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Allstate Corp will lower auto rates by 15.9 percent by May 12th, the deadline set in compliance with an order by the state’s insurance regulator that the carrier had previously challenged.     “Yes, we are complying with the reduction and we expect to have it in advance of the May 12 deadline,” said Peter… Continue reading Allstate to Comply with CA Regulator, Will Cut Auto Rates

Philadelphia-based health carrier Cigna Corp. posted an 80 percent drop in first-quarter profits due to softness in its core health care unit and hefty charges in its annuities business.    The company earned $58 million, or 21 cents per share, in the quarter, compared with $289 million, or 98 cents, in the quarter a year… Continue reading CIGNA Posts Significant Drop in First-Quarter Profits

The Federal Reserve has cut its key interest rate from 2.25% to 2.0% as it aims to avoid a possible US recession. It is the seventh rate cut since last September, when the federal funds rate was cut from 5.25% to 4.75%. The economy has been hit by a housing market downturn and some analysts… Continue reading BREAKING NEWS: Fed Cuts Interest Rate

Three tornadoes touched down in central and southeastern Virginia on Monday, injuring at least 200 people throughout the Commonwealth. By Tuesday night, preliminary damage estimates in the city of Suffolk, where the tornadoes ripped through, topped $20 million for the city after assessing 342 properties.     The twister, a category EF-3 with winds reaching… Continue reading VA Tornado Damage Could Reach More than $20 Million

Gov. Marc Racicot, president of the American Insurance Association (AIA), assured the residents of southeastern Virginia who were battered by three tornadoes yesterday that the insurance industry would be focused on a quick and targeted response in helping them recover.     “The insurance industry is on the scene and we are focused on helping… Continue reading AIA Assures Victims of VA Tornadoes

Shifting away from job-based coverage to an open market where people can choose from competing policies is what Republican presidential nominee and Senator John McCain is proposing to change the health insurance crisis facing many Americans.    On Tuesday during a speech at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, McCain… Continue reading McCain Talks Tax Credits for Health Coverage

A study by researchers at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota reveals that health insurance premiums have increased 10 times faster than incomes in recent years.    Workers with job-based coverage for their families saw earnings rise 3% from 2001 to 2005, while their health insurance premium contribution increased… Continue reading Workers’ Contribution for Health Coverage Rose Significantly in Recent Years

A new survey, “State Estimates of Adults Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Illicit Drugs” by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, reveals that 15.1 percent of the nation’s drivers age 18 and older drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past year. The report says that in… Continue reading New Report on Drinking and Driving Reveals Sobering Statistics

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair is in the final stages of inking a legislative proposal that will let the Treasury Department issue direct loans for nearly one million homeowners.    The plan, which needs Congress approval, would permit new government loans so borrowers can repay up… Continue reading FDIC Putting the Final Ink on Direct Loan Plan for One Million Homeowners

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, applications for U.S. home mortgages last week dropped to their lowest since December, further indication that the housing market is far from recovery.     The MBA said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity dropped 11.1 percent to 567.0 in the week ended April 25, its lowest… Continue reading Mortgage Applications Drop to New Low