Daily Quote: If you want to be successful, know what you are doing, love what you are doing and believe in what you are doing." - - Will Rogers Workplace Benefits Renaissance "Mardi Gras" 2007
1. Merrill Lynch to buy First Republic for $1.8 bln Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:23am ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (MER.N: ) said on Monday it will buy First Republic Bank (FRC.N: ), which specializes in luxury home lending in California, for $1.8 billion. Merrill Lynch's cash-and-stock offer of $55 a share represents a 44 percent premium over First Republic's closing price on Friday. Merrill Lynch has built up its private banking operations in recent years as the ranks of the wealthy have grown. It expects the deal to add modestly to its profits by the end of 2008. Merrill Lynch said the deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter. First Republic of San Francisco will continue to operate its business separately as a new division of Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust Co., FSB. Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Herbert and president and Chief Operating Officer Katherine August-deWilde will continue their roles. Merrill Lynch said it wants to boost First Republic's earnings and revenue growth by accelerating the expansion of First Republic's offices and by cross promotions of products and services between the two companies. Standard & Poor's equity analyst Stuart Plesser said in a research report last week that new branch openings should help First Republic's revenue to grow 15 percent in 2007. He also said the bank's share price, about a 10 percent premium to peer regional banks, is too high in light of slower growth prospects. "We are concerned about continued net interest margin pressure due to an inverted yield curve and the bank's heavy reliance on borrowed funds," Plesser said. As of September 30, 2006, First Republic had assets of $10.7 billion, loans of $7.6 billion, deposits of $7.9 billion, and assets under management or administration of $16.4 billion. In an interview with Reuters last year, John Thiel, head of the private banking and investment group at Merrill Lynch, said the firm has hired hundreds of bankers since 2000, as the ranks of the wealthy have grown. Merrill Lynch's private banking efforts tend to focus on clients with assets of $10 million and more. © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 2. Prudential offloads Egg to Citigroup for $1.1 bln By Clara Ferreira-Marques and Simon Challis LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Britain's Prudential (PRU.L: ) surprised investors on Monday with a 575 million pound ($1.1 billion) deal to sell loss-making Internet bank Egg to U.S. giant Citigroup (C.N: ), solving a nagging worry for the insurer. But the sale -- at just over half the value of the bank when Prudential bought out minority shareholders last year as market conditions deteriorated -- is likely to increase pressure on Chief Executive Mark Tucker to turn his attention to the rest of his underperforming UK business, which saw flat sales in 2006. Citigroup said Egg would boost its UK presence fourfold, and said it was confident it could use the "significant synergies" to extract value from the underperforming lender. Dragged down by competition in bulk annuity sales and by Egg, Prudential's UK unit has overshadowed strong growth at the insurer's U.S. and Asian business for the past quarters. Prudential said last year it was reviewing its strategy at home. Since then, speculation over the future of its domestic insurance business and Egg, hit by tough conditions in the personal loans market, has been rife. Prudential declined on Monday to give any update on its plans for its UK insurance business, adding a review would be concluded by March. Egg accounts for only a fraction of Prudential's group business, but the bank's full-year loss and deteriorating value was an embarrassment for Tucker, who took the decision to buy out minority shareholders in 2005 after failing in a first attempt to sell the bank, bringing back into the fold the bank it founded in 1998 and floated in 2000. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Tucker said the sale of Egg did not signal a turnaround in Prudential's strategy, though Prudential said only last month it had rejected an approach and would focus on "completing the integration of Egg". He said the sale was a combination of a good offer and a desire to pull out of a market that has worsened since Prudential last updated investors in October. "We concluded, particularly in the light of the challenging conditions in the consumer credit market, that a sale of Egg would realise greater value than would be achievable than through retaining the business," Tucker told analysts on a conference call. He said a cross-selling deal with Citigroup -- seen as a likely buyer since UK newspapers reported a rejected approach last month -- would allow it to continue accessing Egg's customer base. "It's a deal that is a win for us and a win for Prudential," George Awad, chief executive of Citigroup Global Consumer Group for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said. "Citigroup has watched Egg every day since it was (founded)." GOOD RIDDANCE "I think the market will view this deal as good news," analyst Kevin Ryan at ING said. "It's a sensible thing for them to have done. They seem to have got two times book value for it, which is a great price. So I think they've done well." Prudential shares climbed on the deal, with the market initially welcoming a ratio of 2.1 times book value at the end of 2006, well above the typical ratio for bank deals of around 1.5 times. But the stock eased to trade up 1 percent at 1313 GMT at 704 pence as concerns continued over the UK business. Full year sales figures, however, underlined concerns that Prudential was still struggling to grow its insurance business at home, with new business broadly flat year-on-year. