IRMI Update—Issue #118
An E-mail Newsletter for Risk and Insurance Professionals
ISSN: 1530-7948
August 9, 2005
In This Issue
Colleague,
Congratulations to Donald Hurzeler, CPCU, CLU, for recently being honored
by the Insurance Marketing Communications Association in recognition of his
lifelong contributions to the insurance industry. His receipt of ICMA's Golden
Torch Award in June was well deserved. The purpose of the award is to recognize
people that "helped light the way for others in the insurance industry by improving
standards for communications excellence, speaking out convincingly on behalf
of the insurance industry, showing a sense of responsibility to society, and/or
improving public understanding of insurance issues.”
Don is chief marketing officer for Zurich's Commercial Business Group and
is currently serving as president of the CPCU Society. Last fall, the Society
published his book, Designated for Success,
which offers career advice gleaned from his 30+ years of experience in the insurance
industry.
With the cornerstone "My name is Don Hurzeler, and I'm proud to be a CPCU,"
he delivered one of the most effective speeches I’ve heard from an incoming
CPCU Society president at last year's annual meeting. Well, Don, I'm proud of
you and all you have done for the industry.
By the way, you can learn more about or order Designated for Success here.
And, speaking of awards, the deadline for applying for (or nominating someone
for) the Gary E. Bird Horizon Award is August 26. If you are a construction
risk management or safety professional who is proud of a program you implemented,
now is the time to apply. Alternatively, if you know someone who deserves national
recognition for implementing an effective construction risk management or safety
program, nominate him or her. Get more details.
Thank you for subscribing to IRMI Update and recommending it to your colleagues.
All the best,
Jack
Jack P. Gibson, CPCU, CRIS, ARM
President
IRMI
Getting to "YES" with Regulators—Government
regulators at all levels seem ever more reluctant to provide direction when
requested. Yet, when a "violation" is thought to exist, they pounce on the opportunity
to impose a fine or other punitive sanction. If regulators refuse to provide
direction, what options do you have? I have found that a letter explicitly outlining
the refusal to provide direction, along with my interpretation of the regulation
(and a statement that we will act in accordance with my interpretation unless
I receive written notice that they differ with it within 10 days) can be very
useful in defending against later enforcement actions. I also recommend sending
the letter via certified mail with copies to the head of the agency and its
attorney.
By: David J. LaBrec
Strasburger & Price, LLP
Dallas, TX
Suggest a Risk Tip. Send us a practical tip (less than 300 words) for identifying and managing risks,
buying insurance, managing claims, or filling gaps in insurance coverages. Submit your tips. We'll
acknowledge your contribution as we did for David.
There are now 693 risk management and insurance articles on IRMI.com. Below
you'll find summaries of some recent additions with links to the articles.
-
Spotlight on the Gary
E. Bird Horizon Award—Where Are They Now?—The Gary E. Bird Horizon
Award, given annually at the IRMI Construction Risk Conference, recognizes
excellence in construction risk management. As we are now accepting nominations
for the next award, we thought an update on one of the past winners, T.J.
Lyons, was more than appropriate. Christine Fuge fills us in on the purpose
of the award and T.J.'s latest activities.
-
Commercial P/C Market
Softens More in Second Quarter—The recent Council of Insurance
Agents and Brokers survey shows that commercial insurers are aggressively
competing for new business and fighting hard to keep renewals.
-
Regulation of Captives:
Who? Why? What Next?—Michael Mead explains how regulation of
captives is inherently different from the regulation of a traditional insurer
as respects audience, taxation, and oversight. He also provides food for
thought for the future.
-
Time To Put Numbers
on Internal Controls—Internal control and audit specialists rely
on "professional judgment" rather than empirical evidence to support their
judgments about risk and control. Matthew Leitch explains why this is a
mistake.
-
Identity Theft: A Personal
Risk Management Approach (Part 1)—Identity theft is the fastest
growing crime in the United States today, and everyone is a potential victim.
In this first of three articles, Robin Olson focuses on the risk itself.
-
Workplace Violence
in the 21st Century: Emerging Trends—It is clear that workplace
and school violence incidents and prevention efforts have changed since
the early 1990s. Dr. James Madero looks at the changes.
Early-bird, online
registration is the best way to reserve your preferred workshops for the
25th IRMI Construction Risk Conference. More than 1,300 contractors, project
owners, brokers, underwriters, claims professionals, company executives, and
attorneys will convene November 7-10 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hotel. Come
learn new techniques and share your ideas to improve the ways we manage and
insure construction risks. Act now before our hotel room block is full!
Michael Orlando has written about admiralty and maritime law for IRMI.com
since 2001. A managing director in the Houston law firm of Meyer Orlando LLC,
he is involved in representing many different maritime interests in a broad
spectrum of transactions and claims, in venues throughout Texas and the Gulf
Coast. His clients have included ship owners, charterers, agents, stevedores,
terminal operators, cargo owners, insurers, a wide variety of marine service
and supply companies, financial institutions, and many others involved in maritime
commerce. In his column, Mr. Orlando has discussed such topics as Jones Act
status, maritime pollution, and exculpatory clauses in maritime contracts. For
more information on Mr. Orlando, see his full biography and a list of his articles.
IRMI Update is sent to subscribers by plain text e-mail twice each month.
To initiate your free subscription, use the e-mail
registration form.