Articles from Best's Review (January 1, 2004)

Title	Author	Type	Words
A credible approach: credit-based insurance scoring is an accurate tool that can expand business and keep it strong.	Lacher, Joseph		667
A disciplined approach: Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Co. puts a premium on strong investment returns while eschewing expansion.	Panko, Ron	Company Profile	549
A good fit: AIU's business expertise flourishes as part of American International Group.		Cover Story	521
Accentuating the possible: insurers look to 2004 with hopes for a more stable property/casualty market, expectations for newly merged competitors in the life market and a multimarket awareness of the need to control health-care costs.	Whitney, Sally	Industry Overview	2685
All for one: State Auto's employees share the company's goal of making a profit on every account, in every line and in every state.	Green, Meg	Company Profile	563
All-in-one technology. (HumanaAccess MasterCard).			497
Allstate signs celebrity to new ads.		Brief Article	263
Aon Corp.			61
Asbestos bill still alive.	Kelly, Dennis		516
Aspen Insurance Holdings IPO gains momentum on first day.		Brief Article	203
Axa Financial.		Brief Article	58
Best's Rating Changes.		Illustration	2175
Blues' conversion not so easy anymore. (Blue Cross/Blue Shield).	Suszynski, Marie		506
Books.		Brief Article	236
California comp market flirts with chaos.	Lehmann, R.J.		530
Call to action: Mergers, catastrophes, new laws and a Supreme Court ruling in 2003 shape the insurance landscape for 2004.		Brief Article	236
China Life initial public offering reaches $3.5 billion level.	Pilla, David		623
China market shows great potential.			306
Choice company: being selective about its customers is key to Alfa Mutual's success.		Company Profile	582
Chubb CEO Finnegan elected chairman of the board.		Brief Article	184
Cigna launches life insurance joint venture in China.			109
CIGNA.	Chordas, Lori	Brief Article	56
Credit scoring laws gain ground.	Bowers, Barbara		585
Defining details. (errors and omissions coverage).			1349
E&O pitfalls.			563
E-volutionizing health insurance: technology is driving Humana's success as a health-plan leader and serving as a backbone in its approach to consumer-centric health care.	Chordas, Lori	Company Profile	3645
Economy spurs insurers to merge, acquire.	Panko, Ron		525
Enduring quality.	Whitney, Sally		309
Experts forecast active hurricane season.	Pilla, David	Brief Article	153
Five-point plan: Amica Mutual shares its success with policyholders, giving them dividends for more than 90 consecutive years.	Chordas, Lori		539
Fulfilling special needs: insurers are playing a critical role in helping families with children with special needs meet the emotional and financially challenging task of planning for the future.	Green, Meg		3331
GE plans spin-off of insurance assets.		Brief Article	248
General Accounting Office denies protest.	Suszynski, Marie	Brief Article	89
Guide to best's financial strength ratings.			839
High court rules on punitive damages.	Grier, Chris		534
How's my accounting?	Green, Meg	Brief Article	274
IMSA produces consumer brochure to offer long-term-care information. (Insurance Marketplace Standards Association).		Brief Article	170
In the spotlight *.	Sinnott, John T.		54
Index to 2003 Best's Review articles.			7182
Insurers prepare for claims relating to influenza viruses.	Suszynski, Marie		398
Just the right size: Lititz Mutual seeks to manage growth in tough homeowners market.	Pilla, David	Company Profile	544
Keep 'em coming back: one reason for Pharmacists Mutual's success is its extremely high retention rate--more than 90%.	Grier, Chris	Cover Story	580
Making more of the middle: insurers must apply a hybrid approach to succeed in a relatively untapped layer of the commercial market.	Blades, Judy	Column	732
Making the foreign familiar: insurers can reap great benefits by successfully cross-selling life products through property/casualty agents and advisers.	Berry, Richard K.		716
Medical-liability reform stalls.	Hillman, John		573
Medicare overhaul bill passes.	Grier, Chris		500
Meetings.		Calendar	143
Mergers realign industry lineup.	Chordas, Lori		532
Moving toward alignment: a combination of strategy, process, organization and technology is key to unlocking the power of a company's information.	Korogodsky, Alexander		733
NAIC's 2004 budget surplus questioned.	Kelly, Dennis	Brief Article	246
New life & annuity products emphasize better guarantees.	Panko, Ron	Brief Article	246
New living benefits drive variable annuity sales.		Brief Article	248
New York Life Insurance Co.		Brief Article	71
Out on a limb: market conditions are making it more difficult for agents to obtain E&O coverage.	Bowers, Barbara		2885
Profiting from experience: Nationwide Mutual's success formula is simple: manage risks and know your customers.	Bowers, Barbara	Company Profile	532
Protecting the faithful: Church Mutual succeeds by staying within its competencies.	Ostermiller, Marilyn	Company Profile	546
Providing the personal touch.			489
Pulling it together: high-risk pools can manage HIPAA compliance costs by taking a step-by-step approach. (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).	Phelan, John		1949
Put your money where your growth is: strategic spending on IT in 2004 is necessary to prepare insurers for the next growth cycle. The question is: which strategy?	Saccocia, Cynthia		2345
Quality vs. quantity: Otsego Mutual owes its big success to a downsized approach.	Chordas, Lori	Company Profile	574
Reality check: General Reinsurance Corp. balances long-tail risks with quick responses to market changes.		Company Profile	519
Reinsurance market's 'almost pirates' mark 10 years in hot-spot Bermuda.	Lehmann, R.J.		832
Republic Group of Insurance Cos.		Brief Article	62
Safeco reaches out to small-business market.	Goch, Lynna	Brief Article	219
Safeco.	Chordas, Lori	Brief Article	78
Scor.		Brief Article	67
Skandia Insurance Co.		Brief Article	56
Small cats total big losses in 2003.	Lehmann, R.J.		538
Something to smile about.		Company Profile	1301
Standing the test of time: fifteen property/casualty insurers have managed a remarkable feat--maintaining a Best's Rating of A+ or higher for the past 50 years.		Cover Story	1151
Students, doctors, attorneys most likely to have accidents.		Brief Article	213
Study: employee injuries drop, but costs keep rising.		Brief Article	262
Study: employees carry burden of hikes.	Suszynski, Marie	Brief Article	116
Survey: companies are poorly prepared for security.	Chordas, Lori		502
The agent advantage: State Farm gives its agents credit for its success.	Green, Meg		541
The birth of a legendary building. (Humana Inc.'s headquarters, Louisville, Kentucky).			453
The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.	Chordas, Lori	Brief Article	63
The Hartford launches online shopping protection.		Brief Article	219
The IAS learning curve: the imminent arrival of international accounting standards has profound business implications for insurers.	Stein, Robert W.		716
The individualized approach.			329
The medicine vs. the disease.	Anderson, Eugene R.	Letter to the Editor	425
The right equipment: out of necessity, pragmatism or opportunity, reinsurers are developing primary business with ready-made software.	Panko, Ron	Industry Overview	3151
The specialists: the Chubb Corp. credits its success to excelling in the niche markets it knows well, rather than growing by writing mediocre business outside its specialties.	Green, Meg	Company Profile	1048
Transcending market cycles: new technologies can help carriers with the underwriting process, thus freeing underwriters to pursue profitable growth and control risk exposure.	Hollander, David P.		673
Travelers Property Casualty Corp.	Chordas, Lori	Brief Article	69
Virus tops list of dangers: insurance technologists surveyed name the events most likely to stall operations.	Ostermiller, Marilyn		833