Compliance

Los Angeles — Farmers Insurance Group Inc., announced that Denise Ruggiero has joined Farmers as VP, legislative and regulatory affairs.

Brookfield, Wis. — Dallas-based workers’ compensation e-transaction provider P2P Link, a business unit of Fiserv Inc., Brookfield, Wis., released P2P Direct, a new product specifically tailored to the workers’ compensation medical provider marketplace.

Washington, D.C .- The Securities and Exchange Commission furthered its eXtensible business reporting language (XBLR) initiative this week with the launch of its “Financial Explorer” on the SEC Web site.

Though 43% of recently surveyed European insurers expect compliance to cost them less than €5 million, they believe that many of their core risk management capabilities need to be enhanced.

Carriers find their enterprise risk management (ERM) capabilities are no longer a purely internal matter as their organizations come under increased scrutiny by regulators and raters.

Kansas City – The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has launched a public database containing the regulatory status of certain insurer-owned securities. The database is intended to assist market participants that advise insurance companies and investment professionals working for insurance companies. The tool shows whether a publicly rated security is subject to regulatory guidance other than as indicated by its credit rating assigned by one or more public rating organizations.

A pair of reports detail what the year ahead has in store for the insurance industry.

Washington – A recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggests that insurers should make a broader swath of claims data available to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regulators. The suggestion arises in the wake of questions prompted by Hurricane Katrina concerning the responsibility for damages and later allegations that insurers misrepresented wind damage in claims to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in order to limit their financial losses after the storm.

Washington – The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3959, which would gradually phase out some of the subsidies in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Kansas City, Mo. — The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) named its 2008 committee chairs and vice chairs.

Margin compression and continued pricing erosion is pressuring the insurance industry to achieve top-line objectives in 2008, according to Ernst & Young's Global Insurance Center.

The Foundation for Health Coverage Education captured, on a single Web site database, government-sponsored programs to help consumers in need of health coverage. This may be just in time, as California is set to vote on a mandatory health insurance bill.

A new survey indicates mixed reactions to the reporting law.

Carriers can use technologies such as business process management to help navigate the regulatory maze.

Sircon Corp. an Okemos, Mich., provider of comprehensive producer lifecycle services for the insurance industry, announced a partnership with the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors - Pennsylvania (NAIFA-PA), a statewide trade association representing approximately 2,300 licensed professionals who provide life, health and multiline insurance and related financial services in Pennsylvania.

Insurance companies—including actuaries and IT executives—will be under growing pressure to enhance their financial management system capabilities as they face changing financial reporting requirements, and more extensive risk management challenges in 2008.

Washington – A bill that would provide $100 million in grants to help local officials enforce building codes has been introduced into the House. Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., sponsored the legislation, which is dubbed The Community Building Code Administration Grant Act of 2007.

Trenton, N.J.– A bill that will eliminate the requirements for auto insurance agents to provide quotes for all their companies and to provide three insurance scenarios to applicants has passed the New Jersey Legislature.

Boston–Lexington Insurance Co. enhanced its Employment Practices Liability (EPL) insurance offerings to include E-Discovery Response, a new endorsement designed to cover an insured’s payroll expenses incurred while retrieving electronically stored information requested during discovery in a covered EPL claim.

Arson Registry Act Passes House