UK BROKERS WELCOME THEFT PROTECT

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In an increasingly competetive motor insurance marketplace, insurance professionals are welcoming Theft Protect, a simple online scheme that provides a like for like replacement vehicle to your customer for up to 28 days, in the event of a theft or write off incident.

Theft Protect is an excellent complimentary add on product for your insurance sales and with motor insurance expected to experience further challenge over the coming months, intermediaries are recognising the importance of maximising the opportunities of each customer, and of added value products the customer actually wants to buy.

With over a million vehicle related thefts and many thousands of vehicles written off every year, there has never been a better time to add Theft Protect to your product portfolio.

Every day we witness the relief and pleasure experiences by Theft Protect customers assisted by the service. To read a few of their experiences click here.

Theft Protect isn't just about providing replacement vehicles for customers in need. For brokers and consumers alike, we provide current information about all aspects of crime in the UK. Naturally, we are particularly keen to provide regular bulletins about car theft hotspots, the most vulnerable vehicles and vehicle security advice from the experts. Our exclusive contacts with the 43 police forces of England and Wales provides us with first hand knowledge of the current and growing "modus operandi" - or means by which criminals steal vehicles. The most popular growing trend by far is Car Key Burglary, where the offender will break into houses solely to steal car keys. We have conducted extensive research and produced a number of revealing reports on the subject. Click here to see a sample article.

IGNORE GOVERNMENT HYPE - WE HAVE THE FACTS!

CAR CRIME IS ON THE INCREASE - CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE . . . .

For more information about how Theft Protect can help your business . . . .

Telephone : 0844 414 2286
E Mail : steve.bennett@nice-1.co.uk
Website : http://www.theftprotect.co.uk/
Twitter : http://twitter.com/niceoneuk
LinkedIn : http://linkedin.com/in/theftprotect

Looking forward to speaking to you soon.

Steve Bennett

Nice 1 Limited
Providers of Theft Protect

Common Sense Sometimes Wins the Day

I thought that perhaps I ought to simply refer you all to an article that I found in one of my networking groups that has such clarity and wisdom that I thought I ought to just pass it on and give the author, John DeGroote, the credit he deserves. John's article is called "Insurance Coverage: 4 Rules and 10 Tips for Policyholders". It appears in his blog called, approrpriately enough, "Settlement Perspectives" (December 15). As long as I am giving him full credit, he acknowledges in his blog post that the concepts for the article came from a longer article that he co-authored called "Bet the Company Litigation from a Policyholder's Perspective" that appearred in the ACC Docket put out by the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Now that I have complied with all of my fair use copyright and attribution obligations, let me just say that the article sounds so much like common sense that you might ask yourself how could anyone think otherwise? But it happens all of the time. Just look at John's tip #3: I can't tell you how often it is that companies fail to give notice often enough: either of "circumstances" (as some policies require), let alone of an actual claim. His practical tips are truly worthy of deep consideration.

I think you will find John's post, and the article from which it comes, worthwhile reading.

Torus Appoints Whiting Senior Treaty Casualty Reinsurance Underwriter

zurich insurance company

Torus, has appointed David Whiting as Senior Casualty Reinsurance Underwriter, with immediate effect. He is based in Bermuda, and takes over responsibility for all of Torus Re's casualty underwriting. Whiting reports directly to Tim Mardon, Torus Re's President and Chief Underwriting Officer.

Whiting was most recently President and CEO of Wind River Reinsurance Company Ltd, Bermuda, where he was responsible for all non-US operations of the group. He has also held senior positions at Swiss Re, Zurich Insurance Group, the Hartford Insurance Group, Tillinghast, Quanta and the Centre Reinsurance Companies.

A mathematics graduate from the University of Waterloo and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Whiting is also a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, the Society of Property and Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) and the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).

Mardon noted Whiting's extensive experience. He indicated that Torus expects the "current competitive trends in the casualty market" to improve, and that the company, would "be in a position to respond. To this end the unit will be making several further key appointments in the near future."

Tools and tips for navigating Medicare open enrollment

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Sometimes it seems as if the raging debate about overhauling health-care insurance is filling all the airwaves. Easily lost in this din is that any reform wouldn't take affect until 2013, but Americans need to take steps today to ensure they're properly covered. For seniors enrolled in Medicare, that means reviewing prescription drug coverage, known as Part D, and so-called Advantage plans, private-insurance alternatives to the government-run plan, if they participate in such programs.

Known as open enrollment, the annual process starts Sunday, Nov. 15, and goes through Dec. 31. As in years past, health-policy experts advise older Americans to not assume that their current plan, which may have worked well this year, will be as effective (or even exist) next year. Further, an existing plan could cost more -- much more -- come January.

Choosing a plan can be daunting. That's because unlike open-enrollment for workers in employer-sponsored plans, which may involve just a handful of choices, seniors literally have dozens of plans from which to choose. "That's why people need to shop -- painful as it is," says Bill Vaughan, health policy analyst at Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports. "It's something people should do each fall."

New data show that shopping during open enrollment saves as much as $2,019 on a package of five common drugs, according to comparisons conducted by CU. Potential savings vary by locale and medication history, so seniors should check new prices.

"Some plans that were good in the past have become pricey bad deals," Vaughan says. "Plans that were so-so before are now big savers." CU notes, for example, in New York state, among 43 plans with comparable data between 2009 and 2010, 28 will go down in total cost, which includes premiums, deductibles and co-pays, and 15 will go up, according to data available at Medicare.gov.

Helpful Resources

The best tool seniors have their at their disposal is the Medicare website, Vaughan says. Seniors who aren't comfortable navigating the Internet may want to enlist the aid of an Internet-savvy youngster. (Seniors can also call 800-Medicare or 800-633-4227.)

Another resource seniors can turn to turn are State Health Insurance Counseling and Assistance Programs, or SHIPS, says Lee Thompson, executive director at Health Assistance Partnership. Consumers can either call the agency in their state for free advice about choosing a plan or set up an in-person meeting, she says.

