Healthy? Insurers don't buy it

Minor ailments can thwart applicants for individual policies.

Scott Svonkin joined the Los Angeles County Commission on Insurance 10 years ago because he was concerned about an emerging problem: people losing health coverage. Since then, the ranks of uninsured Americans have swelled to more than 46 million.

Svonkin almost became one of them.

It happened after he left a comfortable government job as a legislative chief of staff to start his own marketing and public affairs consulting business. Late last year he started shopping around for health insurance for himself, his expectant wife and his young daughter.

He knew he'd pay more without an employer picking up most of the tab. And he knew he'd have to fill out a medical questionnaire because, unlike job-based coverage, individual insurance in California is contingent on an applicant's health. But that didn't concern him because, he said, "I'm healthy as a horse, never smoked and have had no major surgery."

As it turned out, Svonkin was rejected by not just one but three of California's biggest health insurers, which cited his history of asthma, among other things.

"I couldn't buy it at any price," said Svonkin, 40, who lives in Sherman Oaks. "I remember thinking, 'This can't be happening to me.' "

Svonkin is part of what experts say is a largely hidden aspect of the nation's health insurance crisis: the uninsurables, people whom insurance companies won't touch, even though they can afford to pay high premiums. Some, such as Svonkin, pay steep rates for lean coverage from the state's high-risk insurance pool. Others simply go without.

Insurers have wide latitude to choose among applicants for individual coverage and set premiums based on medical conditions. Insurers say medical underwriting, as the selection process is known, is key to keeping premiums under control.

"Our goal is to extend affordable coverage to as many people as we can," said Cheryl Randolph, a spokeswoman for PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. "But because of the medical underwriting, we do not accept everybody."



Selective insurers

Consumer advocates see the practice as cherry-picking — a legal form of discrimination that is no longer tolerated in schools, public accommodations or workplaces — and a way to guarantee profits.

"The idea is to avoid all risk," said Bryan Liang, executive director of the Institute of Health Law Studies at California Western School of Law in San Diego.

Jerry Flanagan, an advocate with the Foundation for Consumer and Taxpayer Rights, said it wouldn't take much to be left out of the private-insurance market. "A minor asthma condition or a surgery 10 years ago that requires no further medical care is enough to get you blacklisted forever," he said.

As a result, some people forgo treatment so as not to tarnish their health records. Others withhold information from doctors or ask them to leave details out of their records. For those who are uninsurable, healthcare often is the chief reason they stay in or take a certain job.

Claudine Swartz enjoyed running her own consulting business but had been rejected for individual insurance. After a scare over a benign cyst in her breast, the San Francisco resident closed her business and got a job with the University of California's health system, where she enjoys guaranteed coverage.

The episode made her realize that without insurance, she would have been on the hook for catastrophic expenses if her diagnosis had been more serious.

"I wasn't willing to take that risk," said Swartz, 35. "It's a real problem for people trying to be entrepreneurial and work on their own."

Uninsurable individuals pose a significant challenge for the state, which expects to spend more than $10 billion this year on people who lack adequate coverage.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, preparing to announce a proposal for expanding coverage in his State of the State address, has said he favors a mandate on individuals to buy health insurance — just as drivers must carry auto insurance.

Democrats, who control the Legislature, have favored expansion of employment-based insurance and have signaled their opposition to a mandate on individuals.

Consumer advocates say such a mandate is unworkable unless insurers are required to sell coverage to all comers, as they are in several states, including New York and Massachusetts.

No one knows how many Californians are uninsurable. Blue Cross of California, which dominates the market, declined to disclose its rejection rate, as did its chief competitors. A 2004 industry survey found that health plans said they turned away about 12% of all applicants. But the rejection rate rose with age to 30% for people 59 and older.

A consumer survey this year found that 1 in 5 people who applied for individual coverage was turned away or charged a higher premium because of preexisting conditions. Experts say it is hard to know how many of California's more than 6 million uninsured residents are uninsurable because many people with medical problems don't even bother applying in the belief that they would be rejected.



Insurers tread carefully

The industry contends that individual coverage is widely available. But experts say a wave of consolidation has reduced the number of insurers offering individual coverage, leaving a marketplace that shuns all but the ostensibly healthiest consumers.

Insurers say they are picky because they have to be.

Kaiser Permanente's "fairly generous" benefits require that the health maintenance organization be restrictive to remain solvent, spokesman Jim Anderson said. "We have to be very careful to not enroll a bunch of people who are going to spend all the money on their care."

Insurers declined to disclose the underwriting guidelines that lead to rejection or higher premiums. But a review of public records, as well as rejection letters sent to individuals, shows that California carriers turn people away or charge them higher premiums for conditions that range from the catastrophic to the common. Cancer, epilepsy and AIDS make the list, along with breast implants, ear infections, varicose veins and sleep apnea.

Jeffrey Miles, a vice president of the California Assn. of Health Underwriters, a trade group for independent insurance agents, said one of his clients — a 27-year-old woman "in perfect health with absolutely nothing wrong" — was rejected because she had seen a psychologist for three months after breaking up with a boyfriend.

"I call it hangnail underwriting," Miles said. "If a person has taken virtually any medication, they are going to be turned down. If people have had any psychological counseling at any time in recent history, they are going to get turned down."

Swartz, the consultant, said the reason she couldn't get individual coverage was a condition in her records that she may never have actually had. Her physician had diagnosed ulcerative colitis. But after years without additional symptoms, Swartz said, her doctor decided the initial diagnosis was probably wrong.

