A.M. Best reported that Mississippi State courts must enforce the new tort reform law that took effect Jan. 1, 2003, before the measure can have the desired effect of changing the legal climate and returning insurers to the market.

St. Paul Companies said it would delist its common stock on the London Stock Exchange, effective January 23, 2003.

The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud inducted 13 insurance swindlers into its “Insurance Hall of Shame.”  This group includes former financier Martin Frankel who stole millions from his seven insurance companies, a man who reported that Russian pirates tried to sink his yacht, and a man who faked his own deadly heart attack.

The Florida Insurance Department has approved a mold exclusion and a 70% rate increase for State Farms 3,900 condominium policies.

A.M. Best Co. has lowered the financial strength rating to B+ from A- of the participants in the Kemper Insurance Companies intercompany pool.  All ratings have been placed under review with negative implications.

1st       New Year’s Day

14th     National Clean Off Your Desk Day

16th     IW of SW MS Monthly Business Meeting

February

2nd     Groundhog Day

11th     Joint PIA/IIAM Legislative Day, Jackson

14th     Valentine’s Day

17th     President’s Day

20th     IW of SW MS Monthly Business Meeting

28th     Member registration due today for Region III Conference $190.00, if paid after today $250.00

March

5th     Ash Wednesday

17th     St. Patrick’s Day

20th     IW of SW MS Monthly Business Meeting

By:  Ruth E. Phillips,CISR
      Education Chairman
 

The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 was signed into law by President Bush on November 26, 2002.  This act provides a federal backstop for certain acts of terrorism via a temporary federal program for sharing with the insurance industry the risk of loss from foreign terrorist attacks.

The Act does not impose any duties or responsibilities on independent insurance agents.  However, since agents are often the first contact for policyholders, they may have a role in working with insurers on their compliance of the Act.  Insurers may want to look to agents to provide notices of the Act, premium changes, and exclusion notices.

The Act is triggered when the Secretary of the Treasury certifies an event as “an act of terrorism.”  To be certified an act must:

-Be violent or dangerous to human life, property, or infrastructure
-Result in damage in the U.S.
-Be committed by someone acting on behalf of a foreign person or interest, as part of an effort to coerce the civilian population of the U.S. or to influence the policy or affect the conduct of the U.S. government by coercion

An act is not an act of terrorism under the Act if:

-It is committed as part of the course of a war declared by Congress
-Property and casualty insurance losses from the act, in the aggregate, do not exceed $5 million
-It is any other occurrence not defined by the Act as an act of terrorism

The Act applies to insured losses from acts of terrorism for primary and excess commercial lines insurance, including worker compensation and bonds.  The Act does not apply to personal lines, crop, livestock, mortgage, financial guaranty, medical malpractice, flood, or life and health insurance.

There are certain deadlines that policyholders must be notified of the availability and cost of coverage for Acts of Terrorism.  For any policy issued before 11-26-02, notice must be given by 02-24-03.  For any policy issued between 11-26-02 and 02-24-03, notice must be given at the time of offer, purchase, and renewal.  For any policy issued after 02-24-03, notice must be given on a separate line item at the time of offer, purchase, and renewal of the policy.

Keri Morrell is still trying to shoot and kill that buck.  She has killed a doe, but the buck is still outsmarting her.  She is also busy preparing for the opening of the tax center.

Virginia Zeigler is busy making plans for her mother’s 88th birthday party.  She is also trying to recover from December.

A big thank you goes out to our President, Mary Jones, for hosting a wonderful Christmas Party.  The food was great and the games were fun!  We appreciate all the hard work you did.

Ruthie surprised everyone in her office by cooking a lasagna lunch and making them Christmas Cookies.  Despite popular opinion, Ruthie can actually cook, as proved by the lack of leftovers.

Deborah Ledford spent the Christmas holiday with all her children and grandchildren.  She plans on having a quiet New Year’s.

Bea Jones spent Christmas with her children and grandchildren.  They had a great visit.  Also, the weekend before Christmas, her son was ordained as a deacon in his church.

Congratulations to Mary Jones on “surviving” the wedding of her daughter, Dawn.  We truly enjoyed seeing Dawn again in her beautiful wedding dress and meeting her new husband and family.  We hope they enjoyed their honeymoon cruise and wish them the best in their marriage.

The leadership and dedication of the members of the Insurance Women of Southwest Mississippi can be seen through the number of award nominations sent to Region III.

Our local association sent the following nominations:

Insurance Professional of the Year – Keri Morrell, CIC, CPIW

Insurance Rookie of the Year – Ruth Phillips, CISR

T. J. Mimms Award – Keri Morrell, CIC, CPIW

Our association also submitted paperwork to apply for the Pinnacle Award.  We earned a total of 1980 points, while only 1250 points were required for our size association.

The number of award submissions and the number of points earned in the Pinnacle Award demonstrates that our members are hardworking and committed to NAIW and its mission statement.  The members of the Insurance Women of Southwest MS are some of the hardest working and loyal members that any association can ask for.  Our members work hard all year long and can now see the benefits of all their sacrifices.  All of the members of IW of SW MS should be proud of their accomplishments in 2002.