| Individual Health Insurance Overpriced - Insurance Consultant Needed
Florida Health Insurance Consultants are recommended for anyone buying health insurance. Recent polls taken by the Wall Street Journal said, "18 percent of American's do not have health insurance coverage" of any kind. 40% of those polled did not know the difference between a PPO and an HMO. Finding affordable health insurance has never been easy; it is not 'one size fits all.' Now, with the increases in policy rates, hardly anyone in Florida can 'afford' to stay healthy. Depending on your current state of health, budget and individual needs, the best insurance for you may be far different than the best insurance for a friend or another family member. What can you do protect your family? Contact an expert insurance consultant and talk to them about your needs. They can show all available policies, not just one policy from one carrier.
AM Best Affirms Ratings of Members of the American Family ...
OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2007--A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and downgraded the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to "a" from "a+" for the American Family Insurance Group (AMFAM), which is led by American Family Mutual Insurance Company and its three reinsured subsidiaries. Additionally, A.M. Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the ICR of "a" of American Family Life Insurance Company (AFLIC). Concurrently, A.M. Best has affirmed the debt rating of AMB-1 for the commercial paper program of American Family Financial Services, Inc. (AFFSI). All companies are domiciled in Madison, WI. The outlook for all ratings is stable. The ratings of AMFAM are based on its strong risk-adjusted capitalization, conservative investment portfolio and well-established regional market presence as a leading personal lines insurer in the Midwest.
Teen driver program offered through American Family
MONROE -- The Teen Safe Driver Program, an innovative new program that helps young drivers overcome the challenges of learning how to drive, became available to American Family's automobile insurance customers in Wisconsin on March 1. More information is available from American Family insurance agents Tim Young and Karen Mau-Boll in their Monroe offices. American Family, in association with DriveCam Inc., is providing Teen Safe Driver to American Family automobile insurance customers in Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin at no cost. The program is open to American Family customers who have a teen driver in their household, for up to one year. .
Minnesota Sues "Trust Mills"
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is suing two California companies, American Family Legal Plan and Heritage Marketing and Insurance Services, Inc., for operating a "trust mill" that preys upon Minnesota senior citizens. Swanson said that American Family Legal Plan initiates a "trust mill" scheme through a direct mailing to senior citizens, telling them that the company has special expertise in estate planning and can advise clients on how to avoid estate taxes and probate fees. If the senior citizen responds positively, Swanson said an agent posing as an estate planner meets the senior citizen at home and sells the person a plan for $2,000 or more. Swanson said that during this meeting, the agent will distort and misrepresent the impact of probate fees and estate taxes, causing the senior citizen to buy the trust out of fear that their heirs will lose the estate.
Spring flooding could be disastrous without right insurance
As the last remnants of the winter snows melted away the past few weeks, residents along area rivers and creeks noticed a swelling in water levels. While those levels are nearing back to normal, hydrologist Mike Gillispie with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls said that with the early spring rains, the potential for flooding is still there.
Most of the time, Gillispie said, in the past most (flooding) has occurred anywhere from mid-March to mid-May.
But no worries, flood damage is covered in home owners insurance, right? Wrong.
Thats a big misconception, said Kelly Sunde, an American Family Insurance agent at 57th Street and Marion Road. People often think that their home owners covers flood damage and thats not true. They have to buy a separate policy.
Program stresses practical learning
A technology partnership between UW-Whitewater and six Wisconsin businesses is providing students with real-life work experience while providing the companies with valuable research. The Information Technology Infrastructure (ITI) Business Consortium was formed during the spring semester of 2006. Senior Kim Evenson is one of three students who participated in the program - one student per semester - by serving as a consultant at the American Family Insurance headquarters in Madison. Evenson conducted research on unified collaboration strategies in the information systems communication and time management department at American Family during the fall 2006 semester. She continues to serve as an independent contractor at American Family. .
Bill would give domestic-violence survivors time off work to get help
Survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking could take unpaid leave from their jobs to get services or treatment under a bill headed for a vote of the Oregon Senate. The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved Senate Bill 946 on Wednesday. Jill Raichel of Hillsboro, a social worker and mental-health therapist, said such a law could have shielded her in a previous job from an abusive ex-husband who came to her workplace and threatened her and co-workers. "I did not feel I could obtain the support I needed to protect myself and thus had to resign from my job. This was a financial and emotional burden for me and my children, which resulted in our having to relocate and for me to acquire a new job," Raichel said. "Having a law, such as the one proposed, could have prevented me from this upheaval in my children's lives." The bill also won support from Rob Quesnel of Tualatin, the Oregon director of American Family Insurance, the nation's third largest mutual-insurance company.
