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The designs of seats and head restraints in 21 current SUV, pickup, and minivan models are rated good for protecting people in rear impacts, but those in 54 other models are rated marginal or poor. Another 12 are rated acceptable. The latest evaluations of occupant protection in rear-end collisions by the Insurance Institute for Highway… Continue reading Seat/Head Restraints Marginal or Poor in Rear Crash Protection in Most SUVs, Pickup Trucks, & Minivans

The state New York Insurance Department has approved a 14% increase in medical malpractice insurance rates. According the Insurance Department, the rate hike which was approved on Monday, is lower than what insurers had requested and “is necessary to avoid further financial deterioration of the companies and perhaps an irreversible crisis in an already severely… Continue reading Medical Malpractice Rate Hike in NY Approved

According to a report by the Reason Foundation, a dedicated think thank, North Dakota, South Carolina have the nation’s most cost-effective road systems. New Jersey for the eighth straight year is home to the country’s worst overall road system and most gridlocked highways.     About 52% of U.S. urban Interstates are congested and the… Continue reading New Report Lists NJ as Having Worst Traffic; ND and SC Top List for Best Roads

It was over a year ago that legislation was passed in Massachusetts requiring people to have health insurance, similar to the requirement for drivers to have auto insurance. Now the nation has is looking to see if this will work and whether the remaining 375,000 or so uninsured will buy policies. Yesterday represented an important… Continue reading All Eyes Are on Massachusetts’ Health Plan

The Angora, California wildfire near South Lake Tahoe that has so far consumed about 3,100 acres and destroyed over 300 structures since June 24th is estimated to result in insured losses of between $100-150 million, according to Risk Management Solutions (RMS). RMS is the world’s largest provider of products and services for catastrophe risk management.… Continue reading Estimated CA Insured Wildfire Losses Could Reach $150 Million

According to a report by ISO and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), the U.S. Property/Casualty insurance industry’s after-tax net income dropped 5.5% to $15.81 billion during the first quarter of 2007 compared with last year’s first quarter of $16.7 billion.      “The financial performance of the P/C insurance industry during the first… Continue reading P/C Industry Net Income Slips in First-Quarter ‘07

ING, the Dutch financial services group, announced today that it has reached an agreement with P&V Verzekeringen to sell its Belgian Broker and Employee Benefits insurance business for EUR 750 million ($1 billion). The sale is part of ING’s strategy to rationalize in its mature markets and allocate capital to those businesses where it can… Continue reading ING Will Sell Belgian Brokerage for 750 Million Euros

Two former Hartford Insurance Claims Handlers who worked in the carrier’s Claims and Legal Management Services department in Connecticut have been indicted for accepting kickbacks and bribes from a Texas attorney representing plaintiffs with silica-related health claims against Hartford policyholders.        The indictment alleges that Rachel Rossow and John Prestage and attorney Warren Todd Hoeffner,… Continue reading Indictments Issued to Two Former Hartford Claims Handlers

A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and assigned an issuer credit rating of “bbb” to Teachers Auto Insurance Company of New Jersey (Teachers) (Red Bank, NJ), formerly known as Lancer Casualty Company (Long Beach, NY). The outlook for both ratings is stable.          These rating… Continue reading A.M. Best Downgrades Teachers Auto Insurance Company of New Jersey Due to Acquisition

Americans are not feeling as financially secure as they were according to the COUNTRY Financial Security Index, which showed a decline of 1.2 points in June. The most recent reading marks the second consecutive decline and is two points lower than the beginning of the year when the Index was 70.2. It also marks a… Continue reading Americans’ Perception of Financial Security Slipping