Insurance Law Podcast examines the use of social media as a tool for the insurance industry

A.M. Best, a worldwide ratings and financial data services company serving the global insurance industry, has released its latest installment of the Insurance Law Podcast. The series focuses on insurance issues from a legal perspective and seeks to supply viewers with an understanding of how insurance laws are affecting the industry as a whole. This week’s podcast focused on the issue of insurers using social media to price policies and investigate claims. The latest podcast features attorneys Daniel Santaniello and Heather Calhoon from Luks, Santaniello, Petrillo & Jones law firm.…

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Buffett reveals his traditional insurance premiums funds source is diminishing

Former hedge fund manager, Warren Buffett, who is known for turning Berkshire Hathaway Inc. into a company worth $195 billion through the leveraging of insurance premiums, has announced that his staple new revenue source is rapidly shrinking. The insurance units for Berkshire, which are in sectors covering everything from healthcare for asbestos exposure to auto plans, has dried up to the degree that it is no longer providing adequate investment funds as either float or accumulated premiums. According to a letter released by Buffet, as of December 31, 2011, the…

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LPL Financial research identifies new opportunity for retail financial companies

The largest independent broker-dealer in the United States, LPL Financial LLC, which is an LPL Investment Holdings Inc. wholly owned subsidiary, has recently revealed a number of the main findings it has discovered through a co-sponsored study which looked into the role played by insurance and investment services customers among retail financial organizations. The study was entitled “The Value of an Investment and Insurance Customer to a Bank”. It was performed by Christine Kehrer, Kenneth Kehrer, and Peter Bielan, with the co-sponsorship of LPL Financial. Among the primary findings that…

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Global insurance programs have significant challenges to overcome if they want to be viable

The global insurance industry is an ardently regulated entity. Most nations have strict laws and rules concerning insurance and have a great deal of interest in applying these regulations as a way to govern the actions of insurance companies. The problem, however, is that these regulations differing wildly from country to country, meaning that no two countries have the same regulations. As such, creation of global insurance programs has been a gargantuan challenge, and one that cannot be easily overcome through tenacity. As with other industries of business, insurance is…

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Catastrophic tornados trample the South and Midwest, claiming 33 lives

An outbreak of deadly and devastating tornadoes wrought havoc in many Southern and Midwest states over the weekend. The disasters began on Friday last week. The tornadoes struck a major blow to four states: Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Alabama. The people in these states had little warning of the storms, which manifested at an alarmingly fast pace. The tornadoes quickly grew in intensity and caused a significant amount of damage to everything in their path. When the winds finally calmed after hours of fury, approximately 33 people were found dead.…

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