Property Insurance

A bipartisan, companion Senate bill to the House bill excluding insurance agent compensation from medical loss ratio (MLR) calculations will be introduced in a few days, although the political environment makes its passage uncertain.

Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), said at the organizations conference in Washington, D.C., Jan. 26 that the Senate bill will be sponsored by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Johnny Isakson, (R-Ga.).

Another Republican is expected to sponsor the bill soon, Trautwein said.

The House bill, H.R.

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Nationwide provides discounts and options to help you control your costs.

When you add your teen driver to your insurance policy, your premiums will go up. You might not realize how many discounts you may be able to capture to keep that increase as low as possible, though.

At the same time your teen applies for a learners permit, speak to your Nationwide agent about your family’s insurance options. Ask about discounts for teens as well as general opportunities to offset some of the increase in cost. Here are three ideas to get the conversation started.

1. Good Student Discount. Nationwide offers up to a 15 percent discount on auto insurance when your teen maintains a B average or above. A

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In Elkins v. QBE Insurance Corporation, No. C11-5150, US District Court (W.D. Washington), Mr. and Mrs. Elkins filed suit against their condominium association’s insurance carriers for loss of rental income after a fire damaged common areas and individual units. The Elkins alleged that their individual loss of rent was part of the “community income” as defined in the property and casualty policy in question.

Harbour Commons Condominiums, a commercial office condominium, was the named insured under the QBE policy. The Elkins owned 2 office units located in the Harbour Commons building and leased those office units to commercial tenants.

The insurer tendered policy proceeds to repair the damage caused by the fire to the common areas and the Elkins’ units. QBE dec

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Instead of simply looking at the overall price tag of auto insurance, vehicle owners should consider studying the six major components that insurers may use to help determine rates, as their driving lifestyle can have a major impact on policy costs.

Driving record may influence rates

Knowing that their policyholders are good drivers matters to car insurance companies, which is why an applicant’s driving history has a serious impact on rates. Motorists who have had multiple accidents or driving violations may have more expensive premiums, according to experts, while companies offer discounts to those with clean records.

Age may also have one of the biggest impacts on auto insurance rates.

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U.S. property and casualty insurers’ profitability fell to the lowest level since 2008 as losses from natural disasters exceeded gains in sales and investment income.

Insurers posted a 1.9 percent annualized rate of return on policyholders’ surplus, or cushion against unexpected claims, in the nine months through Sept. 30, according to a statement today from the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. That’s the lowest since the 1.2 percent return in 2008, when the industry faced losses from Hurricane Ike and on investments.

Travelers Cos. and Allstate Corp. are among insurers raising prices for coverage to boost shareholder returns after claims from storms and low interest rates pressured results. Polic Read more…