July 21
EBB and FLOW: Unions Swim Against the Tide as Pension Issues Surface
Contributions to multiemployer defined benefit pension plans have been a mainstay, legacy feature of union negotiations in many industries. But the fabric of such staples may be tearing apart as employers contemplate the potential of escalating contributions to amortize unfunded liabilities that increase costs but may have imperceptible value for their own employees. Increasingly, employers […]
When Policy Excludes Someone Who "is" Covered Under Another Policy, "is" also Includes "Was"
It is now legendary that when former President Bill Clinton testified before a grand jury in 1998, he rationalized his repeated statements that “there is nothing going on between us” [himself and Ms. Lewinsky] by telling the jurors, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is….” He went on to explain that […]
P/C Insurers’ Profits and Profitability Slipped in First-Quarter 2014 as Gains on Underwriting Shrank
JERSEY CITY, N.J.—Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes fell to $13.8 billion in first-quarter 2014 from $14.3 billion in first-quarter 2013, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured by their annualized rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus falling to 8.4 percent from 9.6 percent. Insurers’ pretax operating income – the sum of net […]
Certificates of Insurance: New CT Law & Cancellation Notice Requirement Solution An Email Swindle Yields a Trifecta of Insurance Issues Cyber Breach: A Billion Dollar Headache
Certificates of Insurance Yet Again Want Expanded Coverage via Certificate in CT? FUHGEDDABOUDIT! Two months ago I wrote about Delaware’s new law that not only bars insurers and producers from issuing false or misleading certificates, but also bars anyone from requesting such a certificate.1 Connecticut has just passed a similar law to be […]
Christmas In July
Oh the anticipation! Ever hopeful for pleasant surprises and thoughtful gifts! Alas, once again it is not to be. Nothing but another collection of coal in our stockings! Guess we’re still bad boys and girls. The 2013 annual report of the NY superintendent of financial services to the governor and the legislature, required to be […]
Being 007 Ain’t What It’s Cracked Up to Be
I love a good spy story—Espionage, conspiracy, international trade and government drama … it’s all so exciting! But, in real life the most dangerous versions of these can seem mundane on the surface. Perhaps that’s why agents—insurance agents, not secret agents—have been so slow to do for themselves what they should also be recommending to […]
7-11-2014 Back to the Future
So for the past twenty something years, I have been traveling across the country for business, visiting forty three out of fifty states. I have stood right next to hot, flowing lava; been in a hurricane in New Orleans; witnessed firsthand earthquakes in Seattle and Los Angeles; survived 115 degree heat in the jungle of […]
VA Scandal—a Battlefield of Deceit, Delays and Death for Veterans
The VA has many truly dedicated doctors, nurses, and health professionals who do their best to genuinely serve America’s veterans. I salute their conscientious work and commitment under difficult conditions, often in a culture of fear and intimidation if they identify News headlines since the Phoenix scandal first broke in late April, however, clearly […]
How is Your Relationship?
Not your personal relationship but the relationship your agency has with your clients and prospects. The most important reason to get your insurance protection from an independent agent or broker is the strong, trusting relationship you develop with your agent and the agency staff.^P What’s it like to be a customer or prospect of your […]
