BestWeek: Federal Charter Overtures Miss the Mark in Surplus Lines Market.OLDWICK, N.J. -- The logo of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices is inscribed in·scribe tr.v. in·scribed, in·scrib·ing, in·scribes 1. a. To write, print, carve, or engrave (words or letters) on or in a surface. b. To mark or engrave (a surface) with words or letters. with the phrase "uberrima fides UBERRIMA FIDES. Perfect good faith; abundant good faith. 2. This phrase is used to express that a contract must be made in perfect good faith, concealing nothing; as in the case of insurance, the insured must observe the most perfect good faith towards the ," Latin for "in the utmost good faith." But faith is one thing the group still lacks when it comes to legislation proposing a federal insurance regulator, according to an exclusive story in BestWeek U.S./Canada. Despite overt entreaties from proponents of an optional federal charter system, NAPSLO NAPSLO National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Ltd. remains unconvinced that the recently reintroduced National Insurance Act, which would grant insurers and brokers the option of direct federal regulatory oversight, would solve the regulatory confusion that continues to plague the nation's surplus lines markets, said Dick Bouhan, the group's executive director. That could be disappointing news for the bill's sponsors, who amended this year's version of the bill, S. 40, to include surplus lines insurance, in addition to life and property/casualty. Also in BestWeek Europe: Sticking to a stubbornly independent status somewhere between the United Kingdom and the European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community , the Isle of Man Noun 1. Isle of Man - one of the British Isles in the Irish Sea Man British Isles - Great Britain and Ireland and adjacent islands in the north Atlantic is poised to seize a sizable share of insurance business related to captives and pensions on an international scale. Also in BestWeek U.S./Canada: Some automobile insurers have seized a slice of the growing undocumented immigrant driver market. And in both editions of BestWeek, the Best's Global Insurance Composite Index Composite Index A grouping of equities, indexes or other factors combined in a standardized way, providing a useful statistical measure of overall market or sector performance over time. Also known simply as a "composite". finished the week of May 31 up 23.64% from a year ago. The composite index reflects the performance of 181 insurance stocks. The week's top performers were Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co., Alleghany Corp., Fidelity National Financial Inc., and United Fire & Casualty Co. The bottom five performers were Atrium Underwriting, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, Fairfax Financial Holdings Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited TSX: FFH.SV NYSE: FFH is a Toronto, Ontario based financial services holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property, casualty and life insurance and reinsurance, investment management and insurance claims , Atlantic American Corp., and WellPoint Inc. BestWeek is published by A.M. Best for insurance professionals. To subscribe, please call A.M. Best's customer service department at (908) 439-2200, ext. 5742, or e-mail your request to customer_service@ambest.com. Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial services industries, including the banking and insurance sectors. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. |
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