Consumer advocates say out-of-date, ambiguous and even erroneous medical information can render people uninsurable. Sometimes the reasons can seem absurd. In a letter to an otherwise healthy recent college graduate, for instance, Blue Cross listed among the reasons it denied coverage a past bout of jock itch, "successfully treated with cream."

A last resort for people turned away by the private market is the state's high-risk pool, in which the state assumes the financial risk but pays private insurers to administer coverage. Enrollees spend as much as one-third of their income on monthly premiums that cost as much as $796. Yet annual benefits are capped at $75,000.

Still, demand perennially outstrips the high-risk pool's capacity, which has been reduced over the years as medical costs have risen and funding has remained largely limited to state tobacco tax revenue and enrollee premiums. Of 32 states with medical high-risk insurance pools, California's is one of the largest, covering 7,800 people.

"The best estimate is it's only serving about 10% of the people who are medically uninsurable," said Beth Capell, an advocate with the consumer group Health Access California.

Most people in the high-risk pool have been rejected by at least one private insurer. Yet many turn out to be a bargain, paying more in premiums than they cost in medical expenses. In fact, 19% of the enrollees submitted no medical claims at all in 2004, the last year figures were available, and about 80% submitted claims for less than the average annual premium.



Good health, poor risk

High-risk enrollees include people like Scott Svonkin, who makes time for at least one tennis match each week. On a Burbank court after more than an hour of play one recent evening, he scrambled for a ball so far out of reach that most people wouldn't have bothered. After the game, Svonkin's fair skin was ruddy and sweat dripped from his forehead, but he was not out of breath.

After suffering from debilitating bouts of asthma as a child, he clearly relishes the ability he now has to exercise. He credits medications that weren't around when he was growing up. But the very drugs that have allowed him to breathe freely for years may also have cost him his health coverage.

When Svonkin left his job, he picked up the premiums on the Blue Shield HMO his former employer had offered and extended his coverage for three years. That's the maximum allowed under a federal law known as COBRA and a matching state law, both designed to make health insurance portable. A couple of months before that coverage was to expire, he asked Blue Shield to sell him an individual plan just like the one he was on.

But Blue Shield declined to sell him anything like that HMO plan, which included prescription benefits, he said. Instead, the carrier offered him a plan that did not cover medication.

Blue Shield declined to discuss Svonkin's case, citing patient privacy laws, as did the other insurers that subsequently rejected him, Blue Cross and PacifiCare. Although the rejection notices pointed to various problems — "expectant fatherhood" and swelling from a spider bite — all three blamed his history of asthma, a condition that affects more than 4.5 million Californians.

Svonkin was able to enroll his wife, daughter and baby son in a private plan. But with nowhere else to turn, he reluctantly enrolled himself in the state's high-risk pool. In an ironic twist, the pool assigned him to a plan administered by Blue Shield. His premiums are $479 a month — far more than he figures he has cost the plan. The only medical expenses he has submitted in his first year on the plan have been his prescriptions, which retail for about $100 a month.

Blue Shield "wouldn't take me at their risk, but they took me at the state's risk," he said. "The reasons they won't sell me insurance are ludicrous because they can still make a profit providing me with healthcare."

The ordeal has been an object lesson for Svonkin, who is now chairman of the county commission on insurance, an advisory panel to the Board of Supervisors. He uses his post to focus on the problems of the uninsured as well as the uninsurables. The county does not regulate insurers, but its clinics, hospitals and emergency rooms are overflowing with uninsured residents who have nowhere else to turn.

"Insurance companies are offloading sick people onto the county system," Svonkin said. "They want a guarantee that they are going to make money. That's why they won't take sick people. They are missing the whole point about assuming some risk."

lisa.girion@latimes.com

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These ills may be too risky to insurers

Health insurers in California have been allowed to keep secret their underwriting guidelines that determine who gets individual coverage and at what premium.

But a law that took effect Sept. 1 required them to report their underwriting guidelines to the Department of Insurance and the Department of Managed Health Care. It also required regulators to post the guidelines on the Internet, but without identifying which rules are used by which company.

Health plans also reveal a portion of their underwriting guidelines in letters notifying applicants why they were rejected, as well as in communications with brokers who sell their coverage.

According to regulators' postings, rejection letters and interviews with brokers, conditions that can lead to outright rejection or a higher premium include:

AIDS, allergies, arthritis, asthma, attention deficit disorder, autism, bed-wetting, breast implants, cancer, cerebral palsy, chronic bronchitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic sinusitis, cirrhosis, cystitis, diabetes, ear infections, epilepsy, gender reassignment, heart disease and hemochromatosis (a common genetic disorder that causes the body to absorb too much iron).



Other conditions are hepatitis, herpes, high blood pressure, impotence, infertility, irritable bowel syndrome, joint sprain, kidney infections, lupus, mild depression, muscular dystrophy, migraines, miscarriage, pregnancy, "expectant fatherhood," planned adoption, psoriasis, recurrent tonsillitis, renal failure, ringworm, severe mental disorders, sleep apnea, stroke, ulcers and varicose veins.

Interesting Facts You May Not Know About Group Health Insurance Coverage

In an atmosphere of ever-growing health care and health insurance costs, group health insurance coverage is becoming critical for many employees. In fact, surveys consistently show that employees value health insurance benefits above all others.

Studies have shown that a solid majority (over 60%) of Americans receive their health insurance benefits through group health insurance coverage through their employer (or their spouse’s employer). Of course, from the employee’s point of view, this is the least expensive option for securing health insurance. Nevertheless, whether you are a business owner or employee, what follows is a discussion of some interesting aspects of the group health insurance market.

