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Jun30
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According to a press release on www.24-7pressrelease.com many Brits are inspired by summer time athletic events such as Wimbledon, World Cup and Golf to propel them to spend money on equipment and join sporting clubs.
A figure of 4.65 billion pounds spent this year on sports and fitness is enough to catch anyone’s attention. Most of the athletic participation occurs throughout the year with swimming, keeping fit, cycling, pool and snooker.
A representative from Barclays Insurance recommends the active ones take out a “special sports insurance package to supplement our household insurance which will provides extended cover for sports equipment including theft and accidental damage during use and even covers customers against the costs of an unusable club membership should they suffer an injury that prevents them from taking part in club activities.”
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Jun30
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Good drivers and responsible homeowners are being rewarded in Flint and Detroit Michigan by four undisclosed insurance companies who wish to bid to represent a pool of up to 200,000 aforementioned drivers and homeowners. An article in insurancejournal.com reported these...
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This week proved to be a busy one in the insurance scamming/fraud business. They kept piling up as the week went on. Even a police officer could not keep his hands out of the insurance candy jar this week. Montana...
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The California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi on Thursday approved an 18% decrease in homeowner and renter premium rates by the Hartford Company according to a press release on www.insurance.ca.gov. This marks the start of what appears to be a general...
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The looming 4th of July celebration always brings out some not so well prepared amateur fireworks users/abusers. In light of this trend, “the Michigan Association of Insurance Agents is reminding everyone that extreme caution is needed over the 4th of...
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Jun29
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Don’t count out insurers interest in the World Cup games as fans and business interests. Some of the top players are insured for “tens of millions of dollars by clubs looking to protect their most prized assets - their players...
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A study released yesterday by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a global human capital consulting firm, shows a “vast majority of employers are planning to curtail their retiree medical plans for current and future retirees in the next five years.” The study...
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I was shocked to read an article on www.2theadvocate.com about wreckage on the Gulf Coast, enough to stack 2 miles high onto a football field, not yet being cleaned up ten months after the hurricanes. Side note, how do they...
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The Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA) has announced its desire to begin an “advanced retirement income planning educational program designed to convey the specialized knowledge financial advisors must acquire if they are to succeed in the coming income distribution era”...
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The human capital consulting organization of Aon Corporation, Aon Consulting, conducted a nationwide survey of 434 employers regarding Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHP) and released the results on their website www.aon.com. Currently 28 percent offer a CDHP compared to 22...
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Jun28
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A commissioner on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission warned “members of the National Association for Variable Annuities (NAVA) need to take the consumer protection provision in the group’s mission statement seriously” according to nationalunderwter.com. The commissioner Annette Nazareth commented,...
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Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri vetoed legislation that would have given RI drivers 24 hours to produce proof of insurance after they are stopped by a police officer or involved in an accident. This legislation does not make any sense...
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In a stroke of unprecedented charity Warren Buffet, founder of Berkshire Hathaway, has decided to give $31 billion of his personal fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. You can read several articles about this gift on forbes.com, nationalunderwriter.com...
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Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed legislation this week to help make Florida’s communities safer from methamphetamines and meth labs and also to reign in auto insurance fraud. You can read the full press release on www.fldfs.com.House Bill 1325 “authorizes the...
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Nationalunderwriter.com reported on a letter from lawmakers is “asking a federal group studying the terrorism insurance marketplace to consider the lack of a reinsurance market for terrorism coverage and other obstacles preventing carriers from assuming terrorism risk.”The letter was sent...
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Jun27
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A consumer alert on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) talks about the importance of understanding how to purchase a discount health card. Please take the time to read the consumer alert in its entirety on www.naic.org. First of...
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An auto and homeowners insurance company based in Des Moines Iowa, GuideOne Insurance is offering insurance for faithful churchgoers according to insurancejournal.com. The company has been offering the auto and homeowners policy FaithGuard, with specific benefits for churchgoers, for a...
