A Clash of Coverage Doctrines- Part 1

Multiple Coverage Claims: Targeted Tender vs. Horizontal Exhaustion
By Terrence J. Madden  February 29, 2012

The “targeted tender” and “horizontal exhaustion” doctrines are important insurance coverage doctrines that have significant consequences to both insurers and insureds.  read more..

Spoliation: Don’t Destroy Your Case By Losing Evidence

By Wayne Partenheimer  March 13, 2012

The fire at your insured’s second-floor offices six months ago caused heavy damage to his business and to the company on the first floor. Since then, you and the claims adjuster for the downstairs firm, along with your cause and origin experts have inspected the scene.  read more..

Defining ‘Physical Injury’

Defining ‘Physical Injury’
By David D. Thamann  March 23, 2012

The FC&S editors recently discussed an interesting issue: the meaning of “physical injury” in conjunction with a claim for property damage under the CGL form.

Property damage is defined in the CGL form as “physical injury to tangible property” or “loss of use of tangible property that is not physically injured.” There is usually no problem with the meaning of “tangible property”—but what is “physical injury”?  read more..

Pets: People, Property or Somewhere in Between?

By Christine G. Barlow  March 15, 2012

Recently a woman in New York filed suit against a pet store because the dog she purchased suffers various medical complaints. The suit seeks to hold the store liable for the animal's pain, suffering and medical bills, as if it were a person rather than a piece of property. While the woman's ultimate goal is to help shut down puppy mills, the issue is a valid one.  read more..

3 Tips for Controlling Workers’ Comp Medical Costs

From the March 12, 2012 issue of National Underwriter P&C

By Dave Lenckus  March 8, 2012

The National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. (NCCI) reports that medical services now represent 60 percent of Workers’ Comp claim costs. In the past, indemnity costs made up the biggest part of the Workers’ Comp claim.  read more..

How Agency Claims Staff Can Cause E&O Claims

By Curtis M. Pearsall
March 7, 2012

When evaluating the cause of agents E&O claims, one of the current hotspots deals with the manner in which claims are handled at the agency level. While many agencies have a staff dedicated solely to this function, in other agencies this function is handled by an account exec/CSR as part of their duties. Bottom line, this claims handling task is resulting in a number of E&O claims. From my experience, at least 40 percent of agency E&O claims are caused by this level within the agency.
  read more..

Opinion: The Economies of Claims Quality

The Correlation Between Skills, Strategy and Organizational SuccessBy Christopher Tidball
March 9, 2012

"To me, a claims man is a surgeon. That desk is an operating table. And those pencils are scalpels and bone chisels. And those papers are not just forms and statistics and claims for compensation, they're alive, they're packed with drama, with twisted hopes and crooked dreams. A claims man, Walter, is a doctor and a bloodhound...and a cop and a judge and a jury and a father confessor all in one.” ~Barton Keyes, Double Indemnity (1944)  read more..

Claims Auditing 101: Part 3

Quantitative vs. QualitativeBy Ken Brownlee, CPCU
February 29, 2012

Regardless of the coverage involved, those analyzing claims files can take two different approaches—either quantitative or qualitative auditing. The best audit involves both, whereas inferior audits involve only one.  read more..

Defending Fire Claims 101

Early Involvement in the InvestigationBy James M. Rozak, Brian J. Benoit
March 13, 2012

A thorough scene investigation of your next fire case may be the difference between a claim being dropped and a claim being litigated. The timeliness of the investigation and methods employed will ensure that all case facts have been uncovered, and that important evidence is preserved.   read more..

Five Key Steps to a Successful Broker/ Risk Manager Relationship

By Mark E. Ruquet
March 1, 2012

In the view of insurance brokers, a successful relationship with risk managers depends on the broker’s ability to achieve a clear understanding of a risk manager’s strategic objectives—and then to supply the information and programs that lead to satisfying those needs.  read more..

Big Fish Aren't Always Hard To Catch

Know How To Classify A Business ModBy Kevin Ring
February 28, 2012

This month I had the pleasure of speaking to members of a large employers association in North Carolina. It was an eye opening experience.  read more..

Collapse and Builders Risk Coverage

Construction Site Accidents and P&C ImplicationsBy Diana Reitz
February 29, 2012

A floor collapsed at a Cincinnati, Ohio casino construction site at the end of January, injuring 13 workers and causing project management, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and city safety inspectors to shut down the site to investigate. Luckily only one worker was injured seriously, with the others suffering relatively minor injuries.  read more..

Obamacare and Emerging Trends in Workers’ Comp

National Reform, Legislation and Alternative Dispute ResolutionBy Timothy D. Crawley
February 29, 2012

One of the singular promises made by President Obama when elected in 2008 was that “change” was destined to permeate the landscape of America. Certainly those within the discrete world of workers’ compensation have witnessed volumes of that “change” blossoming at many points throughout the practice.  read more..

