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Insurance Edge

Risk-Focused Exams for Reinsurance: What's Going On?

Beginning in 2010, state insurance examiners will be conducting “Risk-Focused Examinations” per the new Financial Condition Examiners Handbook. This is a revised approach to the exam as examiners will be concentrating on reviewing a company’s procedures and internal controls over...

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SSAP 43R-Revised Loan-Backed and Structured Securities

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Insurance SAS 70: A Move Toward Action in Governance

In this era of heightened compliance and governance, an insurance organization’s ongoing assessment of its internal control structure and effectiveness is a critical business initiative. Many leaders within the insurance industry have concluded that setting the proper tone at the...

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FDIC Policy Changes Offer Insurers Added Protection

Katherine Duckworth, Vice PresidentCitibank, N.A. Commercial Business Groupkathy.duckworth@citi.com, 312-­­­627-5024 With today’s economic conditions, everyone is worried about the safety and soundness of their financial assets. This concern has made commercial and consumer banking customers nationwide increasingly aware of the significant...

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Corporate Bonds: Can Default History Predict the Future?

Elizabeth Henderson, CFA Director of Corporate Credit AAM Insurance Investment Management ehenderson@aamcompany.com, 312-263-2900 The rating agencies are predicting that defaults for speculative-grade bonds will peak somewhere between 14% and 16% in 2009. Many analysts and pundits are quick to point...

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Maximizing Tax Benefits of P&C Insurers’ Capital Losses

Douglas J. Youngren, JD, CPA Tax Partner dyoungren@BlackmanKallick.com, 312-980-2944In a year fraught with so many losses, is there anything in the current tax code that allows realized capital losses to offset underwriting income? Can those losses be carried back to offset...

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ACH: The New Wave of Bank Fraud

Jeffery A. Dertz, CPAPartner, Insurance Practice jdertz@BlackmanKallick.com, 312-980-3224This Blackman Kallick article was published some time ago, but it has taken on new relevance in light of the changes in the U.S. economy and the corresponding increase in online fraud. The Automated...

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Winning the Pricing War Against Industry Giants: Offensive Strategies for Regional Insurers

Chris Hurst Towers Perrin chris.hurst@towersperrin.com, 314-719-5846 Klayton Southwood Towers Perrin klayton.southwood@towersperrin.com, 309-828-8351  Gone are the days of pricing personal auto insurance using only "traditional" rating variables such as driver age, gender, marital status and vehicle use. More than a decade...

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What Is the Value of Financial Planning to an Insurance Enterprise?

In some respects, financial planning for an insurance company is like running a manufacturing assembly line. As long as people work ahead of themselves, things tend to go smoothly. Assembly line workers run into trouble when they try to manage...

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FAS 157 Changes Fair Value Definition, Measurement and Disclosure

Jeffery A. Dertz, CPAPartner, Insurance Practicejdertz@BlackmanKallick.com, 312-980-3224In September 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 157, "Fair Value Measurements" (FAS 157). This new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after Nov. 15,...

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This publication is part of Blackman Kallick’s marketing of professional services, and is not written tax advice directed at the specific facts and circumstances of any person and/or entity. Contents of this publication are of a general nature, and you should not act on this information without obtaining professional advice from your business advisor that is appropriately tailored to your individual needs and circumstances. This written advice is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.