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If you have been following this year’s World Cup you probably are aware of the serious injury to Michael Owen of the English national team in a first round game versus Sweden. When you are dealing with a 26 year...
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Although I have never been to New York, which is going to change in about two months, I had the impression it was a generally dangerous place. Not according to a recent Preliminary Crime Report for 2005 from the FBI...
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A battle is brewing between the World Trade Center (WTC) insurers and the governors of New York and New Jersey and the mayor of New York City. Nationalunderwriter.com reported threats directed towards the WTC insurers were made by the politicians...
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Jun26
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The North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman announced last week a $148,874 compliance settlement according to a press release on www.state.nd.us. This settlement affects 25 North Dakota Universal Underwriters Insurance Company policyholders.The refunds will range from as little as $2...
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It is always great to hear of insurance companies giving back to the community. Here are a few making a difference in their communities. A New York Life affiliated foundation will be giving $60,000 to the Coalition for the Homeless,...
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According to nationalunderwriter.com seniors like the new Medicare Part D drug program but are having some issues with understanding the new plan. This does not come as too much of a surprise with all the options offered to Medicare beneficiaries. ...
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A 2 percent surcharge on all property insurance policies has been approved in Florida following the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons as reported on insurancejournal.com. This surcharge is to help cover outstanding claims for one of Florida’s largest property insurers,...
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A settlement of $2.4 million from the Aon Corp. will be distributed among 9,500 insurance clients in Washington as reported on the Washington Insurance Department website insurance.wa.gov. This restitution was part of an agreement signed by Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike...
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Jun25
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If you live anywhere except the United States chances are the World Cup is beaming from every television set and the main topic of discussion. A writer for Sports Illustrated Aditi Kinkhabwala is a major soccer fan and is having...
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Nationalunderwriter.com reported Florida Governor Jeb Bush this past week signed into law a bill regarding new restrictions on the way long-term care insurance is sold in Florida. This new law “will restrict insurers from contesting any LTC insurance application more...
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This past Thursday the U.S. House voted 269-156 for passage of a new estate tax bill according to nationalunderwriter.com. This new bill would increase the estate tax exemption to $5 million per individual, or $10 million for a married couple...
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The New York superintendent of insurance Howard Mills is using the TV airwaves to distribute his message about fake insurance according to nationalunderwriter.com. Mills was propelled to compile the educational video in light of a probe into a phony insurance...
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Jun24
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The World Cup is center stage for the most popular sport on the planet and also a potential catastrophe for soccer/football/futbol clubs throughout the world. The president of Fédération Internationale De Football Association (FIFA) Sepp Blatter says, “soccer's governing body...
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Tom Gallagher, Florida State Fire Marshal, wants to provide information to citizens about the signs and dangers of methamphetamine manufacturing according to a press release on www.fldfs.com. Gallagher was quoted saying, “Meth labs have been found in rural, city and...
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A few feet make a big difference when riding a motorcycle in New Hampshire this past week. The 83rd annual Laconia Bike Week started off on the wrong foot with a deadly accident involving 7 motorcyclists and a Jeep Cherokee...
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A new $2 million fund was established by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation this past week in order to help facilitate growth within the insurance industry as reported on insurancejournal.com. This fund will help “defray company costs associated with numerous...
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Florida’s Department of Financial Services this past week released their Top 10 Fraud List of the costliest or boldest securities, financial and insurance fraud scams investigated by the department’s Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF) and resulting in convictions in the...
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Jun23
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Another record dividend is being paid by the Louisiana Workers Compensation Corporation (LWCC) to qualifying policyholders as reported on lwcc.com. This years $19.6 million dividend surpasses last years $15.8 million that LWCC returned to policyholders last year.This year marks the...
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The Santa Rosa district office for the California State Compensation Insurance Fund has raised around $50,000 during the past decade for different charities according to insurancejournal.com. The donations from the State Fund “helped the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County bring...
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An amazing auto collision ring in Southern California involves hundreds of people, from the perpetrators to the victims. The amount of people recruited for this fraud is shocking as is the detail and planning it took to set-up these “accidents.” ...
