COVERAGES

XL Insurance Renews Environmental Insurance Policies for Two Closed Bases

XL INSURANCE today announced the renewal of environmental insurance policies for two closed military bases, the Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant and Alameda Naval Air Station, both in California, to help address environmental concerns as redevelopment activities continue on these sites.

In 2005, the Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended the closure of Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant. The base was officially deactivated on March 31, 2010. The environmental insurance policy was purchased shortly thereafter by the Riverbank Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA), and enabled the LRA to minimize its environmental exposure as it assumed its role as the landlord for multiple tenants on the site.Its renewed environmental policy will offer the same protection as it continues to plan and implement the site's redevelopment plans. The Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority purchased its original environmental insurance policy in 2001 to address environmental cleanup concerns on the 1,700-acre Naval Air Station which was recommended for closure in 1997.

CRUM & FORSTER announced today that it has launched a new service to assist policyholders in their effort to effectively manage and protect against cyber risk. eRisk Hub is a private web-based portal that provides policyholders with information and technical resources that can assist them in the prevention of network, cyber and privacy losses and support them in the timely reporting and recovery of losses if an incident occurs. The portal is powered and maintained by NetDiligence, a leading cyber-risk assessment services company.

Network attacks and privacy violations are occurring with increasing frequency. Even with strong security and privacy controls in place, companies can be victimized by internal fraud, business interruption, damage or theft of data and cyber extortion.

Crum & Forster understands that once an incident occurs, clients may need immediate help and expertise to respond and recover. Because incidents can be very complex, these companies may need assistance across a broad range of disciplines, including legal/regulatory compliance, information technology (IT) security, privacy, disaster recovery/business continuity, computer forensics, forensic accounting, public relations, credit monitoring and law enforcement.

RESOURCES

Crawford & Co. and AdjusterPro Introduce Property Technical Certification

CRAWFORD & CO. and ADJUSTERPRO have recently introduced online Property Technical Certification (PTC), a program via websites and social media aimed at furthering learning resources for claims adjusters.

This collaboration enables AdjusterPro to resell the three-part PTC program on its website and leverage the Well-Adjusted Blog and network to provide a forum for discussion about the value the PTC program extends to the industry and consumers.

"We strongly believe the claims industry is in need of an open forum to discuss the importance of evaluating and standardizing the technical skills of property adjusters," said Douglas Dell, senior vice president of e-learning services for Crawford. "With AdjusterPro's online resources, we are confident we can elevate the status of PTC's educational benefits and establish a continuing dialogue supporting all insurance professionals."

GUY CARPENTER & CO. announced publication of its first Industry Risk Benchmarks report, which provides risk benchmarks for loss ratios and reserves, by line of business, for coefficient of variation (standard deviation/mean), correlation and cycles.

The risk benchmarks are based on proprietary analyses of an extensive database of industry information that includes the reported financial results of hundreds of insurance companies over a 30-year period. Insurers can use the benchmarks to assess the risk parameters that they use in economic capital models.

Developed in conjunction with Risk Lighthouse LLC., a research firm specializing in the development of economic risk intelligence, risk indices and modeling tools for the financial and insurance industries, the report was presented yesterday at the 2011 Risk Benchmarks Conference in New York.

TECHNOLOGY

Safety National Offers Online Tool to Reduce Workers' Comp Costs

SAFETY NATIONAL has introduced Workers' Comp Kit, an online post-injury management program offered as part of Safety National's MAP (Management, Analysis, Prevention) Client Services. The kit offers online self-evaluations of program components, cost comparisons and program improvement solutions.

"The Workers' Comp Kit enables clients to work collaboratively to improve best practices and reduce expenses," said Karen Casserly, the carrier's client services manager. "And it does that by providing online tools to assess post-injury workers' compensation practices and procedures, recommend improvements, and provide the materials and expertise to implement cost savings improvements."

GUILD INSURANCE has selected the Thunderhead NOW platform to streamline the creation and delivery of customer communications across the Guild client portfolio. Prior to using Thunderhead NOW, Guild Insurance relied on a number of disparate legacy systems to maintain customer communications across its different brands.

September 6, 2011

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