Florida Insurance Law

Florida escaped last year's hurricane season without any devastating storms. But upheaval in its insurance system is intensifying, fueling a debate about the role of free markets in a turbulent industry. Florida's Legislature and its Republican governor last month approved legislation that would make the state a bigger player in the market for catastrophe coverage. The new law gives a state-created insurer wider latitude to compete with private insurers like Allstate Corp. and State Farm Insurance Cos. in selling homeowners insurance. The state also is expanding its hurricane fund into a $35 billion giant that will compete with companies like ... .

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UNIC Insurance raises volume through public offer

Following the conclusion of its public offering, UNIC Insurance Plc has added a total of 1.79 billion units of shares to the units of shares outstanding in the name of the company. The insurance company at the close of transaction in the preceding week traded 12.9 million units of shares valued at N25.5 million in 261 deals to lead the insurance sub-sector chart of the Exchange. The sub-sector chart company was followed by Cornerstone Insurance Company Plc with 5.7 million units of shares valued at N5.6 million in 83 deals, while ALLCO Insurance Plc traded 3.08 million units of shares valued at N6.7 million in 80 deals. The Insurance sub-sector had ACEN Insurance PLC, Lasaco Assurance Plc, Law Union and Rock insurance Plc, Standard Alliance Insurance Plc, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Prestige Assurance Company Plc, Royal Exchange Assurance Plc, Niger Insurance Company Plc, Crusader Insurance Plc, ALLCO Insurance Plc, Cornerstone Insurance Company Plc, WAPIC Insurance Plc, UNIC Insurance Plc, contributing to the sub-sector total of 29.8 million units of shares valued at N62.22 million in 746 deals.

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Lawmakers Eye Child Insurance Program

WASHINGTON - Congress probably will take its time in considering President Bush's plan for expanding health insurance coverage. Lawmakers, however, are moving more quickly to renew a program that now provides coverage to 6 million people, mostly children.The State Children's Health Insurance Program expires Sept. 30. Democrats and Republicans say they want to swiftly reauthorize the program."There is no greater priority for the Finance Committee in the health arena this year," said Sen. Max Baucus, the committee's new chairman. "It's No. 1."When Congress approved the program in 1997, it provided $40 billion over 10 years. States use the money, along with their own dollars, to subsidize health coverage for families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford insurance through the private sector.

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Insurance law far from cure

Nine months has been time enough to give birth to a new state bureaucracy but not nearly long enough to deliver affordable healthcare to the uninsured in Massachusetts. The law -- passed with such fanfare last April in an attempt to bring reasonably priced, comprehensive healthcare to the approximately 500,000 people in Massachusetts who are uninsured -- is experiencing the labor pains critics long predicted. The Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority is up and running with a 22-person staff earning an average salary of $111,000 a year, compensation sizably heftier than the wages of the uninsured facing monthly premiums for an individual of $380 for the most basic "affordable" plans being considered by the new quasi-independent state agency. That is almost twice what Mitt Romney predicted the plans would cost before he set off on his delusional bid for the presidency, touting universal healthcare as the capstone of his career.

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Michael Peltier: Insurance reform brings choices, risks

Following a bill signing that included Gov. Crist throwing blue Sharpie pens to supporters, homeowners will soon be given more choices and more responsibility for the choices they make. By Michael Peltier (Contact) Monday, January 29, 2007 TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers last week voted to give consumers more chances to save money when it comes to property insurance, but such freedoms come with a cost: more risk. .

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Citizens Property Insurance Settles Lawsuit Alleging Bribes To ...

Jan. 20--TALLAHASSEE -- A Texas lawsuit that spawned a federal investigation into Citizens Property Insurance Corp. in the wake of the 2004 hurricanes has been settled by Citizens for just under $1 million. Universal Risk Insurance Services of Houston, an adjuster hired to work 2004 claims, has received $950,000 from Citizens in exchange for dropping its lawsuit, which claimed the company was unjustly fired from its contract. The Houston firm sought up to $3.6 million in lost, past and future profits. Universal's 2005 lawsuit included explosive allegations that the Citizens executive who hired Universal took bribes, including a boutique motorcycle, in exchange for doling out Citizens' adjusting work to other companies. Universal president Joe LeBrun contended he was cut out of Citizens work when he refused to give kickbacks to Citizens' then-chief operating officer, R.

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Should 'returnees' pay more for motor insurance in JA?

Question: I am a US-based Jamaican. I have been driving here for the past 12 years. I have never had an insurance claim. Except for a few minor traffic violations, I have a relatively clean driving record. As a result, I benefit from premium discounts each time my policy is renewed. I have never had a motor policy in Jamaica even though I drive whenever I visit. I am planning to return home to live in a couple years' time. Since I have had no local driving /insurance history would I benefit from policy discounts that local insurers offer? Would my safe driving experience in the U.S. be considered or, would I be treated like a "new" driver? Assuming that my insurance/driving record in the U.S. was relevant, what information would I need to obtain from my US insurer and for what period? - K.S., USA.

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