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Ballot Health Insurance Companies Must Justify Their Rates

Initiative To Make Health Insurance Companies Publicly Justify Their Rates Qualifies for the California Ballot – Excessive Rates Could End In 2012 Santa Monica, CA – The California Secretary of State announced on 08/24/2012 that a ballot initiative to require health insurance companies to publicly justify and get approval for rate increases before they take effect has qualified for the 2014 ballot. The Insurance Rate Public Justification and Accountability Act made the ballot after county registrars of voters certified that more than 549,380 valid signatures from California voters were submitted by Consumer Watchdog Campaign.  The initiative would require health insurance… Read More »Ballot Health Insurance Companies Must Justify Their Rates

Common Cause of Fire – Laundry

An estimated 2,900 clothes dryer fires in residential buildings are reported to U.S. fire departments each year and cause an estimated $35 million in property losses, according to a new government report. The report by the U.S. Fire Administration said that 84% of clothes dryer fires took place in residential buildings. Also, according to the report:   Clothes dryer fire incidence in residential buildings was higher in the fall and winter months, peaking in January at 11 percent.   Failure to clean (34 percent) was the leading factor contributing to the ignition of clothes dryer fires in residential buildings.  … Read More »Common Cause of Fire – Laundry

Business Insurance Market Update

The hardening insurance marketplace has led to a great deal of success for us in a variety of our niches recently. We continue to develop new products at the same time. Below are several items we wanted to highlight: 1) Apartments / Lessors Risk (Office Exposure – Real estate schedules that generate more than $100,000 in premium in the “better weather” states have been a good fit for us recently. We are interested in the properties that are built after 1980 and located in the western US for the most part. If it is large and we can write casualty… Read More »Business Insurance Market Update

Electronic Proof of Car Insurance

Have you ever got a ticket because you did’t have the proof your current insurance coverage (ID card) with you? Well, good news for residents of 7 U.S. states. As of today – August 6, 2012, 7 states have passed Electronic Proof of Insurance Laws. Alabama Arizona California Colorado Idaho Louisiana Minnesota Mississippi and Maryland have a version of these laws before their state Assemblies. A Great Step Forward for You These laws all make an electronic image of the paper copy of a Proof of Insurance card a legal proof of insurance.  Louisiania’s wording is typical… ” an image of… Read More »Electronic Proof of Car Insurance

Earthquake Deductible Buyback in California

A few facts about earthquake insurance: Fact I:  Most residential insurance policies do not cover earthquake damage – a separate earthquake policy is required. Without earthquake insurance to help you cover the costs of repairs and other expenses that come with catastrophic damage, you will pay out-of-pocket to fix your home, to replace your personal property, and to live and eat elsewhere. Fact II:  Most earthquake insurance policies feature a high deductible, which makes this type of insurance useful if the entire home is destroyed, but not useful if the home is merely damaged. Rates depend on location and the… Read More »Earthquake Deductible Buyback in California

Insurance for Adult Day Care Center

Paperless’ Health & Human Services Insurance Program includes coverages that are specifically designed to protect the unique needs of professional Adult Day Care Centers. As industry specialists, Paperless Insurance has the experience and expertise to cover Adult Day Care Centers as a special addition to its social services program. Adult Day Care Centers are facilities that provide meals and supervised care for senior citizens where they can interact with peers and engage in social activities in a community-based environment. Adult Day Care Centers usually act as an alternative to assisted living and nursing homes. Paperless’ Health & Human Services includes… Read More »Insurance for Adult Day Care Center

Laws Regarding the Recording of Phone Calls

Many businesses and other organizations record their phone calls so that they can document business transactions, train their employees, and improve customer service. It is extremely important to seek legal advice from an attorney if you are considering recording telephone calls or oral communication between parties. This article is not meant to serve as legal advice. However, we want to remind that there are federal and state laws regarding this practice. Florida, for example, is a “two-party consent” state, which requires that all parties of a conversation must give consent when one party wants to record a phone conversation. This includes the… Read More »Laws Regarding the Recording of Phone Calls

Text Alert System Warns Users about Disasters

Wireless carriers and the federal government are launching a system to automatically warn people of dangerous weather and other emergencies via a special type of text messaging to cell phones, USA Today reports. This is the first national service by the federal government and the wireless industry. The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) service, which begins this month, is free, and consumers won’t have to sign up. Warnings will be location-based: If you’re traveling, you’ll get an alert for whatever emergency is happening where you are. WEA is a collaboration by the wireless industry, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Emergency… Read More »Text Alert System Warns Users about Disasters

Top 10 States Vehicle Theft List

The National Insurance Crime Bureau reported 2011 is on track for another consecutive year of declining vehicle thefts, but California still dominates the top 10 list for areas highest auto theft rates. Seven of the top 10 areas were in California, mostly in the central and northern portion of the state. The report is a reflection of vehicle thefts on a per capita basis, and the authors of the report note that an area with a much smaller population and a moderate number of thefts can, and often does, have a higher theft rate than an area with a much… Read More »Top 10 States Vehicle Theft List

Zurich Insurance launches apps for risk managers

Zurich Insurance Co. Ltd. has launched two apps for risk managers, the insurer announced Wednesday at Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc.’s Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia. The Zurich Risk Room app is a limited version of the larger risk modeling software Zurich offers clients. The app shows scenarios for natural catastrophe and disaster management, supply chain disruption, regulatory imbalances, social value of insurance and economic value of insurance. Each has 10 to 12 preselected risks offering a comparison of different countries’ stability as well as modeling the interconnection among risks. New risks and scenarios will be added as… Read More »Zurich Insurance launches apps for risk managers