Category: Political News

The political arena is ripe with news from the insurance industry – 2012 being a presidential election year, as well as other changes, have made for one of the hottest news topics we have.

New NFIP rating system has now taken effect

Marc
NFIP - calculations

The National Flood Insurance Program’s newest changes started on October 1. The changes made to the rating system for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) went into effect as of October 1, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) implemented its Risk Rate 2.0. At the start of this month, the premiums paid by policyholders in this program start being impacted. The precise change in NFIP premiums under the new Risk Rate 2.0 depends on many factors. According to FEMA reports, there are several changes made to premiums calculations that…

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Transgender health insurance policies often exclude some therapies and operations

G. Turner
Transgender health insurance - hand with transgender flag

The plans in one fifth of US states exclude coverage for many types of gender procedures. Transgender health insurance coverage is proving to be a difficult road for many Americans who need gender affirming/confirming surgeries. The challenge is that many insurers and politicians view these procedures and therapies as cosmetic. That opinion is in contrast with major medical organizations which refer to gender affirming surgeries as medically necessary. As a result, transgender health insurance often fails to cover procedures and therapies for this purpose. Among the common treatments for gender…

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Mississippi Senator Pushes for One Year National Flood Insurance Program Extension

Marc
National Flood Insurance Program - home floating on life saver

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is seeking legislation to extend NFIP for another year beyond September 30. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is approaching its expiry date on September 30, but Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith is pushing for legislation that will provide another year’s extension. Over five million American families and businesses rely on NFIP protection, many of which are in the state. More than 60 thousand people in Senator Hyde-Smith’s home state depend on National Flood Insurance Program coverage. The senator is one of the NFIP Extension Act of 2021…

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Michigan Senate adopts Life Insurance Awareness Month resolution

Nordstrom
Life Insurance Awareness Month - Michigan Flag

Sponsored by Senator Lana Theis, it recognizes September as a time to learn about the benefits. The Michigan state senate has adopted a Life Insurance Awareness Month resolution sponsored by Senator Lana Theis. The resolution recognizes September as the time for state residents to learn about policies. Michigan’s Senate recognized September as Life Insurance Awareness Month, a time in which residents are encouraged to learn about these policies, their premiums, and the way in which their families may benefit in case the worst should happen. The goal is to help…

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Allstate and USAA to provide insurance coverage for additional Ida expenses in Louisiana

G. Turner
Insurance coverage - Hurricane Evacuation Route

The two large insurers have responded to a call made by President Joe Biden for living costs. Allstate and USAA have responded to President Joe Biden’s call to insurers to provide additional insurance coverage in Louisiana for policyholders in the state affected by Hurricane Ida. The additional assistance is meant to help customers evacuated from their homes without specific orders. The insurance coverage is being extended to Louisiana residents who were evacuated from their homes ahead of the storm without being under specific mandatory evacuation orders. President Biden called for…

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California Supreme Court rules life insurance stoppage requires proper notice

H. Cutner
Life Insurance Stoppage ruling California

This decision would restore policy premium payments to thousands of people across the state. The California Supreme Court has ruled that a life insurance grace period and other protections must be provided to consumers in the state before insurers are allowed to cut off coverage due to a missed payment. The ruling could restore life insurance payments to affected customers dating back to 2013. In 2013, the state governor at the time, Jerry Brown, signed a law that had passed without any opposition, ending the previous authority that life insurance…

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Early data shows ending unemployment insurance didn’t boost employment

Logan B.
Unemployment insurance form

Many states seeking to fill vacant jobs with this strategy have not seen the results they sought. Early US Census Bureau data shows that the push made by several states to end unemployment insurance in order to fill vacant jobs has not panned out as they wanted. The elimination of the additional pandemic financial support didn’t increase employment numbers. University of Massachusetts Amherst economics professor Arindrajit Dube used Household Pulse Survey data recently collected by the US Census Bureau to determine that bringing the pandemic-related unemployment insurance to an end…

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