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An interesting editorial article by Linda Koco on nationalunderwriter.com brings up the subject of whether advisors should request that income and estate planning clients over 70 should bring someone to the meetings? Many advisors do request the presence of a...
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One of the worlds largest insurance and financial services groups Aegon N.V. has agreed to acquire 49% of a Mexican life insurance company according to a press release on aegon.com. The insurance company Seguros Argos S.A. de C.V., Mexico City...
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Jun22
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We here in the U.S. are not only way behind on catching World Cup fever but we certainly do not have a website like this, fco.gov.uk, preparing us for the World Cup. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Of England...
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A phone survey commissioned by MetLife Mature Market Institute and conducted by Zogby International explored whether grandparents were contributing financially to their grandchildren’s education, and grandparent’s attitudes toward their children’s child rearing practices” according to the publication on metlife.com. Over...
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A Senate-backed plan to alleviate some insurance hikes in Louisiana was rejected by that states House of Representatives claiming, “the money would be better set aside for potential emergencies” according to insurancejournal.com.A spending bill, House Bill 1208, was amended by...
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A critical decision was reached for the approval of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to borrow $2.8 billion to back up insurers during the hurricane season according to insurance journal.com. Following Hurricane Andrew this fund was created to provide reinsurance,...
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An announcement was made regarding 20 winners of renewable $1,000 scholarship awards from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin based General Casualty Insurance Companies according to a news release on generalcasualtycompanies.com. The scholarship program was created “four years ago to reward talented students,...
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Jun21
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The Governor of Virginia Timothy M. Kaine this week signed a General Assembly bill allowing small businesses to collectively purchase health insurance using health insurance pools according to a press release on the Governors website. This bill defines small business...
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An international research and consulting firm, The Customer Respect Group, conducted for the sixth time a study of insurance firms. This study analyzes corporate performance from an online customer’s perspective by assigning a Customer Respect Index (CRI) rating for each...
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This past week the U.S. Supreme Court came to a split decision in the case of Howard Delivery Service Inc. v. Zurich American Ins. Co. The decision was a ding to the armor of the insurance industry “with a ruling...
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An annual survey conducted by Q & A Research and commissioned by Great-West Healthcare revealed some interesting consumer attitudes toward healthcare. The purpose for this survey was to “gauge public attitudes about the health care system, consumer-driven health care and...
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A large insurer Nationwide Financial Services Inc. is looking to merge its current Nationwide Federal Credit Union affiliate into a transformed banking unit, Nationwide Bank according to a press release on nationwide.com. This merger will pay “$79 million for the...
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Jun20
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There will be a significant rate decrease for most earthquake insurance policies in California issued by the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) according to insurancejournal.com. An average decrease of 22.1 percent is projected.This decrease will affect approximately 85% of CEA policyholders...
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If you are not a rabid soccer/football/futbol fan then you might not be familiar with the omnipresent World Cup trophy. This 36cm, 18 carat gold trophy is the most sought after trophy in the world of sports and apparently covered...
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A seminar organized by Prudential Financial Inc. revealed the results of a survey focused on women and financial knowledge. According to nationalunderwriter.com the results indicated the need for financial services companies to do more to help women prepare for the...
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This July 16-19 in Chicago more than 20 senior executives of leading insurance companies will meet for the 42nd annual International Insurance Society (IIS) seminar according to nationalunderwriter.com. The meeting will address important insurance issues related to regulation, risk management,...
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Hewitt Associates, a global human resources services company, released a press release on their website regarding HMO cost projections for 2007. This data reveals an increase of 11.7% for HMO costs in 2007 “representing the fourth consecutive year of declining...
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Jun19
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The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) releases consumer alerts from time to time. The following partial list from naic.org is a great source of information to prepare for storms. These tips should be put to use by all people...
