Security risk

Experts say global response necessary for biggest firms.

Bill seeking to amend McCarran-Ferguson Act now focuses solely on health insurers.

One of the plan's proposals is to adopt real-time analysis of claims and payments data to identify waste, fraud and abuse in health programs.

The Associated Press reported recently that the FBI is investigating a Pennsylvania school district accused of “secretly activating webcams inside students' homes.” The FBI will explore whether Lower Merion School District officials broke any federal wiretap or computer-intrusion laws by activating the webcams in laptops that the school owns and distributes to students.

Daniel Riordan will assume the role of president of Zurich’s (www.zurichna.com) North America Commercial Specialties business unit, effective immediately. Riordan currently serves as head of Zurich's Surety, Credit and Political Risk group and will be in charge of both units until a replacement is named.

Philadelphia Insurance Cos. (PHLY) has expanded its environmental product offering with the addition of contractor environmental and professional coverage. The product is designed to protect insureds from environmental and professional losses in all aspects of their business.

President Barack Obama laid out the first detailed legislative proposal for health care reforms to the United States’ $2.5 trillion medical care system this morning with an approach that largely follows the Senate’s version of legislation proposed in December.

The Group of North American Insurance Enterprises (GNAIE) executive director Douglas Barnet took to the podium at the 12th Global Conference of Actuaries to rally for the use of earned rate for discounting life insurance contracts.

Just about everyone dreams of making that big splash, that big score or that big impression that catapults themselves into fame, stardom, renown and/or lots of money. Just ask the thousands who waited for days at each of the audition sites for a chance to sing for 20 seconds in front of the American Idol judges.

Ironshore Inc., a provider of specialty commercial property and casualty coverage, announced that its Specialty Casualty division will now offer Employment Practice Liability Insurance (EPLI) for its public entity clientele. The new employer insurance emerged from an announcement earlier this month that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had received a record number of employment discrimination complaints in the previous year, a trend the EEOC expects to continue to flourish due to the current economic climate.

Zurich announced the release of Zurich Pro Plus, an enhanced Errors & Omissions (E&O) coverage to address the needs of a broad range of business professionals, including consultants, and media and information technology customers.

A.M. Best http://www.ambest.com, Fitch Ratings http://reports.fitchratings.com, Moody’s Investors Service http://v3.moodys.com/Pages/default.aspx and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) http://www.standardandpoors.com/home/en/us released ratings updates. The following are some of the most recent:

Christopher Swift, previously vice chairman and CFO at American Life Insurance Co. (ALICO), an operating company of American International Group (AIG) with $89 billion in assets and operations in 54 countries, will join The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. as EVP and CFO. Effective March 1, Swift, a 27-year insurance industry veteran, will replace Lizabeth Zlatkus, who will assume the chief risk officer role at The Hartford.

Toronto-based Manulife Financial Corp. announced that it has decided to establish separate audit and risk committees that will be populated by board members.

The Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. (RIMS) says pay-disclosure rules created by the New York Insurance Department are insufficient to protect consumers and urged the department to reopen a period of public comment on the proposal.

Much has changed in the use of standards and technology during the past four years, and the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development, (ACORD), Pearl River, N.Y., intends to confirm how those changes are affecting efficiencies in the insurance industry.

At a time when drivers and their habits—especially in regard to cell phone usage—are under a microscope, The Allstate Foundation released information regarding the behavior and attitude of teenage drivers.

Google Buzz users went nuts when their contacts were assembled without their consent, but other social media users are only too happy to air every piece of dirty laundry in their baskets to anyone who will listen.

Forrester report finds insurance providers among top industries in ranking of customer service interactions.

Insurers look to new crop of quality mortgages to offset losses on loans made during the bubble years, but dealing with tougher underwriting standards.