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from Small Business Trends by Joel LibavaFirst the good news: Our economy runs in up and down cycles. Folks, nothing stays the same. Now the lousy news: We are experiencing a down-cycle in franchising….. That is according to The Rosenberg Center Franchise 50 Index (view latest Franchise 50 Index results). Restaurant franchises seem to getting hit pretty hard, as U.S. consumers, wary of a possible recession, slow their discretionary spending down. The index has mostly food service and hospitality type franchises, and according to the latest figures, 43 franchise companies out of the 50 in the index were down in… Read More »Franchise Industry Feeling The US Economic Slowdown — Part Of a Cycle

Orlando, Fla. – The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is advancing a rule that will protect insurance consumers from discriminatory underwriting practices in the sale of life insurance.At a recent conference, NAIC’s life insurance and annuities committee unanimously adopted revisions to the Unfair Trade Practices Model Act that would limit an insurer’s ability to refuse life insurance to a consumer due to lawful past travel or, under certain circumstances, lawful future travel. Specifically, future travel cannot be the basis for a coverage decision unless travel to a specific destination at a specific time is found, based on sound actuarial… Read More »Anti-discrimination Language Proposed

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that Darrel Ng will serve as associate insurance commissioner for communications and press relations, and press secretary. Ng previously served as deputy secretary for public communications for the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. He also served as chief deputy press secretary for the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2003 to 2007. During his time at the Governor’s Office, Ng served as the primary spokesman for business, transportation, housing, energy, environmental, workers’ compensation insurance, natural resources, homeland security, political reform and Indian gaming issues. He also served as deputy press secretary for Schwarzenegger… Read More »California Names New Associate Insurance Commissioner and Press Secretary

Corporations, industries, labor unions, governments and other interests spent a record $2.79 billion in 2007 to lobby in Washington, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has calculated. This represents an increase of 7.7 percent, or $200 million, over spending in 2006. For every day Congress was in session, industries and interests spent an average of $17 million to lobby lawmakers and the federal government at large. “At a time when our economy is contracting, Washington’s lobbying industry has been expanding,” said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the 25-year-old watchdog group. “Lobbying seems to be a recession-proof industry.” CRP, which tracks… Read More »Report: Lobbyists Spend $17 Million a Day on Congress; Insurance Ranks Second

By Mark A. Hofmann HAMILTON, Bermuda—Seventy-one new insurance and reinsurance companies formed in the Bermuda market last year, the Bermuda Monetary Authority reported Monday. That was a drop of 11 from the 82 formed in 2006, a decline that “reflected the generally softer market conditions globally,” the BMA said in its statement announcing the market’s growth. The BMA also announced that the Bermuda market wrote $115.8 billion in gross written premiums in 2006, the last year for which statistics are available. That was a jump of 15% from the previous year. Captives accounted for about $22 billion in gross written… Read More »Insurer, reinsurer formations decline in Bermuda

Florida ranks the worst in terms of tort costs and litigation risks, while North Dakota ranks the best. In a separate ranking, Colorado has the best tort laws on its books, while Rhode Island has the worst. The free-market think tank Pacific Research Institute has released its report comparing the legal climates of all 50 states, the U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2008 Report. “In the competition for jobs and capital investment among the states, those states that suffer from high tort costs and litigiousness will continue to lose jobs and businesses to states with superior tort systems. PRI developed the… Read More »2008 State Rankings: Sinners and Saints Among Tort Systems

California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has released a study that notes that following workers’ comp reform, statewide average ratios of loss adjustment expense (LAE) to loss per claim have increased. However, depending on how various legal issues are resolved and whether reforms are rolled back, that LAE costs could increase. WCIRB conducted an analysis of LAE trends and projection methodologies, given the increase in LAE to loss ratios, as well as other factors. The resultant report, titled, “Analysis of Loss Adjustment Expense Trends,” found that: – Following the reforms, LAE amounts did not decline and, as a result, LAE… Read More »Study: California Workers’ Comp Claims Cost Decreasing

California State Compensation Insurance Fund has been facing many changes recently, but it has no intent to be the dominant player in the state workers’ compensation insurance market, according to Janet Frank, SCIF’s CEO. Looking back at the Fund’s 94-year history, SCIF has an “average sweet spot of 18 to 24 percent market share,” she said. Frank, who was appointed CEO of State Fund six months ago in October 2007, was a featured speaker at yesterday’s ninth annual Educational Forum “Forecasting the Future.” At the event, which was hosted by the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, Insurance Educational Association and Mt.… Read More »A Fresh Look at the State Fund