October 2020
Louisiana Surplus Line Reporter
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and writing about this business for over 40 years.
Articles
Staged Accidents
The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana Peter G. Strasser indicted nine more people on federal charges in a scheme to crash vehicles into buses and big-rig trucks in the New Orleans area in order to defraud insurance companies. Cornelius...
LIGA Meeting
The Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) held its Sept. 24 quarterly board meeting in person for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. During the meeting, two new board members were introduced, a new liquidation was brought to the...
The LDI Issues Cease and Desist
The Louisiana Department of Insurance issued cease and desist orders for a Lake Charles producer on Sept. 24 and for two St. Martin Parish producers on Sept. 16. St. Martin Parish agent Tasey Ann Tolliver-Alexander and her husband, Vincent Alexander, owner of Vincent...
Donelon on Single Deductible
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon reminded policyholders affected by Hurricane Laura and who may be affected by Hurricane Delta that the single season named storm hurricane deductible law prohibits a homeowner from paying more than one named-storm/hurricane...
London Views
By LEN WILKINS London Correspondent The long-awaited decision on whether COVID-19 business interruption losses are covered under policies written by Lloyd's and London insurers was announced recently. While the good news for claimants is that the U.K. high court found...
NFIP Extension
President Donald J. Trump signed a stopgap spending bill early on Oct. 1 after briefly missing the midnight Sept. 30 deadline for his signature. Among other things, the bill reauthorizes the National Flood Insurance Program through Sept. 30, 2021.Funding for the NFIP...
SLR Market Sets Record Growth
With direct premium written growing at 11.2 percent and surpassing the $50 billion mark, the surplus lines market segment set a new record in 2019, according to Best's 27th Market Segment Report: Expanding Opportunities Bolster Surplus Lines Growth and Operating...
Commercial Rates Up in 3rd Quarter
At the close of the third quarter 2020, commercial lines and personal lines property/casualty insurance buyers saw rates increase on every line of coverage. For commercial lines, "the composite rate is up 6.5 percent for the third quarter 2020 as compared to up 4.8...
Flood Prone Community Moves
Residents of the Pecan Acres subdivision in New Roads, have begun the process of building new homes about two miles from their neighborhood's current flood-prone location, the Baton Rouge Advocate reported Oct. 6. The relocation effort, which began more than four...
Fraud of the Month
Richard Meleski pled guilty in a Philadelphia federal court to faking a military career as a Navy SEAL, stealing from the government and straw purchasing of firearms, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, William M. McSwain, announced in a...
News In Brief
People
MJ Kelly, a national commercial insurance brokerage headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, has announced the promotion of Tracy Todaro to director of marketing. Most recently she was the territory marketing…
Mergers & Acquisitions
CRC Group announced Oct. 1 that it has completed the acquisition of Specialty Risk Associates Inc., a Shreveport-based MGA and surplus lines broker. "We have long admired and respected the Specialty Risk Associates team. They are proven leaders in the binding,...
Laura Repair Costs
Entergy Corp. says the cost to restore electricity and repair power lines damaged in Louisiana during Hurricane Laura is now up to $1.4 billion, the Associated Press reported Sept. 24. The New Orleans-based utility is serving many of the areas affected by the Aug. 27...
Help Filling Claims
Hurricane Laura has left catastrophic damage in its wake. Many Calcasieu Parish residents have lost their homes or need to get significant repairs but are having problems getting what they need. To help homeowners understand their policies, file claims, answer...
Fitch on Profitability
Fitch Ratings says hurricane and wildfire losses will likely become major threats to profitability for U.S. property and casualty insurers, Reinsurance News reported Oct. 1. According to Fitch, the full year 2020 combined ratio for the industry will increase to 100...
Labor Deprecation
An Illinois appeals court turned thumbs down to State Farm depreciating labor as a component of replacement cost on a homeowners policy when calculating an insured's recovery on an actual cash value basis, Bloomberg reported Oct. 7. The court in Sproull v. State Farm...