Missouri lawmakers investigate state’s employee insurance program over surplus funds

The Missouri Legislature continues to investigate Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance Co., a state-backed insurance company providing coverage to public employees. The Legislature has recovered more than $163 million in surplus money from the insurance company, which was seized after regulators found that the company was, supposedly, withholding benefits. The investigation stems from events that unfolded earlier in the year, in which state regulators found that two of the company’s five board members were committed theft and fraud. Now the insurance company faces the scrutiny of state legislators, who are investigating…

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Worldwide disasters push commercial insurance rates higher

In the past 16 months, natural disasters all over the world have cost the insurance industry more than $100 billion. The financial impact of these catastrophes is compounded by the worldwide recession which severely impaired the industry as a whole. Insurers are struggling to reassert themselves in the world as the economy improves, and the only way to do so is by offsetting the cost of natural disasters with higher insurance premiums. Some commercial companies have already begun the process, raising rates on commercial insurance for the first time in…

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