BestWeek: Whole Lott of Shakin': Antitrust Bill Makes Industry Quiver.OLDWICK, N.J. -- Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott isn't the first to advocate repealing the insurance industry's limited exemption from federal antitrust law antitrust law Any law restricting business practices that are considered unfair or monopolistic. Among U.S. laws, the best known is the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, which declared illegal “every contract, combination…or conspiracy in restraint of trade or . But he must count among the more unlikely candidates to don the hat of insurance antagonist, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. an exclusive article in this week's BestWeek. Not long ago, he generally was regarded an industry ally. But all that changed Aug. 29, 2005. Hurricane Katrina swept ashore and took Lott's $700,000 Pascagoula, Miss., home with it. He collected on a National Flood Insurance Policy, but State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.--the senator's long-time insurer--denied his homeowners claim, claiming the loss was excluded as flood damage. But it is Lott's most recent bill, the Insurance Industry Competition Act, that truly has made the industry stand up and take notice. The measure would amend the McCarran-Ferguson Act's exemption, permitting the Federal Trade Commission to enforce federal antitrust laws antitrust laws n. acts adopted by Congress to outlaw or restrict business practices considered to be monopolistic or which restrain interstate commerce. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 declared illegal "every contract, combination.... and regulations on the insurance industry. Also in BestWeek, 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 March 1 up 10.05% from a year ago. The composite index reflects the performance of 183 insurance stocks. The week's top performers were Hub International; 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 ; Pacific Century Insurance; Mercer Insurance; and Scottish Re Group. The bottom five performers were China Insurance International; EMC (1) (EMC Corporation, Hopkinton, MA, www.emc.com) The leading supplier of storage products for midrange computers and mainframes. Founded in 1979 by Richard J. Egan and Roger Marino, EMC has developed advanced storage and retrieval technologies for the world's largest companies. Insurance; SCPIE SCPIE Southern California Physicians Insurance Exchange Holdings; Specialty Underwriters' Alliance; and Brit Insurance Holdings. 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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