What’s new: In brief (September 15, 2004)

WICC Ontario is donating $25,000 to fund prostate cancer research projects in recognition of “Prostate Cancer Awareness Week”, September 20 to 26. The funding is part of WICC’s new goal to reach beyond breast cancer to the fight against all forms of cancer, says WICC co-chair Linda Wahrer. “WICC will continue to donate a base $200,000 annually to breast cancer research but 50% of any funds over this amount will go towards funding of other cancer research projects.” Each year more than 20,000 Canadian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 4,200 die from the disease.

Insurers are applauding the U.S. House’s passage of the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2004, which is intended to punish lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits and reduce “forum shopping” by requiring personal injury cases to be filed where the plaintiff resides, was injured, or conducts business. However, insurers will have to wait and see if the Senate passes similar legislation, something which is unlikely to happen before the November election.

Swiss Re has published a new paper on the emerging trends in business interruption insurance. The report highlights significant changes in the BI risk landscape since 9/11, including the significance of exposures not only in the more traditional manufacturing sector, but also in service industries. BI has become as much about preservation of earnings power as about the loss of physical property. The full report can be found at www.swissre.com.