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 3. Hannover Re says Kyrill costs it up to 180 mln eur FRANKFURT, Jan 29 (Reuters) - German reinsurer Hannover Re AG (HNRGn.DE: ) said damage claims from European winter storm Kyrill could cost it up to 180 million euros ($233 million) but that this was in the range of expected losses. In a statement on Monday, Hannover Re estimated its Kyrill losses at 120 million euros to 180 million before tax, mainly due to damages in Germany, and said its expected losses were dampened by its "K5" risk securitisation, which transferred Hannover Re's risks to the capital market. The whole industry would face insured losses of 4 billion euros to 7 billion, Hannover Re said. "Even after Kyrill, we are within the bounds of our loss expectations," Hannover Re Chief Executive Wilhelm Zeller said in a statement. Hannover Re said its damage estimate was preliminary because of the large number of small and medium-sized claims as well as the number of countries affected by the storm. Kyrill struck Europe on Jan. 18 with hurricane-force winds that lasted two days, causing power disruptions and flooding throughout Britain, France, the Netherlands and Germany. Zeller predicted that the storm's impact would help support the prices that his company can charge insurers for reinsurance cover in the coming year. "Kyrill brought home to European insurers that wind is just as much a force to be reckoned with in Europe as it is in the United States," he said in a statement. Hannover Re said last week that Kyrill did not trigger a $150 million catastrophe bond launched last year, but added that it had other "retrocession" cover in place, allowing it to pass on damage claims it receives either through securitisations or to other reinsurers. © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 4. Banc Of America Insurance Group Announces New Syndicate With Lloyd's Of London CHARLOTTE, N.C. and LONDON, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- BA International Underwriters Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Banc of America Insurance Group, in conjunction with Lloyd's of London, has established the Pembrace Casualty Insurance Syndicate to expand Bank of America's ability to offer specialty liability, casualty and reinsurance services. Pembrace will be capitalized by Banc of America Insurance Group with an initial stamp capacity of 33 million Pounds Sterling. Managed through Spectrum Syndicate Management, Pembrace is authorized to write specialty liability and other U.S.-based casualty insurance and reinsurance business to complement Banc of America Insurance Group's existing U.S.-based insurance operations. Banc of America Insurance Group and its affiliates have more than 50 years of insurance operations experience and currently underwrite commercial property casualty and life insurance coverages within the Bank of America enterprise. "The launch of Pembrace pairs the financial strength of Bank of America with the marketplace presence of Lloyd's of London to expand and enhance our global insurance strategy," said Keith Pellerin, president of Banc of America Insurance Group. "Banc of America Insurance Group has a long history of expertise in underwriting and insurance operations in the United States. Pembrace will provide a highly scalable platform to enable future expansion in the insurance markets." "The fact that such a leading financial institution has chosen to set up a syndicate at Lloyd's is further testament to the strength and attractiveness of the market. We look forward to working with Bank of America," said Rolf Tolle, Lloyd's Franchise Performance Director. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 5. NASD fines Bank of America unit over laundering NEW YORK, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The NASD on Monday said it fined Bank of America Corp.'s (BAC.N: ) investment services unit $3 million in a settlement of charges that a bank unit failed to comply with anti-money-laundering rules relating to "high risk" accounts. The regulator said Banc of America Investment Services Inc. failed to obtain customer information for 34 high-risk accounts and did not communicate adequately with its parent to ensure that suspicious activity reports were filed properly. In agreeing to settle, Banc of America Investment Services did not admit wrongdoing, the NASD said. The NASD is the securities industry's self-regulatory arm. © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 6. USAA Responds to Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood recently issued a public statement challenging the way USAA and a number of other property and casualty insurers handled Hurricane Katrina claims. USAA believes it is important that USAA members know how USAA has responded to Hurricane Katrina. When USAA adjusts claims in which there is both wind and flood damage, USAA pays for damage that was caused by wind. This approach has served our members well and we will continue to use it until the last hurricane Katrina claim is closed. Because flooding is not covered by homeowners policies, USAA encourages all of its members to seriously consider purchasing flood insurance. 