Declarations – West

Halo Effect

“Marked by the halo effect of Wal-Mart, this past year created a number of lasting changes in employment law that will continue to alter the legal landscape and litigation strategies for employers in 2013.”

—Said Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., co-chair of its class action defense group and author the annual report “Workplace Class Action Litigation Report.”

Drought

“There’s a great deal of concern how this drought is going to play out in 2013.”

—American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman said at the opening of the group’s convention in mid-January.

Premium Growth

“All things considered, we expect a sustained muted economic recovery, but that’s not going to fill the hole of rate inadequacy in certain lines of business.”

—Alan Murray, senior vice president for Moody’s U.S. insurance team, said the rating agency expects pricing improvement to continue in 2013, though he suggested substantially more improvement may be needed for certain lines to get to breakeven.

Name Brand

“We’re retiring the brand names of our eight commercial lines regional companies that sell exclusively through independent agents so we can use the Liberty Mutual Insurance brand name in all markets,”

—Liberty Mutual Insurance spokesperson Chris Goetcheus said the firm is planning to retire its regional brands in 2013 to focus on the more recognizable Liberty Mutual brand.