An outbreak of deadly and devastating tornadoes wrought havoc in many Southern and Midwest states over the weekend. The disasters began on Friday last week. The tornadoes struck a major blow to four states: Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Alabama. The people in these states had little warning of the storms, which manifested at an alarmingly fast pace. The tornadoes quickly grew in intensity and caused a significant amount of damage to everything in their path. When the winds finally calmed after hours of fury, approximately 33 people were found dead.…
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State Farm maintains stability regardless of record breaking 2011 storms
State Farm has announced that although they faced a significant number of payments for catastrophe claims from some of the largest events in the quarter century history of the company, it has been able to maintain its financial strength. In 2011, State Farm’s combined net worth fell by $0.4 billion by the end of the year, bringing it to $60.8 billion. This includes the drop by $0.2 billion in the insurance company’s net worth in connection with the unaffiliated stock portfolios of the property and casualty companies. Moreover, those figures…
Read MoreCalifornia insurance regulators target GeoVera Insurance, imposing fines and requiring the company to make changes to underwriting
California insurance regulators have taken action against GeoVera Insurance Co., providers of residential earthquake insurance, this week. Regulators took notice of the company after having received a multitude of complaints from policyholders. According to these complaints, the insurer’s underwriting procedures are not as adequate as they are supposed to be. Regulators have investigated the matter and found that the insurer’s practices were indeed falling short of the state’s standards. GeoVera will be facing major changes as regulators look to make the company more compliant with state laws. The insurer will…
Read MoreDental problems force uninsured Tennessee residents into ERs
A report issued by The Pew Center on the States has shown that residents of Tennessee suffering from toothaches and other dental problems are finding themselves in hospital emergency rooms as many of them cannot afford preventive care and are not covered by dental insurance. Residents of that state have made over 55,000 visits to emergency rooms since 2009 due to issues with their teeth or because of jaw disorders. Adults do not receive dental coverage by TennCare, and many employers within Tennessee do not include dental coverage in their…
Read MoreMore states permit drivers to use insurance app as proof of coverage
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) has released a simple solution to help drivers to make certain that they always carry proof of their auto insurance coverage with them, which involves the use of an app that allows the proof to be displayed using a smartphone. Motorists in Idaho received the approval last Thursday when that state’s Senate Transportation Committee gave their unanimous approval to the SB 1319 measure. Now, there are similar bills being considered by several other states, including California, Arizona, and Mississippi. According to the…
Read MoreFederal Housing Administration plans to raise premiums for mortgage insurance
According to a press release from the Federal Housing Administration, the agency intends to raise the premiums for up-front mortgage insurance by 0.75 percent in order to help to rebuild its insurance fund, which has been exhausted by the real estate crisis over the last few years. Also to see increases, will be the annual premiums that will be paid on the loans themselves. Carol Galante, the acting commissioner for the Federal Housing Administration, released the statement this week, which explained that by taking these actions, it will be possible…
Read MoreInsurer santalucía trusts SAS® to help address Solvency II and integrate risk management
MADRID – Building on its successful use of SAS in actuarial activities, Spanish insurer santalucía will use SAS Risk Management for Insurance to help meet Solvency II, Pillar I requirements to manage risks and calculate metrics. SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, is a risk analytics solutions leader for the insurance industry. With 370 agencies, 9,000 employees and 7.5 million clients throughout Spain, santalucía chose SAS to undertake multidimensional risk analysis that includes both the standard model approach and the ability to develop integrated internal models in…
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