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The California Assembly passed a bill that would help to clarify when an insurance professional is acting in the capacity of a broker versus an agent. The Assembly voted in favor of AB 2956 by a margin of 60-6. The measure now is in the Senate Rules Committee waiting to be assigned to the Senate Insurance Committee. AB 2956 will clarify the duties of an agent versus those of a broker. The bill would provide that an insurance agent is a person who transacts insurance other than life, disability or health insuranceon behalf of an admitted insurance company. The bill… Read More »California Assembly Passes Agent-Broker Bill

California’s Assembly Insurance Committee has passed Assembly Bill 2956 by a vote of 7-0, moving one step closer to codifying the traditional “totality of the circumstances” test for determining whether an insurance professional is acting as a broker or as an agent. The next step for AB 2956 will be a vote on the State Assembly floor. The deadline to move bills out of the Assembly is May 30. Debra Jackson, president of the Alliance of Insurance Agents and Brokers, explained that the bill is critical to the livelihood of independent broker-agents. “Current law does not establish clear distinctions between… Read More »California Assembly Insurance Committee Passes Agent-Broker Bill

Insurance Journal reports that California has a $1.6 trillion economy that ranks it as a global financial power, thanks in part to a multi-billion dollar boost from the insurance industry, according to a new report by the Insurance Information Institute of California. In 2004, insurers contributed $27.3 billion to California’s gross state product and accounted for 300,000 jobs in the state, IINC said. The report also indicated:• Property/casualty insurers provide approximately 300,000 jobs in California, accounting for $21 billion in compensation.• In 2005, property/casualty insurance claims payments totaled $28.8 billion in California.• California collected $2.2 billion in premium taxes in… Read More »Insurers Boost California Economy By $27.3 Billion

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The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) announced today it will begin using a newly released, uniform scientific method in determining insurance rates and the most accurate prices for consumers. Partially funded by the CEA, the new Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF) model allows for more uniform and accurate determination of seismic hazard throughout California. UCERF is a collaboration by the United States Geological Survey, the California Geological Survey, and the Southern California Earthquake Center and is the first statewide, uniform scientific system to determine the probability of earthquakes. Previously, the science used in determining CEA earthquake insurance rates differed depending… Read More »California Earthquake Authority To Use New Science in Determining Rates

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