One scenario seniors should avoid are insurance company-sponsored meetings, typically held at local diners, which offer information about one company's products and offer to enroll attendees in one of those plans. "We call that a sales presentation," Thompson says. More often than not, such gatherings tend to be biased toward the sponsoring insurer's products.

Such meetings shouldn't be confused with seminars sponsored by SHIPS where all insurers are invited to attend and share information. "Those are educational presentations," Thompson says. "Nobody gets enrolled at them, but you would get a cross-section of plan information directly from the plans."

Making the Choices More Obvious

One step the Obama administration has taken to help seniors in making choices is to require insurers to reduce the number of plans that look similar, says Marc Steinberg, deputy director of healthy policy at Families USA, a health-care advocacy organization. For example, if a company offered four or five plans that were hard to tell apart, it has to merge them to create more distinguishable choices, he explains.

"Clearly, over the last several years there have been too many plans in the market," Steinberg says. Choice is a wonderful thing, but when presented with so many offerings, seniors tend to select names most recognizable to them, he adds. "And that's not necessarily in their financial interest."

When it comes to shopping for Medicare plans, CU's Vaughan concedes, it can be downright tedious. "It isn't exactly fun shopping," he says. "It's not like going out and buying new clothes or something for the grand kids." Indeed, it's not -- it can be a matter of ensuring your well being.


Seniors are advised to protect themselves against high-pressure and misleading sales tactics as annual enrollment gets underway. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind, provided by the New York State Insurance Department:

* Unsolicited contacts are improper: Federal regulations prohibit insurance agents from contacting customers without express invitation. This includes door-to-door sales, unsolicited emails and phone calls.
* Ask a relative or friend to be with you: Selecting an insurance policy can be a complicated process for anyone. It's a good idea to have a relative or trusted friend with you whenever you meet with an insurance agent.
* Medicare has no sales agents: Medicare does not send "representatives" to solicit business. Be especially wary of any salesperson who claims to represent the program.
* There's no free lunch: Federal regulations prohibit the offer of a free meal in exchange for listening to a Medicare Advantage sales presentation.
* Read and understand the policy: Seniors considering changing their Medicare Advantage or Medicare Prescription Drug plans should be aware that not all policies are the same. They should carefully consider their needs and how a particular policy would meet those needs, making sure their providers accept the plan prior to enrolling.

The Need for Changes in U.S Health Insurance

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The United States House of Representatives has passed a health care reform bill for the nation. Now, the bill goes before the Senate for debate, modification and passage or rejection. That there is a need for health care reform no one seems to question. However, the nature of the reform is being hotly debated once again, as it has for many years.

The Health Insurance Company, Kaiser Permanente, publishes a monthly newsletter named, KHN, Kaiser Health News. This month, in conjunction with the LA Times, they discussed the serious issue of health care in the United States. What they had to say was sobering indeed. What they pointed out was that there is not much difference between those who are uninsured and those who are.

How is this possible?

The answer is multi faceted. For example, 1. many people who were insured have lost their jobs, throwing into unemployment without any coverage. In other words, they join the ranks of the uninsured.

Those who remain employed or who find new jobs, discover that their coverage is grossly inadequate if they or an immediate family member develops a catastrophic illness. These are people for whom medical bills are covered by their policy only up to an allowable limit. Because medical costs today far surpass that limit, they find themselves quickly in debt as a result of the illness.

I expect some readers to protest that these people should have saved and invested their money so that they could have paid the balance of their bills. The answer is that many of them did just that thing, paid all their medical bills until the bank account was empty with no further ability to pay.

2. Many others are finding themselves caught in the web of co-pays. As the cost of medical treatment has risen, insurance companies have increased the amount of the bill patients are expected to lay out before they will reimburse doctors and hospitals. At one time, a copy pay for an office visit might have been five dollars per visit. Today, many co pays are as high as twenty to thirty dollars per visit. When you add to that the fact that prescription drugs require another co pay, the entire venture becomes quite expensive. If their is a chronic or catastrophic illness, such as cancer, the results can and do ruin peoples financial well being. By that I mean that people in this category find themselves unable to pay their mortgages and find the banks pushing them into foreclosure. Remember, these are not people who speculated when they bought their homes, nor are they people who became trapped by questionable mortgage companies so that they purchased a house they could not afford. The loss of their homes is due to the advent of a serious medical problem and inadequate insurance coverage.

3. Yet another problem is that, the way the medical system works today is that, if someone has been hospitalized for surgery or some other procedure, the doctors who provide these services send their bills after the hospital charges are paid.

The problem is that this catches many families by surprise. Given a hefty bill from the hospital and having their insurance reimburse for the charges, these people believe all their charges have been paid. Suddenly, they begin to receive bills from doctors they never heard of or whom they incorrectly believed, had been paid. These charges often come to thousands of dollars. Like it or not, these patients remain fully responsible.

Will their insurance pay? Not an easy answer. Here is why:

1. The bills from these doctors must be submitted before a deadline set by the insurance company. If the bill fails to be submitted on time, they will not pay.

2. If the doctors are not in the network of the person's insurance company, the insurance company that the patient has may pay part or none of the bill, depending on how their policy is written.

As Kaiser Permanente and the LA Times jointly point out, the problem is not that these people have no insurance. The problem is that they have inadequate insurance.

In my very humble opinion, I believe we need universal health insurance so that every citizen will be able to feel certain that their illnesses will be treated without the threat of being driven into bankruptcy or homelessness.

What is your opinion?

I want to make two final statements:

1. I invite those who agree and disagree, to submit their points of view. In no way am I attempting to impose my views on those who may disagree.

2. I also invite those of our readers who live in other nations to participate in what I hope will be a good discussion. Our audience extends well beyond readers in the U.S. Therefore, I want invite those who live in other nations and have different insurance systems, to discuss their experiences. Many, but not all of these people come from the UK and Canada. U.S. citizens regularly refer to these two countries when discussing the U.S health care crisis. I am not sure that we in the U.S. have an accurate view of what happens there. Of course, there is also France and many other countries that have medical systems that vary from that of ours.

