Golden Gate celebrates its 75th anniversary..!

The 75th anniversary of the construction of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge’s was celebrated on May 27, and the massive project was remembered as a major undertaking for contractors and the city – as well as insurers. The 75th anniversary of the bridge drew spectators, media and officials to celebrate the engineering feat: A 1.7-mile-long bridge that rises to 746 feet above the ocean, is supported by cables more than 3-feet thick and weighs in at more than 887,000 tons...Read more...

 (Ref: Insurance Journal May 29, 2012)

NFL Owners’ Latest Safety Move Irks Players.!

The NFL’s move to make thigh and knee pads mandatory equipment for the 2013 season already has drawn criticism from the guys who will have to wear them.

Not long after Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay, chairman of the competition committee, said at an owners meeting Tuesday that the league can apply the decision unilaterally, the players union and several members expressed their dissatisfaction. Read more...

(Ref: Insurance Journal May 24, 2012)

MetLife to Shift U.S. Business, Target Global Growth

MetLife Inc. will change `its product mix in the United States and push harder for growth in international markets to substantially boost returns by 2016, the largest U.S. life insurer said on Wednesday.

MetLife also said it had received two subpoenas in April and May from regulators looking into mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices at its banking unit. The company had shut its mortgage businesses by then, and is in the process of selling the deposit-taking portion of the bank to General Electric Co.

MetLife shares were down 2.7 percent in late-morning trading and were among the biggest decliners in the S&P insurance index . The fall was a continuation of the stock’s slide over the last two months.Read more...

(Ref: Insurance Journal May 24, 2012)

New York to remove 'Dirty Doctors' !

Insurance regulators plan to start kicking crooked doctors out of New York’s no-fault program next month, calling them linchpins in fake-accident scams that cost insurers and ultimately policyholders hundreds of millions of dollars.

Regulations are set to take effect on June 12. Read more...

(Ref: Insurance Journal May 21, 2012)

The Language of Sales...

Much of life is a sales process. At some point in every relationship we are, in effect, negotiating, selling and buying ideas. Communication is not an exact science. When we communicate, we use our words, in our own style to express our ideas on our own personal experience. This communication is to another person with different words, style, ideas and experiences. No wonder there is a lot of miscommunication! 

Some people have a natural ability to build rapport and convince others to see things their way. They are natural sales people. Read more..

(Ref: Insurance Journal May 16, 2012)

Cost of Liability Insurance Leads to Closing of Small Iowa Airport !

The grass-strip McBride Airport has closed nearly 50 years after it was carved out of an eastern Iowa farm field.

Ivan McBride told The Gazette it’s difficult to close the tiny airport in Marion that his late father created in 1962. But with liability insurance becoming increasingly expensive, McBride said the time was right to make the change. “Shutting it down is not easy for me,” McBride said.

Melvin McBride created the air strip out of land the family had owned since the 1920s. He later shaped a 2,400-foot-long grass runway, built a hanger and moved an old service station to the property to serve as an office. Read more...

(Ref: Insurance Journal May 14, 2012)

Captain charged with insurance fraud !

A Miami boat captain has been arrested on a first-degree grand theft charge for allegedly sinking a $1.86 million yacht in 2009 off the Bahamas.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced the arrest of Robert Figueredo by detectives from the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF).

"There is no such thing as a victimless crime,” CFO Atwater said. “Those who reap the spoils of perpetuating fraud victimize every Florida consumer. Those who cheat their fellow Floridians out of their hard-earned dollars will be captured and put behind bars.”

The division initiated an investigation into the sinking of the 80-foot yacht “Star One” reported stolen from Key Biscayne on May 4, 2009, one day after it was discovered scuttled in an area known as the “Tongue of the Ocean” offshore from the Bahamas. Read more...

(Ref: Insurance Journal, May 10, 2012)

Traffic deaths low in U.S. in 2011..

Traffic fatalities on U.S. roads in 2011 fell to their lowest level since federal safety regulators started counting in 1949, the regulators said on Monday. Preliminary data estimates that 32,310 people died in motor vehicle crashes last year, down 1.7 percent from 2010, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Final figures will be issued later this year.

Rebecca Lindland, director of automotive research for IHS Inc., said more and better air bags, higher seat-belt use and vehicles designed to allow people to survive a crash are the main reasons for the decline in traffic deaths in recent years. Read more..

(Ref: Insurance Journal May 8, 2012)

Missouri Governor Signals Compromise On Workers’ Comp..

About six weeks after he vetoed legislation that would have changed the state’s workers’ compensation system, Missouri’s Democratic governor is signaling that he would be open to compromise with Republican lawmakers.

In a letter to Senate leaders obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Gov. Jay Nixon indicated he would sign legislation that would prevent employees from suing their co-workers for on-the-job injuries. The governor also said he would support a provision to the system to include deadly diseases contracted on the job. Read more..

(Ref: Insurance Journal May 3, 2012)

Insurance Company Balks at Claims in Fatal Conn. Fire

An insurance company said it should not have to pay claims or lawsuits stemming from a Christmas morning fire that killed five people because a contractor renovating the house misrepresented the type and scope of work his company performs.

Utica First Insurance Co. argued in a lawsuit filed last week in New York that Michael Borcina misrepresented the number of employees with his company, Tiberias Construction, its sales and payroll, and size and type of work it performs. The insurer says if it knew the facts, it would not have issued the policies. Read more..

(Insurance Journal April 30, 2012)