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The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) said it was disappointed by New York regulators’ decision to deny most auto insurers’ rate increases based on the assumption that higher gas prices would mean lowered risks to insurers.Earlier this week, officials in New York said that decision meant drivers would end up paying $515 million less in premium than the amount originally sought by insurers.PCI statistics show that while U.S. drivers are traveling fewer miles, and auto insurance claims in New York and across the country are decreasing in frequency, the cost of repairing vehicles continues to rise. Average claim… Read More »What Drives Insurance Rates

New York City’s building boom will peak this year, with construction jobs plunging from a record 130,100 in 2008 to 100,250 in 2010, according to a report released yesterday.The report by the New York Building Congress says construction employment could drop further after 2010 “if recent events lead to a significant economic downturn.”

New York drivers will pay almost $515 million less than what auto insurance companies were originally seeking to charge next year, said Governor David A. Paterson, announcing that auto insurance rates for New York drivers will increase by an average of less than 1 percent.On September 30, the U.S. Department of Transportation released new data showing that July marked the ninth straight month to see a decline in driving nationally. Since last November, Americans have driven 62.6 billion fewer miles than they did over the same period a year earlier – topping the previous peak decline in 1970’s of 49.3… Read More »Gas Prices Lowered Auto Premiums by $515M

October kicks off a season full of events such as Halloween activities, fall festivals, holiday parties, craft shows, band competitions and concerts, home shows, car shows, art shows, tree lighting ceremonies, holiday pageants and parades. Inclement weather such as snow or rain often reduces income due to reduced attendance or outright cancellation. Low attendance to holiday parties, New Years Eve events or Valentine’s Day dinners means less income to cover fixed expenses for restaurants, clubs, and banquet halls, not to mention profit. The last thing businesses, associations, promoters, or sponsors should have to worry about is inclement weather. The Travelers… Read More »Weather Insurance: Takes Bad Weather Worries Out of Your Special Events

Your home is one of your most important investments. By keeping it properly maintained in every season, you can help reduce the risk of a loss and ensure the safety and well-being of your friends and family. Please review the following information and familiarize yourself with these important inspection and safety tips. Survival Kit When preparing for a disaster, be sure to make a survival kit that includes: Canned or other non-perishable food Non-electric can opener First aid kit and manual Portable radio and/or television Flashlights Extra batteries Water in non-breakable containers Prescription medicines as needed Extra clothing and blankets… Read More »Disaster Tips – Travelers

Preparing for natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and wildfires, is best accomplished by a team of employees familiar with your facility and it’s local surroundings. Travelers customers can log in to obtain our Disaster Preparedness and Business Continuity Management Guide and Sample Plan to assist with creating a natural disaster and business continuity plan for their organization. Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) DisasterSafety.org Travelers has formed an alliance with the IBHS to offer our customers a disaster recovery planning tool Open for Business®. This Internet-based tool can help you determine the natural disaster risks that… Read More »Disaster Preparedness – Plan Ahead

Lizabeth H. Zlatkus was named executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. in May. She has responsibility for corporate strategy, finance, capital and enterprise risk management, investor relations, real estate, procurement and corporate information systems functions. Ms. Zlatkus previously was co-chief operating officer of The Hartford’s life operations. In an interview with Business Insurance Senior Editor Sally Roberts, Ms. Zlatkus discussed how the current economic crisis is affecting The Hartford and other challenges facing today’s insurer CFOs. Shortly after the interview, Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on the Hartford, Conn.-based insurer to “negative”… Read More »Unprecedented Times

He discusses the links between consistency, quality, work environment, customer experience — and how they impact agents. JH: Customers who have a poor claims experience are much more likely to not renew with you than people who have a really good experience. So the degree to which we can consistently provide a good experience to the customer and at the same time secure a good outcome for the company, means we can drive retention, which drives business. That’s obviously what we’re here to do. In terms of claims, how does The Hartford define quality? JH: We define a quality claim… Read More »Interview with Hartford Claims VP James Hageman

Citigroup said Thursday that it was walking away from talks to divvy up Wachovia Corp.’s assets with Wells Fargo adding that it would seek damages from the other two banks but not seek to bar a Wells Fargo takeover of Wachovia from proceeding. Dramatic differences in transaction structures and views of risks made mutually acceptable agreements impossible Citi said in a statement. Wells Fargo and the Federal Reserve were negotiating over the future of Wachovia a regional bank hobbled by the credit crisis but with a valuable network of branches. Citigroup preliminarily agreed at the beginning of last week to buy Wachovia’s banking assets with… Read More »Citi, Wells Fargo, and Wachovia

Small business owners are not fully aware of the financial risks involved in obtaining workers’ compensation insurance through self-insured groups, according to the results of the most recent Small Business Opinion Poll conducted by Opinion Research Corp. of Princeton, N.J., for Employers. Of the 501 small business owners and managers surveyed nationwide, 85 percent reported they had not seen, read, or heard about the closure of several self-insured groups in the past year. Seven such trusts failed this year in New York, and litigation continues in the financial failures of self-insured groups in Tennessee, Kentucky and California, according to Employers,… Read More »Risks in Self-Insured Groups’ Workers’ Comp Insurance