There are two main reasons that employers offer group health insurance coverage. The first is to attract talented employees. The second reason is related to the first: To reduce employee turnover. It’s not uncommon for employees to become “dependent” on their health insurance. That is, an employee who may otherwise leave their job to become self-employed may not do so because of health reasons. That is, he or she may not be eligible under an individual policy due to a preexisting condition. Preexisting conditions are typically not covered under individual health insurance plans.

The primary difference between individual and group health insurance is that group plans are “guaranteed issue”, while individual plans are not. “Guaranteed issue” means that an insurance company cannot deny coverage due to any preexisting medical conditions.

Some individual health insurance plans are issued to individuals with preexisting conditions, but usually only with what is called an “exclusionary rider.” This “exclusionary rider” will exclude coverage for treatment related to the preexisting condition. It’s interesting to note that in California, insurance companies are not allowed to practice this policy. As you might expect, the result is a much higher rate of declined applications for individuals, since insurance companies choose simply not to issue coverage for individuals with preexisting medical conditions.

For group health insurance coverage, premium cost sharing between employer and employee has pretty much become a common feature in today’s labor market. In the vast majority of cases, insurance companies require employees to pay a minimum of 50% of the premiums, although many choose to pay a higher percentage. In general, the larger the company, the greater the percentage paid by the company. Not all insurance companies require coverage for dependents, although again many businesses elect to offer this coverage as well.

There are tax incentives available to both employer and employee for qualifying group health insurance plans. Employers can typically deduct 100% of the premium costs, while employees can pay their portion of the monthly premiums with pretax dollars. Both practices can result in significant savings over the course of a year.

Lastly, group health insurance coverage is available as either an indemnity (fee-for-service) plan or managed care plan (HMO, PPO, or POS). Indemnity plans are the oldest, as well as the most expensive, type of health insurance. As a result of their high costs, indemnity plans have all but disappeared from the landscape, and been replaced by managed health care plans.

Managed group health insurance plans come in various forms: Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), or Point of Service (POS) plans. The HMO was the first alternative to traditional insurance (indemnity) and became popular for its ability to reduce costs for both employer and employee by creating networks of doctors and hospitals and thereby being able to apply cost saving measures.

The PPO plans have in recent years become the most popular type of group health insurance. PPO’s (as well as POS plans) combine many of the freedoms enjoyed with indemnity plans while still being able to implement many of the cost saving features of an HMO.

The struggle to offer employees affordable group health insurance coverage is an ongoing process for most employers in today’s health insurance market. Part of the process is education, from the standpoint of both the employee and employer. It’s important to understand that retaining affordable and quality group health insurance is vital to both sides of the labor market – employer and employee. Indeed, when done properly, this can be a win-win situation for all concerned.

Suggestions for the Cerans' insurance issues

It's always nice to see outpourings of support when tragedy strikes, as it did horribly with the Ceran family this week. It sounds as though the Hale Centre Theatre fundraiser went well yesterday, and people are giving freely. We also hope the family is getting advice about their insurance issues. Paul Rolly wrote in the Tribune Friday that the Cerans don't have medical insurance to pay hospital bills. That raised questions in our minds that we hope someone is looking into for the Cerans.

1) Car insurance? If the other driver (Prieto), had it, they will likely accept liability quickly and pay up to their policy limits. (Technically, most health insurance policies limit coverage for car accidents, because those kinds of expenses are supposed to be paid for by car insurance. However, most health insurers usually advance medical expenses, then later try to get their money back from any car insurers involved.) A car insurer's decisions to pay usually are unrelated to criminal charges; in other words, the insurer usually pays immediately without having to await a criminal trial or plea.

2) Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage? If Prieto didn't have liability insurance, or the limits are too low, the Cerans' own car insurance may kick in. Car insurers are required to offer uninsured motorist coverage (although it can be waived, if memory serves). Under UM coverage, the victim's own insurance pays if the other driver did not have liability insurance. Many policies also have related UIM coverage, which kicks in if the other driver had insurance but the policy limits are inadequate.

3) COBRA? If Ceran had group health insurance at his prior employment (which Rolly said ended November 30), and if his prior employer had 20+ employees, Ceran should still be within a 60-day election period to continue his prior health insurance through COBRA. Under COBRA, it can be done retroactively, which usually eliminates gaps in medical coverage.

We don't know the answers to these questions. But since they are time sensitive, we hope someone is helping the Cerans look into them at this difficult time in their lives.

Insurance crisis and global warming

For shame.
Once again, the Miami Herald short-changes its readers. This time, in an editorial that fails to connect the insurance crisis with its real cause: the costs of global warming.

On today's editorial page, the Miami Herald adds to the chorus of complaint against the insurance industry, whose business risk models have been radically revised to accommodate future storm losses. The paper calls for a "national catastrophe insurance fund."

What does that really mean?

What a national catastrophe insurance fund really means is that US Senators and Congressional representatives from low-lying coastal states want consumers, taxpayers, and homeowners in the rest of the nation to hedge our risks by living where we do--in places highly vulnerable to global warming.

Where are these same senators and congressmen--or, Florida newspapers' editorial boards-- in calling for policies to address the costs of global warming now, like radical reform of the US Army Corps of Engineers permitting processes, that are a pathetic rubber-stamp for politically influential developers and land speculators in low-lying wetlands? Nowhere.