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As I mentioned in a recent post English football clubs are asking for compensation from FIFA for injured players in this years FIFA World Cup. Liverpool F.C., an English football powerhouse, has a very vocal coach, Rafael Benitez, who said,...
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In a press release on the Mississippi Insurance Department website Commissioner of Insurance George Dale states an astronomical number for Hurricane Katrina and Rita related claims. Over $10 billion in hurricane related claims have been paid out as of June...
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The Kansas Department of Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger has recently announced a statewide insurance campaign called “InsureU” as reported on insurancejournal.com. This program will start on June 20, will be several months long and include Praeger making stops in various...
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Larry Silverstein is the current leaseholder for the World Trade Center and was seeking money from insurance companies to pay his legal fees incurred from the September terrorist attacks according to insurancejournal.com. The presiding judge Alkin K. Hellerstein stated, “it...
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Jun18
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Based on new research from PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. only around “8 percent of Medicare beneficiaries will fall into the coverage gap for prescription drug benefits” as reported on nationalunderwriter.com. Those who signed up for Medicare Part D this year are not...
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An American International Group (AIG) Midwest office was burglarized recently according to nationalunderwrite.com. Computer equipment was stolen with personal data of over 930,000 individuals. This data consisted of “names, social security numbers and perhaps some medical information on employees of...
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According to nationalunderwriter.com a report from Celent shows life agents are embracing technology and looking for different ways to use that technology. Within the insurance industry the property-casualty sector has been the recipient of most of the technology initiatives from...
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The Principal Financial Group has released results from their Principal Financial Well-Being Index indicating, “more than half of workers (59%) now agree that employees should be automatically enrolled into their 401(k) retirement plan and a standard deferral rate step up...
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According to a research report by AARP, baby boomers might not be inheriting the amount of money initially expected. As a whole only one-fifth of boomer households have received inheritances and around 15 percent are expecting to receive an inheritance. ...
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Jun17
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Lloyds of London is one of the premier insurers of World Cup players and players in leagues throughout the world according to an article on Lloyds.com. While soccer players are representing their countries in this years FIFA World Cup in...
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In Arkansas 1998 two babies 16 month old Vicky Crisp and 4 month old Sidney Pippin were left unattended in hot weather in a car with the windows rolled up. The insurancejournal.com reported these two babies died as a result...
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New Jersey Citizens United Reciprocal Exchange (NJCURE) is a not-for-profit reciprocal exchange offering competitive auto insurance policies. If you live in New Jersey and are looking for alternatives to for profit auto insurance companies then NJCURE could be the answer.Founded...
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When claims staff are on the ground in a disaster like Hurricane Katrina they need support through education of the media, regulators and other interested parties. Nationalunderwriter.com reported from the ACE claims conference in New Orleans a State Farm claim...
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A heated debate is underway in New Jersey addressing the use of certain underwriting criteria by insurers as reported in nationalunderwriter.com. A major insurer GEICO is using job and education status to underwrite personal lines of insurance in New Jersey. ...
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Jun16
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At the ACE claims conference the chairman of the National Insurance Crime Bureau spoke about defeating insurance fraud with greater collaboration among insurers according to nationalunderwriter.com. Worldwide insurance fraud is an $80 billion force with $30 billion in property-casualty fraud...
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The ultimate in sporting events is upon us, the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. What would the World Cup be without a mention of insurance? The World Cup would be a potential disaster according to the amount of coverage...
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This week has some disturbing and ridiculous scams ranging from Murder to your basic fraud. One woman claiming she was making millions of dollars as an incredibly successful gambler while she was just diverting insurance checks into her personal account. ...
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Between 1995 and 2005 legal claims have more than doubled to $575 million in New York City according to insurancejournal.com. The cost for legal claims in 1995 was $265 million.New York City settled some of the following complaints; personal injury,...
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Insurance claims professionals filling up three buses toured the destruction left by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans this week according to nationalunderwriter.com. Thomas Brown a resident of Gretna La. and victim of Katrina is putting on the tour. Brown is...