1. Mr. Hood's position: Insurance companies made a mistake, and storm surge should be covered by the standard homeowners policy. This is not true. Storm surge is considered a flood by the United States Government, state governments, judges, and businesses -- as well as by insurance companies. For decades, damages caused by flood have not been covered by standard homeowners policies. -- Homeowners policies exclude coverage for damage caused by flooding. That is why, in 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program, administered by FEMA, to pay for flood claims, including those caused by storm surge. In fact, FEMA has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in flood claims stemming from Hurricane Katrina storm surge. -- For decades, state governments have approved the policy language excluding damage caused by flooding. In fact, the Mississippi Department of Insurance has approved the very language Attorney General Hood questions. -- Courts throughout the country regularly have upheld policy language that excludes damage caused by flooding. Since the early 1970s, the Mississippi Supreme Court (in the aftermath of Hurricane Camille) has held that damage caused by storm surge associated with a hurricane is not covered by homeowners insurance policies. -- Most recently, in Mississippi, United States District Court Judge L. T. Senter confirmed that homeowners insurance policies do not cover flood damage. He also held that losses caused by storm surge from Hurricane Katrina were not covered (Buente v. Allstate, April 12, 2006). -- Because flooding is not covered by homeowners policies, USAA encourages all of its members to seriously consider purchasing flood insurance. The cover page of USAA's homeowners policy packet clearly states that "This policy DOES NOT cover the Peril of Flood," and provides contact information for the National Flood Insurance Program. 2. Mr. Hood's position: USAA should settle with the Attorney General because USAA handles claims just like State Farm and many of the other insurance companies. This is not true. USAA adjusts claims differently from State Farm. USAA has -- from day one -- adjusted Hurricane Katrina claims responsibly, and we will continue to do so until every claim is closed. -- According to media reports (Times Picayune, LA eyes State Farm case), State Farm reportedly declined coverage for both wind damage and water damage if any damage to a residence was due to flooding. USAA has a much different approach to claims. At USAA, we evaluate each claim individually and on its own merits. -- When USAA adjusts claims in which there is both wind and flood damage, USAA pays for damage that was caused by wind. -- This approach has served our members well and we will continue to use it until the last claim is closed. 3. Mr. Hood's position: USAA has treated its Mississippi members unfairly. This is not true. USAA already has paid more than $217 million to more than 17,000 USAA members in Mississippi for hurricane Katrina losses. -- USAA is proud of our service to USAA members who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. -- After the storm, more than 200 USAA associates worked seven days a week serving USAA members affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. -- USAA believes fairness requires that USAA continue to handle claims responsibly and to continue to work with members until the last Hurricane Katrina claim is closed. And, that is exactly what USAA intends to do. http://usaa.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 7. Aon buys UK's Footman James, grows in luxury coverage NEW YORK, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Aon Corp. (AOC.N: ), a large insurance broker and specialty insurance underwriter, said on Monday it acquired Footman James from Alchemy Partners (Guernsey) Ltd. for an undisclosed price to provide additional coverage for luxury goods. Chicago-based Aon said the acquisition will add resources to its personal lines and affinity business. Aon said it provides coverage for such items as classic and sports cars, vacation homes, yachts, travel, art, antiques and other expensive goods. Footman James will operate under its own name for the foreseeable future, Aon said. The firm was founded in 1983, and has a call center in Cradley Heath, West Midlands. © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 8. Aon to consolidate, eliminate 550 jobs NEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Aon Corp. (AOC.N: ) said on Thursday it is consolidating support operations for its U.S. retail insurance brokerage into a single domestic service center in Glenview, Illinois, and closing centers in Houston and New York. About 550 positions will be eliminated as a result of the move, the world's second largest insurance brokerage firm said. Aon said it would hand routine administrative functions to Genpact, a business process outsourcing firm. In addition, some positions involved with routine accounting services at Owings Mills, Maryland, will also be moved to Genpact, the company said. Genpact is mainly owned by General