During the recent campaign for governor of Florida, we were shocked that neither candidate made the connection for voters between global warming and the insurance crisis.

The mainstream media could have forced the question forward: what about global warming? But didn't.

Well, it is Governor Crist's turn to stand up on global warming. The time is now, to pull Florida's head from the sand.

Insurance industry executives are some of the sharpest business minds on the planet. Their daily news clips are filled, no doubt, with stories that profoundly impact their choices, and our wallets, but rarely make it to the editorial pages.

A 2003 report by the US Government Accountability Office reported that erosion and flooding affect 86 percent, 0r 184 of 213 Alaska villages to some degree. That statistic popped up in a widely distributed AP report just a few days ago.

Yesterday, the mainstream media reported a 2005 event in the Candadian north, when an ice sheet the size of 11,000 football fields broke from the Artic ice shelf.

Who thinks the insurance industry is making today’s decisions on rate hikes based on last year’s information on global warming, or, three years ago?

You would think that Florida, with trillions of coastal real estate values at risk, would be THE FIRST state to address global warming, and so would our newspaper editorial boards.

You would be wrong!

So, here we are at the end of 2006 and Miami Herald editorial board again rattles its pen about the insurance crisis without calling it for what it is, or, calling for changes in local policies governing land use that might diminish, looking forward, losses incurred by building in low-lying flood plains. (Today's Washington Post does the same, in a news report that also refers to the rate hikes as a result of predictions of stronger hurricanes--without mentioning global warming.)

We hate our insurance bills. But we wouldn’t ask the rest of the nation to pay our bill, without first leading the way to concrete steps leading us away from the risks of global warming.

But you haven’t read this point of view in the Miami Herald. And what you are hearing from US Senators like Bill Nelson or Mel Martinez is more of the same.

We know what’s coming for Florida. It looks a lot like what is happening in Alaska. We just don’t know how quickly. But the insurance industry, planning to be in business long after we are gone, is taking the guesswork out of that question.

Today’s insurance industry executives have been loudly proclaiming global warming for what it is: the biggest threat to the world economy. A recent British government report calls global warming the biggest market failure in world history. We agree.

On global warming, America has its head in the sand. That would go for the Miami Herald, too, that continues to write about the insurance crisis in Florida without also calling for concrete steps to show the rest of the nation we are serious about changing the habits that got us into this mess in the first place.

U.S. death toll at 100 for December

Five more American soldiers die this week

The U.S. military death toll in Iraq this month continued to rise as officials reported yesterday that five more American service members had died.

The latest deaths brought to 100 the number of service members killed in December, according to iCasualties.org, an independent website that tracks military fatalities.

Most were killed in Iraq's western Anbar province, where Sunni Arab insurgents are aggressively fighting U.S.-led forces, and most were killed by roadside bombs, according to a Washington Post analysis of data.

The deadliest month so far this year was October, with 105 American military fatalities, according to data provided by the U.S. Department of Defense. The number of service members who have died since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion is 2,979.

December's death toll has been steadily climbing, with most of the daily attacks against American service members occurring in Anbar province and the capital. While U.S. troops are fighting the insurgency in Anbar, they are also trying to calm sectarian violence in Baghdad.
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"This has been a difficult month for coalition forces," Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, told reporters Wednesday. "You know, our deepest condolences go out to those families, to their friends - of those who have lost somebody very near and dear to them this month."

As of yesterday, the Department of Defense's official death toll for December was 94. The department waits 24 hours after next-of-kin notification to include a casualty in its official tally. The U.S. military in Iraq puts out news releases before a loss is officially counted, but withholds names.

Yesterday, one soldier died and another was injured when a roadside bomb detonated near their patrol north of Baghdad, the military said. A day before, the soldiers had been involved in the capture of four suspected insurgents believed to have planted a rocket on a main road, according to the military.

On Wednesday, a roadside bomb detonated near a patrol southwest of the capital. Two soldiers were killed and one was wounded, the military said. The unit had detained five suspected insurgents the week before after watching them place a bomb in a road.

Also on Wednesday, a soldier was killed and two were wounded when they were clearing a road in east Baghdad, the military said. That same day, in Anbar province, a Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 was killed in combat.

Auto Insurance, Policy Assets, and Customer Assistance

One morning a friend of mine was running late for class at school. His wife was throwing together some kind of breakfast while he gathered his laptop, notebook, and picked out the books he was going to need for school that day. He zipped up his pack and ran outside to warm the car up. Except, there was no car. It had been stolen. My friend ran into one disappointment after another that week as he first found the insurance company wouldn't pay for a rental, then that the damage the thief did to the car would only be covered up to the deductible and that somehow he was going to have to come up with the 500 dollars before the car could be fixed. He had supposed he had done due diligence by going to one of those car insurance quotes sites and finding the lowest priced quote. He had thought by getting cheap car insurance he had beat the system somehow. In reality, his cheap car insurance turned out to be crappy car insurance. His problem stemmed from a lack of information about his car insurance.

Before you buy your next auto insurance policy be sure you know all of the facts about the company's service policies. Cheap car insurance is only cheap if the product is as good as the more expensive car insurance. A good place to start is with a free car insurance quote, however obtaining an auto insurance quote is not going to be enough unless you know what kind of service you expect and whether or not the company quoted will provide it. The two A's will keep you straight. They are, Assets and Assistance.