So, I invite everyone to weigh in on this important issue.

Woman sues after insurance company rejects surgery claim, rescinds her policy

insurance company

A Loudon woman is suing Celtic Insurance Co., claiming it dropped her coverage when she needed it the most.

Penny Young says the company rescinded her $360-a-month policy in April, four months after she underwent knee surgery, accusing her of "material misrepresentation" on her original application.

Young, 60, said the company refused to pay the claim and demanded repayment of any previous claims since her individual policy went into effect on May 1, 2008.

The company's actions have resulted in about $20,000 in unpaid claims, Young said, and many, many sleepless nights.

She and her husband worried they would be forced to sell their home to pay the medical bills, Young said, adding that they have charged most of her medical payments to a credit card.

YOUNG

"It was devastating," she said of Celtic's decision to rescind her policy. "All of a sudden they weren't paying the claims. It really came to the point of being scary."

According to Young's attorney, Charles Douglas III of Concord, Celtic was engaging in a practice called post-claim underwriting, which is illegal in some states.

But Celtic wants Young's suit dismissed, saying such underwriting is permissible in New Hampshire. The company was simply abiding by state law, according to a motion filed by Manchester attorney Stephen Judge, who represents the company.

In pleadings filed in Merrimack County Superior Court, Celtic said Young acknowledged making material misrepresentations on her application by not fully disclosing previous medical problems. According to Celtic, Young failed to disclose a medical history that included bone loss, ostopenia of the right hip, degenerative disc disease, anxiety, hemorrhoids, and mild glaucoma.

Douglas said Young didn't disclose some past medical conditions because she wasn't asked for that information.

"None of that has anything to do with her knee surgery," Douglas said.

Young, an office manager, did her best filling out Celtic's online application, trying to decipher medical language on the application, Douglas said.

"(Celtic) didn't ask for it," he said of some of the information on Young's medical history, "and they could have received all the data they wanted prior to underwriting the policy. They should make those decisions before they write a policy, not after a claim is made."

Celtic was happy to take Young's money and give her a health-insurance policy, Douglas said, but once she made a substantial claim, the insurer suspended payment and enlisted the help of a data-mining company to come up with whatever information it could use to justify rescinding the policy.

Delayed request

Douglas said it was more than six months after Young's application was supposedly carefully reviewed by Celtic and coverage was in effect that she received a request to authorize an investigation into her medical records dating back to 2005.

According to Young's suit, Celtic hired Management Research Services, a data-mining company based in Wisconsin, to do the records search.

"The timing and manner of MRS's investigation into Ms. Young's medical history is indicative of the practice of illegal post-claim underwriting. Such an investigation into Ms. Young's medical history should have and could have been done prior to Ms. Young's termination of coverage by Harvard Pilgrim and arrival at Celtic as a new policy holder," Douglas wrote in the suit.

Young switched from Harvard Pilgrim because Celtic offered lower rates on single policies and her employer didn't offer group coverage, Douglas said.

Douglas said state lawmakers are unlikely to try to stop insurance companies from engaging in post-claim underwriting because the companies can contribute to their political campaigns.

"This will be the first case to determine if post-claim underwriting is illegal in New Hampshire," Douglas said.

In post-claim underwriting, Douglas said, an insurer knowingly approves an inflated number of applicants to obtain income from new policy holders whose applications are not properly investigated before their approval. Once insured individuals file claims, he said, the insurer tries to avoid paying, and only then conducts extensive post-claim investigations in search of any reason to rescind the policy.

Insurance companies have every right to examine an applicant's medical history, Douglas said.

"What they can't do is wait until there's a claim, then do data mining to come up with something that is not a fraud, but say, 'You didn't tell us this or that' when it is not a material misrepresentation," he said.

Douglas said he wants a judge to certify Young's lawsuit as a class action in the three states where post-claim underwriting is illegal and Celtic writes policies -- Mississippi, California and Wyoming.

"These are folks in the same situation, namely that they have bought the insurance. They thought they were covered, and then have a claim for something that's more than a sore throat, and that's when (companies) do post-claim underwriting," Douglas said.

New Hampshire law

But according to Celtic's motion to dismiss Young's suit, New Hampshire law is on its side.

"The state Legislature has made a clear policy choice to allow insurers to void insurance contracts within two years of their issuance because of material misrepresentations on applications, and even later in the event of fraudulent misstatements."

The New Hampshire Insurance Department backed Celtic.

"Celtic Insurance Co. obtained medical information "¦ that indicates you received treatment prior to the signing of your enrollment card that was not disclosed, for one or more conditions, that had they known of they would have not provided you health insurance coverage," wrote Barbara Anderson, of the Insurance Department's consumer services division, in a letter to Young dated April 22.

Douglas, a former state Supreme Court judge and U.S. representative, criticized the Insurance Department. "They did what they usually do: that is side with the insurance company," he said.

Douglas accused the department of being too cozy with insurance companies it regulates because they fund the department.

That allegation infuriated Roger Sevigny, the state's insurance commissioner.

"I find these allegations offensive because they call into question the integrity of my dedicated staff," Sevigny said.

The 2007 audit by the Legislative Budget Assistant found the department is effectively providing protection to New Hampshire consumers, Sevigny said.

Overall, the department last year recovered $1,224,338 in restitution on behalf of consumers who filed complaints and imposed $1,113,400 in administrative fines and penalties, he said.

And, he added, the Public Utilities Commission, Pease Development Authority, Banking Department, Highway Safety Department, Employment Security, Fish & Game, and the Sweepstakes Commission also are funded in whole or in part by regulated parties.

Sevigny said federal lawmakers are looking into post-claim underwriting nationwide. If health-care reform passes nationally, he said, post-claim underwriting won't be an issue if insurance companies are required to cover everyone.

Young said that what hurt most about having her policy rescinded was practically being accused of lying on her application, which she filled out in the spring of 2008. It was approved as of May 1, 2008, and she had her knee surgery last December.

