Kevin Jessop is Diversified's blog author and Director of Marketing. He sits on the board of the MountainWest Capital Network and is very involved in the venture capital community of Utah.
Blog Summary
Many of the topics this blog addresses are global in nature but most of what we talk about is local to the great state of Utah. We are strong supporters of the local community. Among the groups that we give both time and money to are the following: Guadalupe Schools, Summit D&O Conference, Wayne Brown, MWCN, UTC, ACG, EO, NAPEO and UVEF.
Risk Management, Technology, Venture Capital, Private Equity, the National Economy and Good Business Practices are just a few of the many topics discussed on this blog.
Diversified Insurance Group has been a member of TechAssure almost since its inception. TechAssure is a non-profit organization founded in 2001 for insurance and risk management professionals dedicated to serving clients in the Technology, Life Sciences, Digital Media, and Venture Capital industries.
Check out this video featuring John Love, the President of TechAssure
At the inception of TechAssure it was agreed that the insurance policies then in existence did not adequately address the major risks of the average technology or life science company. These companies were typically venture-backed and were growing rapidly. TechAssure members came up with a wish-list of coverage enhancements and pricing targets and partnered with the leading insurance carriers in these areas to create best-in-class coverage forms that are offered at preferred rates. TechAssure later did the same thing for Venture Capital and Private Equity Funds creating an Asset Protection Program endorsed by the NVCA that addresses the unique exposures that VC/PE managers and members have in running their funds. It is much like a D&O policy but tailored to cover big liability holes that exist for fund managers and members in the execution of their duties in their respective roles.
This has potentially huge ramifications on the insurance industry. Time will tell if it does any good . . . or anything at all.
By Patrick Yoest
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–The White House on Tuesday publicly backed legislation to repeal the health insurance industry’s antitrust exemption, a small part of the Obama administration’s still-uncertain strategy to pass broader health overhaul legislation.
The bill, which the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Wednesday, would remove insurers’ long-time exemption to competition laws, which Democrats hope will lower premiums in insurance markets by giving consumers more choices. The exemption for insurance companies was enacted in the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945.
Specifically, the bill would strip the exemption for egregious violations such as price fixing, bid rigging and market allocation. The White House Office of Management and Budget in a statement announced its support for the legislation, saying that “this bill will benefit the American health-care consumer by ensuring that competition has a prominent role in reforming health insurance markets throughout the nation.”
House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter, (D., N.Y.), a leading proponent of the bill, suggested that it is a matter of fairness that the industry is subject to the same rules as other companies.
“This industry has enjoyed a big giveaway for far too long, and it’s about time that it plays by the same rules as everyone else,” Slaughter said.
America’s Health Insurance Plans, an industry trade group, said in a statement Tuesday that the health insurance industry is already highly regulated and that mergers and other business practices are already subject to federal antitrust laws. Further, it cited “legal uncertainty” that would be created by the new law, which it said would chill developments in the industry.
Leading insurers in AHIP include Aetna Inc. (AET), Humana Inc. (HUM), Cigna Corp. (CI) and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH).
It’s uncertain how Republicans will come down on the bill. A spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio) said Boehner had not announced how he would vote.
Congressional Democrats are still trying to find their footing on health care, even though the White House introduced an 11-page document intended to act as a road map for blending House and Senate-passed versions of the legislation.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said she is “very pleased” with the White House proposal and that it is “getting a good reception” with House Democrats. But Rep. Peter DeFazio (D., Ore.), who appeared with Pelosi as part of a push for the anti-trust legislation, cited his own concerns about the omission from the plan of a government-run health insurance plan and a nationwide exchange for buying insurance.
DeFazio suggested the White House plan has not been presented as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition.
“We’re really beginning the process in the caucus over again,” DeFazio said. “There’s no fait accompli. There’s been no whipping, there’s been no pushing.”
-By Patrick Yoest, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-3554; patrick.yoest@dowjones.com
Each holiday season, we select what we consider to be the year’s most influential business book to share with our clients and partners. This year, we chose Free – The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson as our firm’s 2009 Book of The Year.
We have simple criteria when picking our book of the year: 1) it must be published in the given calendar year, and 2) it needs to be both meaningful and enjoyable to read. While the selection formula is straight forward, the process of selecting our book is never easy. There are always varied opinions and good options from which to choose. We have chosen Free because the main idea of the book resonated with our firm’s culture and philosophy. It is the intriguing idea that you can make more money by giving services and products away for free.
As a professional service provider, we constantly give away our intellectual property for free. Gone are the days when you can simply say you’re an expert and expect to receive someone’s business. You must now fully demonstrate your value proposition and do it in a way that is both meaningful and economically neutral. The fascinating paradox explored in this book is that the more you give away, the more you receive in return. And the game-changing part of this “free,” is that it is not a twentieth-century marketing gimmick with strings attached. Twenty-first-century “free” really is free.
It’s a time-honored holiday tradition that giving is more important than receiving. Can this same principle of giving things away be applied to the business world? Can an economic model that is built around the concept of “free” be sustainable, not to mention a way to build even greater profits for your business? The reason this book struck such a chord with us is that we see this principle proven all the time in our business dealings. Serving others and giving value away does increase returns and there is a multiplier effect.
If you get a chance, we’d appreciate your comments on the titles we’ve selected as our books of the year.
2005 The World Is Flat
2006 Small Giants – Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big
2007 Wikinomics – How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
2008 Outliers – The Story of Success
2009 Free - The Future of A Radical Price
- Diversified Insurance Group was a title sponsor of the Summit 2009 Director & Officer Conference -
SALT LAKE CITY – December 11, 2009 –
“Requirements for today’s corporate directors and officers are evolving more quickly than ever before,” said David W. Steuber, partner in Howrey LLP, Los Angeles, Calif. Steuber joined a capacity group of more than 140 leading executives who participated in the 9th Annual Summit Conference for Directors and Officers (www.summitconf.org) at Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah last week. SageCreek Partners, Ernst & Young and Diversified Insurance, along with several additional business support organizations, co-hosted the event.
“The Summit Conference is an event that is well worth attending,” Steuber continued.”It is a practical program for the director and officer who is serious about understanding cutting edge corporate governance issues and implementing measures designed to meet the ever-evolving legal, ethical, and social requirements imposed upon today’s businesses.”
Additional presenters at the event included Reatha Clark King, Ph.D, a member of the board of directors of Exxon Mobil, and Doyle Arnold, the Chief Financial Officer at Zions Bancorp. Working panels and topics included discussions of new SEC regulation, accounting changes and strategies for dealing with risk in organizations and industry. Keynotes included a discussion via satellite with U.S. Senator Bob Bennett. Additional presentations included keynotes by Bob Gay of Huntsman-Gay Capital and Lynn Blodgett, CEO of Affiliated Computer Systems, who spoke about company culture and the importance of being a good human while returning value to shareholders.
The Annual Summit Conference has featured senior management from the SEC, Nasdaq, PCAOB, CALSTERS and ISS, as well as leading industry executives and even a few controversial figures such as now-disbarred plaintiff’s class-action lawyer Bill Lerach. At the Summit, directors and officers of public or nearly public companies meet to receive updates on legal, financial, regulatory and business trends so that they can focus on their responsibilities in their professional roles.
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share with our clients and partners. This year, we chose Free – The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson as our firm’s 2009 Book of The Year.
