Insurance Business is ending the week with a new regular feature: a weekly wrap-up of some of the stories that slipped under the radar.
Disasters caused $40 billion in insured losses for 2013
Natural and man-made disasters caused insured losses of around $40 billion last year, well below the 10-year average of $60 billion, risk and reinsurance specialist firm
Guy Carpenter said in a report released Thursday.
“Last year will likely be known as the ‘year of the flood,’ with significant global flood events affecting Central Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States,” Julian Alovisi, vice president at Guy Carpenter commented in a press release.
“Although 2013 was relatively quiet compared to past years, several major events such as the tornado outbreaks in the U.S., floods, hail and windstorms in Europe and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines inflicted widespread devastation and significant losses on impact,” he noted.
GM recalls 780,000 vehicles due to stalling, crashes
General Motors is recalling nearly 780,000 compact cars in North America because the engines can shut down unexpectedly and cause crashes. The company says six people have been killed in crashes related to the problem.
The recall affects Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5s from the 2005 through 2007 model years.
U.S. safety regulators say the weight of the key ring and rough roads can move the ignition switch out of the run position, cutting the engine and electricity. If that happens, air bags may not work.
GM says there have been 22 crashes from the problem. All were off the road and happened at high speeds.
York acquires American Claims Services
Specialized risk management firm York Risk Services Group announced it had acquired the assets of American Claims Services Tuesday in an effort to expand its specialized loss adjusting and medical cost containment servies. York, a New Jersey-based group, also hopes to expand its international presence as ACSI is primarily active in the London market.
Commenting on the ACSI deal, Danny Miller, President of York Specialized Loss Adjusting (York SLA), said, "This acquisition builds upon and enhances our presence and reputation in both the London Market and Energy Sector and expands our service offerings. ACSI has quality leadership, claims staff, and dedicated resources for managing and understanding the regulatory and loss fund responsibilities of London Binder business. Bill Johnson and his team are well respected within their energy niche and the addition of First Response will assist York’s portfolio of energy clients in the domestic and international markets.”
ACSI's John Bannon and Bill Johnson will continue to lead the group.
NIST releases cybersecurity framework
The voluntary cybersecurity framework promised by President Barack Obama last year was released this week by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The framework is meant to help critical infrastrcuture owners and operators manage risk as cybercrime escalates, and is expected to increase business for brokers offering cyber policies.
Commenting on the release of the framework, the American Insurance Association's associate counsel, Angela Gleason, said:
“AIA commends NIST for its diligent and thoughtful work in the development of the Framework and we appreciated the opportunity to provide input during the development process. We look forward to seeing the potential impact the Framework may have on the nation’s cyber resiliency.
“The White House and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are tasked with exploring methods to implement the adoption of the Framework and have indicated they will host a number of workshops and seek public comment through request for information on a number of topics. AIA looks forward to working with DHS as it begins to talk with insurance carriers and requests feedback from the public on how the government can help grow the cybersecurity insurance market.”