"As a born-again Christian, it is so important for me to be totally honest," she said. "I had no intention whatsoever of being misleading."

Her health-care provider, Penacook Family Physicians, sent Celtic a letter supporting Young, saying she was an honest woman with only benign diagnoses that presented no significant health risk.

It didn't help. On April 17, Celtic told Young the company was retroactively terminating her coverage and demanding that she repay $1,639.60 -- the difference between the premiums she paid, $4,331.48, and what the company had paid out to that point, $5,971.08

Young, who has found a new insurance company, said her brush with Celtic Insurance Co., has caused her to be circumspect in talking with health-care providers, fearful anything she says can be used against her in the future.

"It's very upsetting. They (Celtic) are so cold-hearted. They are turning people's lives upside down," Young said.

Reforming health care

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MASSACHUSETTS HAS some of the best doctors, nurses, and other caregivers in the world. Yet our national health care system costs too much and covers too few. Climbing costs put basic coverage beyond the reach of millions. This is economically unaffordable and a moral disgrace.

Promoting affordable, quality health care has been one of my top priorities as attorney general, and it will be a top priority if I serve in the Senate. National efforts should draw on lessons that we have learned in Massachusetts.

The good news is that our reforms here show that it is possible to provide insurance to almost everyone. We have done so by building consensus with the business community, doctors and hospitals, insurers, and most of all, consumers.

Our state’s experience also raises warning signs. While costs for individuals, employers, and the state spiral upward, cost often does not correlate to quality. National reform must tackle the cost crisis up front. The most effective way to lower costs is through competition that a strong public option will provide.

My office has been involved in health care issues - and we’ve gotten results. We reached a historic $17 million settlement with an insurance company that misled consumers and unfairly denied coverage. We have achieved several record national settlements with drug companies for deceptive marketing and sales, recovering tens of millions for individuals and the state. And we have promoted greater transparency regarding quality, costs, and executive compensation.

Here are the key elements on which I’ll focus as a senator:

Strong public option. A strong public insurance plan would provide choice to individuals, expand access, and lower costs by promoting competition.

Preserving women’s rights. The Stupak/Pitts amendment included in the House health care bill represents an unnecessary, significant step back in women’s rights. It violates the very intent of health care reform by severely restricting access to reproductive health services, especially for low-income women. This amendment represents a false choice. We can and must pass meaningful health reform without compromising women’s access to reproductive care.

Consumer protections. With a requirement that all people obtain insurance, federal and state government must enforce strong consumer protection measures. Insurers must not be allowed to deny coverage based on preexisting conditions or make false marketing promises. Being a woman should never be a preexisting condition. In some states, victims of domestic violence are denied coverage, which is reprehensible.

Cost control. Immediate steps to curb costs include reducing preventable hospitalizations, readmissions, and hospital-acquired infections. We should also encourage standardized billing and claims processing to reduce administrative overhead. We need to focus on prevention and develop better models for primary care. We should close the Medicare Part D coverage gap, and help seniors afford the drugs they need.

Payment reform. Federal reform should look aggressively at ways to reshape the incentives that providers face. Our current fee-for-service models reward hospitals for performing more procedures and tests, not for quality. In contrast, models such as global, bundled, or episodic payments encourage integrated care management and reward providers for better outcomes. That said, I will oppose federal funding cuts aimed at our state’s health care providers, which would jeopardize the progress we have made in covering the uninsured.

Protecting Social Security and Medicare. Health care reform will improve the quality of care in Medicare, reduce costs for seniors, and preserve Medicare for future generations. In the Senate, I will support reform that eliminates excessive government subsidies and results in lower out-of-pocket costs on prescription drugs.

Achieving real health reform will take a different kind of leadership than the old partisan fighting we’ve seen in Congress. Massachusetts showed a different kind of leadership in passing health reform three years ago. Senator Ted Kennedy himself was a different kind of leader, and I hope to follow in his footsteps, and work to bring real reform to health care.

Martha Coakley is attorney general.

Unico Reports Q3 Financial Results

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Unico American Corporation (Unico) has announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.

In the third quarter ended September 30, 2009, the revenues were $10.3m and net income was $0.6m ($0.11 diluted income per share) compared with revenues of $11.5m and net income of $1.4m ($0.26 diluted income per share) for the quarter ended September 30, 2008. The decrease in revenues was primarily the result of lower investment income and reduction in premiums earned.

The net premium earned was $7.8m or 75% of total revenues in the quarter ended September 30, 2009, compared to net premium earned of $8.4m or 73% of total revenues in the quarter ended September 30, 2008. The decline in net earned premium was primarily a result of a decline in sales. The decline in sales was primarily due to increasingly-intense price-based competition.

The total insurance company revenues in the quarter ended September 30, 2009, were $8.9m or 87% of total revenues, compared to total insurance company revenues of $10.0m or 87% of revenues in the quarter ended September 30, 2008.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, the revenues were $31.5m and net income was $2.3m ($0.42 diluted income per share) compared with revenues of $35.6m and net income of $3.2m ($0.56 diluted income per share) for the nine months ended September 30, 2008.

The Net premium earned was $23.2m or 74% of revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2009, compared to net premium earned of $25.9m or 73% of revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2008.

The total insurance company revenues were $27.2m or 86% of total revenues in the nine months ended September 30, 2009, compared to total insurance company revenues of $30.9m or 87% of revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2008.

Ben Nelson: A Man of the People?

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As Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) marks his line of opposition to a public insurance plan in the Democrats’ health reform bill, it’s worth noting that no industry has given more to Nelson’s congressional career than the insurers. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign contributions, insurance companies have donated nearly $1.3 million to Nelson over the last decade — roughly 50 percent more than the second-ranking industry, lawyers.

From a regional perspective this makes sense. Like Connecticut, Nebraska is home to a high concentration of insurance companies, boasting the headquarters of Mutual of Omaha Health Plans, Physicians Mutual and Continental General, to name a few. Before entering politics, Nelson himself was the president of the Central National Insurance Company of Omaha.

