A View From The Press Box

Maybe there is some justice in this world after all. "The Insurance Hoax"--a pure hatchet job in the September 2007 issue of "Bloomberg Markets" that indicted the entire insurance industry for its claims-handling practices--did not win the prestigious Daniel Pearl Award for Investigative Reporting, given out by the New York City Deadline Club--an affiliate of The Society Of Professional Journalists.

Continue reading "Hatchet Job Fails To Win Journalism Award" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 3:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Remember the old saying, "children should be seen and not heard at the dinner table"? The insurance industry has expanded that concept, because they often act as if customers should be seen but not heard, period. To invite feedback and establish more trust with consumers, perhaps it's time for carriers to launch social media sites.

Continue reading "Have You Spoken To Your Customers Lately?" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Independent agencies and their insurance carriers that fail to embrace real-time data processing will soon start losing marketshare and could find themselves out of business over the long haul, a trio of cutting-edge agents warn.

Continue reading "Clock Running Out For Those Without Real Time" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 6:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Janice Ochenkowski, president of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, works hand-in-hand with her CFO. While this should be the rule rather than the exception, too many risk managers still find themselves on the outside looking in at upper management, known as the C-Suite.

Continue reading "How Can Risk Managers Crash The C-Suite?" »

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Bill Berkley is the Simon Cowell of insurance. He always speaks his mind, with no sugarcoating, and lets the chips fall where they may. He was back on his soapbox last week in Orlando at the National Council on Compensation Insurance annual symposium, where he lobbed more verbal grenades at rating agencies.

Continue reading "Berkley Pulls No Punches On Rating Agencies" »

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Keeping with the theme I cited in an earlier blog--it ain't easy being green--check out the tale of Assistant Managing Editor Caroline McDonald after the RIMS conference. Feel free to weigh in with any of your own war stories about how society doesn't facilitate those eager to preserve the environment.

Continue reading "McDonald's Post-RIMS Adventure" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 5:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Just a few months ago, Sen. Barack Obama seemed invincible, propelled by the catchy campaign slogan, "Yes, We Can." Now, as he struggles to fend off his relentless opponent, Sen. Hillary Clinton, the chants are starting to sound more like, "No, She Can't." Could the Democrats have devised a more self-defeating scenario? Even if Obama does manage to hold onto the nomination, can he beat Sen. John McCain this fall? Would having Clinton as his running mate make any sense, or any difference?

Continue reading "Dems Between Barack And A Hard Place" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Ready or not, I'm turning 50 this afternoon! I've tried not to dwell on this earthshaking event, but circumstances haven't made it easy. Indeed, it seems as if the world has been conspiring to remind me about the consequences of aging as my mega-birthday approached!

Continue reading "Turning 50 Is No Picnic!" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBacks (0)

Should insurers be required to serve, in effect, as "environmental traffic cops," forced to cough up substantially more data about how climate change might impact their clients' exposures, and thus, their own operations? Chuck Chamness, president and CEO of NAMIC, argued forcefully against such mandates in the "Final Say" column of this week's edition of NU. Click on to read Chuck's take and feel free to offer your own opinion.

Continue reading "Battle Over Climate Disclosure Heats Up" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You are asked by an attorney friend to review a claims coverage opinion received from an insurance representative. When you read the opinion, you believe that parts of it are seriously flawed and incorrect. You know the person who wrote the opinion and believe that he is, at least in part, opining outside his area of expertise. What are your ethical obligations to both the attorney and the person who wrote the report? Feel free to weigh in right here, and while there is no need to give your name, please include your role in the insurance business—agent, adjuster, risk manager?

