AIG rating cut by A.M. Best, after new CEO installed
NEW YORK (Reuters)—.M. Best cut it financial strength ratings on American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer, citing the company's hiring of a new chief executive, and subsequent plans for a sweeping review.
A.M. Best said AIG's sudden decision to install a new chief, and the organization-wide review the company has since unveiled, were not in keeping with its "highest rating categories", the Oldwick, New Jersey-based company said, in a statement...
Market Barometer Report: May Rate Reductions Slow
Rates for May 2008 are down 11% as compared to a reduction of 13% in May of 2007.
Richard Kerr, Founder and CEO of MarketScout outlined the trend that is developing. According to Kerr, “In the second half of 2007 rates declined an average of 14%. We don’t expect similar rate decreases in 2008. Rates will be down, but certainly not at the same pace as 2007.”
AIG's New Tough Guy
When Maurice "Hank" Greenberg exited AIG under suspicion of fraud it was his chosen pick, jovial Brit Martin Sullivan, who was tapped to cleanup the mess he left behind. Three years later, the loyal successor has been supplanted by another company insider, another guy who, like Greenberg, grew up in New York City--Brooklyn to be exact.
AIG, headquartered in the city that doesn't sleep, needs to shake its current doldrums and Robert Willumstad, the firm's third chief executive in 46 years, is being asked to bring back the good old days when the company's stock kept appreciating and earnings were strong....
Food Safety Fears Rising in U.S. as Tomatoes Become Latest Scare
Whether it's Salmonella in tomatoes or E. coli-tainted spinach, outbreaks of food-borne illness are scaring people away from some foods and shaking their confidence in U.S. food safety procedures.
"Food in the U.S. is all kinds of unsafe," said Arjuna Balasooriya, 35, on Tuesday as he left lunch at a Souplantation in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, which closed for a week last year due to a Shigella bacteria outbreak.
AMA rates health insurers
Turning the tables on the health insurance industry's rankings of doctors, the American Medical Association on Monday said it will begin rating business practices of health plans that it says can slow payments to doctors and often confuse consumers.
RMS To Offer Catastrophe Updates Online
Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has launched an initiative to keep businesses informed of the impact of catastrophic events by making its expert analysis publicly available on its Web site. The RMS Cat Updates service, which has provided the insurance industry with damage summaries and loss reports following significant natural or man-made catastrophes, is now accessible at www.rms.com/Catastrophe/Catupdates.
Medical records a click away: A good idea?
When Mary Adams had a mammogram in October, she didn't have to wait for a call from her doctor — or even a note in the mail — to get her results.
Instead, she got a message from her Cleveland Clinic doctor that her online health record had been updated. She logged onto MyChart, one of the nation's first online sites for personal health records, and voilà, there were the results: Everything was normal.
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Product Refusal is a Growing Concern for Food Companies
With recent tomato illnesses and increasing product recall incidents, the food industry has growing concern for high impact on lost sales suffered not only by those who have a contaminated product but also by those who have safe products and are impacted by the adverse publicity and government consumer safety mandates.
Typical recall and/or contaminated product policies can cover some of this risk exposure, however, the insured must be involved (or allegedly involved) in the contamination of the product. The insured may not have contaminated product but is suffering loss of income due the USDA warning.
Email me to find out more about the current problem and other product recall issues.
What are the Presidential Candidates Thinking about Healthcare?
Do you know each Presidential candidate's position on our Nation's Healthcare system? How will proposed changes affect your business and individual life style? To obtain a brief overview of this important Presidential campaign issue, click here.
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