So in the face of a public-plan proposal that would threaten the profits of private insurers, he’s protecting the industry that made him wealthy and showers him with tons of campaign cash. Easy enough, right?

If only it were so neat and clean.

Nelson’s decision to protect one of Nebraska’s largest economic engines is neither surprising nor uncommon, and lawmakers much more liberal than Nelson have built entire careers on that strategy. Sometimes the regional protectionism is a boon to local industry; sometimes it results in a bust. But whichever direction the insurance industry is headed, you can bet that a vote for a proposal harming local companies would do little to win Nelson support at the ballot box when he’s up for reelection in 2012.

The dilemma facing Democratic leaders — on health care, climate change, finance regulation, everything — is how to pass the strong industry reforms they prefer and still keep congressional seats in the districts where those industries are most entrenched.

The charge against Nelson will be that he’s putting corporations above the people. The deeper problem, though, is that in Nebraska — as in in many other parts of the country — they’re largely one in the same.

Oprah Winfrey Settles "Aha Moments" Suit With Insurance Company

insurance company

Los Angeles, CA (CNS) - Oprah Winfrey's "aha moments" has been settled. The media magnate's production company Harpo has amicably settled with an insurance company that sued them over the rights to the phrase.

Earlier this year, Harpo asked Mutual of Omaha to stop using "aha moment" in its insurance and financial products slogan because it apparently promotes association with Oprah, who also uses the phrase on her program to describe "flashes of understanding."

Mutual responded with a lawsuit, showing Harpo that it had obtained preliminary approval of a trademark for the phrase. It added that it came up with the slogan in early 2008.

The insurance company wanted the court to grant them a legal declaration that allows it to use the slogan and states that it has not infringed on Oprah's rights. Harpo made no response to the legal move.

It has been learned now that Mutual asked for their lawsuit to be dismissed last month.

Terms of the settlement have not been revealed.

Homeowners Choice Reports Profitable Third Quarter

insurance company

-- Ninth consecutive quarter of profitability
-- Strong balance sheet: $109 million in cash and short term and
liquid investments with no debt
-- Book value of $6.99 per share is up 29% year to date

CLEARWATER, Fla., Nov. 10, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Homeowners Choice, Inc. (Nasdaq:HCII), a Florida-based provider of homeowners' insurance, today announced its results of operations for the three- and nine-month periods ended Sept. 30, 2009.

Net income for the third quarter of 2009 increased 2% to $815,000, or $0.11 per diluted share, compared with net income of $802,000, or $0.12 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2008. Book value increased from $5.43 at Dec. 31, 2008 to $6.99 at Sept. 30, 2009, an increase of 29%.

Gross premiums earned for the third quarter of 2009 more than doubled to $25.2 million from $12 million in the prior year quarter. Net premiums earned for the third quarter of 2009 increased 49% to $12.0 million from $8.1 million in the prior year quarter. "Net premiums earned" is gross premiums earned reduced by the premiums ceded to reinsurance companies.

Reinsurance costs increased significantly beginning June 1, 2009 when the company renewed its reinsurance policies. The company's Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings, which appear below, indicate that during the third quarter the company ceded more than half of its gross premiums earned to reinsurers. Homeowners Choice also reported investment income of $516,000 for the third quarter compared with $425,000 in the prior year period.

Losses and loss adjustment expenses for the third quarter were $6.7 million compared with $4.6 million in the prior year period. This reflects increases in actual claims incurred and claim reserves primarily due to higher numbers of policies and insured values. At Sept. 30, 2009, policies in force were approximately 53,000 compared with approximately 20,000 at Sept. 30, 2008. Policy acquisition and other underwriting expenses for the three months ended 2009 and 2008 were $3.4 million and $1.4 million, respectively. Other operating expenses, which include a variety of general and administrative costs, for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2009 and 2008 were $1.4 million in both periods.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2009, net income increased 34% to $10.1 million, or $1.40 per diluted share, from net income of $7.5 million, or $1.33 per diluted share, for the prior year period.

Gross premiums earned for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2009 more than doubled to $84.1 million from $37.0 million in the prior year period. Net premiums earned for the first nine months of 2009 increased 87% to $53.0 million from $28.3 million in the prior year period. Investment income for the nine month period ended Sept. 30, 2009 was $1.2 million, up 7% from the prior year period.

Losses and loss adjustment expenses for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2009 were $29.3 million compared with $11.0 million in the prior year period, which reflects an increase in outstanding policies and insured values. Policy acquisition and other underwriting expenses for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2009 and 2008 were $5.7 million and $4.2 million, respectively. Other operating expenses were $4.1 million for the nine month period ended Sept. 30, 2009 compared with $2.7 million in the prior year period.

"We are pleased to continue to report profitable underwriting results despite what has been a challenging environment, particularly with regard to reinsurance costs," said Homeowners Choice Chief Executive Officer F.X. McCahill. "Our business strategy continues to focus on prudent risk mitigation and as such we rely on adequate levels of reinsurance to protect the company and policy holders in the event of a major storm. In 2009, the cost of reinsurance reduced our net premiums earned in the quarter by more than 50%, or $13.2 million, with rates well above those charged in prior years.

"Having successfully navigated the third quarter, we are now well positioned to resume policy growth. As we recently announced, we have been approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to assume 60,000 policies from Citizens, with a maximum of 30,000 policies in December 2009. Also, we were recently selected by the Florida Department of Financial Services as the replacement insurer for policyholders of American Keystone Insurance Company, which is in receivership. We plan to pursue strategic growth opportunities as they arise, including potential acquisitions and opportunities derived from the anticipated pullback by larger national carriers."

Homeowners Choice Executive Chairman Paresh Patel added, "While we have dropped recent efforts to acquire 21st Century Holding Company, we still have opportunities to grow significantly, whether organically or through other means. Despite our rapid growth over the last two years, we still have less than two percent of the Florida homeowners' insurance market today. With our experienced management team and solid financial condition, we are well positioned to compete and grow our market share in Florida and further increase book value for our shareholders."

