Taking note, except in writing: climate change may be upon us. Investors are asking questions related to the economics of climate change, but few carriers have disclosed these risks in SEC filings.
The U.S. insurance industry is finally taking a closer look at the myriad perils emerging from the growing risk of climate change as it grapples with devastating weather-related losses that topped $100 billion over the past two years. While European reinsurers have spent a decade examining the...

In favor of caps.
In the debate about caps on noneconomic damages, you pitted an experienced physician and CEO of a physician-owned insurance company, Richard E. Anderson, M.D., against Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the Center for Justice and Democracy (Pro & Con: "Are caps the answer to the malpractice crisis?" Nov. 15,...

Ranking the cost of comp: sometimes we want to know how a state is doing relative to others with regard to the cost of workers insurance, the efficiency of the insurance system and the adequacy of benefits. In this issue we present a snapshot. The findings will surprise you.
Each year, Actuarial & Technical Solutions Inc. publishes a ranking of the cost of workers' comp insurance by state. It ranks all states except those with monopolistic state funds. You will find on page 8 of this month's issue a table showing the rankings as of Jan. 1, 2006....

Discount cards: not created equal.
Some discount medical cards provide value, but others have serious drawbacks such as high-pressure sales tactics, exaggerated claims of savings, inaccurate promotions, or difficulty finding participating physicians, a survey by the Commonwealth Fund concluded. The cards promise discounts for a wide range of providers, including physicians and hospitals, as...

Funeral home inquiry under way.
Byline: Joe Mosley The Register-Guard OAKRIDGE - The owner of Oakridge Chapel of the Woods Funeral Home is under investigation by police and insurance regulators for allegedly cashing in funeral-expense insurance policies for five still-living clients, according to a spokesman for the Oregon Insurance Division. ...

Conn. ob.gyns. seek malpractice solutions.
Policymakers and physicians in Connecticut are trying to come together on a solution to the state's malpractice insurance crisis--and do it quickly. Ob.gyns. in the state say a remedy is needed now, before the problem becomes much harder to fix. Connecticut is considered a state where a...

Legal risk seen with some retainer-fee model practices.
Dallas -- Of the existing "concierge" care models, practices that oiler fees for noncovered services to patients who have insurance carry the highest legal risk, attorney John Marquis said at a national conference on concierge medicine. In light of recent actions taken by Congress, state insurance commissioners,...

Subpoenas issued.
St. Paul Travelers has received a subpoena from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer as part of his inquiry into how insurers report workers' compensation premiums. The inquiry may stem from alleged infractions by American International Group that Spitzer and the New York Insurance Department discovered earlier this year....

Maryland poised for premium relief.
For the past few months, Maryland physicians have been waiting for premium relief that was promised by the state's politicians. That relief may now be on the way after the state legislature passed an emergency bill to put into effect a rate stabilization fund for medical liability...

Discount cards not created equal.
Some discount medical cards provide value, while others have serious drawbacks such as high-pressure sales tactics, exaggerated claims of savings, inaccurate promotions, or difficulty finding participating physicians, a survey from the Commonwealth Fund concluded. The cards promise discounts for a range of providers, including physicians, hospitals, laboratory...