The Affordable Care Act has made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, making the fate of federal health care reform unknown. The subject of reform has been on steeped in controversy for more than two years. Opponents of the reform claim that the law is unconstitutional, while its supporters say that changes are needed to ensure the continued stability of the country. Like politicians, the insurance industry has been divided on the issue. Unlike politicians, however, the industry is keenly tuned to what changes need to be made to…
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Facebook clashes with employers over passwords and user accounts
Facebook is a majorly successful social network. Hundreds of thousands of people use the network each day to share information with their friends and participate in various online communities. The network is also popular amongst businesses, though not in the same way as it is with consumers. To many businesses, Facebook is a tool for social media marketing. It can be used to market to a specific demographic, or to investigate a potential hire. The latter purpose is becoming more commonplace, and Facebook is looking to put an end to…
Read MoreInsurance brokers benefit from recovering economy and rising prices
The economic recovery and the increases in prices have helped to boost the largest publicly traded insurance brokers as a whole throughout 2011 when compared to the year before. According to the director at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Inc., Meyer Shields, these two factors were very helpful to the collective fortune of these insurance brokers. He stated that “It’s not the strongest recovery we’ve ever seen. It’s not the strongest rate cycle we’ve ever seen. But it’s helping.” The industry has discovered that as there is not as much income…
Read MoreReinsurance companies face tremendous losses
Last year, the reinsurance sector was battered down by huge losses resulting from natural disasters. The disasters that lead to the enormous insured losses included the earthquakes in New Zealand, the flooding in Thailand and Australia, and the tsunami following the earthquake in Japan. These were all top events discussed in the most recent survey results from the Reinsurance Association of America. Catastrophe losses considered, the combined ratios for most reinsurers within the group were reported to have fallen. According to the executive director covering property and casualty insurance at…
Read MoreNew York legislators introduce three new laws to combat auto insurance fraud
In the continuing fight against auto insurance fraud, New York legislators have passed three new bills that will impose serious penalties on those committing crimes. The bills were passed by the state’s Senate late last week and will be heading to the Assembly for further consideration. Lawmakers are considering auto insurance fraud one of the state’s most serious issues. According to the Senate, fraud costs the state more than $1 billion every year and deals untold damage to the auto insurance industry. These damages translate into higher premiums for consumers…
Read MoreIIHS names 2013 Mazda CX-5 compact crossover SUV its “Top Safety Pick”
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given the highest safety rating to the new compact crossover SUV, the 2013 Mazda CX-5, and has named the vehicle its “Top Safety Pick”. After undergoing the four IIHS tests, the Mazda CX-5 received a “Good” rating each time, which is the highest possible crash safety rating. According to the Mazda North American Operations president and CEO, Jim O’Sullivan, this vehicle is the first from the manufacturer “to receive the full suite of SKYACTIV technologies, which focuses not only on fuel efficiency…
Read MoreRanking the states by the cost of auto insurance coverage
According to the Insure.com study results, which have only just been released, Louisiana is the state in which it is most expensive to insure a vehicle in the entire country, whereas Maine enjoys the lowest insurance rates in the U.S. The average annual cost of insuring a car in Louisiana is $2,536, whereas in Maine the average cost is only $889. The issues that have been driving the rates higher in many states includes the insurance laws within those states, larger numbers of drivers without insurance, the number of different…
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