What’s new: In brief (September 21, 2004)

Lloyd’s chairman Lord Peter Levene called Texas “a state at risk” and called upon the city’s business to do more in terms of improving security and risk management. “Many companies have improved their security measures considerably since September 11th, but there is still little consistency as security standards vary greatly,” he said. He adds that risk management must become a board-level issue. “Without a culture of risk awareness in the boardroom, we cannot truly put our hands on our hearts and say we are ready for the 21st century risk environment.”

One-in-five Florida homes has been damaged by this year’s spate of Atlantic hurricanes, with the Insurance Information Institute (III) estimating combined claims will top those experienced as a result of Hurricane Andrew both in number and dollar payouts. Andrew produced more than US$15 billion in insured damages and over 700,000 claims. The III says about 15,000 adjusters are in Florida dealing with claims, but lack of power, telephone service and access to property in some areas is slowing down the claims handling process.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers has released its “key dates and other essentials” for the Canadian insurance industry. The publication lists dates for regulatory filings, and also recent tax and regulatory changes. It also outlines OSFI documents relative to the MCT and BAAT insurer capital adequacy standards. The full document is at http://www.pwc.com/ca.