Assets

You want to make certain that your car insurance quote includes every asset you could want or need in an emergency. When you are high and dry without a car, will your insurance cover your transportation needs? Check to make certain that the company you are buying car insurance from will provide you with an auto rental if something goes wrong. If your car is stolen--as my friend's was-- undrivable, or in the car repair shop for a few days you want to make certain that a car will be available to you. If not, you will be forced to call your in-laws and give them one more reason why you aren't good enough for their daughter. Check that you have road-side assistance, some variation on lock-out service, and towing service provided by some insurance company. Remember the car insurance quote is only low if the car insurance product is good.

Assistance

Find out what the auto insurance company's customer service is like before you buy from them. How do you find out something like that? First, there is no way to know for certain what type of people you will end up dealing with, but there are ways to know the probability of having a good experience. First, there is the low tech way of asking your family and friends what their experiences have been. The lemon auto insurance companies will immediately pop up in a network search of that kind, but let's say that you are a hermit and have no family or friends, or like one friend of mine, your family is all from the catskill mountains without cars or running water. If that is the case then you will need to try the high tech method: use the internet. One way is to make use of the Better Business Bureau's search engine. At www.betterbusinessbureau.org you can find if any complaints have been registered against the auto insurance company in question and whether or not the company has resolved those complaints. I have checked the auto insurance companies that have treated my family poorly and they all seem to have a complaint--not made by me--against their name.

Another way to check the customer service of a company is to find a claims telephone number on their website and call it up. If their claims people are nice to you, the likelihood of the customer service being a positive team has just raised. After you have assessed the courtesy level of the auto insurance company's service department, then politely thank them for their time and hang up. No explanation necessary, they will just move on to their next call without giving you another thought. This technique is based on the theory that there are two kinds of companies: the ones who stock their sales teams with friendly people and put all the low-paid mean folks in their claims departments and the ones who stock both with friendly, professionals. Usually, this simple test will tell you the type of company with which you are dealing.

If the quoted auto insurance policy has both the assets you desire and a high quality of customer service, then the quote is a true quote. Remember if you think you might end up actually using the car insurance--which we should all assume we will--then check these two things before running after the apparently low premiums.

Farmers Insurance requests rate reduction

State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced that Farmers Insurance has requested an 18 percent overall reduction in homeowners insurance rates for California policyholders. The $171 million in proposed rate decreases by the state's 2nd largest homeowners insurer will impact nearly 1 million homeowners and renters. The decreases will likely take effect in June.

The Commissioner applauded the rate filing and proposed cut in premiums by Farmers. This action and previously filed homeowner rate reductions by State Farm, Safeco, Hartford, USAA, Nationwide and Kemper insurance companies totaling $439 million, brings a significant conclusion to Garamendi's term as Insurance Commissioner and his campaign to bring down homeowner rates for California consumers. Garamendi will become California's Lieutenant Governor on Sunday, January 7.

In June, Commissioner Garamendi ordered Allstate, State Farm, Farmers and Safeco Insurance to justify their homeowner rates. The move was prompted by the Department of Insurance comprehensive study of homeowners and auto insurance rates which revealed that four of the state's largest homeowners' insurers were paying far less than 50 cents of each premium dollar to settle policyholder claims. The four insurers account for 51 percent of the California homeowners' insurance market. The study, called "Lower Claims, Higher Profits: Where Do Your Premium Dollars Go?" disclosed the historically low loss ratios that insurers have experienced over the past two years.

The Farmers rate cuts will benefit their Special Form, Protector Plus, Renters and Condominium Owners customers. It will increase the dual auto / home discount for customers who carry these policies from 12 percent to 15 percent and provide substantial discounts for newer homes and newly renovated homes as well.

As part of the new rate reduction filing, Farmers is also introducing a "claim forgiveness" policy for customers who remain "claims free" with the company for six or more years prior to filing a single claim.

The Department said the study was launched in response to an emerging trend in which insurance carriers have experienced dramatic reductions in the percentage of premium dollars used to pay claims.

Health Insurance Companies WILL Oppose Your Plan Anyway

With a Democratic Congress coming in January, obviously several health care plans are going to be introduced. Here is some free advice to legislators. Don't even bother including private insurance companies in your plans.

Conventional Wisdom thinking is that you have to include private insurance companies in any plan, or they'll put so much money and effort into opposing your plan - and you - that nothing can pass. In the 90's the Clinton administration offered a comprehensive health care plan that involved private insurers instead of a "Medicare-For-All"-style national health plan, hoping to ward off industry opposition. This was an example of what I call the "Afraid Rush Will Say Something Bad About You" syndrome - the point being that Rush will say something bad about you anyway, no matter what you do. And of course the private insurance companies did oppose the Clinton plan anyway, putting so much money into opposing it that it never even came up for a vote. The effort went beyond just opposing the plan and became personal, with smears and take-no-prisoners tactics directed against anyone involved in trying to bring health care to the public. So much of that money and venom was left over that it helped bring in a Republican congress the following year.

So here is some news for Democrats who are offering health care plans that offer tribute to private insurance companies: They are going to oppose your plan.

Do you think that it is more efficient to use a private insurance company to provide health insurance? Then take a look at what the big corporations do when offering health insurance to large numbers of employees. The big companies "self-insure." They set up their own little internal national-health-care plans for their employees and administer them themselves rather than use private insurance companies because private insurance companies cost too much. Face it: Medicare-For-All is the only plan that will work. These days the private insurance companies are designed to deliver profits and enormous CEO salaries, while delivering the absolute minimum benefit to the public that they can get away with without personally being put in jail -- fines and civil judgments being already factored in.

Do I have a low opinion of insurance companies? You bet. Am I alone? Discuss.