Road crash death: American convicted of reckless driving
AN American motorist has been convicted of reckless driving that caused the death of an Iranian pedestrian on September 25, 2006.
The court ordered him to pay QR150,000 blood money, jointly with the insurance company, to the family of the victim.
The motorist was also fined QR6,000 and his driving licence cancelled for six months.
The accused's lawyer, Waleed Abu Needa, told Gulf Times that he had already appealed against the verdict because Shariah punishment (blood money) cannot be coupled with any other penalty, according to the Qatari law.
“Although the Qatari law is clear in this point, it is so frequent and I intend to prove that the blood money penalty, if imposed, must be the only penalty," he explained.
Abu Needa, however, said that he was pleased that the ruling didn't include a jail penalty, as it was the case in similar cases “because the court believed that both the victim and my client were responsible for the accident."
The accident took place on the stretch between Al Tadamon roundabout on D Ring Road and Muntaza signals on C Ring Road.
Jury Awards $17 Million Against American Family in Aftermarket ...
American Family Mutual Insurance Co. was ordered to pay $17 million as part of a class-action lawsuit over aftermarket vehicle parts in Missouri. Following a 3 1/2-week trial, a Jackson County jury determined American Family wrongly paid auto damage claims based on the use of non-original replacement parts. The verdict covers 315,000 Missouri customers who filed claims between May 1990 and December 2004, said Ted Pintar, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys. "Plaintiffs think this is a resounding victory for insurance customers throughout Missouri,'' Pintar said in a telephone interview. "It sends a clear statement to insurance companies who continue to force inferior aftermarket parts on insureds as part of their claims practices.'' Pintar said it was too soon to say how much class members would receive and how much of the award will go to attorneys' fees.
Rx Discount Card for the Uninsured
When it comes to prescription drugs, Americans without health insurance are disadvantaged twice over. First, they lack the insurance coverage to pay for the drugs. As a result, adults without insurance are half as likely to get the benefits of prescription drugs as insured adults, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Second, they pay higher prices than anyone else. The uninsured pay 18 percent to 25 percent more for all prescription drugs on average than the insured. They do not get the group discounts that health insurance plans get when they negotiate with drug companies. The best long-term solution for the uninsured is to make certain that everyone has health care coverage. A near-term approach is for states to negotiate group discounts on behalf of the uninsured. In such a scenario, the uninsured get access to the discounts by enrolling and using a discount card at participating pharmacies and mail order services.
Eddie Robinson remembered as 'true American hero'
BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco, calling legendary coach Eddie Robinson a great Louisianian and a true American hero, presided over a rare State Capitol memorial service carried live statewide over public broadcasting today. More than 5,600 filed past Robinsons body that lay in repose from 9 until to 4:30 in the Capitols Memorial Hall, an honor Blanco initiated following Robinsons death at 88 last week. .
Health insurance lobbyist has doubts about Rendell plan
Gov. Ed Rendell's plan to require all businesses to provide health insurance or pay a new tax probably will be declared illegal, a lobbyist for health insurers told a group of state House Republicans Monday. Sam Marshall, who heads the Insurance Federation for Pennsylvania, warned against approving a huge public health insurance program that might lose a major funding source, requiring legislators to find something else to tax. Marshall, who represents for-profit health insurers, spoke to the House Republican Policy Committee. He gave his assessment of Rendell's far-ranging plan to cover the uninsured while also taking control of soaring health care costs. A key part of Rendell's plan is a government-subsidized program to cover uninsured adults, who number about 800,000.
Lawmaker joins fight against condo insurer
BOCA RATON — A state senator joined representatives and lawyers for three dozen condominium associations Thursday in accusing the state's largest private market condo insurer of engaging in an organized plan to deny hurricane claims. ''This is institutionalized bad faith,'' said Sen. Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach of the insurer, Australia-based QBE Group and its representatives, Florida Intercoastal Underwriters, a wholly owned subsidiary of insurance agency Brown & Brown Inc. .
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