Electric Co. (GE.N: ), General Atlantic LLC and Oak Hill Capital Partners. The staff reductions will occur through attrition and job eliminations throughout 2007, Aon added. In November Aon said its three-year restructuring program was expected to result in savings of $210 million by 2008. © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 9. Bermuda insurance market adds 82 new firms in 2006 NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Bermuda, which has about 1700 insurers, added 82 new insurance firms in 2006, a 10 percent increase over last year, bolstered by growing demand for reinsurance. "This is a clear indication of the continued confidence the market has in Bermuda as a leading global insurance and reinsurance center," Supervisor of Insurance Jeremy Cox, said in a bulletin on Wednesday. Bermuda, a 21-square mile British territory about 700 miles off the U.S. seaboard, is home to an insurance market capitalized at more than $100 billion and including such major players as Ace Limited (ACE.N: ), XL Capital Ltd. (XL.N: ) and Renaissance Re Holdings Ltd. (RNR.N: ). The market was given a boost in 2006 from a wave of new reinsurers forming to take advantage of a shortage in property- catastrophe coverage after costly storms in 2005, particularly Hurricane Katrina, wiped more than $65 billion from insurers' balance sheets. Bermuda's rate of insurance incorporations reached a three- year high, according to the regulatory data. Bermuda's insurance market, 50 years in the making, has attracted business because the island imposes no corporate income tax and companies can incorporate quicker than in some other jurisdictions. As it has gained stature, it has also drawn large brokers, such as Marsh & McLellan Cos Inc. (MMC.N: ) and Aon Corp. (AOC.N: ) to open large offices, creating a one-stop shop for corporate insurance buyers. Bermuda, already ranked as the fourth largest global insurance market after Germany, the United States and Switzerland, according to a 2005 industry survey from New York- based ratings firm Standard & Poor's. The majority of 2006's incorporations were large, highly- capitalized reinsurers, the Bermuda bulletin said. Several of the post-Katrina incorporations, including Validus Holdings Ltd. and Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Ltd. filed for IPOs in recent months, another indicator Bermuda's insurance market is flourishing. Reinsurers contract with insurers to assume some of the risk in policies already sold to individuals and corporations, effectively providing insurance for insurers. Sidecars, a type of reinsurance vehicle that gained popularity last year, made up a significant number of the new incorporations. Sidecars are set up to provide reinsurance to a sponsor company and funded by outside investors. "On the commercial side, it was no surprise that the most significant trend of the year related to the formation of a number of sidecars, which entered the market to take advantage of capacity gaps in the property-catastrophe arena," said Shanna Lespere, deputy insurance regulator. In 2006, hedge fund and private equity investors poured as much as $5 billion into sidecars, most of which were formed on Bermuda. "Even in the early part of 2007 we continue to see interest in this (sidecar) area," said Lespere. The number of captive insurers -- generally formed by large corporations as a means of self-insurance -- incorporated in Bermuda also continued to rise in 2006, according to the bulletin. Bermuda's 82 new incorporations compared with 50 in the Cayman Islands, an offshore center that is one of the largest captive domiciles after Bermuda. © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 10. HSBC sees strong insurance, Latin America growth LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Europe's biggest bank HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L: ) aims to significantly increase income from insurance business and from Latin America, its chairman said on Monday, while acknowledging the bank may not have promoted its growth prospects as well as it should have done. Green, speaking on the sidelines of a Mexico business seminar, said Mexico and Latin America offered strong growth prospects after a decade of building up the business in the region. "We certainly believe it's an area that has the potential to be more significant. It's part of a growing emerging markets franchise and I think emerging markets have tremendous opportunities for us." © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 11. Two out of Five Identity Theft Victims Know Source of Crime, According to Identity Theft Assistance Center Survey Data on Identity Theft Sources Can Help Protect Consumers WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two out of five identity theft victims surveyed by the Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC) know how their personal data was stolen, providing valuable insight about how identity theft occurs. "This information is important because the more we know about the sources of identity theft the more successful we all will be in fighting this crime," said ITAC Executive Director Anne Wallace. "These documented cases provide real world perspective on identity theft." ITAC surveyed 275 identity theft victims who used the ITAC's free service over a one-month period. Of the 275 cases, 160 consumers (58%) did not know the source of their identity theft. Another 