Finally finished updating Q3 earnings reports with Scor, Swiss Re, Hannover Re, PartnerRe and XL.
A couple weeks ago TSA busted me for trying to smuggle a sno-globe in my carry-on. I had no idea . . . .
PETOSKEY, Mich. — An insurance company has filed a lawsuit seeking $1.8 million from Hallmark Cards and another company over a defective snow globe blamed for a fire that destroyed a home in northern Michigan.
The Jumbo Snowman snow globe was recalled in December 2008, weeks after a fire destroyed the Petoskey home of Stephen and Florence Hajek, who own two card stores. Federal regulators at the time said the globe could act as a magnifying glass in the sun and cause a fire.
Auto-Owners Insurance paid $1.8 million after the Hajek home was destroyed. Snow globes and other store inventory were at their home.
Via Advisen.
Erie, Hanover and Old Republic are now on the board. I also updated a few other companies with information on transcripts and 10-Q links.
I keep chopping: Hartford, CNA and Allianz at the link.
Not interested in writing how Penn State’s cover-up is a classic breakdown of risk management. I think the lessons are obvious. If you want to learn more, talk to Mr. Google.
Then there’s this from The Citadel:
In the wake of the Penn State scandal, officials at The Citadel are coming clean about accusations of child abuse on its own campus after an alumnus was recently arrested on sex abuse charges.
Louis “Skip” ReVille, 32, a decorated alum of the famed military college and principal at a Christian prep school in Mount Pleasant, S.C, was arrested on Oct. 28 and admitted to molesting or performing oral sex on some of the nearly dozen teen boys who have come forward, according to local reports.
ReVille allegedly had a history of preying on boys dating back to his years at The Citadel, but the military college dropped the ball on investigating allegations that surfaced four years ago, the school said.
An honest appraisal, I think, would show that our society deplores sexual abuse but somehow is lacking when it is time to deal with actual cases of abuse, particularly when the victim is under age. This was true at The Citadel and at Penn State and in the Catholic Church. Any seasoned underwriter will tell you that youth organizations like the Boy Scouts are a tough write, and not because of campfire burns.
Those organizations are hardly worse than the rest of us – only their negligence was revealed. For most of us, it has not been. I think risk managers should help their organization’s leaders develop policies that make it easy to report cases and painful to ignore them.
Adding Berkshire Hathaway, Nationwide, and Progressive at the link.
Via Advisen:
New York (November 15, 2011) – Average renewal premiums in three of four lines of business tracked by the RIMS Benchmark Survey™ increased in the third quarter, strongly suggesting that an eight year period of falling commercial insurance rates is at its end.
The RIMS Benchmark Survey™ tracks changes in average program renewal premiums for director & officers liability (D&O), general liability (GL), property and workers’ compensation, as reported by risk managers. The survey is administered by Advisen Ltd.
Of the four lines, only D&O posted a decrease, falling 1.9 percent. The average renewal premium increased 1.2 percent in GL, 1.6 percent in property and 2.1 percent in workers’ compensation.
Many, many apologies for not keeping up with Q3 earnings announcements. The blackout put me behind on multiple projects, and I’m just now getting my head back above water.
I’ll catch up bit by bit. Today: Zurich, Allstate, AIG and Liberty Mutual. Just follow the link.
Actuarial Opinions 