Defining Events of 2004

Lloyd's Chairman, Peter Levene

from Peter Levene, Chairman,
Lloyd's of London

BOSTON January 13 –The insurance industry must pay a lot of attention to rebuilding its reputation and updating its practices in 2005, following a year marked by World Trade Center litigation, the fallout from investigations of brokerage practices and a string of big surprises from natural catastrophes, the chairman of Lloyd’s said.

Speaking to an audience of senior-level insurance professionals in Boston, Peter Levene said this would be a critical year for insurers in terms of shoring up the industry’s reputation. He pointed to three “defining events” that shaped the industry in 2004 and left lessons to be learned in the present year.

Those events are:

• New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s investigations into payment practices between brokers and insurers;
• The World Trade Center civil trial, in which leaseholder Larry Silverstein and a group of insurers battled over whether the Sept. 11 destruction of the Twin Towers was one event or two;
• The Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunamis in the Indian Ocean region.

“I wish I could report that the defining events were triumphs, which enhanced the standing and reputation of our industry in the eyes of consumers and business leaders, but that is not the case,” said Levene. “Each defining event presents the insurance industry with a major challenge to get our house in order and improve our reputation.”

Larry Clevinger, Kids' Chance Board Member

Giving Kids A Chance
" You know all those trips asking for donations have been worth it after you hear a mom crying for joy when you tell her about the scholarship for her kid." L. Clevinger.

Larry Clevinger, Lexington, KY office, wants to make sure that children of workers with on-the-job injuries have a chance to get a good education. That's why he was one of the founding members of Kids' Chance in Kentucky.

KIDS' CHANCE, Inc., started in 1988 in Georgia, is a nonprofit corporation in association with insurers, employers, attorneys, labor, medical, and rehabilitation groups.

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