115 consumers (42%) did know how their information was compromised. The 115 consumers attributed their identity theft to the following sources: -- Friends, relatives, in-home employees 26 cases 22.61% -- Computer hacker/virus/phishing 25 cases 21.74% -- Mail (stolen or fraudulent address change) 24 cases 20.87% -- Lost/stolen wallet, checkbook or credit card 15 cases 13.04% -- Corrupt business or employee 12 cases 10.43% -- Data breach 8 cases 6.96% -- House burglarized 4 cases 3.48% -- Instant credit 1 case 0.87% Getting accurate information about the sources of identity theft is difficult because identity theft - the opening of a fraudulent new account or account takeover - is often confused with other types of fraud, like the unauthorized use of a credit card. ITAC is in a unique position to gather data about identity theft because it deals in verified cases of identity theft. The companies that belong to ITAC refer customers to ITAC once the fraud is resolved at the member company. ITAC then helps the customer identify other fraudulent accounts and assists in restoring their financial identity. www.identitytheftassistance.org Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 12. 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. THE TIME EFFECTIVE WAY TO STAY AHEAD
Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 13. Bank Insurance News In Brief - January 29, 2007 TODAY'S BANK INSURANCE NEWS IN BRIEF" is provided each week courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.bankinsurance.com. To read these stories, visit http://www.bankinsurance.com/editorial/news/default.htm
Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 14. MBIA Announces Settlements with the SEC, The New York Attorney General and the New York State Insurance Department ARMONK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) and MBIA Insurance Corporation announced today that they have concluded civil settlements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the New York State Attorney General’s Office (NYAG), and the New York State Insurance Department (NYSID) with respect to transactions entered into by MBIA in 1998 following defaults on insured bonds issued by the Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation (AHERF). Gary C. Dunton, MBIA chief executive officer, said, “We are pleased that the AHERF-related investigations are finally behind us. MBIA cooperated fully with the regulators to resolve these matters, and we are grateful for the strong support of our employees, clients, shareholders and investors in MBIA-insured bonds during the long period while the investigations were being resolved. We are committed to earning their loyalty every day through our tradition of high integrity and excellent customer service as befits an industry leader.” The terms of the settlements, under which MBIA neither admits nor denies wrongdoing, include: A restatement, which was completed and reported in MBIA’s third quarter 2005 earnings release, of MBIA’s GAAP and statutory financial results for 1998 and subsequent years related to the agreements with AXA Re Finance S.A. (AXA Re) and Muenchener Rueckversicherungs-Gesellshaft (Munich Re); Payment of penalties and disgorgement totaling $75 million, of which $60 million will be distributed to MBIA shareholders pursuant to the Fair Fund provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and $15 million will be paid to the State of New York. The Company accounted for the $75 million in penalties and disgorgement as a charge in the third quarter of 2005; MBIA’s consent to a cease and desist order with respect to future violations of securities laws; A report by MBIA’s independent auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), to MBIA’s board of directors, the SEC staff, the NYAG and the NYSID concerning MBIA’s accounting for and disclosure of advisory fees and the assets of certain conduits; and Retention of an Independent Consultant (IC) to review and report to the SEC, the NYAG and the NYSID on the evaluation previously undertaken at the direction of the Audit Committee of MBIA’s board of directors by Promontory Financial Group LLC of MBIA’s controls, policies and procedures with respect to compliance, internal audit, governance, risk management and records management, the Company’s implementation of Promontory’s recommendations; MBIA’s accounting for and disclosure of its investment in Capital Asset Holdings GP, Inc. (Capital Asset); and MBIA’s accounting for and disclosure of its exposure to the US Airways 1998-1 Repackaging Trust and any other transaction in which MBIA paid or acquired all or substantially all of an issue of insured securities other than as a result of claim under the related policy. The settlements have brought the AHERF-related investigations against the Company to a close. www.mbia.