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Jun15
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A new Illinois state program, All Kids, offering free or low-cost health insurance to all children is being besieged with complaints regarding the success of the plan and the ads promoting the program according to insurancejournal.com. These criticisms are coming...
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The amount of people in North Carolina under the age of 65 without health insurance is an astonishing 1.3 million according to insurancejournal.com. This staggering number has motivated the North Carolina General Assembly this year to look for ways of...
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Consumers can be happy about a new path being taken by Aetna Inc. in regards to educating consumers. Aetna will be exposing “the actual costs of health care and the clinical quality and efficiency of physicians” according to nationalunderwriter.com. This...
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The Consumer Federation of America, consumerfed.org, conducted a survey about mutual fund investing and whether professional advice was put to use or not. The findings showed many mutual fund investors are not utilizing common suggestions from financial professionals about purchasing...
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This years Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) annual meeting in San Diego began with a call for strategies to apply towards challenges facing life insurance professionals as reported on nationalunderwriter.com. Some of those challenges include competition, regulation and increased consumer...
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Jun14
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Luckily for Apple Computer Inc. they have very deep pockets. A $100,000 fine was levied against Apple for selling service contracts in Washington without first registering as a service contract provider according to the Washington Insurance Department website, insurance.wa.gov. Washington...
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An uninsured motorist law went into effect in Washington that was named after an accident victim named Ethel Adams according to insurancejournal.com. Not too surprisingly Adams was a victim of road rage. An uninsured driver intentionally hit Adams car. Adams...
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A report released by the insurance brokerage firm Aon gave a number of potential risks facing this year’s FIFA World Cup as reported by nationalunderwriter.com. Some of these risks include terrorism, uneven insurance coverage for players and injuries to players...
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The American Council of Life Insurers hailed an important piece of legislation passed today by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in a news release. This legislation called, “Military Personnel Financial Services Protection Act” helps protect abuse of policy sales to...
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An Oklahoma law from the 1990’s intended to “catch uninsured motorists instead has caused mostly innocent Oklahomans to have their drivers' licenses suspended - and in many cases, they don't even know it's happened” as reported in insurancejournal.com. The percentage...
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Jun13
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Yesterday Tropical Storm Alberto began its assault on Florida with National Hurricane Center forecasters watching the storm closely. As reported in insurancejournal.com the forecasters were uncertain about the potential strength of Alberto on Monday night and if it would rise...
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In October of 2003 a married couple were involved in an auto accident caused by an uninsured driver. The South Dakota Supreme Court ruled the couple can collect from two insurance policies, their own and a policy covering the vehicle...
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A bill to cut state insurance premium tax by half in New Hampshire was recently passed and awaits the Governors signature as reported on insurancejournal.com. Governor John Lynch is supportive of the bill. The bill will “cut the state's two...
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The numbers have come in for Medicare Part D sign-ups following the May 15 deadline. Over 2 million people signed up bringing the total enrollment to over 90% of Medicare beneficiaries as reported in nationalunderwriter.com. Including the new enrollees the...
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An insurance lawsuit has produced an order from a Tampa, Florida federal judge for attorneys to play “rock, paper, scissor” in order to settle a dispute according to insurancejournal.com. The dispute is over “a location to take the sworn statement...
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Jun12
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This years’ annual meeting of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) has packed in the attendees from all over the world as reported in nationalunderwriter.com. With over 7100 people attending from countries all over the globe this year should prove...
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The Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry signed a bill expanding health insurance coverage to small businesses and their employees as reported by insurancejournal.com. The program named, “Insure Oklahoma” was passed in 2004 to “provide government subsidies to businesses with up to...
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PEMCO Insurance conducted a poll in Washington about the frequency of purchasing rental car insurance according to their website pemco.com. Results “showed one out of five Washington drivers might be wasting money by purchasing the additional Collision Damage Waiver (CDW).” ...
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LIMRA International reported a first quarter increase in new annualized premiums by 15% of individual life insurance sales over the first quarter of 2005 according to nationalunderwriter.com. Even though the premiums increased the amount of policies sold stayed the same...
