Connecticut Babysitter to Pay $1.1M Settlement over Boy's Drowning

A Connecticut teenager and her mother have agreed to pay $1.1 million to the family of a toddler who drowned while the girl was baby-sitting.

The New Haven Register reports that Cheshire Probate Judge Raymond Voelker approved the settlement Wednesday between the Veenhuis family and Michelle and Krista Repko.

Authorities say Krista Repko was baby-sitting 3-year-old Cole Veenhuis and his twin sister when Cole drowned in the family's pool on May 2, 2009.

No criminal charges were filed, but the Veenhuis family pursued the case in probate court as part of Cole's estate. They included Repko's mother, Michelle, in their claim because she allegedly recommended her daughter to baby-sit.

A message left at the Repkos' home wasn't immediately returned Friday.

Property Insurers Watching Ominous Hurricane Forecasts

After significant catastrophe losses in first quarter 2010, U.S. property/casualty insurers and global reinsurers are hoping their balance sheets don't face further financial risks, even as conditions appear ripe for the upcoming hurricane season to be potentially as active as 2005. The industry enters the season on the strength of underwriting and financial results that rebounded in 2009 after deteriorating in 2008, a year marked by catastrophe losses from hurricanes Ike and Gustav and poor investment returns associated with the global financial turmoil.

Three forecasters predict four intense hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin, well above the long-term average of two to three intense storms. Warmer sea surface temperatures and a transition to neutral El Niño conditions are expected to enhance hurricane activity.

State wind and beach plans and last-resort insurers saw in-force liabilities grow by double and even triple-digit percentages from 2005 to 2009 in states such as North Carolina, Florida and Texas.

Though still major writers of homeowners' multiperil, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. in Florida and Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. have shifted market share to other carriers through takeout programs.

An A.M. Best Co. special report data show insurers' pullback from hurricane prone states accelerated in the 2005-2009 period compared with homeowners' multiperil business written earlier in the decade.

The top 10 A.M. Best rated writers' market share fell more than eight percentage points from 2005-2009 in Louisiana; about three percentage points in Mississippi; and more than nine percentage points in Texas.

Florida Man Charged with Arson of His Yacht Named Shameless

A Tallahassee man has been arrested on charges of arson, insurance fraud and grand theft after state investigaors said they determined the suspect intentionally set fire to his yacht, a 50-foot SeaRay named "Shameless," and then filed a false insurance claim to collect insurance benefits.

Florida CFO and State Fire Marshal Alex Sink announced the arrest of Arthur Freeman. He was booked into the Leon County jail. If convicted, he faces up to 65 years behind bars.

The arson was discovered when an evidence analysis established the presence of gasoline on the SeaRay, which runs on diesel fuel, accrding to officials.

The case has been turned over to the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office for prosecution.

Lawsuits Over Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Expected to Increase Dramatically

Companies linked to the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill are facing a flood of lawsuits, as legal actions from the disaster spread faster than the crude gushing from BP Plc's blown-out undersea well.

Nearly 100 lawsuits have already been filed across the Gulf region, and the disaster, which lawyers envision becoming one of the biggest class actions in U.S. history, involves billions of dollars in potential liabilities.

"This is not just an environmental disaster, this is a legal disaster, Alabama Attorney General Troy King told reporters Wednesday.

"It seems clear that this one will eclipse the Exxon Valdez payout,'' said Zygmunt J.B. Plater, who chaired a legal task force for a special commission in Alaska following the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill there in 1989.

"The hit in terms of economics is going to be measurable and it's going to be greater,'' said Plater, a law professor at Boston College, who noted that the population and levels of investment along the Gulf coast dwarfed those at stake in remote Alaska more than 20 years ago.

BP is the most exposed to potential damages in the case. The London-based oil giant is the owner of the ruptured undersea well spewing out oil at an unchecked rate of about 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 litres) per day.

The resulting oil slick threatens fisheries, beaches and wildlife refuges -- and livelihoods -- along the Gulf Coast.