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 15. BestWeek: State Farm Settlement Shows Search for Water-Proof Policy Could Be Futile OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The anticoncurrent cause clause was designed to serve as the homeowners policy equivalent of Hoover Dam, an impenetrable wall that would control insurers’ exposure to massive storm claims and guarantee all of the water was kept safely on the other side, according to an exclusive story in the January 29 edition of BestWeek. But in light of State Farm’s settlement with Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood—a deal that could leave the personal lines giant on the hook for $500 million in new Hurricane Katrina claims in a state where it already has paid out more than $1.1 billion—it appears the clause proved more like a little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike, each new lawsuit poking another hole in the defense system meant to keep the floodwaters at bay. Legal experts say insurers soon will be forced to pick up the chalk used by federal judges to outline the corpse of anticoncurrent causation policy language. They’ll need it when they go back to the drawing board. “Once Judge (L.T.) Senter ruled that the clause was ambiguous, State Farm was in trouble,” said Seth Chandler, co-director of the Health Law and Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center, referring to a May 2006 opinion by the U.S. District Court judge. In that decision, Senter ruled State Farm’s policy language—which declared the insurer would not cover flood losses even if “other causes acted concurrently or in any sequence with the excluded event to produce the loss”—was ambiguous and unenforceable. Also in BestWeek, Best’s Global Insurance Composite Index finished the week of January 25 up 7.57% from a year ago. The composite index reflects the performance of 184 insurance stocks. The week’s top performers were 21st Century Insurance; National Interstate; Tower Ltd.; Tower Group; and Hub International. The bottom five performers were RenaissanceRe Holdings; Benfield Group; Amlin; China Insurance International and Scor S.A. www.ambest.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 16. How 10 Companies Achieved Business Success Because of – Not in Spite Of – Employee Benefits “The Formula For Success” Reveals Best Practices of The Principal 10 Best Companies DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ten successful companies have discovered the formula for managing many of today’s biggest challenges for employers—like skyrocketing health care costs and lackluster retirement savings. The practical, real-world solutions used by these organizations, The Principal®10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security—2006, are revealed in a new guide that provides a blueprint for achieving business success through employee benefits. The guide – The Formula for Success – is available at no charge at www.principal.com. The Formula for Success is the fifth annual compilation of best practices from The Principal 10 Best Companies, a national program sponsored by the Principal Financial Group®, which recognizes growing businesses (five to 1,000 employees) that excel at giving employees an edge on achieving long-term financial security. The guide offers a unique perspective on employee benefits with its combination of proven strategies, hard data and inspiring, real-life examples. “The Principal 10 Best Companies—2006 face the same constraints as other employers—tough competition for the best employees, tight budgets and the ever-present need to produce more with fewer people,” explains Renee Schaaf, vice president, the Principal Financial Group. “The Formula for Success showcases the inventive methods used by these companies to thrive despite their challenges.” Throughout The Formula for Success, employers and their financial professionals can find: Easy-to-use, interactive checklists that can help them fine-tune their benefit programs A benchmarking chart for comparing their benefits to those of The Principal 10 Best and national averages Detailed tactics and real-life examples of their successful benefits programs Engaging case studies that illustrate the universal challenges faced by employers today—and the innovative tactics The Principal 10 Best used to overcome them Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 17. A.M. Best Special Report: Shifting Balance Sheet Trends Heighten 2007 Banking Industry Risk Profile OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A significant trend set by U.S. banking operations that stood out from other developments in 2006 was the sharp growth in commercial real estate lending—in particular construction and land development loans—funded increasingly by non core sources, this according to a special report by the A.M. Best Co. In a softening consumer credit market, U.S. banks have turned most heavily to commercial real estate (CRE) loans for growth to offset the slowdown in demand for consumer credit. Concurrently, the banks have relied more on noncore funding sources during 2006 to fund growth than they did in 2005. The competition among banks for low-cost deposits heated up during 2006 and drove up the cost of funding for the industry as a consequence. Together, these developments pose heightened risks to the industry on multiple fronts. Going forward, A.M. Best will observe the industry for signs of rising levels of risk appetite and/or competition-driven pricing. Those factors may determine whether the observed trends will be at manageable risk levels or a source of problems for U.S. banks. This study is available electronically from the A.M. Best Co. Web site at www.ambest.com/banks. