Declarations

No requirement

“Although the court concluded that the commissioner has the authority to implement an assigned risk plan, the decision by no means requires her to do so.”

James A. Ermilio, executive vice president of Massachusetts insurance operations for The Commerce Insurance Company, following the state Supreme Court decision siding with the insurance commissioner on implementation of a new high risk plan. Commerce was among the opponents of the plan.

Normalization

“We’re one step closer to operating like a normal market.”

Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler greeting the news that the state Supreme Judicial Court had upheld her auto insurance assigned risk plan. Bowler referred to the fact that 46 states utilize ARPs like the one she approved in December 2004 to handle high risk auto insureds. Implementation of her ARP has been held up by court challenges since then.

Prevailing in Pennsylvania

“If insurance agents had not prevailed in the case, insurance could not have been issued without an agent looking at the property, a situation that would have caused a bottleneck for consumers trying to buy real estate.”

Comment from the Insurance Agents & Brokers of Pennsylvania association on the recent Superior Court of Pennsylvania’s decision in the case of Wisniski v. Brown & Brown Insurance Co., that ruled insurance brokers do not have a duty to inspect a business property for the purpose of offering flood insurance.

Hi-tech addiction

“It may be unfeasible to regulate how much people use technology. However, it is reasonable to imagine a time when policy-makers recognize the powerful influence of employers that sometimes results in harmful excess among the workforce. The pressure for using technology to stay connected 24/7 may carry employer responsibility for detrimental outcomes to the employees.”

Gayle Porter, an associate professor of management at the Rutgers University School of Business at Camden, on her study suggesting that the fast and relentless pace of technology-enhanced work environments creates a source of stimulation that may become addictive. The Rutgers scholar suggests that employers may face legal liability for these addictions.

Vioxx strategy

“How long can Merck carry the cost of these verdicts? None of these cases are coming back small.”

David Logan, dean of Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, R.I., after a New Orleans jury awarded $51 million to a former FBI agent who had a heart attack after taking Merck’s Vioxx drug for more than two years. A New Jersey judge also threw out a prior Merck victory, saying that Merck held back evidence that could have altered the trial’s course. The judge ordered a new trial. (AP)