Security risk

Cupertino, Calif. - Software security provider Symantec announced today that it completed its acquisition of Houston-based BindView Development Corp., a provider of agent-less IT security compliance software.

New York -- Guy Carpenter & Company Inc., a global risk and reinsurance specialist and a part of the Marsh & McLennan Cos., has published U.S. Reinsurance Renewals at January 1, 2006.This annual review of pricing, retentions and limits, capacity and terms and conditions covers the property, casualty, marine and offshore energy, accident and health and life and annuity lines of business.

Boston - A winter storm model for the U.S. that captures the effects of wind, precipitation, and freezing temperatures on insured properties should help insurance companies assess winter storm risk, according to AIR Worldwide Corp. (AIR), a Boston-based member of the ISO family of companies.

Newark, Calif. -- Risk Management Solutions (RMS) recently performed a number of analyses for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to assess the absolute risk of terrorism and quantify how the terms of the December 2005 renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) would shift the relative share of the risk from the government to the insurance industry.RMS analysis shows that while TRIA provides solvency protection in extreme events, it is not an insurance industry subsidy. Based on the new TRIA terms, over 90% of the RMS modeled average annual loss would be retained by the industry. If an attack occurred, there is also less than a 10% chance that it would cause the industry deductible to be reached, since only the most extreme, low-probability attacks will cause losses in excess of $30 billion. For example, the 2001 World Trade Center attacks resulted in approximately $32.5 billion of insured losses. Were an event of this magnitude to occur today, it would thus produce only a minimal TRIA recovery for the insurance industry.

Indianapolis - At least six states are likely to advance rate modernization initiatives this year, a legislative preview prepared by the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) reveals.

After an agency selection process that spanned several months, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo., has selected New York-based CooperKatz & Co. to promote a national public education program focused on teaching consumers how to select the right type of insurance coverage to fit their needs and how to protect themselves from buying worthless policies from fake insurance companies. In September, the NAIC launched an online fraud reporting system, where insurance companies and consumers can report suspected insurance fraud.

Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv Inc. has acquired Xcipio Inc., an East Windsor, Conn.-based Web-based insurance rating and automation solution provider. The acquisition is part of Fiserv's plan to expand its technological footprint in the insurance industry.

POLICY ADMINISTRATIONTwo insurance companies have chosen the same vendor for their commercial lines policy administration systems. Secura Insurance, Appleton, Wis., is implementing policy administration, integration and self-maintenance software from AQS Inc., Hartland, Wis. Secura will use the AQS/Advantage Suite for its commercial lines to streamline the underwriting processes and turn around new business and renewals more quickly. Capital Insurance Group, Monterey, Calif., is moving off its AQS legacy commercial policy administration to AQS' Web-centric policy administration solution. CIG will provide its 340 independent agents across the Western United States with the AQS/Advantage Suite.

Boston - Under an amended Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act (TRIA) law, insurance companies' loss retention will grow incrementally over the next two years, but will vary depending on the severity, location and timing of any future attack and on an individual insurer's actual book of business, according to AIR Worldwide Corp., (AIR). The Boston-based risk modeling company, which helps insurance companies manage the financial impact of catastrophes and weather, conducted an analysis of TRIA's potential impact on insurers. The Act was signed into law last week and extends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA) through the end of 2007.

Jersey City, N.J. - The Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005, signed into law by President Bush, does not contain revisions that would affect insurers' use of a portfolio of terrorism insurance tools, endorsements and related rules from ISO, a New Jersey-based risk management services provider.

Newark, Calif. - Citing its latest win, catastrophe modeling is becoming increasingly important throughout financial markets, according to Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a Calif.-based provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk.

New York - Ernst & Young's Insurance and Actuarial Advisory Services (IAAS) practice today released highlights from its recent Risk Leadership Roundtable. The company gathered senior insurance industry executives to share preliminary results of its new "Insurance Industry Risk Leadership" survey.The roundtable included chief risk officers, risk managers and actuaries from the top 30 U.S. life/health and property/casualty insurance organizations. The Ernst & Young 2005 Insurance Industry Risk Leadership survey covers the current state and future plans of insurers with respect to enterprise risk management (ERM).

Cheshire, Conn. - Chicago-based Aon Consulting has set its sights on beefing up the real-time health claims data it delivers to its customers.

Indianapolis - When the Market Regulation & Consumer Affairs Committee at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) agreed to do no further work on a model law regulating the use of claims databases for underwriting purposes, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), Indianapolis, praised the decision. The decision by NAIC was made at the organization's winter meeting last week in Chicago

Boston - Following the release of a detailed China earthquake model earlier this year, Boston-based AIR Worldwide Corp. (AIR) and ISO, Jersey City, N.J., plan to open a Beijing Representative Office in China.

Atlanta, Ga. - The fact that the USA Patriot Act requires that all entities defined as financial institutions for Bank Secrecy Act purposes establish anti-money laundering programs has not been lost on LOMA, an Atlanta-based insurance and financial services industry trade association. The group is releasing an online anti-money laundering (AML) course on LOMALearn Online-LOMA's growing e-Learning portal.

Chicago, Ill. - If revisions to the Model Audit Rule, formally known as the Model Regulation Requiring Annual Audited Financial Reports, are passed, insurance companies with more than $500 million in direct and assumed premiums will be required to perform an annual assessment of their internal controls that apply to financial reporting.

Using the right analytic tools to analyze and manage terrorism risk is paramount, according to a review of methodologies available for insurers and reinsurers published by Boston-based AIR Worldwide Corp., a risk management division of ISO, Jersey City, N.J.

As wildfires scorched California's Los Angeles and Ventura counties in October, thousands of firefighters tried desperately to extinguish the flames that-fanned by dry winds-threatened to spread.Homeowners weren't the only ones following the spiraling fires with concern, as insurers, too, have seen how once seemingly safe urban areas are now vulnerable.

All financial institutions are faced with a basic business question: What is the best use of available funds? Historically, within the insurance industry, this issue of capital allocation has been addressed using some very basic projections of future balance sheets and profit-and-loss statements, with capital projections based on regulatory capital requirements.Global insurers-as well as regulators and rating agencies-are warming to the principle that capital requirements should be based on an assessment of the true underlying risks to the business. Only then can a proper decision be made as to whether one strategic option may be better than another. Without such an analysis, a company might adopt a particular strategy that, over time, eats away at capital and results in a very inefficient use of available funds.