Naples Real : Insurance: They aren't going to take it anymore

Fourteen months after Wilma ripped through Naples, it is hard to find a blue roof. This city-owned property on the corner of Fleishmann Blvd. and Tamiami Trail North is the exception.

On Jan. 2, Charlie Crist will move to 700 North Adams Street in Tallahassee.
Built in 1957, the 13,000-square-foot Governor's Mansion qualifies at the start of the year for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. But if it didn't belong to the state, and wasn't covered under the State Risk Management Trust Fund, the Governor-elect might share with his constituents an insurance nightmare.

Still, Governor-elect Crist has already started obsessing about the issue. When he decided to cease raising funds to pay for the inaugural Governor's Ball he said, "I just didn't feel right having a Ball while Floridians are struggling with a property tax and insurance crisis."

Nonetheless, there will be dozens of parties on Jan. 2, and a week later, all eyes will be focused on the 50-yard line, as the Florida Gators take on the Ohio Buckeyes. Reality won't set in until Jan. 16, when Florida's legislators have been summoned into a special session to start dealing with the I-word.
The legislators can expect to hear everything from heart-wrenching stories of homeowners who cannot afford rates that have doubled or tripled in one year, to irate real estate agents who will cite instances in which their clients have been unable to buy or sell certain properties because of the changing rules.

Earlier this year, a group of 32 residents in Key West got together and decided that they were going to do things the hard way: figure out how the Florida insurance industry sets rates and fight back. Within months, the organization they called FAIR - for fair insurance rates in Monroe County - swelled to 3000 members. There was dancing in the streets - it happens often in Key West - when the group succeeded in blocking some rate increases and getting others rolled back.

Hearing the story at a meeting of the Florida Association of Realtors, Bobbie Dusek was motivated to start a similar organization in Collier County. Her group is called FAIR for Collier, but here it stands for "fighting against insurance rates".

The group has drawn up a 10-point bill of rights for property owners, started a membership drive, held public meetings, and implored the Collier County commissioners to pony up funds to hire an attorney and an actuary to cut through the fog and determine what property insurance rates here should be.
FAIR has set up a mailing address at FAIR for Collier, Inc., P.O. Box 7771473, Naples, FL 34107. It has a blog at: http://fairforcollier.wordpress.com. FAIR will place representatives at a table at the Downtown Naples New Year's Eve Art Festival on Fifth Avenue South the weekend of Dec. 30 and 31; a meeting, open to the public, at the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce at 2390 Tamiami Trail North on Jan. 4, starting at 5 p.m., and a face-to-face meeting with Collier County commissioners at the Government Center at 3301 Tamiami Trail East starting at 9 a.m. on Jan. 9.

As it gathers support from the public, FAIR is also seeking the attention of the state officials who can ultimately make things happen. State Senator Burt Saunders has attended a meeting and expressed interest. The other state representatives from this area who have been or will be contacted by FAIR are: Senator Larcenia J. Bullard; Representative Mike Davis; Representative Denise Grimsley; Representative Garrett Richter; Representative David Rivera, and Representative Trudi K. Williams.

Monroe and Collier county's FAIR organizations are being cloned by a number of other organizations throughout the state, specifically organized to deal with property insurance. Others, such as the older Community Association Leadership Lobby (CALL) have added the insurance crisis to their agendas. CALL represents more than 4,000 communities, including condominiums, homeowners associations, mobile home communities and cooperatives in Florida. Their website is: www.callbp.com.

"Spiraling storm-related insurance premiums put a strain on our communities and compromise the ability of elected volunteer community association leaders to manage them effectively," said a Naples member of CALL, Ewing Sutherland, when the group released a survey about insurance-rate increases.
The Ft. Lauderdale attorney who serves as CALL's executive director, Donna D. Berger, said Floridians are upset and "tired of listening to excuses from elected officials who say nothing can be done about this outrageous increase in storm-related insurance costs."

That comment may seem to be one of the more polite ways of putting it when the special session opens.

Insurance Lawsuit Headed Back to State Court

GULFPORT, Miss. -- Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood's lawsuit against insurance companies over Hurricane Katrina damages is heading back to state court after a federal judge ruled that's where it belongs.

U-S District Judge L-T Senter Junior decided the state court transfer today. The lawsuit was originally filed in state court but the insurance companies successfully fought to move it to federal court. The case now goes to Hinds County Chancery Court. Senter rejected arguments by insurers that Hood's suit should be heard in federal court because the companies write flood insurance policies that are funded and administered by the federal government.

Hood filed a civil suit in September 2005 against five major insurance companies for refusing to cover at least 2 (b) billion dollars in estimated damage from Katrina's storm surge.

The companies named as defendants in Hood's suit are State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Company, Mississippi Farm Bureau Insurance Company, United Services Automobile Association and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

Lawmakers To Tackle Post-Katrina Insurance

In a week from Tuesday, lawmakers will return to the State Capitol to begin their 2007 legislative session. One issue they'll try to tackle is getting available and affordable insurance for all Mississippians.

It's a key issue, lawmakers say, no one wants to talk about, but one that demands action to keep companies writing policies in the state.

"The insurance companies are waiting right now for us do something in the legislature. They're waiting," says Senate Insurance Chairman Dean Kirby.

Lawmakers are considering spending 30 million dollars next year to bail out the state Wind Pool, the insurer of last resort in the six coastal counties. "We're going to have to put some money in there to jump start," says Rep. Bobby Moak.