Conference Call

The Company will host an earnings conference call today, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, at 4:30 p.m. E.S.T. to discuss its third quarter results. Interested parties are invited to listen to the call live over the Internet at http://www.ir-site.com/hcpci/events.asp. The call is also available by dialing (877) 407-9210 (toll-free). International participants should instead call (201) 689-8049. Participants should dial into the conference call approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled start time. Replays of the webcast will be available until Feb. 10, 2010.

About Homeowners Choice, Inc.

Homeowners Choice, Inc. is a Florida-based insurance holding company headquartered in Clearwater. Through its subsidiary corporations, Homeowners Choice provides property and casualty homeowners' insurance, condominium owners' insurance and tenants' insurance solely to Florida property owners. Founded in 2006, Homeowners Choice today serves approximately 53,000 policyholders throughout Florida representing approximately $100 million in annualized premiums. The company's common shares trade on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbol HCII and were recently added to the Russell Microcap Index. Warrants trade on the same market under the ticker symbol HCIIW. More information about Homeowners Choice, Inc. is available at www.hcpci.com.

The Homeowners Choice, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6712

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan" and "project" and other similar words and expressions are intended to signify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and conditions but rather are subject to various risks and uncertainties. For example there can be no assurance that the company's policy growth will resume, the company will successfully complete an assumption of policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, strategic growth opportunities will arise or that the company will pursue them when they do, the company's application for a rate increase will be successful or that the company will be successful in growing its market share. Some of these risks and uncertainties are identified in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should any risks or uncertainties develop into actual events, these developments could have material adverse effects on the company's business, financial condition, and results of operations. Homeowners Choice, Inc. disclaims all obligations to update any forward-looking statements.

Groupama S.A. - SWOT Analysis - New Report Published

insurance company

The Groupama S.A. - SWOT Analysis company profile is the essential source for top-level company data and information. Groupama S.A. - SWOT Analysis examines the company's key business structure and operations, history and products, and provides summary analysis of its key revenue lines and strategy.

Groupama is one of the largest insurance groups in Europe and the foremost mutual insurance company in France. Groupama SA, the parent company of the Groupama Group, serves as holding company, owning directly or indirectly, all the French and international subsidiaries of the company. The group offers non-life insurance, life insurance, pension/retirement products, banking services, private equity, asset management and real estate services. Groupama primarily operates in France. The group is headquartered in Paris, France and employs 38,500 people. The group recorded revenues of E14,386 million ($20,279.9 million) in the financial year ended December 2008, a decrease of 9.4% over FY2007. The operating profit of the company was E554 million ($781 million) in the financial year 2008, a decrease of 52.4% over FY2007. The net profit was E273 million ($384.8 million) in the financial year 2008, a decrease of 65.6% over FY2007.

Scope of the Report

- Provides all the crucial information on Groupama S.A. required for business and competitor intelligence needs
- Contains a study of the major internal and external factors affecting Groupama S.A. in the form of a SWOT analysis as well as a breakdown and examination of leading product revenue streams of Groupama S.A.
-Data is supplemented with details on Groupama S.A. history, key executives, business description, locations and subsidiaries as well as a list of products and services and the latest available statement from Groupama S.A.

Reasons to Purchase

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ING's insurance units attracting interest

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ING Group’s decision to split off its insurance business is attracting a lot of interest and a decision about these units could come as early as the end of year, the company’s chief executive said Wednesday.

The company, which is the world’s sixth largest insurer, originally said the divestiture of the insurance businesses should be completed in the next four years, but Wednesday’s comments suggest a speedier time line.

Chief Executive Officer Jan Hommen said in recorded comments that he should be in a position to make an announcement after a shareholders meeting scheduled for Nov. 25.

“We will develop a clear path, as to how we will go forward in separating the bank and the insurance company and determine how they both will go their own way and in what form that that will be done,” he said. “Now that will take place some time, let’s say, in late December, early January. And I hope quickly to be able to announce what the plans are to go forward.”

The Dutch insurance and financial services company announced plans Oct. 26 to separate the banking and insurance units, and eventually divest its insurance business.

The sale or public offering of ING’s insurance operations would include its Des Moines operations, home of ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Co., which employs approximately 1,000 people in the metro area.

“We have great people in our organization who are, of course, eager to hear what the decisions are they we will make. They deserve to know quickly what those decisions are,” Homman said.

Potential buyers for the insurance units, which have expressed public interest, include Aviva, which has its U.S. operations headquartered in the Des Moines area. Aviva is the world’s fifth largest insurer.

Hommen’s comments came as the company reported that both its banking and insurance businesses returned to a profit in the third quarter. Overall, the company reported a profit of $1.16 billion, compared with $343 million in the second quarter and a loss of $850 million in the same period a year ago.

The banking side of the business reported earning $395 million, versus a loss of $37 million in the second quarter. The insurance business reported $769 million in profits for the quarter, compared with $380 million in the second quarter.

“ING achieved a strong commercial performance in the third quarter, illustrating the strength of our banking and insurance franchises even in this challenging economic environment,” Hommen said in a statement.

Insurance Americas, which includes the Des Moines operations, earned $460 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $473 million a year ago and about 20 percent more than the $383 million it earned in the second quarter.

Results for the insurance division in the U.S. was helped by the ongoing market recover, and an 11.9 percent decline in operating expenses from reduced staff and benefit costs.

Sales fell in the division by 23 percent from the third quarter a year ago, as individual life sales declined and the company tried to limit the sale of existing variable annuities until its new rollover product is introduced.

Shares of ING were trading up about 5 percent at $15.33 at 11:36 CST on the New York Stock Exchange.

Farmers May Want To Ask Crop Insurance Company for More Time

insurance company

Iowa and other Corn Belt states are experiencing one of the latest and slowest harvest seasons on record. Some farmers have had concerns about whether their crop insurance coverage will still be in effect if harvesting drags into December. "This fall's delayed harvest is also raising several other questions related to crop insurance," notes William Edwards, Iowa State University Extension farm economist.