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 18. Fitch: U.S. Covered Bonds to Rapidly Follow Europe's Lead in 2007 NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Issuance of U.S. covered bonds will follow a trajectory of rapid volume growth and continued innovation this year similar to that already seen in Europe, according to Fitch Ratings. With several U.S. financial institutions already expressing interest in exploring the potential benefits of covered bonds financing as an alternative or complement to their other funding sources, Fitch Managing Director Rui Pereira believes that the selected cover assets will not just be limited to mortgages but may expand into other asset classes as well. Among Fitch's key rating considerations for U.S. covered bonds are: the program's regulatory framework and legal structure, the issuer default rating of the sponsor, and the credit quality and liquidity profile of the cover pool assets. Fitch also considers the availability of sufficient overcollateralization to absorb potential credit losses and the hedging mechanisms in place to offset market risks. Cover pool servicing and originating procedures are also taken into account. Fitch's criteria report titled 'Covered Bonds Rating Criteria - Stop or Continue?' is available on the Fitch Ratings web site at www.fitchratings.com. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 19. Clayton Holdings Launches New Fraud Risk Management Services Features Enhanced Due Diligence, Put Back Review and Trending Analysis SHELTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Clayton Holdings (NASDAQ:CLAY), a provider of information-based analytics, outsourcing and consulting solutions to leading capital markets firms, fixed income investors and loan servicers, today announced a new suite of fraud detection services designed to protect conduits, Wall Street issuers and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) bond and residual holders from losses due to origination fraud and breaches of representations and warranties. www.clayton.com sReturn to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 20. INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Pictures Of The Day" -- Sponsored By:
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21. Asparity Rolls Out Scorecards on Health Plan Performance Employers Use Decision Support Data to Quantify Consumer Behavior DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Asparity Decision Solutions announces the use of scorecards to provide employers information about their health plans’ performance. The scorecards use the data generated from Asparity’s decision support tools on health plan selection. Employers can now view how their health plans’ performed during the 2007 annual enrollment season. Asparity is introducing Health Plan Scorecards in its annual reporting package to employers. The data includes five performance measures: 1. Enrollment behavior to evaluate how decision support results affected a health plan’s actual enrollment, 2. Plan rankings to show how a health plan scored — compared to other offerings — in the decision support tools, 3. Adoption rates to demonstrate how often employees enrolled in a specific health plan given its actual performance in the decision support tools, 4. Estimated costs to determine how cost effective a health plan was in providing care to employees, based on their projected medical utilization, and 5. Attribute profiles to illustrate how adequately a health plan met employees’ health care needs in terms of specific product features, such as access, benefit, cost and satisfaction measures. www.asparity.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 22. From the Principal Financial Group: National Marketing Guru Reveals Top Three Tricks to Upstage the Competition The Principal Women in Business Teleclass Takes the Mystery Out of Marketing DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Principal Financial Group® has enlisted Mary Cantando, national entrepreneurial author, columnist and consultant to reveal practical tips to women business owners on how to differentiate their business during its complimentary teleclass, “Gain the Marketing Edge: Three Innovative Ideas to Upstage Your Competition.” The teleclass will be held on February 20, and is part of the award-winning The Principal® Women in Business Teleclass Series. The classes, launched in 2003, feature diverse speakers from Wall Street Journal and The New York Times bestselling author, Suzy Welch to the internationally renowned organizing and time management expert, Julie Morgenstern. The Principal recruits speakers who identify with the women business owner market, which according to The Center for Women’s Business Research, is estimated to be 10.4 million-strong in 2006. Held on “Teleclass Tuesdays,” the sessions are exclusively designed to respect the busy schedules of a growing business owner while allowing the audience unique interaction in a casual format with nationally-recognized business leaders and thinkers, many of whom are women entrepreneurs themselves. www.principal.com/women Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 23. Destiny Health Offers Wisconsin Employers Dual Option with PPO Helps ease transition from traditional plans to HRA or HSA plans CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Destiny Health Plan announces today the offering of its new PPO option to Wisconsin employers. The PPO plan will be available on March 1, 2007, as an option alongside Destiny Health’s Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) or Health Savings Account (HSA) compliant options. This unique flexibility is driven by some employers’ concerns over the satisfaction of their employees with their health plans and belief that it would be easier to transition their employees to HRA or HSA plans over time rather than all at once. www.destinyhealth.