Drunk Kicks, Punches and Urinates on $40 Million Painting (Daily Mail)

-- Related Coverage EU Demand for Road Map to Climate Treaty Complicates Talks (Bloomberg Businessweek) (11/28/11) Supreme Court to Decide Whether Lawsuits Require Harm (Yahoo! News) (11/28/11) Merck Pleads Guilty, Agrees to Pay $950 Million in Vioxx Case (Forbes) (11/28/11) GM to Offer Free Loaner Cars to Volt Owners During Safety Probe (Chicago Tribune) (11/28/11) Oklahoma Gets String of Mild Earthquakes (New York Times) (11/28/11) --

January 9, 2012

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California regulators announce rule changes to encourage electronic filing

More claims administrators, representatives, lien claimants, and self-insured employers are now able to switch from paper to electronic filing.



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Prescription Pill Addicts Pose Violence Risk to Pharmacies (New York Times)

-- Related Coverage EU Demand for Road Map to Climate Treaty Complicates Talks (Bloomberg Businessweek) (11/28/11) Supreme Court to Decide Whether Lawsuits Require Harm (Yahoo! News) (11/28/11) Merck Pleads Guilty, Agrees to Pay $950 Million in Vioxx Case (Forbes) (11/28/11) GM to Offer Free Loaner Cars to Volt Owners During Safety Probe (Chicago Tribune) (11/28/11) Oklahoma Gets String of Mild Earthquakes (New York Times) (11/28/11) --

January 9, 2012

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New OSHA page targets winter storm-related injuries

About 70 percent of injuries during winter storms are caused by motor vehicle accidents, according OSHA. The rest result from being caught out in a storm.



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People on the Move: Brokers (Jan. 10, 2012)

Willis North America announced the appointment of FRANK CASTRO as Health Care Practice Leader. Castro has been serving as Senior Vice President of Willis North America National Health Care Practice since 2007.

Castro assumes the position previously held by MARY BOTKIN who retired in November 2011. In this role, Castro will lead a team of more than 150 healthcare insurance professionals to drive growth across the platform. He will work closely with Willis North America's regional retail offices to align resources and deliver industry leading solutions and service to more than 6,000 Willis healthcare clients.

Related Coverage Target Markets Survey Shines Light on Programs Coverage (11/02/11) Lighter Headwinds Buffet Brokers in Third Quarter (11/03/11) Honoring Worker Safety and Injury Prevention (11/01/11) 12 Executives to Watch in 2012 (12/01/11) Consumed With Risk (12/01/11) Based in Los Angeles, Castro joined Willis in 2006 and brings more than 18 years of experience in the professional liability and specialty lines business. Previously, he co-led Willis' Managed Care practice, establishing Willis as a leader in this sector through a variety of thought leadership events including Willis' Annual Managed Care Forum.

Eric Joost, Chief Executive, Willis North America Specialties said: "Frank's strong track record and outstanding client focus will ensure we continue to build on the success of the Willis Health Care Practice. Willis' health care practice professionals truly understand their clients' needs and industries and stand ready to deliver the best solutions and services to all of our clients."

EILEEN CONLON has been appointed Managing Director at Beecher Carlson. She will be primarily responsible for the development and management of healthcare accounts by leveraging her extensive knowledge base coupled with Beecher Carlson?s healthcare resources. She will also work with other complex property and casualty clients such as commercial real estate owners.

Eileen will operate from Beecher Carlson?s Miami office. She brings more than 20 years of insurance industry experience to her new role. Most recently, she served as Managing Director with Willis after its acquisition of HRH of Florida Inc. in 2008. Prior to Willis, she was the President of South Florida operations for HRH where she was responsible for leading business strategy, strategic marketing and sales management.

Frank McKenna, Executive Managing Director said: ?We could not be more pleased to be bringing talent like Eileen into the organization. She has a proven track record of advocating on behalf of her clients and exceeding their expectations. We are excited to have Eileen join our team.?

