Law firm updates D&O publication

SAN FRANCISCO—Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold L.L.P., in association with the American Bar Assn., has published a second volume of "Directors and Officers Liability Insurance Deskbook." Originally published in 1998, the revised edition discusses existing issues, as well as current topics and cases that reflect the legal changes over the past several years.

The second edition covers several new legal decisions on D&O insurance. The discussion of issues and short synopses of important judicial decisions in various jurisdictions can be used as a resource for D&O claims practitioners, particularly in-house claims examiners.

In addition to an introduction to D&O liability insurance, the book examines policy issuance, insuring agreements, coverage triggers, coverage scope, defense obligations, policy limits and retentions, other insurance clauses, policy exclusions, settlement, allocation, policy termination and nonrenewal, and coverage litigation issues.

The book can be obtained from the ABA, or by visiting the publications section of Sedgwick's Web site at www.sdma.com.

RMS Inc. releases pandemic model

NEWARK, Calif.—Risk Management Solutions Inc. has released the RMS Infectious Disease Model, a probabilistic model for assessing the risk of influenza pandemics across multiple countries.

The RMS model allows life/health insurers and corporate risk managers to quantify mortality and morbidity from nearly 2,000 potential pandemic influenza scenarios. It takes into account factors such as likelihood of the pandemic occurring, infectiousness and lethality of the pandemic, demographic impact, location of outbreak, pandemic life cycle, vaccine production and national countermeasures. The model covers 31 countries.

The model is designed to assist both life/health insurers and corporate risk managers in managing their influenza pandemic risk. Insurers can incorporate detailed analyses of their specific portfolio, allowing the unique characteristics of their respective policyholders to play a role in the risk assessment process.

Similarly, the model also allows corporate risk managers to understand the operational impact and estimated economic loss associated with a full range of influenza pandemic scenarios at the company-specific level, such as casualty estimates, calculation of work days lost due to staff sickness, and calculation of days lost due to staff caretaker duties.

The RMS Infectious Disease Model provides a platform allowing RMS clients to model other types of infectious diseases that pose a risk of catastrophic proportions.

For more information, contact Derek Blum, vp, emerging risk models, at 510-565-8525, or by e-mail at derek.blum@rms.com.

Resolution Health launches drug-safety program

COLUMBIA, Md.—Resolution Health Inc., a provider of targeted member and physician messaging services based on analysis of patient data, has launched RxSafety Alerts, a drug-safety program that notifies physicians on a daily basis about potentially dangerous drug-drug and drug-disease interactions, as well as abnormal laboratory test results that may indicate a need to adjust drug use and dosing.

The service, which is offered to health plans and large employers, analyzes prescription drug claim feeds from pharmacy benefit managers in conjunction with historical medical services, prescription drug claims and lab test results for a particular patient.

When RHI identifies a risk of a potentially serious adverse drug reaction, the company sends an electronic alert to a nurse or pharmacist, who then contacts the prescribing physician regarding the drug safety issue.

For more information, contact Columbia, Md.-based RHI's Vp Dan Heneghan at 240-295-1410, or at dheneghan@resolutionhealth.com.

XL enhances D&O policy

HAMILTON, Bermuda—XL Insurance (Bermuda) Ltd., a subsidiary of XL Capital Ltd., has enhanced its directors and officers insurance policy that is specifically tailored for U.S. publicly traded companies with worldwide exposures.

The program, A PLUS D&O Advantage, provides primary coverage or excess and difference-in-conditions coverage above an existing D&O liability policy. The revamped policy includes new features, such as the elimination of the exclusions section, coverage for extradition costs, and the provision of blanket coverage for outside directorships of nonprofit and privately owned for-profit entities. These new features are in addition to the coverage already available under XL's existing A PLUS D&O products.

For more information, visit www.xlinsurance.com.