Author: Farkas Laura

In California, two elderly women have been convicted of conspiracy to murder two homeless men, killed in staged hit-and-run accidents, to collect $2.8 million in insurance claims. Helen Golay, 77, was convicted of the first-degree murders of Kenneth McDavid, 50, in 2005 and Paul Vados, 73, in 1999. She was also convicted of the conspiracy… Continue reading Black Widows Found Guilty of Murder for Insurance Gain

The world’s second-largest reinsurer, Munich Re, announced higher claims will likely result in a drop in first-quarter profits. Chief Executive Officer Nikolaus von Bomhard says that while profits will be “not as good” as the amounts posted a year ago, he does forecasts a quarter he terms as “pleasing.” Munich Re posted net income of… Continue reading Munich Re Expects Drop in Profit

A key Congress member will today introduce legislation that calls for creating a federal office of insurance information. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, (D-PA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, announced his plans during a hearing on insurance regulation before his panel yesterday. Before his announcement, Kanjorski… Continue reading More Insurance Legislation to Be Introduced on the Hill

New legislation entitled “Increasing Insurance Coverage Options for Consumers Act of 2008” has been introduced into Congress and will be discussed today in a series of hearings on insurance regulatory reform before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Insurance. The bill, aiming to revamp the federal Liability Risk Retention Act (LRRA) of… Continue reading Legislation Allowing RRGs to Write More Coverage Introduced into Congress

New York-based Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, may find itself facing a class-action lawsuit levied by a number of health insurers charging that the company’s Warner-Lambert division improperly marketed the epilepsy drug Neurontin for unapproved uses, according to a U.S. district judge. The drug is sold generically under the name gabapentin by more than… Continue reading Drug Company May Be Facing Class Action Suit

According to an analysis released Tuesday by the Washington-based American Bankers Insurance Association. and Radnor, Pennsylvania-based consultant Michael White Associates, U.S. bank holding companies’ total insurance revenues increased to $43.7 billion in 2007, a 0.5% increase over 2006.    During 2007, 637 bank holding companies—68.1% of those reporting—earned some type of insurance-related revenue, compared with… Continue reading Bank ’07 Insurance Revenues Rise Slightly

Zurich Financial Services Group’s Schaumburg-based North American commercial property/casualty division announced that it will eliminate about 400 U.S. jobs in a move designed to cut costs.    The positions to be cut are primarily from the group that provides support services to the division and represent about 4 percent of the support staff, Zurich said.… Continue reading Zurich to Slash Jobs, Cut Costs

As people begin to look at what has caused the ongoing subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, they are also looking into the role of those at the corporate helm and their responsibility for the debacle, with the fallout possibly shocking the professional liability markets worldwide.     The global directors and officers market… Continue reading US Subprime Mess and the Worldwide Professional Liability Markets

Testimony today by a congressional panel is scheduled to take place to explore a plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that would simplify industry regulation and eliminate most oversight by the 50 U.S. states.      According to the proposal to be evaluated by the House Financial Services committee’s insurance subcommittee, insurance companies would set… Continue reading Congressional Panel to Review Federal Oversight Plan of Insurers

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), U.S. home loan applications climbed last week as lower mortgage rates spurred demand for refinancing and overshadowed a small drop in applications to buy houses.     The MBA’s seasonally adjusted mortgage application index rose 2.5 percent to 743.4 in the week ended April 11, the second weekly… Continue reading Mortgage Refinancing Up as Rates Lower