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It is not uncommon to hear a complaint from a news subject that the article attacking the subject appeared on page 1, but the correction appeared in the back of the book hidden under the classified ads! In fact, we sympathize with people who have that kind of fate, since the news can be devastatingly unfair. On the other hand there are publications – and I am proud to say the Insurance Advocate is one of them - who do take reputations and facts seriously and who offer “fair and balanced” presentation. This is not self congratulations—since it is our job—it’s just that the media do not always follow the rule of objectivity. We believe we have done so with respect to Producer Compensation Disclosure, judging from the responses we have received, and we believe that we have been fair in the past in matters such as the undue attack on Mr. Hank Greenberg, on certain issues effecting auto insurers and, of course, in the presentation of court decisions. On September 1st, we presented a cover article explaining the results of a court case affecting insurance agents. The affected parties, after reading the presentation we published, asked that we publish another, contrasting view of the matter, not as a rebuttal per se but as a presentation of the facts as they were viewed by one of the parties. We present this to you on the cover just as the first article was presented in the hope that you will consider both and decide for yourself what there is to be inferred from these two articles. Phil Samuels of Amerisc, a party to the action, wrote to us stating that the findings of the court differ from that implied in the previous article and do not present a new, increased exposure to insurance agents. Amerisc submitted both the underlying and excess claims to the same wholesaler. The wholesaler filed the general liability claim to the underlying carrier but never filed the excess claim despite follow-ups. The court held that Amerisc was responsible for the wholesaler’s lack of performance. The case against Abetta was settled below the primary limits, therefore, Amerisc had no financial responsibility. At very least, we trust you will find it interesting.…Over the past few weeks we have had occasion to visit a number of entities in the Metropolitan area of New York and attended the Hudson Valley I Day, meeting many of our friend of longstanding in the business. One of the most interesting business we met with is Pure Insurance in White Plains whose perspective includes a beautiful overlook of the city of White Plains, one of the most dynamic success stories in New York State in terms of economic development. We met with Mr. Ross Buchmueller and Martin Hartley and learned of their strategy and approach which includes identifying key agents and key locations in the Metropolitan area for their homeowners and other products. This enterprise is a very thoughtful one, very modern in its “feel”, and rather impressively knowledge-driven. The entrepreneurs behind it, who started it in Florida, have moved into New York carefully and are having an impact on the high priced homeowners market. It’s an enterprise to watch.…Had an occasion as well to met Sandy Frame of REEDC. While the name may seem strange—it stands for the Real Estate Education Center—he is now branching into insurance in a big way for licensing and continuing education. The enterprise is based in New York’s garment district but has begun to spread out to other parts of the Metropolitan area. The “Frame” team has a very aggressive schedule set up and should be filling some gaps on the insurance education plain. Another substantial visit was with Jason Murgio of M&A Consulting, the merger and acquisition people, who expressed, in summary, what is happening in the marketplace today as steady and possibly picking up. Murgio’s batting average is way up for closing consolidations of all types and his firm continues to be a good source of statistical data on agency value.