EQECAT Delays Release of Update to Add Features

Oakland, California – May 11, 2011 – Previously, EQECAT announced its plans to release WORLDCATenterprise™ 3.16 on June 30, 2011. Additional features and functionality have been added to this release, including updates to the Asia Typhoon Model and improved event loss table outputs. As a result, the release date of WORLDCATenterprise 3.16 will be early July 2011.   Version 3.16 will feature updates to the North Atlantic Hurricane Model and the Canada Earthquake Model, including updated industry exposure databases for US hurricane and Canada earthquake. For installations using SQL Server, this release will also include the ability to dynamically connect and disconnect portfolio databases.   Nort Read more…

Famed Insurer of the Titanic, Atlantic Mutual, Sinks Into Liquidation

New York, May 6, 2011  – The 173-year-old Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co., New York, which survived paying claims on the Titanic, is in liquidation.   New York State Superintendent of Insurance James J. Wrynn took over as liquidator April 27, following an order of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York. The order also applied to its subsidiary, Centennial Insurance Co. It followed the placement of the insurer into rehabilitation on Sept. 16, 2010, according to the New York Liquidation Bureau.   In May 2010, Ohio regulators revoked Atlantic Mutual’s license. The insurer reported negative capital and surplus of $25.1 million as of December 31, 2009. Ohio s Read more…

Get a CLUE about homeowners insurance

The Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) report, generated by LexisNexis, includes auto and home insurance information gathered in a national database from insurance companies. According to LexisNexis, CLUE reports for home insurance contain a seven-year history of claims against a particular property, along with personal identification information of the homeowners. The insurance portion of the report includes the date of a loss, type of loss claimed and amount paid by the insurance company.

How property insurance companies use CLUE reports

“We use CLUE reports for homeowners insurance to help measure the risk associated with providing insurance as accurately as we can,” says Dick Luedke, a spokesman for State Farm Insurance. Read more…

Aon’s 2011 Global Risk Management Survey Top 10 Risks

Chicago, May 2, 2011– Business leaders across the globe identified economic risk as the greatest threat they face today, but also emphasized the need to innovate, mitigate technology failure and manage talent to compete in the future, according to the findings of Aon’s 2011 Global Risk Management Survey. The web-based biennial report was released today by Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon Corporation.   As the global economy continues to recover, the threat of sustained economic trouble weighs heavily on the nearly 1,000 business professionals from 58 countries who participated in the 2011 Global Risk Management Survey. This Read more…

The Independents – Increasingly Vocal

Vancouver, April 28, 2011 – ‘Choice for risk managers’ is the rallying cry for a global coalition of independent brokers who will be hosting their third annual event at RIMS 2011 in Vancouver.   This year’s opening address will be by Carol Fox, RIMS Director of Strategic and Enterprise Risk Practice. She will give an address themed ‘harnessing ERM to tap risk appetite’ to the international audience of risk managers, brokers and carriers.   The Independents are part of the fabric of RIMS with several members having been invited to speak in the RIMS educational sessions. The wide-rang Read more…

Aon Appoints Global CEO of Captive and Insurance Management Practice

Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon Corporation , announced today that Peter Mullen has been appointed chief executive officer of Aon Global Risk Consulting’s Captive and Insurance Management operations.   Mullen joins Aon from Bermuda-based Artex Risk Solutions and brings more than 25 years experience in insurance management and underwriting.   Stephen Cross, CEO of Aon Global Risk Consulting and Aon GRIP Solutions, said, “Peter is a leading figure in the insurance industry, and the expertise and experience he brings to this role will be invaluable for our clients and colleagues globally.”   Mullen joins the Captive and Insurance Management leadership team of:   In addition to his new role, Mullen will join the global board of Aon Global Risk Consulting, assume responsibility for Aon GRIP Solutions in Bermuda and, on an interim basis, lead Aon Insurance Managers in Bermuda.   M Read more…

Burglary up by 14% and expected to rise

Domestic burglaries have risen by 14%, according to new statistics from the Home Office.

Worryingly, it is also widely expected that burglaries will continue to become more frequent due to the warm weather leading people to spend more time in their gardens and leave windows open.

According to home insurer Ageas almost half (47%) of adults do not keep their front doors locked when they are at home and 13% only lock their front door during the night.

Managing Director Mark Cliff said that the notion few burglaries happen when the home is occupied is nonsense, and that some imprudent homeowners leave themselves open to opportunistic burglars who take advantage of open windows and unlocked doors.

Recently, AXA Insurance warned of a surge in burglary during the forthcoming Royal Wedding, which is expected to see 40% of people out of the house and 21% enjoying a party at home.

Unfortunately, burglars have an eye for such occasions, including New Year’s Eve and Guy Fawkes Night, which tend to see spikes in burglary.

Legal & General launches new landlord insurance

Legal & General has launched new household insurance cover, Landlords’ Insurance, to cater to the specific needs of landlords.

Landlords with one or more properties can choose from a range of cover options for a single premium.

Simplicity is a key part of the new policy, which has a single policy summary and renewal date, as well as offering multi-property landlords an automatic discount.

Those with two properties will gain a 5% discount, and those with 20 will see 10% discounted.

The new policy has been given a 4 star rating from independent financial research firm Defaqto, and building insurance cover of up to £800,000 is available as standard.

Contents coverage of up to £2 million is available, with optional extras including accidental damage and malicious damage, as well as legal expenses and rent guarantee cover.

Malcolm Cooper, Product, Pricing and Underwriting Director at Legal & General’s general insurance business, described the new product as flexible but comprehensive and forecast a continual increase in the landlords’ insurance market in the coming years.

Earlier this month Towergate Insurance advised home owners, landlords and commercial property owners to ensure that they protected the 738,000 vacant buildings in the UK.