Other companies involved in the spill include Transocean Ltd., owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig licensed to BP, and Halliburton Co., which provided a variety of services on the rig and was involved in cementing the well to stabilize its walls.

Families of some of the 11 workers who died in the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig blast have filed wrongful-death claims, and people who were injured have also taken legal action.

The companies also face lawsuits brought by fishermen, restaurants, charter boat companies, hotels and rental property owners. Gulf Coast states could also sue, as could municipalities, for lost tax revenues, and shipping companies if traffic into major ports or the Mississippi River is disrupted.

"You're talking about the entire economic structure of five states and all their ancillary businesses,'' said Tim Howard, a Tallahassee lawyer who last week filed one of Florida's first class-action suits over the oil spill.

"You're talking maybe about close to a half a trillion dollar economy here,'' Howard added. "This is why you do not mess around and play around with something toxic.''

BP's shares have been pummeled since the accident, wiping about $30 billion from its market value.

The company has said repeatedly that it takes responsibility for the oil spill and will pay any legitimate damage claims. BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward has said that includes interrupted business activity.

"SOME RED FLAGS''
BP declined to comment Wednesday on the number of lawsuits it now faces in connection with the spill.

But it moved last week to have what it then described as ''at least 70 suits'' consolidated in a court in Houston, the U.S. oil hub which also serves as the command center for teams directing the oil spill clean-up efforts.

In its appeal to a judicial panel that will decide which court is best equipped to hear the cases, BP also took the unusual step of asking that Houston Judge Lynn Hughes, appointed to the federal bench by former President Ronald Reagan, handle the multi-district litigation.

"It's a little unusual for the defendants in massive litigation to request a judicial panel to send them to a particular court with a particular judge,'' said Brent Coon, a lawyer who spearheaded civil action against BP after the 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery, which killed 15 workers.

"It certainly raises some red flags for some people,'' added Coon, whose firm is representing a survivor of the rig explosion suing BP, Transocean and Halliburton, among others.

"BP's blueprint (is) saying that they're transparent when in fact they're not; saying that they accept responsibility when in fact they're already pointing their finger at the other guys,'' Coon said.

A lawsuit brought against BP by one of its own shareholders, who alleged the company helped cause the Gulf spill by putting profit before safety, was dropped by the plaintiff Tuesday without any explanation from lawyers.

But the move may offer little solace to BP.

"The number of cases is going to increase dramatically,'' said Robert Gordon, an attorney with New York law firm Weitz & Luxenberg, which is representing 500 Gulf area commercial fisherman in the oil spill litigation.

Florida Workers Compensation Rates to Drop Again

Workers compensation insurers writing in Florida have filed for an average 4.2 percent rate decrease.

This marks the eighth decrease in workers compensation rates since 2003. The cumulative overall statewide average decrease in workers compensation rates will be 64.7 percent since the 2003 reforms.

Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said that the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) filing came into the Office of Insurance Regulation on May 7.

NCCI made the rate filing due to a change in the Special Disability Trust Fund (SDTF) assessment -- a change that ultimately reduces the insurance company's overhead expenses. The assessment rate has been reduced from 4.52 percent to 1.46 percent. This lower rate will be evident on new and renewal policies, effective July 1, 2010.

The Legislature established the SDTF in 1955 to encourage the employment of workers with pre-existing conditions. The SDTF was modified in 1997 to eliminate the eligibility for accidents after January 1, 1998. The SDTF is maintained by assessments on carriers and self-insurers. This is the first decrease in the SDTF assessment since 1994.

McCarty said the rate reduction follows a "consistent trend" of declining workers compensation rates that began following the legislative reforms in 2003.

In an interview with Insurance Journal before the rate filing was announced, McCarty said he thinks those reforms are still working.

"I'm told by many that the end is near and that the good days may be over, but we remain cautiously optimistic that we're going to continue to have a robust and affordable workers comp market," he said.