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.

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

Three South Carolina state agencies form insurance fraud task force

H. Cutner
Insurance fraud - task force

The Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Insurance, and SLED are working together. Insurance fraud in South Carolina has reached the point that three state agencies – the Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Insurance, and SLED – have come together to create a task force for the purpose of cracking down on cases. South Carolina has the 17th highest rate of complaints regarding fraudulent claims in the US. National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) data shows that South Carolina is in 17th place in the country for the amount of…

Read More

Unemployed Americans to receive health insurance coverage among stimulus benefits

G. Turner
Health insurance coverage - Stethoscope and hand

Beyond the $1,400 check and child tax credit payments, the America Rescue Plan includes health care. The American Rescue Plan has extended health insurance coverage to people who qualified for unemployment assistance in 2021. The low-cost and no-cost health care plans became available at the start of this month. The health insurance coverage, beyond the $1,400 stimulus checks and the monthly child tax credit payments are available for individuals who qualified for unemployment assistance. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) the plans became available at the…

Read More