National
Under writer
INDUSTRY FoCUS:
MaNUFaCTURING
elkay Builds a Better WC
program With a Centralized Team
TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK
Validus to Buy Flagstone Re for
$623 Million in Cash, Stock
With the acquisition of Flagstone
Reinsurance Holdings, Validus becomes
the largest Bermuda writer of property-
catastrophe insurance, with total premiums
of more than $1.9 billion. E Page 6
LaBeL LIaBILITY
Insurer Groups Skeptical of
Savings from California’s New
Workers’ Comp Bill
The Association of California Insurance
Companies and the American Insurance
Association voice their concern over the
actual cost savings to be realized from
bill SB 863, which promises substantial
reform to the Golden State’s $16 billion
Workers’ Comp system. E Page 10
Reinsurers in Good Shape, But
Tighter Underwriting Needed
Moody’s and A.M. Best acknowledge
reinsurers’ staying power after 2011 losses,
but warn that tighter underwriting must
supplement reserve releases. E Page 10
State Farm Goes ‘Next Door’
in Search of Generation Y
At this Chicago coffee-bar “learning lab,”
State Farm offers free financial-education
classes that help generate conversation
with Millennials about their insurance
wants and needs. E Page 25
a high-profile litigator who had success against Big Tobacco
seeks billions from food producers for mislabeling their
products—what are the coverage implications?
See Page 21
Photo by Thinkstock
RISk MaNaGeR
CaReeR-aDVaNCeMeNT
TIpS
experienced RMs recount key skills,
strategies needed to get ahead
Page 24