Monthly Archives: March 2011

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The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: 100 Years Later

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100 years ago today, a fire killed 146 factory workers in an event that would be called the deadliest workplace disaster in New York City’s history up until the September 11th terrorist attacks.

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The Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire occurred on March 25, 1911 when a lit cigarette or match (still unclear which) ignited a fire on the 8th floor, which quickly spread to the floors above.

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In all, 146 people died, mostly from jumping to their death from the 8th, 9th or 10th floors of the building as some exits were locked to prevent theft and fire escapes proved broken and useless. Through this tragic event, working conditions in the city’s sweatshops improved and garment workers gained support for unionization. The Triangle Shirtwaist fire “was the major impetus that led to developing occupational health and safety measures, fire prevention efforts and the state-based workers compensation system.”

Only months after the horrific fire, the American Society of Safety Engineers was formed and today, its 32,000 members who manage, supervise and consult on safety, health, and environmental issues in industry, insurance, government and education.

It was “watching those women and children, some of them actually holding hands as they jumped from the building from the ninth floor, knowing they were going to die, but preferring not to burn” that led to creation of workplace safety laws, said Mark Oldham, Richmond, Va.-based executive consultant, risk services department, for Allianz S.E.’s Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co.

A number of publications have run pieces remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire.

Here are a few of the best:

Firefighters battle the blaze at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in downtown Manhattan. 146 people, mostly young female immigrants, lost their lives.

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The Top 25 Property/Casualty Insurance Writers

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No, neither Johnathan Franzen nor myself made the list. We’re talking about the companies that wrote the most business in 2010. Here’s the full list of the top 25 U.S. carriers in terms of net premiums written, according to AM Best.

1. State Farm Group—$50,808,635
2. Allstate Insurance Group—$24,796,656
3. Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos.—$21,483,996
4. Berkshire Hathaway Insurance—$21,358,316
5. Travelers Group—$20,594,458
6. American International Group—$19,687,720
7. Nationwide Group—$14,489,531
8. Progressive Insurance Group—$14,476,676
9. Farmers Insurance Group—$14,129,512
10. USAA Group—$10,679,414
11. Hartford Insurance Group—$9,688,760
12. Chubb Group of Insurance Cos.—$8,927,736
13. CNA Insurance Cos.—$6,188,618
14. American Family Insurance Group—$5,324,290
15. Allianz of America—$4,666,301
16. Auto-Owners Insurance Group—$4,485,442
17. Munich-America Holding Corp.—$4,413,834
18. Zurich Financial Services NA Group—$4,400,123
19. Erie Insurance Group—$4,019,273
20. Ace INA Group—$3,705,475
21. Transatlantic Holdings Inc. Group—$3,418,020
22. W.R. Berkley Group—$3,392,330
23. The Hanover Insurance Group Property & Casualty Cos.—$3,053,508
24. MetLife Auto & Home Group—$2,983,236
25. Cincinnati Insurance Cos.—$2,965,462

Water Risk in the Middle East

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Water scarcity has become a hot topic within the last few years (we ran a feature on the the risk of water scarcity and its effect on businesses in our June 2009 issue). That risk, however, is far greater in certain areas of the world than others. On March 22nd, Maplecroft warned that Middle East and North African (MENA) countries top the list for extreme water security risks, which could lead to further increases in global oil prices and heightened political tensions in the future.

Maplecroft rated 18 countries at “extreme risk” with 15 of those located in the MENA region. Of the 12 organizations of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), six are rated as “high risk.”

“Water security has the potential to compound the already fragile state of societal affairs in some countries,” says Professor Alyson Warhurst, CEO of Maplecroft. “For example, in Egypt water security may intensify the on-going civil tensions. In turn it is not unrelated to food security, which leads to cost of living protests and in turn violent oppression in less democratic societies.”

The report states that technological innovations, such as the desalination of salt water, may alleviate some of these risks. Businesses that require intensive water use (food and beverage, semiconductor manufacturing, etc.) will also need to consider their impacts and analyze options for lessening their reliance on water, especially in regions already experiencing shortages.

Rebuilding Japan May Cost More Than $300 Billion

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According to the office of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the cost of Japan’s rebuilding efforts following the earthquake may exceed $300 billion, which would easily make it the world’s most expensive natural disaster on record. (Hurricane Katrina, with an estimated $125 billion, inflicted the previous-record amount of damage.) There is often a big difference between early estimates and final tolls — particularly estimates coming from those who are directly affected — but the World Bank is also expecting the costs to come in around $250 billion.

Rebuilding after the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami, which ravaged the northeastern coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu, will cost up to $309 billion, Mr. Kan’s office said Wednesday. The World Bank, citing private estimates, said on Monday that the figure could reach $250 billion.

More on the insured loss estimates from the Japanese earthquake can be seen here.