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 24. A Healthy Mouth Leads to a Healthy Body – Rethinking Oral Health DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A healthy mouth means more than a winning smile; it actually impacts overall health. Recognizing this important link, The Principal Financial Group® introduces new dental insurance benefits designed for those at risk for health complications due to periodontal disease. Members with heart disease, diabetes or who are pregnant can now receive additional periodontal services or an extra routine or periodontal cleaning. www.principal.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 25. MCOL’s Sixth Annual Consumer Driven Care Web Summit Taps National Respected ‘Faculty’ to Provide Snapshot of Developing Consumer Driven Care Sector and Workable Solutions to Gain Competitive Advantage: March 19 Through March 23, 2007 MODESTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MCOL’s Healthcare Web Summit division will hold its Sixth Annual Consumer Driven Care Web Summit, an online conference showcasing ‘live’ audio conferences/webinar sessions, faculty presentations, podcast sessions, video clips and more! The Web Summit is accessible exclusively online, beginning March 19 through March 23, 2007. This special event will help providers, plans, employers, and other interested professionals gain an overall sense of the major trends, issues, and data shaping CDH initiatives for 2007 from a national corps of recognized “faculty” experts. The weeklong web summit is co-sponsored by the National Consumer Driven Healthcare Summit. Detailed information on MCOL’s Healthcare Web Summit division is available at www.healthwebsummit.com. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 26. QPC Launches 'Countdown to Compliance' Program February 27 Deadline for New California DOI Mandate Spells Significant Costs for Auto Insurers; QPC Responds With Program to Ensure Compliance With New Mileage Regulations SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Quality Planning Corporation (QPC), an ISO company, has launched a program designed to assist insurers as they prepare to meet the February 27 deadline for new California Department of Insurance (DOI) regulations. The 'Countdown to Compliance' program provides all the tools and analysis an auto insurer needs to comply with one of the most significant changes to auto underwriting in California since the passage of Proposition 103 in 1988. The new regulation specifies the process by which auto insurers must determine annual mileage for the purpose of calculating policy premiums. Under California Insurance Code Section 1861.02(a), which was added in 1988 by Proposition 103, 'miles driven' is the second mandatory factor in an insurer's auto rate calculation. For renewal business, the regulation establishes a mandatory policy holder contact at minimum three-year intervals. In addition, the regulation specifies the information an insurer is allowed to require or request from the policyholder to support the estimate. www.iso.com www.qualityplanning.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 27. Young Agents Offer Exciting Events In 2007 Scholarships available for Legislative Conference & Convention in April; annual leadership institute set for San Diego in September ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 29, 2007—The National Young Agents Committee (YAC) of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) offers exciting events in two great locales—Washington, D.C., and San Diego—for its members this year. At the Big “I” Legislative Conference and Convention, scheduled for April 25-27 in Washington, the national YAC will host a number of events geared specifically for young agents, including a first-timers reception, the Young Agent Attendee & InsurPac Chairs luncheon, a hospitality event and the President’s Panel Breakfast with Big “I” leadership. Additionally, the Young Agent Leadership Institute will take place Sept. 28-30, 2007, in conjunction with the Big “I” National Board of State Directors meeting in San Diego. This event will give participants the opportunity to work together toward developing a plan of action specific to their states’ Young Agents programs’ needs and goals. www.independentagent.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 28. AXA Equitable Announces Formation Of Global Sub-Advisory Function New York, N.Y. January 29, 2007 — AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company and AXA Group announced today the formation of AXA Global Sub-Advisory Group, whose purpose is to leverage the best practices of the company's sub- advisory businesses. AXA Global Sub-Advisory Group will offer consultative services to AXA-related companies, identifying what is being done well across the globe and broadening those initiatives. AXA Group has approximately US$67 billion in total assets under management (AUM) in its sub-advised businesses in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Two of AXA Group's largest sub-advisory businesses are FMG and Australia- based Ipac. www.axa-financial.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article
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