Posted by Sam Friedman at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday, we closed out the RIMS conference in San Diego with a bang, drawing 240 attendees on getaway day to hear the winners of the 2007 “NU Award For Excellence In Workers’ Compensation Risk Management” from Belk Department Stores and Rolls Royce North America share the secrets of their success in cutting the frequency and severity of claims, getting people back to work faster, and reducing the overall cost of risk, thus boosting productivity and improving the bottom line, which gets the attention of those in the C-suite. Will you be a role model for your risk manager peers next year, talking about your loss control, safety and back-to-work programs? You have until June 9 to enter the 2008 award program. Click on for details.

Continue reading "WC Risk Manager Award Winners Share Secrets Of Success" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Whose fault is it when properties are underinsured? The policyholder? The agent? The insurance carrier? That's the question we posed to NU readers following last year's California wildfires, for which many homeowners reportedly lacked adequate coverage to rebuild. NU's ethics columnist, Peter R. Kensicki, compiled the responses (many of them from readers of my blog) and came up with the following trends.

Continue reading "A Question Of Ethics" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBacks (0)

Would federal regulation better protect big commercial buyers? The Risk and Insurance Management Society's leadership is excited about the recent endorsement by the Bush administration of an optional federal charter. But all I can say is, be careful what you wish for, because federal oversight certainly has not produced good risk management under this hands-off White House, and I doubt any cost efficiencies will be passed along to consumers.

Continue reading "Will Uncle Sam Look Out For Big Buyers?" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

The biggest buzz at the RIMS conference here in San Diego this week was about the threats and opportunities prompted by climate change. Zurich, Aon and other major players touted ambitious environmental initiatives. The chairman of Lloyd's, Lord Peter Levene, even took a side trip to Sacramento to meet with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to talk about the impact of global warming. Is this all a lot of hot air, or a long overdue response to the most serious threat our planet faces?

Continue reading "It Isn't Easy Being Green" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I would be the last person to suggest that the media, of which I am a proud member, can or even should be "managed." But the fact is that demands for information by journalists at a time of crisis (and even during routine periods) present a reputational exposure that risk managers can (and should) help their organizations more effectively prepare for. That was the central message delivered by a press panel I moderated today at the RIMS conference in San Diego.

Continue reading "Risk Managers Can Help Deal With The Press" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

As I arrived today at this year's RIMS conference in San Diego, my thoughts drifted back to the first time I attended this convention of corporate insurance buyers in the late 1980s, when risk managers had a fairly thankless job. Man, how times have changed, as NU's exclusive coverage of the annual "Risk Management Compensation Survey" by Logic Associates reveals.

Continue reading "Risk Managers On The Rise!" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In her article in the April 20 edition of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Rebecca Mowbray posed a stark question: "In dealing with all the insurance problems that arose with Hurricane Katrina, would it have made a difference for Louisiana homeowners if a federal insurance regulator in Washington was calling the shots rather than a state insurance commissioner in Louisiana?" What do you think?

Continue reading "Would A Federal Regulator Have Helped New Orleans?" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Despite having two strong, intelligent, history-making candidates, are the Democrats on a collision course that will leave the Republicans in control of the White House come November? That worst-case scenario (for Democrats, at least) is far more likely to play out the longer Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama keep hammering away at one another while Sen. John McCain waits to face the bruised and battered "winner."

Continue reading "What, Me Worry About The Democrats?" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)

Back on April 9, I blogged about the controversial suggestion by Greg Squires, a sociology professor at George Washington University, to require insurance carriers to collect and disclose data on the race and income of prospects and clients, to prove once and for all whether there is any prejudice--active or not--when pricing homeowners coverage. I said I didn't think it was a bad idea, but many in the industry strongly disagree. I promised to give Greg an opportunity to explain his views, so here goes. Click on to read more about his position, and feel free to respond.

Continue reading "Squires Makes His Case For More Data Collection" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Now that a key member of Congress has introduced a bill creating an interim Office of Insurance Information, does that make an optional federal charter inevitable? Not as long as the industry itself remains so bitterly divided over the issue.

Continue reading "An Industry Divided Against Itself Cannot Get OFC Passed" »

Posted by Sam Friedman at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)