AAIS Homeowners affiliates will
soon have use of a new sample equipment breakdown
coverage endorsement, developed in conjunction with
Mutual
Boiler Re, Malvern, Pa.
The new "Equipment Breakdown Enhancement
Endorsement" will cover direct physical damage
and loss of use caused by equipment breakdowns
that are typically excluded under standard
property policies.
In addition, the endorsement introduces three
new incidental property coverages for expediting
expenses, refrigerated property, and pollutant
clean-up and removal. More details are available
in a
press release.
While the endorsement was developed in
conjunction with Mutual Boiler Re, it can be
used with any equipment breakdown reinsurer. In
most cases, primary carriers will work with
equipment breakdown reinsurers to develop manual
rules and rating information, and to file the
endorsement.
For information on affiliating with AAIS for use
of its Homeowners Program, contact Rick Maka,
director of marketing, at
rickm@AAISonline.com, or by calling
800-564-AAIS.
Darin Kath, president and CEO of Jewelers Mutual Ins.
Co., was elected chairman of AAIS at the AAIS annual meeting, held in
conjunction with the AAIS Main Event conference, April 20-22 in Ponte
Vedra Beach, Fla.
For a report on conference sessions,
A marketing graduate of the University of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Kath worked for Heritage Mutual Ins. Co. (now ACUITY)
in Sheboygan, Wis. before joining Jewelers Mutual in 1997. He was
promoted to chief operating officer in 2001 and to president in 2005.
Kath replaces James Sullivan, president and CEO of
Co-operative Insurance Companies, who remains on the board. Succeeding
Kath as vice chairman is Jack Rader, executive vice president and COO of
Farmers Alliance Companies, McPherson, Kan.
Stuart Henderson, president and CEO of Western
National Insurance Group, Edina, Minn., was newly elected to the board,
replacing Thomas Claude, vice president and secretary of Pharmacists
Mutual Ins. Co., Algona, Iowa, who stepped down from the board after
serving seven years.
Other board members continuing on are:
-
Roy Bubeck, president and CEO of Badger Mutual
Ins. Co., Milwaukee, Wis.;
-
Judy Jackson, president and CEO of NLC Insurance
Companies, Norwich, Conn.;
-
Jeffrey Kusch, president and CEO of Austin
Mutual Ins. Co., Minneapolis, Minn.;
-
Thomas Rozema, vice president of underwriting
for Brotherhood Mutual Ins. Co., Fort Wayne, Ind.;
-
Christopher Taft, president and COO, Preferred
Mutual Ins. Co., New Berlin, N.Y.; and
-
Paul Baiocchi, AAIS president.
A recent
bulletin from the Texas Department of
Insurance reminds insurers that they have until
May 15 to respond to a call for data for a wide
range of commercial lines, plus homeowners and
private passenger auto insurance.
According to the bulletin, all insurers
licensed in Texas--including mutuals, reciprocals, Lloyds, and
others--are required to report data from the first quarter of 2008 for
homeowners, personal auto, and the following commercial lines: boiler
and machinery, crime, glass, fire and allied lines, commercial multiple
peril, general liability, medical professional liability, miscellaneous
professional liability, and wormers compensation.
The bulletin links to form and instructions for
responding to the data call.
Insurers that write liability coverage are invited
to participate in a special AAIS research study regarding the frequency
and severity of claims for personal injury, such as libel, slander, and
violation of privacy.
In particular, carriers are asked to respond to a
voluntary call for personal injury claims data from 2002 through 2006.
Information and instructions are available in a Microsoft Word
document, and a
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
is provided for responding to the data call.
The study seeks to determine how the frequency and
severity of personal injury claims have been affected by:
-
The growing use of e-mail, blogs, "gripe sites,"
networking sites, picture/video phones, and other forms of
electronic communication; and
-
The growing incidence of "cyberbullying" and
other offensive behaviors associated with these communications.
All carriers that write personal injury coverage can
participate, whether they are AAIS members or not. Companies that
provide data will receive a report with the aggregate results, plus
analysis.
If you have questions about the study, contact Greg
Jaynes, chief actuary, at
gregj@AAISonline.com, or Larry
Thill, manager of data management, at
larryt@AAISonline.com.