The standard policy for corn and soybeans in the Midwest states that Dec. 10 is the end of the insurance period for the 2009 crop. However, farmers may request their insurance company to allow them additional time to complete harvesting.

If insured acres aren't harvested by Dec. 1, call your agent

"This can be granted when timely notice is given to the agent and the delay is due to an insured cause, such as wet weather or snowfall," says Edwards. "This will allow any claims to be settled based on actual harvested production rather than an appraisal in the field."

Generally, if insured acres are still not harvested by early December, farmers should contact their crop insurance agents and request additional harvesttime beyond Dec. 10. Farmers are required to make an honest effort to harvest the crop during the extended period if conditions allow, or to document why they were unable to do so with a written record and even photos.

The USDA Risk Management Agency, which regulates multiple peril crop insurance policies, recently issued a program announcement regarding wet harvest conditions. It is on the RMA Web site at www.rma.usda.gov. Look there to find a checklist and explanations to assist farmers impacted by crop losses due to this fall's adverse weather.

The standard crop insurance policies cover quality losses due to low test weight, foreign material and mold, as well as low yields and prices. However, increased drying costs and charges are not covered.

AIG chief threatens to walk

insurance company

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Robert Benmosche has threatened to step down as chief executive of American International Group, just three months after taking the helm of the insurance company that's received billions in government aid, according to a report published Wednesday.

The Wall Street Journal said Wednesday that Benmosche told AIG's board that he was "done" during a meeting last week. But the "strong-willed" executive agreed to reconsider after fellow directors were shocked, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

Benmosche has reportedly expressed frustration with the constraints placed on AIG by the government after the global insurance company was bailed out last year.

The Journal said he complained to AIG's board about limitations on compensation imposed on the company following a recent review by the Obama administration's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg.

Last month, Feinberg demanded companies that had received government aid reduce total compensation for their top 25 highest-paid employee by 50%, on average.
America's most tone deaf CEO

Benmosche, 65, reportedly told AIG's board that the pay constraints would drive away talented employees.

A spokesman for AIG said the company had no comment.

AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) received a $182 billion lifeline from the government last year as the credit crisis forced the company to the brink of collapse. In exchange, the government took an 80% ownership stake in AIG.

Benmosche, formerly chief executive of MetLife, replaced Edward Liddy as AIG's chief executive in August. He has been criticized for his brash behavior and aggressive attitude toward Congress.

However, it isn't clear whether Benmosche would actually resign. According to the report, the executive was said to be prepared to step down at least once before, in August, before his own pay package had been formally approved.

Despite ongoing criticism of the company's compensation practices, Benmosche negotiated a $10.5 million pay package, including cash salary of $3 million. It was the largest award approved under the Treasury Department's recent curbs on executive pay.

Meanwhile, AIG has benefited recently from stabilization in the insurance business and improvements in the credit and mortgage market.

Last week, the New York-based company said it earned $455 million in the third quarter,an improvement over the $24.5 billion loss from a year earlier. It was AIG's second profitable quarter in a row.

Greenberg: No signs of slowing down after 50 years

insurance companies

When Maurice "Hank" Greenberg has been in the news during the past five years, the story usually has been about AIG, the company he built into an insurance conglomerate and headed until his ouster in 2005.

Now, he wants the story to be about the private insurance companies he's expanding around the world.

Greenberg had been fighting with American International Group Inc. over ownership of stock and has criticized the executives who followed him for taking so many risks that the company required a $182.5 billion federal bailout a year ago.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Associated Press, Greenberg, who at 84 still plays tennis and skis, discussed his plans for building C.V. Starr & Co. and Starr International Co. He also talked about the U.S. economy and the role of government in corporate America. But he declined to answer questions about AIG or a recent New York Times report that he was hiring away executives from AIG.

Here are excerpts from the interview.

Q: What are you buying? How are you looking to expand C.V. Starr and Starr International?

A: First of all, you can't compare AIG and C.V. Starr, Starr International. They are two different companies. Different size. Different structure. Totally different. One is private, and the other is public, or government-owned I should say.

C.V. Starr & Co. has been in existence, as the original company, for 90 years. It was founded in Shanghai in 1919. C.V. Starr in the United States goes back to about 1950-51. We've always been in the insurance business, in the form of a series of general agencies that specialize in different types of businesses, marine, energy, aviation, etc. We've added somewhat to those as we find market opportunities and the need for specialized underwriting. And the international side ... we operate in Europe, in London, Asia through Hong Kong and some business opportunities in China.

Q: Is there a particular field or industry that would bring more growth to your companies?

A: No. We understand the general insurance business, the commercial general insurance business and we're expanding in very similar lines. It could be crisis management, it could be political risk, it could be construction. The total range of commercial insurance. We do not underwrite personal lines at this moment. We may one day, but we're not now.

Q: Is there any interest getting into health insurance?

A: Yes, we are in health insurance in a very focused way. Not in a full-range of typical health insurance policies but we do write excess in some states as a substitute for worker's (compensation). A company will provide benefits and many times we will underwrite excess of those. (Excess insurance covers the damages or loss that is greater than the amount specified in a separate policy.)

Q: Do you have any thoughts on the proposed health care legislation?

A: Well, I have trouble understanding how you can add 40 million people and have reduced costs. The math doesn't add up to me. Either you are going to cut benefits or restrict benefits or limit benefits. It's very hard to add exposure and have less cost.

Q: Are you planning to take C.V. Starr or Starr International public?

A: No. I like running a private company. The environment we are in today, I do not want to be a public company.

Q: How do you assess the state of the economy? And the insurance business?

A: The insurance business is very competitive in the U.S. right now. Rates are under pressure and have been. Balance sheets have improved somewhat because the market conditions. (The government just reported) a 3.5 percent increase in GDP in the third quarter. But a lot of that, in my judgment is a benefit from the stimulus packages that have been injected into the economy, including the clunker program, the benefit for families to buy a home. All that stimulus has had an impact, obviously, on GDP.

