Declarations

Financial Investment

“The investment in the Hartford is purely financial, not strategic.”

—Sabia Schwarzer, a spokeswoman for Allianz of America, commenting on the company’s interest in purchasing Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. The Hartford is trying to sell its property/casualty insurance business, as the U.S. insurer reels from massive losses, according to Reuters. Allianz made a $2.5 billion investment in Hartford last October, giving it a stake, and the ability to raise its ownership.

Disciplining Doctors

“The overall national downward trend of serious disciplinary actions against physicians is troubling because it indicates many states are not living up to their obligations to protect patients from bad doctors.”

—Sidney Wolfe, M.D., Public Citizen’s acting president and director of its Health Research Group. Most states, including California and Florida, are failing to adequately discipline doctors who are practicing substandard medicine, according to the most recent annual ranking of state medical boards by the watchdog group Public Citizen. According to the report, overall, the rate of discipline for doctors in 2008 was 21.5 percent lower than the peak year of 2004. In 2008, there were 2.92 serious disciplinary actions per 1,000 physicians, compared to 3.72 actions per 1,000 physicians in 2004.

Staying Power

“While 90 percent of customers overall stayed with their insurance carrier during the past 12 months, those households that are potentially more impacted by the recession present a real challenge for insurance carriers. As such, keeping customers on board is absolutely critical for the long-term profitability of an insurance carrier.”

—Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates, commenting on the company’s 2009 Personal Insurance Retention Special Report that found in the past 12 months, 30 percent of households with annual incomes below $50,000 shopped for a new insurance carrier and 45 percent of those customers eventually switched carriers.

Piracy Premiums

“Piracy has been an issue for some time and it has already lead to higher insurance premiums. Premiums are going to go up because the pirates are going to become a little more vicious and hold out for more money”

—Paul Keane, a partner at Cichanowicz, Callan, Keane, Vengrow & Textor LLP, who specializes in maritime cases. The recent rescue of an American sailor from Somali pirates by the U.S. Navy will likely make marine insurance more expensive, not least because the killing of three pirates could lead to an escalation of violence against unarmed crews, according to a Reuters report.