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Two insurance giants are helping a pair of community organizations expand their organizations to help more people according to nationalunderwriter.com. MetLife has awarded Big Brothers and Big Sisters (BBBS) with a $1million grant “to expand the charitable organization’s program connecting...
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Jun11
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Sinclair Insurance Co. Ltd., an Australian company, has been caught “selling amusement ride and professional liability insurance products in Kentucky without a certificate of authority from the state” as reported on the Kentucky Office of Insurance (KOI) website, doi.ppr.ky.gov. An...
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A poll was conducted at Standard & Poor’s 23rd annual insurance conference in New York for around 100 property-casualty and life executives according to nationalunderwriter.com. One of the main questions in the poll was the single biggest risk impacting the...
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Legislation repealing a motorcycle helmet law was passed in the Michigan state House this past week as reported in insurancejournal.com. This repeal will now land on Governor Jennifer Granholm’s desk for her signature. The Governor does not support the repeal...
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If you are between 21-37 years old are you contributing to your work retirement plan? An analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found around 37% of all workers aged 21-30 participate in a retirement plan at work according to...
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Apparently cigarettes can be made with extra fire protections to help prevent fires caused by smoldering or unattended cigarettes as reported in insurancejournal.com. Several states including New York, Vermont, California and Illinois already have similar laws on the books. These...
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Jun10
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One of the larger insurance and financial services companies Nationwide began a corporate volunteer program with the On Your Side Volunteer Network. In a press release on nationwide.com over 33,000 employees of Nationwide will be able to “search for volunteer...
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The contentious estate tax issue and whether to repeal or come to a compromise will not reach the Senate floor as reported in nationalunderwriter.com. The estates tax repeal bill H.R. 8 only needed 60 votes to advance but barely missed...
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has some great resources on their website, fema.gov, including taking precautionary measures for an earthquake. This is a helpful list if you live in an earthquake prone area and/or do not have earthquake insurance. ...
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A survey conducted by U.S. Trust of New York found the majority of wealthy investors put integrity first when choosing a financial advisor according to nationalunderwriter.com. Those surveyed included Americans with incomes of $325,000 or net worth greater than $5.9...
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A gay civil rights law will be instituted next week following the attempted canceling of the law through voter signatures according to insurancejournal.com. This law “adds ‘sexual orientation’ to a state law that bans discrimination in insurance, housing, employment and...
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Jun 9
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Not too much of a surprise this week except for the former chief financial officer at Ohio’s $15 billion fund for injured workers. I don’t know why he thought he could get away with what he did but alas he...
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Some insurance agents rely heavily on leads while others rarely if ever use purchased leads. If you are a new insurance agent you might be more open to using leads to build your book of business. Either way I will...
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Prudential Equity Group has been fined $850,000 for failing to supervise internal electronic mail adequately as reported in nationalunderwriter.com. A hearing panel from the New York Stock Exchange Inc. sanctioned this fine against the Prudential Equity. Prudential Equity is a...
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The insurance and financial giant American International Group (AIG) is lending a hand to the Indonesian people affected by the devastating May 27 earthquake. AIG will be donating $1 million towards the relief efforts in Indonesia according to mostchoice.com. This...
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A new professional group for life insurance agents and other advisors who cater to a wealthy clientele was formed recently according to nationalunderwriter.com. This group was named the Wealth Advisor Institute and will be based in Washington. The group plans...
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Jun 8
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I found this small article, buying homeowners insurance, on the Connecticut Insurance Department website, www.ct.gov. It has some great tips about the reasons for purchasing homeowners insurance and how much to buy. Why Buy Homeowners Insurance?Owners: to protect both your...
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The insurancejournal.com reported 5 percent of drivers in South Carolina have suspended or revoked licenses. The amount of drivers with suspended licenses come to more than 156,000 creating a problem for the rest of the licensed drivers. Drivers with suspended...
