A View From The Press Box

NU Seeks Candidates For WC Risk Management Award!

Sam Friedman, NU Editor in Chief — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:41:29 +0000

National Underwriter is accepting entries and nominations for our fourth annual “Awards For Excellence In Workers’ Compensation Risk Management,” sponsored by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Do you have anyone to recommend? The NU award program will spotlight three organizations for their outstanding approach to workers’ comp risk mitigation. Last year’s winners were 2009’s Champion–Starwood [...]

Will Health Care Bill Clear Constitutional Hurdle?

Sam Friedman, NU Editor in Chief — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:21:12 +0000

Let’s say for the sake of argument that Democrats in Congress are able to get their health reform legislation to President Barack Obama’s desk. Will one key element–a mandate for everyone to buy insurance coverage–withstand a Constitutional challenge? I have my doubts. This point is critical to the success of the entire reform initiative, but I [...]

Democrats Will Ram Through Health Reform Bill

Sam Friedman, NU Editor in Chief — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:20:10 +0000

It appears clear after last week’s health care summit that President Obama and his fellow Democrats have no choice but to go it alone if they want to pass a reform bill anytime soon, no matter how bad the current proposal might be. This is sure one lousy way to make policy, especially since it involves [...]

Agent-Carrier Communication Must Go Both Ways!

Sam Friedman, NU Editor in Chief — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:12:29 +0000

While insurers need to do a better job involving their producers in strategic and operational decisions, such communication must be a two-way street, with agents and brokers keeping their partners in the loop about where they stand. This point came up during a webinar yesterday hosted by Deloitte, which examined the results and the implications of the “Producer [...]

Insurers Hand Reform Momentum Back To Obama!

Sam Friedman, NU Editor in Chief — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:20:57 +0000

Insurers are their own worst enemy. They just keep shooting themselves in the foot! The latest example is how they’ve handed their foes on health insurance reform fresh ammunition, right after President Obama and his allies were left shooting blanks. Indeed, just when the health insurance reform movement was dead in the water, the industry itself breathed [...]

And Justice For All?

Sam Friedman, NU Editor in Chief — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:24:25 +0000

While my first experience last week as a juror in a civil suit (after serving only on criminal trials before) wasn’t exactly something out of “Law & Order,” the case did provide some interesting insights into how difficult it is to decide who is telling the truth on the witness stand, and how fair our judicial [...]

And The Winner Is…

Sam Friedman, NU Editor in Chief — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:03:09 +0000

I am thrilled to announce that my blog has been nominated as a finalist for an American Business Media Neal Award–sort of the Oscars for business-to-business journalists! I’ll find out whether “A View From The Press Box” is the grand prize winner or an honorable mention on March 11, at a gala awards luncheon in New York [...]

Time For Insurance CEOs To Go ‘Undercover’!

Sam Friedman, NU Editor in Chief — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:33:01 +0000

Did you folks happen to catch the premiere episode of “Undercover Boss” on CBS Sunday night, after the Super Bowl? It’s about CEOs taking on lower-level jobs in their companies, where they get their hands dirty and see how their operation really functions. I think it would be a great idea if insurance industry CEOs did [...]

Since When Does The Minority Rule?

Sam Friedman, NU Editor in Chief — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:17:23 +0000

Thanks to the Senate rule requiring a 60-vote super-majority to get any bill to a vote, this country has become virtually ungovernable. Is it time to do away with, or at least modify the fillibuster rules that has brought the federal government to a political standstill? Political satirist Jon Stewart joked on a recent “Daily Show” broadcast about how [...]

Insurers Must Defend Themselves!

Sam Friedman, NU Editor in Chief — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:57:32 +0000

They say the first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one. If that’s true, then insurers took a giant leap by confronting their reputational troubles during a recent conference. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America held their annual Executive Roundtable in San Antonio in late January, and yours truly was on hand to [...]