TODD E. CUSANO has joined Business Risk Partners?a managing general agency focused on specialty commercial insurance?as the Underwriting Manager for Professional Liability. From 2007 to 2011, Cusano served as an Assistant Vice President for Allied World Assurance Company/Darwin National Assurance Company where he built and managed a $50 million professional liability program for lawyers underwritten on admitted and surplus lines paper. Previous to that, he spent four years with The Hartford as an Executive Underwriter and Claims Consultant.

Cusano began his career practicing law with Hartford-based law firm Updike, Kelly and Spellacy. He returned briefly to the firm this year working in commercial litigation and professional liability before joining Business Risk Partners.

While in his early thirties, Cusano served as one of the youngest mayors in the state of Connecticut for the town of Rocky Hill.

January 10, 2012

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The Small Claims Approach

A California woman's approach to suing Honda in small claims court for allegedly failing to produce the advertised gas mileage for her 2006 Honda Civic has been reported by the mainstream media as an unusual turn.

Related Coverage Batch Clauses and the Fine Print of Products Liability (11/01/11) Legal Fight Over Deepwater Horizon Fault Heating Up (Wall Street Journal) (11/03/11) Excess Tax Sharing Angst Alive, Kicking (11/01/11) The Right to Maximize Property Insurance Coverage (11/15/11) Renewing an Alternative (11/01/11) But it's really not, said Jeff Weil, the Philadelphia-based chairman of the litigation department for law firm Cozen O'Connor. He should know. Much earlier in his career he personally defended auto manufacturers on several occasions in small-claims court.

"I did a lot of cases in small claims court in Pennsylvania and I assume California is not that different," Weil said.

Should Honda Civic owner Heather Peters be successful in her action against the auto maker in small claims court in Torrance, Calif., home to American Honda Motor Company's West Coast headquarters, she could trigger some exposure for Honda's insurance carriers.

Small claims courts are places where plaintiffs bringing cases without the assistance of attorneys have a good chance of getting favorable treatment, Weil said.

"My experience clearly tells me that that forum is a plaintiff-friendly forum often-times," said Weil, "and, in fact, most often the plaintiff does not have a lawyer and the court almost bends over backward to assist the complainant to make their claim."

In published comments, Peters, a trained attorney who does not carry an active bar card, said her case could eventually lead to claims totaling as much as $2 billion against Honda, that is if every owner of the 200,000 or so cars in her class of Civic model file an action, be successful and get paid at the award-cap of $10,000.

That may be wishful thinking. To date, the number of 2006 Honda Civic owners following her lead could be closer to 500, according to published reports.

In a statement, the company said that it offered to inspect her vehicle and work with her on the findings, but those offers were rejected. Peters called that claim ?absolutely false,? according to a news report.

For insurers, the small-claims court approach has good and bad aspects to it. Insurers and their insureds well know that defense costs can burn through substantial layers of insurance coverage. Forsaking attorneys in small claims actions means no legal costs to speak of. But, Weil and other experts quoted on the topic, said the chances of the plaintiff winning are higher.

Class-action lawsuits with large settlements against businesses and other defendants frequently result in steep payments for attorneys, and many times the unnamed plaintiffs in the case see very little, Weil said.

Peters' approach is really just another piece of a cycle during which claimants in some periods see class actions as their best chance at getting justice. "To tell you the truth," said Weil, "these things kind of go in waves."

January 10, 2012

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People on the Move: Insurance (Jan. 10, 2012)

MARK BOLAND has been appointed to lead Endurance's U.S. wholesale primary casualty insurance operations. Boland joined Endurance in 2007 and successfully built a property and casualty portfolio focused on hard to place small to mid-size complex risks, working through a network of surplus lines agents. Boland has 30 years of experience in commercial lines underwriting and, more recently, in senior management roles. He will be located in New York.

Prior to joining Endurance, Boland served as President of Coventry Managers, a commercial property and casualty carrier. From 1996 through 2005, he was President and CEO of Hermitage Insurance Company, a commercial lines subsidiary of Tower Group, Inc. Mr. Boland's prior experience includes several underwriting positions.