Sen. Kirby is hopeful that money will come from the federal government. He and Moak support several long term measures that other states are already implementing.

Lawmakers could give the Wind Pool underwriting authority, which would allow them to keep their profits and set a range of premiums. Insurance companies could be allowed to recoup some of their losses paid out. And the state could offer tax incentives.

"We need tax incentives for the people buying the policies and we need tax incentives also for the insurance companies that are actually willing to write wind coverage on the Coast," says Kirby.

Though there are no easy answers, lawmakers say they've got to act this legislative session, realizing they won't make everybody happy. "I don't think what we end up having all the insurance companies are going to like and we know that," says Kirby. "All the insured aren't going to like it and we know that as well."

Then there's also heat from policy holders in Central and Northern Mississippi who don't want to pay higher premiums to support losses on the Coast. Moak says it's already happening and it needs to be discussed. "The legislature and the population of this state needs to get educated on exactly what are these increases we're seeing," he says.

Insurance Commissioner George Dale was not available for comment Tuesday. State offices were closed for the holiday.

When it Comes to Health Insurance Costs - Geography Matters

By Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

CITY VS. CITY: WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS, GEOGRAPHY MATTERS

A new federal database for the first time allows companies, consumers, health care analysts and others to compare health insurance costs among the nation’s largest cities and other geographical areas. This new metropolitan area data table developed by HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality provides comparable statistics on average annual costs for companies and workers contributing to private-sector health insurance. This newest addition to AHRQ’s extensive data on employer-based health insurance can be accessed at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/survey_comp/Insurance.jsp.

The estimates, which are from AHRQ’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey for 2004 -- the most current data -- show large geographical variations in how much Americans pay for family coverage and individual coverage as well as how much employers contribute to workers’ health insurance premiums.

“We already know that the quality of health care can vary significantly according to geography,’’ said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. “These new data highlight local cost variations and may help employers make annual benefit plan decisions.”

Some highlights from the new data for the 20 largest metro areas:

For family health insurance plans, Seattle workers contributed the most (an average $3,299 per year). New York City-area workers contributed the least for family coverage ($1,851).

Average premiums for family coverage were highest in New York ($11,244) and lowest ($8,521) in the Riverside, California metro area, which includes San Bernardino and Ontario.

For individual coverage, Boston workers paid the most ($867). Workers in Riverside paid the least ($449).

Premiums for single coverage were highest in San Francisco ($4,185) and lowest in Riverside, ($3,012).

The data include statistical averages from the following cities and surrounding areas: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, Houston, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Detroit, Boston, San Francisco, Riverside, Phoenix, Seattle, Minneapolis, San Diego, St. Louis, Baltimore and Tampa.

The database also provides comparisons within states. For example, in the northern and central counties of New Jersey and part of the New Jersey shore, workers contributed an average of $1,676 for family coverage. But in areas of New Jersey further from New York City, such as Atlantic City and Camden, workers contributed an average $3,079 – 84 percent more.

The employer-based insurance data from AHRQ’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component are updated annually.

Providing information on health care costs, including insurance, is an important component of the HHS Value-Driven Health Care initiative. Using this new AHRQ database, consumers, health care analysts and others will be able to compare and evaluate health insurance costs between the nation’s largest cities and other geographical areas and make informed decisions about coverage. For more information on the Value-Driven Health Care initiative, go to: http://www.hhs.gov/transparency

Best Vitamin Supplements

In todays society, there are a ton of liquid vitamins to chose from.

Anything from Eniva Vibe, Goji Juice, Xango Juice, or Noni Juice, there is a new one coming out everyday that claims to have all of your bodies nutritional needs on a daily basis.

But when you dig deeper, and examine these liquid multi vitamins a little closer, you will see that some to not contain the complete liquid vitamins and minerals we need from our nutrition supplements.

I have picked some of the top liquid vitamin supplements and compared them to what I think is the most complete supplement available - Eniva Vibe.

When comparing the Antioxidants alone, Eniva Vibe beats out Xango Juice, Goji Juice, and Noni Juice with a huge gap in between them. Vibe is 3.125 ORAC per ounce and the next closest to VIBE of those three is Xango Juice at 530 ORAC per ounce.

So you can see from those alone, that Eniva has a product in VIBE that will help reduce the free radicals in your body and help you get your body to achieve better health.

Because Eniva Vibe has the complete vitamins and minerals that are needed, it makes it one of the best vitamin supplements available. It will give you what Redbull cant, and that is healthy energy drinks. And that is why I have chose Eniva Vibe as my liquid vitamin supplement of choice and home based business because of is superior nutrient content compared to other leaders in vitamins.

Insurers could invest US$35.7b overseas

Around 282 billon yuan (US$35.7 billion) of China's insurance capital could flood into the overseas market after the regulator released a rule on insurers' overseas investment yesterday, its latest move to broaden investment channels.

The rule, which is open to public opinions from now until January 10, is part of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission's (CIRC) efforts to help insurers boost investment returns.

According to the rule, the amount that an insurance company can invest in the overseas market should be no more than 15 per cent of its total assets last year.

As the total assets of China's insurance sector stood at 1.88 trillion yuan (US$238 billion) by the end of November, around 282 billon yuan (US$35.7 billion) could be invested overseas next year.

"It is a piece of good news for us, but we will be very cautious in overseas investment," said a researcher with Skandia-BSAM Life Insurance Co, a Sino-Sweden joint venture specializing in long-term wealth management.

According to him, understanding the overseas market will be the major challenge for domestic insurers.