Obamacare and Emerging Workers’ Compensation Trends

National Reform, Legislation and Alternative Dispute ResolutionBy Timothy D. Crawley
March 5, 2012

One of the singular promises made by President Obama when elected in 2008 was that “change” was destined to permeate the landscape of America. Certainly those within the discrete world of workers’ compensation have witnessed volumes of that “change” blossoming at many points throughout the practice.  read more..

Project Losses a Major Consideration in Contractor Coverage

By Dave Lenckus
March 12, 2012

Many small and midsize contractors don’t consult their surety-bond underwriters soon enough after running into trouble that could trigger a bond—an event that threatens a contractor’s ability to remain in business, according to surety executive Roland Richter.  read more..

Feb. Proves Costly & Deadly Month

By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com
March 8, 2012

NU Online News Service, March 8, 12:00 p.m. EST

February was a costly and deadly month around the globe with more than 800 deaths in Europe alone and economic losses totaling well over $1 billion, says a catastrophe recap report from Aon Benfield.

read more..

Forced-Place Insurance Rises On Fed's Radar

By Arthur D. Postal
March 9, 2012

NU Online News Service, March 9, 3:34 p.m. EST

The head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will propose regulations this year imposing strict limits on use of force-placed insurance for homeowners’ rising to a place of concern among consumer advocates where it should not be an industry expert says.  read more..

Information Overload

Stop worrying and explore digital ways to store informationBy Rick Gilman, APR, CMP  February 27, 2012

Forgive the homage to the 1964 movie "Dr. Strangelove," but we all seem to have a love/hate relationship with information. For years knowledge was power, information was king and data on its own was dumb.  read more..

Why Do You Serve?

Reflect on why you work in a service industryBy Lisa H. Harrington  February 27, 2012

Most of us, at some point or another, have volunteered with an organization or charity that needed our help. Sometimes we work with civic groups like homeowners’ associations or at the schools our kids attend. Many insurance people also attend career groups such as the Big I or CPCU.   read more..

Funding Needed to Safeguard Older Drivers

Study Shows Seniors Face Disproportionately High Traffic Fatality RateBy Christina Bramlet, PropertyCasualty360.com  February 24, 2012

A new report makes the case for increasing funding, research and planning to support older drivers navigating the roads now and into the future. TRIP, a national non-profit transportation research group, today released the report, “Keeping Baby Boomers Mobile: Preserving Mobility and Safety for Older Americans.” In it, the group emphasized that although state departments of transportation (DOTs) are doing a commendable job in trying to educate the public and safeguard older drivers, there remains much room for innovation.  read more..

Social Networking and the Claims Investigation

By Christopher Tidball  February 21, 2012

Back when many of us began our careers investigating claims, we did it the old fashioned way. There was no Internet, cell phones were the size of suitcases, and email had yet to replace inter-office memos. Somehow, we managed to get by using the relatively scarce resources available at the time.  read more..

The Quotable Warren Buffett

By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  February 27, 2012

NU Online News Service, Feb. 24., 12:00 p.m. EST

Read what Warren Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway, has to say about his successor, his company’s insurance operations, the economy, and a newspaper-throwing challenge.  read more..

Resolutions for P&C Insurers in 2012

By Mike Jackowski  February 21, 2012

P&C insurers have had a taste of doing business in 2012, and they realize they are dealing with a tough environment—one in which little or no organic customer growth exists to fuel corporate growth. Gaining market share means taking it away from someone else, so the level of competitiveness in the industry is high and will only get more intense.  read more..

Little Changes in Agent Satisfaction With Companies

By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com
February 27, 2012  NU Online News Service

Agent satisfaction with their carrier partners shows little change from last year and regional carriers would appear to be doing a better job with agents than the national carriers, according to an agent’s association survey.  read more..

RMIC- Revisions to Personal Auto Program

Effective: 03/1/2012 New & 04/1/2012 Renewal Business

We have reviewed our current business and will be implementing a slight rate increase for new and renewal business. This rate change will vary by customer.
Highlights:

1. Renewal Discount – An additional level has been added to the renewal discount (3% for 3 years or more)


2. Revised base relativities for Illinois and Wisconsin

Based on our analysis of the current marketplace we feel that we will continue to remain a competitive option for your new business. We strongly value our partnership with you and are genuinely committed to earning your personal auto business.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your underwriter or marketing representative.

Personal Auto Manuals
We will not be distributing hard copies of our updated manual with this notice.
Please visit our website at www.rockfordmutual.com for an updated copy of our manual or you can acquire a hard copy by contacting our Supply Department at extension 331.