December 2, 2004  

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CONGRESS SET TO ADJOURN WITHOUT
EXTENSION OF TERRORISM BACKSTOP

According to insurance trade associations, there is virtually no chance that Congress will act this year to extend the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP) beyond its scheduled "sunset" date of Dec. 31, 2005. Even if Congress acts next year to extend the program, most commercial policies that take effect Jan. 1 will  extend beyond the termination date for the program, at least temporarily.

AAIS has prepared the materials its commercial lines affiliates can use while the future of TRIP is uncertain, and in the event TRIP is allowed to sunset as scheduled:

• "Conditional" and "post-TRIP" endorsements that limit or exclude coverage for terrorism losses have been approved in every jurisdiction except Massachusetts, Florida, Georgia, and New York. (NOTE: Texas has approved the AAIS conditional and post-TRIP endorsements. When originally posted, this Advisory erroneously included Texas among the jurisdictions that had not approved them. Also, Massachusetts has settled its position on the matter, and AAIS is expecting approval of the endorsements there in the near future.)

• Sample disclosure notices companies can use to explain the conditional and post-TRIP endorsements to policyholders were distributed through product bulletins in October.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT, CATASTROPHE MODELING
TOPICS FOR 2005 AAIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE

AAIS has booked two prominent speakers to address its 2005 Annual Conference, April 10-12 at L'Auberge Resort & Spa, Del Mar, Cal.:

• Steven Fink, president of Lexicon Communications, will lead a session that will explore both operational and public relations aspects of crisis management. Fink, who was a member of the team that managed the 1979 crisis at the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania, is widely regarded as a founder of the crisis management and crisis communications disciplines.

• Paul VanderMarck, executive vice president of Risk Management Solutions, Inc., will address developments in the modeling of catastrophe risk, explaining what the industry has learned in recent years about the predictability of large losses, and how modeling is used in the pricing and underwriting of reinsurance.

Individuals wishing to submit ideas for business sessions that would be helpful to senior executives can contact Joe Harrington, AAIS director of corporate communications, at joeh@AAISonline.com, or by calling 800/564-AAIS.

WEB SEMINAR ON BUSINESSOWNERS AND
ARTISANS PROGRAMS SET FOR DEC. 14

A Web seminar describing the features and benefits of the AAIS Artisans and Businessowners Programs has been scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14. Joseph Harrington, AAIS director of corporate communications, will lead the program, which will last approximately one hour.

For more information, and to sign up,

ROBERT GUEVARA AND SUSAN LUECKE
PROMOTED TO NEW POSITIONS

Two of AAIS's most experienced product development professionals recently received promotions:

• Robert Guevara has been promoted to vice president for inland marine; he previously was an assistant vice president. Bob has been with AAIS for 10 years, and is the principal developer of the AAIS Inland Marine Guide and Commercial Output Program.

• Susan Luecke has been promoted to assistant vice president for personal lines; she previously was director of personal lines. Sue joined AAIS in 1992 as a personal lines product development specialist, and is the principal developer of the AAIS Homeowners and Mobile-Homeowners programs.

More details on Bob and Sue are provided in a press release.