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Technology That Belongs to You

The Texas Department of Public Safety announced that Texas drivers can now order their driving records online and print them out immediately instead of waiting to have the record mailed to them. “We are pleased to offer this new service, which is available 24/7 to our customers. The convenience of ordering your driver record online and then printing it out yourself will save everyone time and money,” said Rebecca Davio, the DPS Assistant Director for Driver License. Previously, drivers could order their driver record online but had to wait to receive their record via the U.S. Postal Service. Now, drivers… Read More »Technology That Belongs to You

Mars Attacks…

Insurance agent and broker groups criticized an interim final rule issued Monday that would include agent and broker commissions in calculating an insurer’s medical loss ratio under the new health care reform law. The interim final rule by the Department of Health and Human Services implements the reform law’s medical loss ratio rules that require insurers underwriting individual and small-group coverage to spend at least 80% of their premium revenues on medical care, while insurers providing coverage to large groups must spend at least 85% on medical care. The final interim rule does not provide a producer commission carve-out as… Read More »Mars Attacks…

Employees Who Shop at Work Pose Increasing Risks For Employers

The good news: your employees likely won’t be using quite as much work time to shop online for holiday gifts this year. The bad news: those who do are increasingly willing to engage in risky behavior using your company’s computers. These risky behaviors could make your company vulnerable to attacks from computer viruses, phishing scams, and malware attacks, according to a survey conducted by Information Systems Audit and Control Association, (ISACA), an information technology professional trade group. “Employees who shop online reduce productivity – especially from Black Friday through mid-December, when 71 percent of them make their holiday purchases –… Read More »Employees Who Shop at Work Pose Increasing Risks For Employers

Insurance Industry Loosing Jobs

The U.S. insurance industry shed 6,000 jobs in September compared with August, according to a report by the Insurance Information Institute based on data by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite upticks in insurance industry employment in June and August of this year, the III said seasonally unadjusted insurance industry employment dropped to 2.17 million in September, its lowest point in 20 years. Property/casualty insurers’ employment was down 3,200 from August and down 2.9% from September 2009. Insurance agents and brokers faired no better, shedding 3,200 jobs compared with August and declining 2.8% since September 2009. Meanwhile,… Read More »Insurance Industry Loosing Jobs

New Hotel and Casino Programs

Venture Insurance Programs, a national program administrator has launched Concierge, a hotel insurance program, and SafeBet, a casino insurance program, both offering all lines of coverage. Concierge provides all lines of coverage for hotel management companies and boutique hotels, as well as mono-line Workers’ Compensation for general hotel properties. The program is designed for multi-location hotels, hotel management companies, large hotel properties and boutique hotels with package premiums starting at $50,000, including general liability, commercial auto, liquor liability and property with limits up to $100 million per location. Monoline workers’ compensation premiums start at $75,000. SafeBet provides all lines of… Read More »New Hotel and Casino Programs

New Milestone of Cyber Crime

Complaints about Internet crimes have reached a milestone. On Nov. 9, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) logged its 2 millionth consumer complaint alleging online criminal activity. The IC3, a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, became operational in May 2000 and received its 1 millionth complaint seven years later, on June 11, 2007. It took half that time to receive the 2 millionth complaint., which may be due to the IC3’s increased visibility as well as the continued growth of cyber crime. The IC3 refers cyber crime complaints to law enforcement agencies. Since its… Read More »New Milestone of Cyber Crime

Telematics Helps to Reduce Crashes

A report from Zurich Financial Services Group concludes that trucking companies “could use new technological developments to reduce the costs of crashes in their motor fleets by up to 30 percent.” The report – Insights: Telematics and Fleet Risk Management – analyzes how telematics technology, in conjunction with driver development programs, can help fleet operators take positive steps to improve safety while also reducing their impact on the environment and reducing operation costs. Zurich explained that telematics “commonly refers to vehicle-based systems that integrate GPS sensors with wireless communication and computer capabilities. These systems can provide fleet owners and operators with… Read More »Telematics Helps to Reduce Crashes

Broad Equipment Rental, Sales Businesses Coverage

Equipment suppliers often have protection needs that extend beyond the scope of a traditional property policy. Whether a business rents tents and tables for special events, sells industrial machinery or leases high value medical equipment, protecting the equipment while it is in the company’s possession or in use by a customer is vital to the business’s operation. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. now offers Equipment Rental & Sales Choice, a marine policy that provides property protection for a broad array of equipment suppliers. The policy brings together several different types of coverage typically offered in separate marine policies. “Having… Read More »Broad Equipment Rental, Sales Businesses Coverage

Invest in Security Cameras

Authorities say a central New York convenience store’s surveillance cameras caught a man purposely pouring soda on the floor and then faking a fall so he could file an insurance claim against the business. Insurance fraud investigators say the store’s security videotape shows Barnes pouring soda on the floor. Officials say “injured” filed a claim with the stores insurer and later withdrew the claim. Paperless Comment: all business owners, are encouraged to install security cameras, and it doesn’t cost much these days. Those cameras can be setup to record only when there is movement detected. With development of technology, 24/7 access via internet… Read More »Invest in Security Cameras

Russia Welcomes Lloyds Office

Lloyd’s announced that it will open a representative office in Russia next year. The bulletin indicated that a “dedicated country manager will enable Lloyd’s to better understand and explore opportunities in the Russian market; however the office will not be a base for underwriting.” Jose Ribeiro, Director, International Markets, Lloyd’s, commented: “Now is the right time to develop a small presence in Moscow. The new Russia country manager will be well placed to make informed decisions on behalf of the Lloyd’s market as well as promoting and explaining it to local insurers and brokers.” Lloyd’s Russia is expected to open… Read More »Russia Welcomes Lloyds Office