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The Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry signed legislation for improving boating safety requirements to protect young Oklahomans according to a press release. Oklahoma becomes the 44th state to require boating safety education for teens and children. I am shocked all...
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Allstate has decided to stop covering earthquakes starting immediately. This announcement in nationalunderwriter.com follows a previous decision to halt offering coverage for hurricanes in many hurricane vulnerable areas. Over 350,000 earthquake insurance policyholders will not be able to renew their...
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If you happen on flying over New Orleans anytime soon you will notice blue tarps covering many rooftops nine months after Hurricane Katrina. This fact is especially disturbing considering the hurricane season began June 1. The blue tarps were given...
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Jun 7
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The results of an online poll conducted by Harris Interactive of 2,085 adults revealed, “a large majority of drivers with cell phones still talk on the cell phone and drive at the same time” according to insurancejournal.com. Not a big...
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CRC Insurance Services, a wholesale insurance broker, is being sued in a sexual harassment suit for $50 million by a former managing director, Constance Callan according to nationalunderwriter.com. Callan is claiming inappropriate behavior consisting of offensive comments and behavior of...
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The insurance giant Allstate has settled a racial discrimination class action suit that was filed in U.S. District Court, Western Division of Texas San Antonio division of 2001 according to nationalunderwriter.com. “Seven individual Allstate customers seeking to represent a nationwide...
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Does your employer offer post-retirement health benefits? Are you convinced those benefits will be available upon reaching retirement? According to an article on nationalunderwriter.com “U.S. employees are resigned to the idea that employer offers of post-retirement health benefits are full...
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As I’m sure you already know the state of Massachusetts passed a law that all citizens must obtain health insurance by July 1, 2007. The first study of the details of the proposed plan was released from Massachusetts Governor Mitt...
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Jun 6
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I came across this compilation of tornado information on the Insurance Information Institute website www.iii.org. I never knew the actual definition of a tornado until reading this page: A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from...
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This article is from insurancejournal.com: Laptop computers with personal information on 72,000 Ohio Medicaid recipients were stolen from a private managed care agency in Ohio, according to an Associated Press account.Officials with Buckeye Community Health Plan notified authorities that four...
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Florida Governor Jeb Bush vetoed legislation for a two-year extension of the no-fault auto insurance law. This veto was strongly supported by property-casualty industry lobbyists because the legislation did not contain enough language to properly reform the system according to...
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The Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry recently signed into law that all cities and towns in the state must develop emergency evacuation plans reported the insurancejournal.com. Senator Kenneth Corn introduced this Senate bill in preparation of a potential large-scale disaster...
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The Hispanic/Latino population of Florida has grown tremendously over the years. Florida’s Department of Financial Services has taken the lead in serving the Spanish speaking population by introducing their consumer website in Spanish according to a press release on www.fldfs.com. ...
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Jun 5
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The South Carolina House of Representatives voted this past week to raise minimum auto insurance coverage requirements in the state according to nationalunderwriter.com. Many in the property/casualty insurance sector opposed this vote because “the number of uninsured drivers in the...
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Mississippi set a record with more than $5 million worth of payment from 3,600 plus claims according to insurancejournal.com. These claims were paid out between Jan 1 and April 30 of this year and constitue the largest property and casualty...
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The Mississippi Insurance Department has posted a consumer alert on their website, www.doi.state.ms.us, focusing on helping small businesses from becoming victims of health insurance fraud. The alert explains “small businesses have been a frequent target of fake insurance scams since...
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In an amazing statement of equality for Indiana state employees certain Democratic Senators made a decision not to accept lifetime taxpayer-subsidized health insurance during their retirement as reported on insurancejournal.com. This stance was voiced in a letter from Senate Majority...
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A subsidiary of Argonaut Group Inc., Grocers Insurance announced its addition of a new program tailored to the needs of the convenience store marketplace according to insurancejournal.com. This new program will be offered in all states except Alaska, Florida, Hawaii,...
