Hartford Financial Services Group to focus on P&C insurance and group benefits

Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG) has announced that it will be leaving its annuity business in order to concentrate on its property and casualty insurance and group benefits businesses, as well as its mutual funds business. This announcement follows closely behind the advice that had been offered in February by John Paulson, a hedge fund manager, when he encouraged Hartford to spin off its business for property and casualty insurance. Hartford’s response had been that it would look over the plan that had been submitted by Paulson, but cautioned that…

Read More

Many U.K. homeowners may not be able to obtain flood insurance by 2014

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has made an announcement that indicates that approximately 200,000 homes throughout the United Kingdom that are at a high risk of flooding might not be able to obtain flood insurance coverage beyond 2014. This announcement came close on the heels of widespread predictions that the government may not be able to come up with the necessary funds for building the required flood-control infrastructure, despite the fact that climate change is causing water and sea levels to continually rise. Some have suggested that many homeowners…

Read More

Insurance payout judgment faces another delay

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. policyholders have faced another block from a state of appeals court, which has halted their ability to collect over $100 million from the insurer’s failure to process the 2005 hurricane claims within a reasonable time frame. According to the chief executive officer at Citizens, Richard Robertson, a temporary order was issued by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal, prohibiting the attorneys of the plaintiff from being able to perform a funds seizure from the insurance company’s accounts. There will be a later decision by the…

Read More

Georgia homeowners now have access to Home Value Protection insurance

As of this week, homeowners in Georgia now have access to Home Value Protection, which is the only insurance product available in the United States that will protect homeowners from the potentially financially crippling effect of the falling home prices. This form of insurance coverage provides the owners of a home with protection for the market value of their home so that their equity is covered in the case that housing prices continue to fall – a serious issue within that state since the middle of 2006. This is the…

Read More

Homeowners insurance rates continue to skyrocket

Homeowners face increasing struggles as their home values continue to fall and maintenance costs continue to climb, with a new setback consisting of significantly higher insurance payments. Insurance rates for homes have been increasing steadily over the last few years, and the Insurance Information Institute has indicated that this year is expected to continue in that trend, with a rise of about 5 percent to reach an average of $1,004. This will have been the largest annual increase since the start of the recession, and will mark the first time…

Read More