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Study: Opioid-Related Deaths Cut by 25% in Medical Marijuana States

Medical Marijuana InsuranceOpioid-Related Deaths Cut by 25% in Medical Marijuana States according to a new multi-institutional study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine and led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, which examined the rate of deaths caused by opioid overdoses between 1999 and 2010. Results reveal that on average, the 13 states allowing the use of medical marijuana had a 24.8 percent lower annual opioid overdose mortality rate after the laws were enacted than states without the laws, indicating that the alternative treatment may be safer for patients suffering from chronic pain related to cancer and other conditions.

Opioid analgesics, such as OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin, are prescribed for moderate to severe pain, and work by suppressing a person’s perception of pain. Approximately 60 percent of all deaths resulting from opioid analgesic overdoses occur in patients who have legitimate prescriptions. Additionally, the proportion of patients in the United States who are prescribed opioids for non-cancer pain has almost doubled over the past decade, indicating the need to do a more focused examination on the safety and efficacy of these and other treatment options. In states allowing the use of medical cannabis, the drugs may be prescribed as an alternative to opioids.
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Product Recall Insurance Explained

Product Recall Insurance Explained

Product Recall Insurance

Product Recall History and Overview

The coverage has been around since the 80’s  of  XX’s Century. The first type of product recall insurance was called malicious product tampering, which only responded to malicious incidents. The limits were $3 million, with six-figure premiums. That’s the way it was for a couple of years. Slowly the book of business grew which allowed larger capacity and to sell higher limits of insurance as well as to expand the coverage. Because it’s catastrophic insurance in nature, when losses occurred, they are generally major. Businesses are not concerned with the smaller losses they can handle financially in-house. What they are looking for is protection from the large losses. So today, it’s financially plausible for small companies as well. When coverage first came out, because of the price tags and the minimum deductibles required, it was accessible only to large, multinational food companies. But now almost every insurer has a strategy to go after smaller businesses. Products Recall is designed to help the insurance manage the crisis of such an occurrence and help protect against product degradation and third party lawsuits.

Most Commercial General Liability policies do not provide coverage for the cost to recall products. Stand alone Product Recall insurance fills this gap because it provides coverage to the cost to recall, withdraw and dispose of the insured’s products and it also can cover loss of income and the extra expenses incurred when a product has to be withdrawn from the marketplace.
Recalls can happen because of mislabeling, malicious tampering, accidental contamination or for a variety of other reasons. Now due to new legislation. the FDA can mandate insured’s conduct recalls in some cases.

Coverage Parameters

Products Recall offers insurance protection in the event of a recall of an insured’s product. This protection includes coverage for the insured’s product recall expenses and liability to third parties kidnapping; bodily injury extortion; property extortion; product contamination extortion; trade secret/computer virus extortion; wrongful detention and hijacking.

Endorsements available to extend coverage include:

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Expired insurance = no coverage

An insurance company does not have to cover a Rapid City woman for a crash because her policy expired 12 hours before she hit four boys on their bicycles, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled.

Tamara Bradford pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular battery for the September 2007 crash and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Authorities said her blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit for driving when she hit and injured the boys, who were riding their bicycles or standing along the road.

After a lawsuit was filed on behalf of the boys, Alpha Property and Casualty Insurance Co. declined to cover Bradford for the crash. The Supreme Court said Bradford’s insurance policy had expired just after midnight on Sept. 23, 2007, about 12 hours before the crash, because she had failed to pay a premium due the day before the accident.

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Increases for Liability Insurance for Construction Firms

The commercial general liability market for the U.S. construction industry continues to firm with underwriters seeking rate increases of up to 15 percent, according to a report published by Marsh. Construction firms with poor loss histories are experiencing even larger liability rate increases and in some cases receiving non-renewal notices from their underwriters. After nearly a decade of rate declines, insurers also are typically seeking to raise rates on umbrella and excess liability insurance of between 8 and 10 percent, according to Marsh’s August 2012 Construction Market Update. According to the report, rates for project-specific general liability, general liability wraps,… Read More »Increases for Liability Insurance for Construction Firms

Hard Market – Should you wait for it?

If you have active business insurance policy, do your best to keep it, and have no cancellation, especially for non-payment’ otherwise, your policy underwriter can say that future “rewrites” after midterm cancellation may be problematic. This means that another rewrite may need to go through brokerage where rates on your class most likely will be higher and forms more restrictive, probably Claims Made. Most “experts” feel we are on the cusp (

Medical Umbrella

Markel Corp. has launched a new umbrella product for Allied Healthcare accounts. This product will serve as a lead umbrella policy over eligible Allied Healthcare lines such as hospitals, medical labs, pharmacies, surgery centers and clinical trials up to $10 million in capacity. Coverage is written on a surplus lines basis through Evanston Insurance Co. (Essex Insurance Co. in Illinois and New Hampshire). This product can be written over Markel primary claims made professional coverage or over primary claims made professional coverage written by other carriers with an A.M. Best rating of A- VI or better. Markel Medical Umbrella coverage… Read More »Medical Umbrella

Ten Executions – Water Scarcity

Seven years ago I was working in Palo Alto private school. One hot summer day I was standing outside the school yard, talking to a stranger slash daddy of a pupil. – There are two major problems, that I see are forthcoming soon, – he said stroking his motorcycle helmet, – China becomes a supreme power – and this is the U.S. problem and the shortage of water – global disaster. I think we can deal with the first one, as long as the second one is not coming true. Now it seems like the first one hasn’t kicked off,… Read More »Ten Executions – Water Scarcity

Insurance Cancellation Fees Must Be Disclosed in Calif.

Insurers in California will now be required to disclose cancellation penalties —prior to or concurrent with an application for insurance — thanks to legislation recently signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Previously, the law stated that an insured was entitled to return of his or her premium if the policy is canceled, rejected, surrendered or rescinded. But the new law, AB 2404, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2012, would require that any insurance policy that includes a provision to refund a premium other than on a pro rata basis, including the assessment and cancellation fees, disclose that fact in writing, including… Read More »Insurance Cancellation Fees Must Be Disclosed in Calif.

California Processes 15.5% Fewer Surplus Line Premiums

According to Surplus Line Association of California (SLA) it has processed $1.9B in premium for the first 6 months of 2010, a decrease of 15.5% compared to the same period in 2009. The total number of policies filed with the SLA from January 1 through June 30, 2010, was 209,545, representing 4% decrease compared to the 2009  – first 6 month policy count. SLA expects it will process $3.8 billion in premium for the year, if the trend continues. Year-to-date, U.S. based insurers wrote 76.4% of the California surplus line premiums, while Lloyd’s, London based insurance tycoon company wrote 17.1%… Read More »California Processes 15.5% Fewer Surplus Line Premiums