Welcome to the new “CABAdvantage Bits & Pieces”.  We have worked hard at CAB to be the “go to” place for all motor carrier information.  Utilizing the wealth of data provided by CAB gives you the advantage that you need to operate successfully. We want you to have the CABAdvantage!  We created a new logo to go with the “new and improved” CAB.  We would love to know what you think.  There is a $50 gift certificate for the first person to e-mail us and correctly explain what this logo signifies! E-mail Mark Schweber with your entry.

Our new website is www.cabadvantage.com (we recommend that you save it to your favorites) and our email suffix has been changed from @cabfinancial.com to @cabadvantage.com.  But don’t worry – using our old website and email addresses will still get you where you need to be until you update your records.

A great time was had by all at the IMUA annual meeting in Chicago. Although it was a bit brisk weather wise, it was great to connect with everyone again and to let Tiana Cain finally meet all of the people that I have talked about.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by our table to meet her. I, as you would expect, never sat at the table – there are just too many people to talk to and not enough time.  A special acknowledgement goes out to Frank Oleskiewicz who received the first Lifetime Achievement Award from the IMUA.  Frank has been an asset to the industry and it has been my great pleasure to work with him on the transportation committee these many years.  The award could not have gone to a better candidate.

This month I will be speaking at the IMUA Great Lakes Advisory Meeting in Ohio together with Mike Guthrie of GenRe, so plan a frolicking and fun-filled afternoon discussing carriers, brokers, and warehouseman and their insurance needs.   You can register for the program, in Ohio, at the IMUA website at www.imua.org.

As a much loved godson leaves to serve in Afghanistan this Memorial Day it reminds me once again to be thankful to all of those who serve and protect our country.  So to all of our service members, both now and in the past, we salute you and wish you well this Memorial Day holiday.

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This has been a busy month. It was fun catching up with some of you at the AAIS annual meeting and addressing the continued need for financial underwriting of motor carriers in the post BMC-32 world.  Financial underwriting remains as critical a part of the underwriting process as motor carrier operations diversify.  Underwriters need to ensure that they are aware of the risk they are undertaking and pricing it correctly. We are happy to talk to you about it if you would like information on the subject. I also had the opportunity to speak at the IMUA Midwest Regional meeting this month and meet many old and new friends and discuss these very topical issues.

I am heading out to Dallas this week to speak at the National Truck and Heavy Equipment Claims Council meeting to assist that notable organization in making sure that the industry has adjusters who can properly handle the complexity of cargo claim work.  Anyone interested in becoming a member can take a look at their website at www.nthecc.org.  They would also be pleased to provide you with their most current book containing information on licensed adjusters in this field. If you would like a copy, simply e-mail jreverette@everetteclaims.com and they would be happy to send you one.

The IMUA annual meeting is coming up quickly and we look forward to seeing many of you in Chicago. This year I will be joined by Tiana Cain, who will have a table in the vendor area so that she can meet all of you and show you all of the new items which you should be using on a daily basis as you underwrite your risks. Stop by the table and say hello.  You won’t be disappointed.

This month we report:

INSURANCE SCAM – A California licensed insurance agent, Paul Daniel Cornejo, has been arrested and charged with collecting premiums from long-haul carriers and never actually obtaining the policies. His company apparently serviced the Inland Empire area under the name Tatemas Truck Insurance Services and Royal Insurance Group Services, Inc.

TRUCK ACCIDENT REPORTS – The DOT has announced that the number and rate of traffic fatalities in 2010 fell to the lowest levels since 1949.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) early projections, the number of traffic fatalities fell three percent between 2009 and 2010, from 33,808 to 32,788. Since 2005, fatalities have dropped 25 percent, from a total of 43,510 fatalities in 2005. They also project that the fatality rate will be the lowest recorded since 1949, with 1.09 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from the 1.13 fatality rate for 2009. The decrease has even greater significance when we recognize an estimated increase of nearly 21 billion miles in national vehicle miles traveled. A regional breakdown showed the greatest drop in fatalities occurred in the Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska, where they dropped by 12 percent. Arizona, California and Hawaii had the next steepest decline, nearly 11 percent. You can view the NHTSA’s latest statistical projections of traffic fatalities in 2010, including regional estimates here.

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