New Mexico town requires “potentially dangerous” dog breed owners to take out $100,000 in insurance

Elephant Butte, a town in New Mexico is now requiring the owners of certain dog breeds – including Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and German Shepherds – to purchase a special form of liability insurance policy. Regardless of the training and past behavior of the animals, as of March 1, 2012, the dogs in those breeds were considered by the city to be potentially dangerous, and their owners had been given 90 days in which to take out a personal property liability policy, worth a minimum of $100,000, to cover them. Alan…

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A growing number of uninsured drivers are on today’s roads

Data from the Missouri Department of Revenue has shown that between July of 2010 and the same month of 2011, that state experienced over 6,000 collisions involving drivers who are not insured, and this figure continues to grow. That data is representative of a trend that is happening in many areas across the country. As is that reported by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which showed that there were over 22,000 citations for failure to provide proof of automobile insurance – a legal requirement in the state – in 2010.…

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New Mexico to increase reviews of insurance rates

According to state officials, following the questioning of the health insurance company quality oversights last year in New Mexico, that state is now concentrating on boosting the reviews to the requests for rate hikes by pumping $3 million in grant money into the effort. Furthermore, an ombudsman has been employed at the Public Regulation Commission, by the state insurance regulators in order to help consumers to better understand the often complicated health insurance ecosystem, using an additional federal grant of over $220,000. Moreover, deputy superintendent of insurance, Craig Dunbar, said…

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USDA Risk Management Agency approves 2012 pilot insurance for pistachio crops

The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced the start of a new pilot pistachio crop insurance that will start with the crop year in 2012. The Pistachio Crop Insurance Program will make coverage accessible to 21 California counties, as well as one in New Mexico and two in Arizona. The names of the counties where the insurance will be available will soon be announced. The length of the pilot program is anticipated to be two years and the policy will be production based. The program itself received its initial…

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NM cattle ranchers battle new federal drought protection policy

Cattle ranchers in New Mexico are up in arms over a new federal insurance policy that they purchased under the belief that it would provide them with drought protection, but that isn’t helping them because satellites are reporting that there is still too much “greenness” in the state. The primary problem is that there isn’t any grass for the livestock to consume. In fact, this year the conditions are so devastating that cattle ranchers have been selling their animals in record numbers because they can’t afford to purchase their feed.…

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