ACORD Workers' Compensation Reporting Committee Announced

June 14, 2011
By Staff Writer

The ACORD Standards Committee (www.acord.org) approved the formation of a new standards program and steering committee for workers' compensation reporting.

The single XML standard will be an alternative to multiple EDI standards in use today. Efforts will focus solely on reporting and on ensuring that the ACORD XML Standard is synchronized with any changes to the EDI standards  read more..

July 4th Holiday

Legislation Intro'ed to Update Tax Code For Inflation

June 16, 2011
By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com
NU Online News Service, June 16, 2:08 p.m. EST

WASHINGTON—Legislation has been introduced in the House designed to update a tax break for small property and casualty insurers to provide for inflation.  read more..

Filings Underway for ISO’s Predictive Model

June 20, 2011
By Staff Writer

ISO announces that filings have begun for an optional rating rule that uses the output of the by-peril predictive model developed by ISO. The predictive model is known as ISO Risk Analyzer Homeowners. ISO recently began the regulatory filing process and expects to complete the process for several states at a time over the coming months.  read more..

Attorney: Supreme Court Is Helping Insurance Industry

June 16, 2011
By Eric Gilkey, PropertyCasualty360.com
NU Online News Service, June 16, 12:41 p.m. EST

NEW ORLEANS - In his opening keynote address at the ACE America’s Claims Event conference, attorney Stephen A. Cozen said the Supreme Court has become a valued partner of the insurance industry, working to reduce punitive damage awards and reject exposure lawsuits.  read more..

Bars & Restaurants in Fire Class 9 & 10

•  Liquor liability coverage available in most states for restaurants, taverns, nightclubs, private clubs      
     
•  General liability, property, inland marine, crime, and umbrella coverage
     
•  Types include fine dining, family fast-food, cafes, cafeterias, catering, and restaurants with take with take with take with take-out service
     
•  3 years in business or equivalent experience
     
•  Liquor receipts up to 40%


Call Susan Leoni at Rockford Insurance Agency
                              Ext. 267

Message from RMIC's President

By Joseph DeChatelets, CPCU, CLU
     President and CEO

I recently received a call from A.M. Best affirming our A- rating with a stable outlook.  Now, don’t get me wrong, we are working extremely hard to improve this to an A rating, but given the weather patterns in the Midwest over the past three or four years, this was music to my ears!

This got me thinking about the trust that agents, farm mutuals and policyholders place in our company each and every day.  Nobody likes paying their insurance premium.  Most of us are insurance poor and never intend to make a claim on our insurance company.   But we have to pay those premiums.

The trust that people place in their agent to put their customers with an insurance company that will take care of them when “bad things happen” is priceless.  Customers can shop the internet all day long for the best prices for their insurance, but do they really understand what they are buying?  Price is important, but when it comes to insurance, value is much more important.  Being with a company means very little until bad things happen, and that is the time that we are called to put lives back together.  Even more importantly, being with an agent that knows them and cares throughout the process of making a claim and putting their lives back together is something the internet can never make up for.  

So next time a customer complains about their insurance premiums, remember, what we do is put lives back together!  That is the value we sell each and every day.

Global and Off-Premises Exposures

The Reality of Building and Property CoverageClaims Magazine June 2011
By David D. Thamann

In these days of mergers and acquisitions, globalization, and shifting business operations off-shore, questions can arise as to how various insurance policies address off-premises losses. For example, if an insured company based in Ohio expands its operations to Nevada or buys a plant in England, will the commercial property policy cover a fire loss to the newly acquired buildings?  read more..

Subrogation: Seeing Success In E-Communication Among Carriers

National Underwriter P&C June 6, 2011
By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com

While many segments of the insurance industry are struggling mightily with the challenges of modernizing their technology, at least one area of the business has made significant strides in streamlining carrier-to-carrier communication.  read more..

Dirty Data: Surmounting Insurance Data Quality Hurdles

June 7, 2011
By Thomas Schutz

Policyholder contact details exist in every insurance organization. This information is critical to operations and allows insurers to serve their policyholders appropriately. But the difficulty of maintaining this data is almost as prevalent as insurers having contact information in the first place. Because of the fluidity of relationships, contact data can be difficult to clean and keep up to date.  read more..

The Future of Claims Reporting

June 3, 2011
By Frank Heaps

A woman is driving home after a late night at work down a remote road on a rainy night. She is traveling at a safe speed because the roads are wet and visibility is poor. Suddenly, she sees a large deer in the road; she naturally reacts to avoid the collision. She swerves, loses control, and hits a tree. She is OK, but the car cannot be driven. Miles from help, she is dazed from what just happened. Her best option is to find her cell phone and call for assistance. This is the time that her insurance company can step up to deliver on customer service.  read more..

