Donna Mahoney
Business Insurance
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Past articles by Donna:
Lockton names chief operating officer for Pacific
Lockton Inc. announced Gary Petrosino as chief operating officer for the brokerage firm’s U.S. Pacific operations, a Monday company release said. Effective April 1, Mr. Petrosino will lead a team of over 500 in offices located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Encino, Irvine, and San Jose, California, the statement said. He replaces Lenny Fodemski who is moving to the new role of… → Read More
Organic growth, M&A activity drive broker results
The five largest publicly traded insurance brokers posted a collective single-digit increase in 2015 revenue thanks to modest organic growth and expense reductions as mergers affected their ranks. Some analysts, however, expect organic growth to challenge the brokerage space this year. 2015 was “better than expected,” said Timothy J. Cunningham, managing director at → Read More
Chubb expands transactional risk insurance team
Chubb Ltd. on Thursday said it is adding to its transactional risk leadership team as it increases its focus on offering protection for merger and acquisition activity.The insurer has selected three executives to lead worldwide teams, Chubb said in a statement. Based in New York, Edward Markovich... → Read More
Insurer promotes its Bermuda CEO to group chief underwriter
Fidelis Insurance Holdings Ltd. on Thursday said it has promoted Bermuda CEO Ben Savill to group chief underwriting officer. He takes over from Richard Brindle, who had held the position of group chief underwriting officer since the company had been founded in June 2015, along with his role as group CEO. Mr. Savill will assume the group chief underwriting officer role in addition to his… → Read More
Insurer expands line of product liability coverage
General Star Management Co. said Wednesday it is offering three new specialized coverages for protection against product liability exposures: discontinued products, retroactive limits and liability trigger conversion. The Stamford, Connecticut-based insurer developed the product suite “Encore!” for manufacturers, importers and distributors who needed coverage from product liability exposures due… → Read More
Allianz veteran leaving North America specialty
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty North America said Tuesday that Art Moossmann will leave as president and CEO effective July 1 and will be succeeded by Bill Scaldaferri, both of whom have been with Allianz for 17 years. In addition, Mr. Moossmann will leave as a board member effective Dec. 31, the unit of Allianz S.E. said in a statement. Mr. Moossmann “has truly been the architect of what… → Read More
Simplified drone coverage available in U.K.
Lloyd’s specialty insurer ArgoGlobal said Tuesday it is offering click-and-buy drone insurance to U.K.’s commercial drones and drone operators.Coverage can be accessed through Insure4Drones, an online portal designed by Lloyd’s coverholder JRW Group and ArgoGlobal of Bermuda... → Read More
More talk than action on using captives to cover cyber risks
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Although cyber attacks are being launched in almost every industry, an expert says only a small percentage of clients are placing cyber liability in their captive insurer. “There is a lot of conversation on cyber risk,” said Peter Mullen, CEO of captive and insurance management at Aon Global Risk Consulting in Pembroke, Bermuda. “But there is → Read More
Captives enter IRS crosshairs after some cover 'implausible risks'
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A new law governing microcaptives is increasing the risk that the Internal Revenue Service will order an audit of the captive's parent company or the captive manager overseeing the company-owned insurer. The use of the microcaptives, or those electing to be taxed under Section 831(b) of the U.S. Tax Code, has increased during the past five years, experts said. → Read More
Coverys buys minority stake in Strategic Risk Solutions
Boston-based medical professional liability insurer Coverys has purchased a minority stake in captive insurance manager Strategic Risk Solutions Inc., the companies said Thursday. As part of the deal, Coverys will have a representative on the board of Concord, Massachusetts-based Strategic Risk Solutions, but will not have day-to-day operational involvement in the captive insurance manager, the… → Read More
Microcaptive parents, managers targeted by IRS
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The parent companies and the managers of microcaptive insurers face growing IRS scrutiny and should be prepared for an IRS audit, captive experts say.Under recently enacted federal legislation, captives electing to follow Section 831(b) of the U.S. Tax Code will be able to ... → Read More
Captive insurers seen as a good fit for cyber risk
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Although cyber attacks are occurring in almost every industry, an expert says just a fraction of clients are placing cyber liability in their captive insurer.“There is a lot of conversation on cyber risk,” said Peter Mullen, CEO of captive and insurance... → Read More
FAA taps experts to write rules for flying drones over people
A task force of manufacturers, aviation industry associations and others who have a vested interest in small unmanned aircraft systems are meeting to determine an acceptable risk level when drones fly above people.The Federal Aviation Administration said Feb. 24 that the aviation rulemaking... → Read More
A few bad apples may be harming captives' reputation
The health of the captive insurance market has been good overall, but one captive manager is concerned that the behaviors of some members could damage the industry's reputation. In a Feb. 10 webinar presented by Strategic Risk Solutions that reviewed the past year for captives and gave projections for 2016, it was said that many captives are overcapitalized and doing quite well, according to… → Read More
Flying on autopilot improves airline safety but can lead to errors
Some insurers would like to see commercial airline pilots get more “hands-on” flying time, as would federal agencies worried about whether pilots are losing their manual flying skills to cope with an emergency. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates commercial airline pilots use automation to fly 90% of the time. However, a U.S. Department of Transportation inspector → Read More
More captives coming to Main Street
Captive insurers, which large companies have long used to cover traditional risks such as commercial general liability and workers compensation, are being used more often by smaller companies as well as organizations looking to cover nontraditional risks. One reason behind the increase in smaller businesses using captives is they have become more aware of the risk transfer option, said → Read More
Cautious approach can breed risk management success in Middle East ventures
Some countries in the Middle East and North Africa such as Saudi Arabia are seeing more stability than others, according to a report published by the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. Companies that can identify, manage and mitigate the significant risks involved in doing business in these regions can benefit financially, according to “The Risks and Opportunities of Doing Business in the… → Read More
Allianz reduces runoff with $1 billion legacy liability transfer
Allianz S.E. Reinsurance says it will transfer $1.1 billion in U.S. legacy liability claims to runoff reinsurer Enstar Group Ltd. in a 50% quota share arrangement. Allianz's San Francisco Reinsurance Co., a unit of Allianz Resolution Management that does business as ARM U.S., and Enstar will jointly manage runoff of the three U.S. legacy business areas — asbestos and environmental, construction… → Read More
Insurers back greater flexibility in using drones to assess disasters
National insurance organizations say they favor an amendment in legislation that would allow insurers to disregard certain federal and state rules in using drones to assess damage in the wake of disasters. Currently, unmanned aircraft systems require permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly over certain areas and must obey line-of-sight restrictions to keep drones in sight at… → Read More
Underwriters get ready for crewless ships
Autonomous ships are being explored by the cargo industry, giving marine insurers about five years to determine the costs of covering a crewless ship for risks that can occur at sea. And the lack of historical data typical of any new technology is complicating the process of underwriting the risks of unmanned ships.“As insurers, we need to get data,” said Andrew Kinsey, a → Read More