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State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. announced that it has settled 103 cases with the Merlin Law Group over claims stemming from Hurricane Katrina.    Fraser Engerman, a State Farm spokesman, said: “We are pleased that we were able to settle these claims without further costly and lengthy litigation. We continue to hope we can… Continue reading State Farm Settles 103 Claims in Hurricane Katrina Losses

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) strongly supports an extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which is necessary to allow businesses to insure against terrorism risks and encourage continued economic growth in geographic areas that face these potential perils.    The program is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2007, and… Continue reading PCI: TRIA Extension Vital to Economy

According to the Commerce Department, there was a 2.6 percent decline to a lower-than-forecast annual rate of 1.331 million houses built in August following July’s 1.367 million. Building permits dropped 5.9 percent in August to a 1.307 million pace, the lowest since 1995.       What’s more, the housing slump may deepen after borrowing costs… Continue reading Housing Construction Level Lowest in Twelve Years

After the Federal Reserve cut interest rates a half-percentage point, stocks rose on Tuesday and continue their rally on Wednesday, this despite news of Morgan Stanley’s net income drop.    The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 58.04 to 13797.43. The S&P 500 gained 9.97 to 1529.75, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 19.03 to 2670.69. … Continue reading Fed Cut Sees Stocks Continue to Rise

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) unveiled her plan for universal health care, returning to the political battle she famously waged and lost as first lady on one of the hottest topics in the 2008 presidential race. Clinton’s new plan to provide health care for all Americans differs more from her 1993 proposal known as “Hillarycare”… Continue reading Clinton Calls for Controversial Universal Health Care

For the first time in four years, the benchmark federal funds interest rates (banks’ overnight borrowing costs, currently set at 5.25 percent) is expected to be reduced in order to shore up a weary U.S. economy suffering from a steep housing market decline and rollercoaster credit markets. A cut in overnight rates on Tuesday marks… Continue reading Interest Rate Cut Likely to Occur, Says Fed

The White House says it will veto the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), a bill that would add 15 years to a post-Sept. 11 government insurance program which, according to supporters, is critical for major projects like the new World Trade Center. In aftermath of 9/11, TRIA was among a series of bills passed by… Continue reading Bush, Advisors Will Say No to Terrorism Insurance

The vast majority of U.S. insurers have little or no exposure to the volatility in the subprime mortgage market because a substantial percentage of their investments are in the highest-rated bonds or stocks with no direct ties to lenders, an Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) white paper entitled “Subprime” Home Mortgage Loans and the Insurance Industry,… Continue reading Subprime Mortgage Turmoil Not a Threat to Insurance Industry, Finds Institute

Following is an edited commentary that appeared in the “Wall Street Journal”, outlining the paper’s opinion of presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s healthcare proposal: Mitt Romney, Republican presidential candidate, has proposed recent health-care reforms based on free-market principles and federalism. His plan focuses on overhauling the tax code’s discrimination against cost-effective private insurance. He proposes to… Continue reading WSJ: Romney’s Health Care Proposal Relies on Free Market

After being ordered by the New York Insurance Department to cease conditioning renewal applications on whether a customer also had life or automobile insurance policies with the carrier, Allstate Insurance Co. has agreed to abide the department’s requestm and has averted a scheduled Sept. 19 hearing before state regulators. But while declaring that it “respects… Continue reading Allstate Agrees to NY Insurance Department’s Renewal Order