSA immediately reported the incident to senior DHS and law enforcement officials and launched an investigation.

Live Webcast: BCBSA Announces New Initiative - The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association will announce a proposal for a new, independent entity to explore the effectiveness of new and existing medical procedures, drugs, devices, and biologics on Monday, May 7th. The announcement will take place at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Through our live webcast, you can have exclusive access to this important discussion. The webcast will also be available as an archive at BCBS.com after the Monday event.

Stock Market Advance Contributed to Improved Funding Status of U.S. Pension Plans in April, According to Mellon Financial - PITTSBURGH, May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rising global stock markets overcame a slight increase in pension liabilities as the funded status of a typical U.S. pension plan improved by 1.8 percentage points in April 2007, according to Mellon Financial Corporation (NYSE:MEL) , which tracks the financial health of U.S. pension plans through its Mellon Pension Liability Indexes.

eHealth Initiative Foundation Releases New Communications Tools Based on Consumer Research on Secure Electronic Health Information Exchange - WASHINGTON, May 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- When medical emergencies arise there is no time to waste, yet few patient medical histories can be accessed electronically to help doctors make informed decisions -- especially when a patient is unconscious and can't communicate information about allergies or special medical conditions.

Nearly 28,000 U.S. Infants Died in 2004 - Preterm Birth Contributes More Than One-Third of Infant Deaths - WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., May 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Preterm birth contributes to more than one-third of all infant deaths, according to the National Vital Statistics report released today. - Although the national infant mortality rate is the lowest it's been since the U.S. started collecting data a century ago, there's been little change recently -- 6.78 deaths for every 1,000 live births in 2004 compared to 6.89 in 2000, the National Center for Health Statistics report found.

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