By The Numbers.In the insurance business--as in any business--numbers often tell the story. Actuaries crunch (1) To process data. See number crunching. (2) To compress data. See data compression. 1. (jargon) crunch - To process, usually in a time-consuming or complicated way. numbers to determine rates and evaluate company reserves. Underwriters calculate risks so their companies can charge the appropriate premiums. Shareholders of publicly traded companies publicly traded company A company whose shares of common stock are held by the public and are available for purchase by investors. The shares of publicly traded firms are bought and sold on the organized exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. look for rising stock prices and quarterly dividends. One measure of an insurance company's success is the amount of premiums it has written. This edition features the leading 250 property/casualty insurance groups (page 51) and the top 200 in life/health (page 85), ranked by net premiums written. We list leading writers in the largest property/casualty lines along with market-share and loss-ratio trends (page 54). Life/health writers are ranked by life amounts issued and in-force (page 88). If numbers do indeed tell a story, then 1999 ended unimpressively for property/casualty insurers, though better for the life/health industry. Growth in the property/casualty industry was just 2.1%. Life/health insurers increased net premiums written 8.6% last year. Professional Recognition: Best's Review received two awards in the 22nd Annual American American, river, 30 mi (48 km) long, rising in N central Calif. in the Sierra Nevada and flowing SW into the Sacramento River at Sacramento. The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill (see Sutter, John Augustus) along the river in 1848 led to the California gold rush of Society of Business Press Editors Awards Competition in the Eastern Region. Senior Associate Editor Ron Noun 1. Ron - a Chadic language spoken in northern Nigeria Bokkos, Daffo West Chadic - a group of Chadic languages spoken in northern Nigeria; Hausa in the most important member Panko Panko is a variety of breadcrumb used in Japanese cuisine as a crunchy coating for fried foods such as tonkatsu. Panko is made from wheat bread, but it has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading found in Western cuisine. received the silver award for "Safe House," the cover feature in the August 1999 Property/Casualty edition. The article discussed prototype hurricane-proof houses that insurers are helping to build, A regular Best's Review contributor, Alan A`lan´ n. 1. A wolfhound. S. Rutkin, received the silver award for Loss/Risk Management Insight columns published in the January and August 1999 editions--"Ready Aim, Sue" and "Reining Reining is a western riding competition for horses where the riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops. All work is done at the lope (known more commonly worldwide as the canter) and gallop; the fastest of the horse gaits. in the Experts." Bricks & Mortar: The New Jersey Concrete & Aggregate Association and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Concrete Institute have named A.M. Best Co. the 2000 Grand Award winner for the most innovative use of structural concrete. The award was given in recognition of the construction of the new addition to A.M. Best's headquarters in Oldwick, N.J. The addition is an almost identical match to the original concrete structure, which was built in 1974. David Hilgen is editor. |
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