Capturing Hidden Profits

Tech Decisions June 2011
By Steve Callahan

Challenging economic conditions, reduced returns on investment, in-creases in large claims, and increased competition have all combined to drive approximately one-third of U.S. insurers out of the market over the last 15 years. Reductions in top-line revenue concurrent with shrinking profitability have had their impact.  read more..

Mo. Chamber of Commerce Files To Intervene In Second Injury Fund Suit

June 9, 2011
By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com
NU Online News Service, June 9, 1:10 p.m. EST

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce has filed court papers to intervene in a federal lawsuit brought by a handful of people owed money from the state’s Second Injury Fund.

Should the plaintiffs in the case succeed, a court order would be issued to increase the amount paid by businesses to the Second Injury Fund, which alleviates businesses from paying workers’ claims with previous injury.  read more..

Ill. Workers' Comp Overhaul Passes On Second Try

June 2, 2011
By ZACHARY COLMAN, Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — It took two tries, but lawmakers approved a major overhaul of Illinois' workers' compensation system Tuesday in an effort to save businesses hundreds of millions of dollars.

The measure now goes to Gov. Pat Quinn, who said he "absolutely" will sign it.
It passed 62-43 in the Illinois House just 48 hours after the same chamber rejected it.  read more..

Mo. Fund For Injured Workers Stops Paying Claims

June 7, 2011
By Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Fifty-five permanently disabled people have not received payments from a Missouri fund for workplace injuries because of its ongoing financial troubles.  read more..

Workers’ Comp Conference Draws Thousands to Orlando

June 7, 2011
By Steven A. Rissman

Thousands soon will be converging on Orlando for the 66th Annual Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference (WCEC) and 23rd Annual Safety and Health Conference. The convention takes place at the Orlando World Marriott Center from Sunday, Aug. 21 through Wednesday, Aug. 24. The “comp convention,” as it is known, is the largest gathering of workers’ compensation professionals in the U.S.  read more..

Industry Throws Support Behind 2 Disaster-Preparedness Bills

June 3, 2011
By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com
NU Online News Service, June 3, 2:34 p.m. EDT

Two industry-supported bills that would provide federal financial incentives to strengthen homes against major storms were introduced in the House this week.

The Natural Disaster Mitigation Act, H.R. 2099, provides a tax credit to low-income homeowners who take action to protect their property to reduce vulnerability to damage from natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The bill was introduced by Reps. Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).  read more..

The Great Reporting Debate

Risk Managers and Loss Reporting
Claims Magazine June 2011
By Charles Hunter Mcree

"What you don’t know won’t hurt you” is a proverb many of us have heard and maybe even said. In the realm of risk management, though, this maxim confronts professionals with the question of whether to report incidents to their insurance carriers. These incidents, or occurrences that do not trigger a demand for a payout, nevertheless can someday morph into claims or lawsuits. How wise is it for risk managers to report incidents to the insurance carrier on behalf of their companies? Were Hamlet a risk manager, he might ask, “To report or not to report? That is the question..."  read more..

Fly Ash: This Year’s Asbestos?

National Underwriter P&C
April 25, 2011
By William F. Stewart

There may never be another mass tort that combines widespread bodily injury with long-tail exposure as effectively as the “miracle mineral” of asbestos. But there are some interesting parallels between asbestos and a developing threat known as “fly ash.”  read more..

Earning A Workers' Comp Client For Life

May 27, 2011
By Kevin Ring

The other day, a producer sent me an email. In part, he said, “I’ve been selling workers’ comp for years, but I really don’t know very much about it. I now realize how critical it is to be an expert. Workers’ comp is the linchpin to an employer’s entire insurance account.”  read more..

Hogwash: Farm-Use Discount For City-Driven Luxury Cars

May 27, 2011
By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com
NU Online News Service, May 27, 10:30 a.m. EDT

There are probably no farms in Brooklyn, N.Y., and it is unlikely a Jaguar is being used to haul animal feed.

A new study reveals many vehicle owners claiming a discount for farm use are giving insurers a load of horse manure.  read more..

LexisNexis Announces New Technology Platform For Policy, Claims, Billing and Reinsurance Data

May 24, 2011
By Robert Regis Hyle, PropertyCasualty360.com

LexisNexis Risk Solutions announced the availability of LexisNexis Insurance Enterprise View, a new modular solution that integrates data from multiple sources to drive decision-making by insurance companies. The platform serves as a single, reconciled data source for billing, policy, claims and reinsurance systems.
read more..

New law requires stricter guidelines for nursing homes

Deaths of developmentally disabled patients will need to be reported to state
By Sam Roe and Jared S. Hopkins, Tribune reporters

9:16 p.m. CDT, May 31, 2011
For years, deaths of disabled children at Illinois nursing homes faced little scrutiny. Regulators weren't always informed, coroners weren't notified — even some family members weren't told whether neglect was involved.

But that could soon change as the Illinois Senate on Tuesday joined the state House in passing sweeping reforms to safeguard thousands of children and adults with severe developmental disabilities.  read more..