I think it depends on what's going to happen in the next couple of few quarters when stimulus runs out. How are we going to see as much growth then? We have high unemployment and that's not going to decline very quickly. We have a huge, huge deficit that's going to have to be paid for, sooner or later. There's a lot of capital sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see how things clarify.

It's too soon to declare victory, given all the things I mentioned outstanding.

Q: With all your travels and work overseas, how much do the Asian markets pay attention to what's happening in the U.S?

A: The U.S. is still the largest economy in the world. We are a big market for imports, but imports are way down in the United States. The weak dollar has made imports more expensive. The flip side, savings in the U.S. is up about 50 percent, which is an enormous change from what we had before when we had negative savings. And while savings are great, if you want to grow the economy, you got to get people to spend money. It's wonderful to have savings, but it's not what we need right now.

Q: What do you think of the government's tight grip on companies?

A: It's terrible. I do not believe the government should be involved. We have a political system. We have the right to succeed and fail without government interference. How often have we had a balance budget in our country? Not very often.

So, governments have difficult running governments. They hardly have the ability to run companies. I do not think it's a great idea, for example, to set a salary limit of a couple of hundred-thousand dollars for a top executive. What do you think is going to happen? That executive will go elsewhere where he's appreciated and where the company can pay him what he's worth. It's not a very clever strategy.

Q: Do you think companies will fail because of that?

A: What will happen is companies will lose the key people and they will struggle along until something else comes along. It's very difficult to succeed when you don't have the best people running a company.

Q: Do you think it's OK then that the government allows companies to fail? Or is there a company that is too big to fail?

A: This whole theory of too big to fail should be tested and examined. I don't think we've had a dialogue on that subject. It seems to me that they are very selective on who you permit to survive and who you permit to fail. And if the cost of survival is so huge, I don't see what you gain from it. We have a Chapter 11 (bankruptcy), which permits a company to declare Chapter 11, and be reorganized and go back into business again. That to me seems what we've lived with for many years and I don't see why it's not something that has been used more.

Insurance companies don't have to be "bad" for the public option to be good

insurance companies

SOME, including President Obama, have said that a public health-insurance option is necessary to "keep insurance companies honest." However, there's no need to imply that private insurance companies are dishonest. Rather, they're simply not designed to provide the type of low-cost, universal access to basic health-care services that America desperately needs.

Why? Well, there are two fundamental economic problems in the private health-insurance market. The first is overconsumption. A few decades ago, American businesses found out the hard way that by paying their employees' health-care bills, they inadvertently shielded their workers from bearing the associated costs. Employees inevitably ended up consuming too much and health-care expenses spiraled. In fact, the U.S. managed-care industry grew out of employers' attempts to tackle this overconsumption problem.

The second problem is what economists refer to as "adverse selection." While the concept originated in an insight about the used-car market, it is now a fundamental pillar of insurance economics. The idea is simple: Markets work badly whenever sellers know more than buyers (or vice versa).

Consider the plight of used-car buyers, for example. If they offer an "average" price for what they expect is an average-quality car, they'll inevitably overpay. This is because higher-quality car owners will refuse to sell, while lower-quality owners will gladly accept. If buyers lower their offer, even more high-quality car owners will refuse to sell, leading to a vicious cycle.

Economically speaking, the private-insurance market functions just like the market for used cars — and I'm sorry to say consumers are in the position of used-car dealers. That's because individuals know the most about their own health. If insurers set premiums high enough to cover costs for people with "average" health, healthier people will not enroll, while sicker people will find insurance a great deal. Left unchecked, this dynamic leads to ever-rising premiums as healthier people drop out of the market and only sicker people remain.

Private insurance companies, at core, are businesses designed to tackle these economic problems of overconsumption and adverse selection. To limit the former, they invest in restricting access to health-care services — for example, by requiring prior authorization for a number of procedures, refusing to cover others, and setting lifetime limits on benefits received. To tackle the latter, they refuse to cover "pre-existing conditions" and spend enormous sums screening potential customers in an attempt to deny coverage to those most likely to get sick.

It is these activities — not excess executive compensation, dividends, or "marketing" — that eat up between 20 to 30 cents of every dollar in premiums they receive. It is also these activities for which insurance companies are frequently criticized.

Are insurance companies wrong to engage in these practices? Well, as profit-seeking enterprises, the cold logic of the market requires them to do so. Unfortunately, the result is a huge population of uninsured Americans whose only recourse is to seek late-stage and emergency-room care, which contributes to the out-of-control health-care costs that are threatening our economy.

Fortunately, most agree this cycle can be halted with policies that guarantee access to essential health-care services for every American. There is sharp disagreement, however, about who should provide the type of low-cost universal insurance that is required.

While emotions run strong on both sides of the public-option debate, the economics are straightforward. Private, for-profit insurance companies are simply not designed or equipped to provide the type of low-cost universal coverage America desperately needs.

Could private insurers adapt their business models to serve this new market? I would certainly expect so, given the right competition. But without the competition a public option will provide, I wouldn't bet a trillion dollars on it — which is exactly what insurance companies are asking us to do.

No more subsidizing insurance companies

insurance companies

The health care decision-making process in Washington is horribly tainted by the campaign contributions of insurance and pharmaceutical interests. Under the pay-to-play system health care becomes insurance care, the public option shrinks to irrelevance, and the choice we are left with is: What kind of private, for-profit insurance do you want?

This is not acceptable. We must respond now, and not settle for a plan that subsidizes insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies and sets the stage for the privatization of Medicare.

We want health care for all Americans, Medicare for all, which is exactly what Congressmen John Conyers and Dennis Kucinich accomplish in H.R. 676. And the only way we will achieve it is to organize and take action in our communities to effect real change at a state and national level now. For more information, please see Physicians for a National Health Program at http://www.pnhp.org.

Every other industrialized and civilized nation offers its citizens a national and universal health program. It's good for society and it's good for business. And while we're at it, let's end over eight years of costly wars of choice, and bailouts for the casinos on Wall Street, too. It's the moral thing to do.

"CASH FOR CRASH" - TOP 20 HOTSPOTS

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