Related Coverage Target Markets Survey Shines Light on Programs Coverage (11/02/11) Lighter Headwinds Buffet Brokers in Third Quarter (11/03/11) Honoring Worker Safety and Injury Prevention (11/01/11) 12 Executives to Watch in 2012 (12/01/11) Consumed With Risk (12/01/11) Glenn Yanoff, President and Head of U.S. Insurance Wholesale Operations, commented, "Broadening our primary casualty book through new producer relationships and broader geographic coverage is a priority as we strive to build Endurance's presence in the U.S. wholesale market."

Steven Dresner, Head of Endurance's Specialty Operations for U.S. Wholesale Insurance said, "Based on Mark's wealth of experience and his success over the last few years at Endurance, I am confident that under his guidance our expanded primary casualty team will make a significant mark in this space despite the challenging environment."

Zurich announced today the appointment of MARK SHERIDAN as Chief Operations Officer Global Life. In this role, Sheridan will develop and execute the Global Life Operations and IT strategy, managing all aspects of operational delivery.

Since 2008, Mr. Sheridan has been the Group IT Key Account Executive to Global Life, ensuring the delivery of the IT elements of the Global Life strategy. He spent many years in the U.K. leading several IT platform integration projects across the Eagle Star, Allied Dunbar and Zurich IT portfolio. Sheridan joined Eagle Star as an IT developer in 1984.

JAY LEFKOWITZ has been named to the newly created position as head of U.S. Risk Management North America Primary Casualty group at XL Group. Lefkowitz is based in New York and will direct the group's U.S. Risk Management team which provides auto liability, general liability and workers' compensation coverage to US-based businesses.

Lefkowitz joins XL from ACE Risk Management where he most recently served as President of National Accounts, managing all aspects of underwriting, claims, audits and adjustment, staffing, account retention and production. Prior to joining ACE in 1999, he was Vice President of AIG's Risk Management group where he formed the company's M&A group which was a multi-line insurance products group catering to Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies. His 20-plus-year insurance career also includes underwriting positions with CNA, Atlantic Mutual and Home Insurance Company.

Ken Riegler, the recently appointed President of XL's North America Primary Casualty group said, "XL continues to attract and retain some of our industry's most experienced professionals. With a seasoned team and leaders like Jay, we're well equipped with a superior level of knowledge and underwriting skill to deliver quality coverage and services to our diverse client base. Together we all look forward to building on an impressive reputation and book of business."

Ironshore Inc. announced that JOSEPH L. BOREN has been appointed Executive Vice President of Ironshore Insurance Holdings, LLC and will be President of U.S. Field Operations. JOHN O'BRIEN currently President of Ironshore Environmental, has been named as that unit's Chief Executive Officer, assuming responsibility from Boren, who held that position for three years.

Boren will be responsible for the U.S. distribution strategies for Ironshore's U.S. domestic businesses. He also will continue to manage Ironshore's Marketing, Strategic Broker Relations, Specialized Risk Solutions, and Mergers & Acquisitions Insurance transactions for Ironshore and remain Chairman of Ironshore Environmental.

"Ironshore's U.S. Field Operations have demonstrated healthy, sustainable growth over the past year, with Regional Executives responsible for the diverse distribution of Ironshore products through various channels across all business lines," said Kevin H. Kelley, Chief Executive Officer of Ironshore. "Joe's leadership within Ironshore is steadfast and his institutional knowledge of our strategic vision make him the best executive to create greater efficiencies throughout our U.S. operations structure that is now firmly in place."

Mr. Boren has been a long time insurance industry leader within the environmental sector. Along with Mr. O'Brien, he launched Ironshore Environmental in 2009, which is recognized for developing innovative insurance products to meet changing industry demand for managing the financial impact of environmental incidents and liabilities. Prior to joining Ironshore, they built the largest environmental insurance company at AIG Environmental.

Mr. Boren noted, "John has been instrumental in building out both Ironshore Environmental as well as AIG Environmental and his vision for this industry is unmatched."

January 10, 2012

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