A View from the Press Box

It’s hard to say which story was bigger news for me–that ace pitcher Johan Santana had been acquired by the New York Mets, or that Ace executive Brian Duperreault had been acquired by Marsh & McLennan Companies as its new president and CEO. Both moves will have a huge impact on their respective organizations.

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Sen. John McCain buried Rudy Giuliani’s presidential hopes in Florida last night, despite the winner’s adamant opposition and the loser’s vocal support on whether to establish a national catastrophe fund. What does the primary vote mean for cat fund backers? Vote Democratic!

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One of my loyal readers wrote recently to share an amusing (yet deadly serious) anecdote that shows how ingrained into the culture is society’s suspicion of the insurance industry. Click ahead to read the tale, and see if that doesn’t convince you of how poor the industry’s reputation really is these days.

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It’s not every day you get told off by an ex-FEMA director as well as a retired admiral and former deputy secretary of homeland security. But that’s exactly what happened to me last week when I received a letter from James Lee Witt (pictured above) and James M. Loy, who now co-chair ProtectingAmerica.Org. The pair took issue with my recent recap of how well I had predicted the top stories of 2007, at least in terms of my take on the advance of their cause–to establish a national catastrophe fund. Read on for their critique and my response.

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In the ongoing struggle to come up with new products to cover catastrophe losses, there is one new twist worth watching–a derivative product that is triggered not by actual losses, but by a force of nature, regardless of the subsequent damage claims. Read on for details and let me know what you make of this initiative?

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Insurance panel discussions are usually fairly mundane and predictable affairs, but in what might be the first real burst of spontaneity in the history of such events, the members of one panel stood up to publicly challenge the assertions of those on a subsequent gathering, with regulators and insurers going at it during the recent Joint Industry Forum. It was one of the most honest and productive exchanges I have ever seen between the two sides. I just wish there were more like it.

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National Underwriter is seeking entries for its second annual “Award For Excellence In Workers’ Compensation Risk Management.” Read on for details on how risk managers can enter, as well as how insurers, brokers and other interested parties can nominate a worthy candidate.

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Here we go again! Heavyweights Bob Hunter, insurance director of the Consumer Federation of America, is trading blows with Bob Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, over whether the industry is “methodically overcharging consumers” and shortchanging policyholders on coverage and claims. Who will win the latest round in “The Battle Of The Bobs”??? (Both Bobs responded to my blog over the weekend. Read on!)

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Yesterday, I commented on the legal problems confronting Allstate in Missouri over its refusal to release a controversial consultants’ report that some charge prompted the “good hands” people to flash their fists at claimants. Now the battle has spilled over into Florida, where Allstate has seen its authority to write new business suspended entirely in a confrontation over property insurance rates. The Florida commissioner is asking to see that same McKinsey report, which must contain some pretty damning evidence to be guarded so jealously by Allstate.

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The “Good Hands” people over at Allstate sure have a strong grip when it comes to holding onto documents demanded by the government. The carrier had its license suspended in Florida this week for failing to cough up everything the state wants in its probe of property insurance rate-setting. Meanwhile, it can’t shake a fine of $25,000 a day for refusing to hand over an infamous consultant’s report, supposedly on how to stall claims–”a kind of holy grail for plaintiff lawyers nationwide,” notes the “Kansas City Star,” whose readers rightfully hammered the insurer online.

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