Survey shows that health insurance is growing more expensive but also more restrictive

A new survey released yesterday by Towers Watson, a leading professional service and consulting firm, and the National Business Group on Health, a trade organization, claims that health insurance is getting more expensive, but is also covering much less than it used to. The survey, which targeted several large companies throughout the U.S., shows that employees are paying more for their coverage this year than they have in the past. They are also subject to more restrictions on their insurance and health care options, with many benefits being cut by…

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Eqecat weighs in on the recent storm in Midwest and Southern U.S

Last week’s outbreak of devastating tornadoes in the South and Midwest of the U.S. are likely to cost the insurance industry quite a lot of money. Thus far, no insurer has been keen to release estimates regarding the total cost of the disasters, but risk modeling agency Eqecat is willing to hazard a guess. The acclaimed modeling firm says that this year’s storm season is already looking to be 30% more disastrous and costly than the average of previous years. The firm also notes that tornadoes may be one of…

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Insurance Law Podcast examines the use of social media as a tool for the insurance industry

A.M. Best, a worldwide ratings and financial data services company serving the global insurance industry, has released its latest installment of the Insurance Law Podcast. The series focuses on insurance issues from a legal perspective and seeks to supply viewers with an understanding of how insurance laws are affecting the industry as a whole. This week’s podcast focused on the issue of insurers using social media to price policies and investigate claims. The latest podcast features attorneys Daniel Santaniello and Heather Calhoon from Luks, Santaniello, Petrillo & Jones law firm.…

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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…

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Consumers being warned to protect their social media information from insurance companies

As social media becomes a popular tool for the insurance industry for investigating claims and, at times, pricing insurance policies, consumers are being warned to watch what information they share on their favorite networking platforms. A new study from the Paw Research Center, a market research and trend analysis firm, shows that the majority of adults in the U.S. (64%) have an active social media presence. The study finds that a scant few of these people have any knowledge on how to protect the information they share on these platforms…

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