A View from the Press Box

I’m really sorry to hear that Eric Dinallo will be calling it a day as New York’s insurance superintendent on July 3. He was a fair and effective regulator in the most trying of times, as well as press-friendly–always a plus in my book. But more importantly, he also displayed the rarest trait you will ever see in a politician these days–he was always reasonable. (more…)

I have a feeling I’m going to get a lot of flack for my cover story in the May 26 edition of NU about how the property-casualty insurance industry can solve its image problem.

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Now that Ed Liddy has decided to quit his thankless job as a lightening rod for everyone seeking someone to blame in the AIG government bailout debacle, the big question becomes who in their right mind would want to sit in the hot seat he is vacating? (more…)

Nothing gets the political juices flowing like watching “The McLaughlin Group” dissect the week’s top Washington developments in anything but an unbiased fashion every Sunday morning. But insurers  had the opportunity to see these political pundits trade barbs live today in  Orlando during the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum, focusing on President Barack Obama’s performance thus far, and the likelihood of a quick economic turnaround. (more…)

It happens every year during convention season. A stampede of vendors pitching products and services contact me every quarter-hour by phone, fax, e-mail, snail-mail, carrier pigeon, smoke signals, Tweeks and singing telegrams to invite me to chat with them in the exhibit area. The PR folks never seem to learn they must feed reporters actual news to get our attention. (more…)

To paraphrase Ricky Ricardo’s repeated warning to his wacky but lovable spouse in “I Love Lucy,” AIG CEO Ed Liddy will have “a lot of ‘esplaining’ to do” when he is dragged before Congress once again on May 13, not only about his company’s continuing struggles, but about his own perks. (more…)

Many independent agencies struggling to survive in this anemic economy are eager to sell or merge with a bigger operation to bolster their leverage with carriers, gain access to new markets and achieve economies of scale. But even though the credit crunch is not necessarily dampening buyer appetites, pulling off a deal is far from a slam dunk these days, principals are being warned. (more…)

Fear was the most prevalent topic at this year’s IIABA conference in Washington, with inflation, the deepening recession, federal regulation, health care reform and swine flu among the bogeymen cited.

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