Connecticut Seeks to Recapture Role as Insurance Capital
Hartford is trying to recapture its status as the nation’s insurance capital.
Connecticut wants to bring new companies that specialize in captive insurance, which is a form of self-insurance. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is asking the legislature to set up a division in the state Insurance Department to regulate the companies.
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The governor also wants more staffers in the Insurance Department who will keep up with new finance industry regulations and protect consumers from fraud.
The state’s insurance commissioner says Connecticut should seek captive insurance companies that are being lured to Vermont and other states. He says Connecticut is helped by its 200-year history with the insurance industry.
Insurance jobs have fallen nearly 30 percent since 1990, but Connecticut still is near the top in insurance premiums written.
“Hire a Veteran” Program and Employment Practices
There has been a push recently to hire our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. We’re all for it. However, being in the insurance business usually has us thinking “what could possibly go wrong” and protecting our customers from that outcome.
That leads us to the question: If a business hires a veteran over a non-veteran, has the non-veteran been unfairly discriminated against? That will probably be answered in court, and in the process it will likely cost employers a pile of money in legal fees and damages. Employes can protect themselves from these potentially crushing legal costs by purchasing Employers Practices Liability Insurance. Remember, the person filing a lawsuit might be right or they might be wrong, but the lawsuit itself is going to cost money either way.
Contact us immediately to get this coverage for your business.
Forward this to a friend if they own a business!
CT Insurance Dept. Recommends Yearly Review of Homeowners Policy
An annual review of your Homeowners insurance is a recommendation from the Connecticut Insurance Department. It’s also something we strongly recommend here at Dougherty Insurance.
Check out their press release at their website: http://www.ct.gov/cid/cwp/view.asp?Q=498874&A=1269
Your insurer, whether it is through our agency or not, can’t possibly know every risk you face and anticipate every possible future event. But that shouldn’t stop you from taking some time to review your policy, understand what it does and does not cover, and consider additional, optional coverages or increasing the amount of coverage you have.
We can send you a worksheet that will help you identify coverage that you may need but not yet have on your policy. Contact us to request it!
Lawyers Becoming the Target of More Lawsuits
Law firms are loading up on insurance against expensive liability claims as they increasingly find themselves on the wrong end of lawsuits.
Getting blamed for poor results is nothing new for law firms, but they say clients have become more willing to sue in recent years. Claims of employment discrimination and firm mismanagement also are popping up more often as postrecession, law firms cull their ranks and sideline some partners in an attempt to boost profits for those who remain.
Some clients are even using the threat of litigation as a way to negotiate their bills. Martin S. Checov, general counsel with O’Melveny & Myers LLP, says there has been “a disheartening increase” in such tactics since the economy tanked in 2008. There is “a lot more friction out there” with clients, he says. Mr. Checov declines to discuss clients with whom his firm has tussled.
Beefing Up Coverage
Professional-liability insurance typically has been among the top operating costs for law firms, after compensation and real estate. Most firms, particularly those with 50 or more lawyers, buy malpractice insurance, says Anne Marie Davine, who leads the U.S. law-firm practice at insurance broker Marsh. The biggest firms are taking out multimillion-dollar policies, and midsize partnerships that may have been underinsured are increasing their coverage, insurance brokers say.
Claims aren’t tracked across the industry but several insurers say they have seen increases in the last year. A poll of six leading insurers last year found that four of them reported increases of 6% to 20% in malpractice claims, according to Ames & Gough Insurance and Risk Management, a specialty-insurance brokerage.
“Insurers are telling us that not only is frequency up, but so is claim severity. It’s just costing more to defend and litigate a claim,” Ms. Davine says.
Full story http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203315804577205170215910952.html
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