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Jun 4
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Nationalunderwriter.com conducted an informal poll with readers of their newsletter and website. This poll asked the following question: In general consumers are more informed about long term care insurance (LTC) than they were five years ago? The results of the...
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Effective June 1 low-income good drivers who live in the following counties of California are now eligible for the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program; Contra Costa, Imperial, Kern, Sacramento, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Stanislaus counties. This...
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In a statement released on America’s Health Insurance Plans’ (AHIP) website, www.ahip.org, by the president and CEO of AHIP Karen Ignagni she discussed the adoption of International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 code sets for identifying medical diagnoses and procedures. The...
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The California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced on May 31, www.insurance.ca.gov, that the pure premium rate for workers compensation policies be cut by 16.4% on or after July 1, 2006. This is a result of analysis of the current workers...
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Hurricane season is again upon us and many states are taking all possible preventative measures. I wrote a previous post about preparedness plans in Florida and now Connecticut has joined the battle against Mother Nature. This article is from the...
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Jun 3
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The American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) is a national insurance advisory organization that develops policy forms, manual rules, and rating information for property/casualty companies throughout the US according to aaisonline.com. AAIS has started offering a free trial access to...
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The tenth largest US insurance broker USI Holdings Corp. has decided to join with mymedicalrecords.com to provide online medical record and vital document storage. The press release on USI Holdings website mentions the proprietary technology used to provide a completely...
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GMAC Insurance released the results of their second annual GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test with allegations of a lack of basic driving knowledge among Americans. One in eleven drivers, or almost 18 million people, would fail a state drivers test...
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A measure to allow consumers to freeze access to their credit information has reached the desk of NY Governor George Pataki. Insurers oppose this identity theft measure because the power to freeze access to credit information extends to insurance companies...
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A subsidiary of St. Paul Travelers, Travelers Insurance had a $28.7 million lawsuit filed against them “for breach of contract over its refusal to pay for repairs to St. Charles General Hospital in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane...
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Jun 2
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Legislation has been introduced to help consumers better understand what is not covered under their insurance policy according to nationalunderwriter.com. The legislation called "Honesty is the Best Insurance Policy Act" seeks full disclosure on the first page of insurance policies...
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Information technology professionals are in demand in North America despite the common belief that those jobs have gone abroad according to an article on nationalunderwriter.com. The global chief information officer William Pieroni of Aon Corp. Chicago expressed that need at...
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Have you ever heard of the old slip and fall scam? You fake a fall to sustain an alleged injury in a business and then file insurance claims. Pennsylvania Anti-Fraud unit settled their largest slip and fall ring in that...
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Athenahealth Inc., provider of web-based software, knowledge and services for medical practices and Physicians Practice®, a practice management journal for physicians “released a groundbreaking new perspective on the current rift between health insurers and physicians across the nation.” A new...
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The 2006 ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum introduced some new and updated software development tools according to nationalunderwriter.com. ACORD is a “nonprofit association who facilitates the development and use of standards for the insurance, reinsurance and related financial services industries.” ...
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Jun 1
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The California Healthcare Foundation (CHCF) funded report of the 2003 California Health Interview Survey “provides information to help counties and local health systems identify areas with high rates of chronic conditions and assist them in meeting the needs of chronically...
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Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) a risk management organization will be conducting an online educational symposium from June 19-23. This symposium will be addressing the H5N1 avian influenza virus and the needed local government response to influenza pandemics. This and...
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The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) released their annual Benchmark Survey for 2005 according to nationalunderwriter.com. This survey was released in book form and “can be used as a reference for risk managers for objective insurance market information based...
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I wrote in an earlier post about the New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer coming to an agreement with two large title insurance companies. Now another title insurance company LandAmerica Financial Grooup is facing an investigation by the House Financial...
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Sen. Arlen Specter introduced a revised asbestos bill for “limiting asbestos injury litigation by creating a special $140 billion fund for claimants, nearly a third of it financed by insurers,” according to nationalunderwriter.com. This version replaces previous legislation from earlier...
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