"The successful investment experience in the domestic market may not work in the overseas market," he added. "Hiring a local asset management company in that market will be a better choice."

But he said that did not mean the investment return from the overseas market would be higher than the return from the domestic market.

"Take China's stock market this year for an example, could you find a better market?" he asked.

China's stock market has seen a growth of over 100 per cent so far this year.

Experts said insurance companies' investment return this year could exceed 6 per cent due to the bullish market.

The new rule allows insurers to invest in four types of products overseas monetary market products, such as commercial bills and monetary funds; products with fixed return, such as bank deposits, bonds and trusts; equities, such as stocks and stakes; and other products approved by the CIRC.

"There are no problems with the first two types of products, but insurers should be particularly cautious with the third type," said Zhu Junsheng, a researcher with the Capital University of Economics and Business. "As far as I know, even very matured foreign insurers invest less than 5 per cent into stocks."

The CIRC has launched a slew of policies to broaden the investment channels to insurers, such as allowing them to pour money into infrastructure projects and buy stakes in banks.

"Our next emphasis will be on home mortgages," Gao Yan, deputy director of the capital management department of the CIRC, told China Daily while attending the second Sino-US Insurance Dialogue last month.

"It is a common practice for insurance companies to run house mortgage business through intermediaries," said Malone Ma, China chief representative of the MetLife Insurance Company. "But given the lack of home mortgage intermediaries in China, insurers could probably do this business through banks."

CIRC statistics show that China's premiums topped 517.7 billion yuan (US$65.5 billion) by the end of November, an increase of 47.7 billion yuan (US$6 billion) on October. Premiums from the life insurance sector hit 379.8 billion yuan (US$48 billion), up 35.6 billion yuan (US$4.5 billion) month-on-month. The non-life insurance sector saw its premiums grow to 137.9 billion yuan (US$17.45 billion), a jump of 12 billion yuan (US$1.52 billion) on a monthly basis.

"China's insurance sector has entered a period of rapid expansion, with a growth rate of about 20 per cent expected in the following few years," Zhou Yanli, vice-chairman of the CIRC told a press conference in Southwest China's Guizhou Province. "Premiums this year are expected to cap 600 billion yuan (US$75.9 billion)."

China's insurance sector has seen an annual growth of 35 per cent in the past five years, exceeding the financial sector's 15.8 per cent annual growth and China's annual economic growth of 8.8 per cent.

Despite the skyrocketing development of the industry, China's per capita life insurance premiums stood at US$30.5 last year, lagging far behind the international average of US$299.5; while the property insurance premium was US$15.8, compared with an international average of US$219.

Nunez unveils business health insurance plan

Funding would be an issue, say critics of universal proposal

Momentum for sweeping health care reform in California continued to grow Thursday as a powerful Democratic leader proposed forcing businesses to cover their employees and extending health insurance to all children.

The plan by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, will likely be a starting point for negotiations with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in what is expected to be the dominant policy debate in Sacramento next year.

Schwarzenegger has declared 2007 the "year of health care" and will unveil in a few weeks his own reform agenda to fix what he calls a "broken system."

"I feel very confident, extremely confident," Nunez said, "that we will have in 2007 a health care reform package that Californians can be proud of."

Nunez's announcement comes on the heels of last week's similar proposal by Senate Democratic leader Don Perata of Oakland. With the two legislative leaders and Schwarzenegger all focused on health care and pledging to cooperate on a solution, the likelihood of reforming a system that leaves about 6.6 million Californians uninsured appears greater than it's been in years.

Still, health care reform is complicated, expensive and controversial. Nunez offered few specifics about how much his plan would cost and precisely where the money would come from, beyond some contribution from employers, saying those details would be provided after health experts evaluate his ideas. Schwarzenegger has ruled out a tax increase.

"Ultimately when the end game occurs, they're going to have to face the funding issue, and coverage isn't cheap," said Tom Epstein, vice president of public affairs for Blue Shield of California. "If they're going to significantly expand coverage, they're going to have to find the money to pay for it." California's last attempt to vastly expand health insurance was overturned at the ballot box in 2004, after business groups teamed up with Schwarzenegger against it.

Nunez and Perata pick up largely where that defeated plan left off. Both Democrats endorse a so-called employer mandate, forcing businesses to provide health insurance to their employees or else pay a percentage of their payroll into a state insurance pool that would provide coverage. They also call on workers to pay a yet-unspecified share of their health premiums, and Perata would require employees to show proof of health insurance on their state tax returns.

Business groups are almost certain to oppose a health insurance mandate.

"We feel employer mandates have a disproportionate impact on small businesses," Lara Diaz Dunbar, a senior vice president at the California Restaurant Association, said in a recent interview. The association spent more than $5 million to overturn Senate Bill 2, the 2003 health reform measure that included an employer mandate.

Nunez said insuring all children will be a top priority in the health care negotiations. An attempt to cover the estimated 800,000 kids who lack insurance stalled earlier this year when Schwarzenegger balked at the $300 million price tag. Nunez believes children of undocumented parents should be covered as well.

"You cannot have health care reform and call it reform," Nunez said, "if each and every child in the state of California is not covered."

Republican lawmakers are vehemently opposed to providing health care to illegal immigrants, but they do not have enough votes in either house to derail Democratic legislation.

Nunez would also attempt to rein in spiraling health care costs, which have caused double-digit premium increases in recent years. He would require that private insurers provide a "reasonable" minimum benefit package that includes coverage for preventive care — an effort to reduce costs of treating more advanced illnesses.

Nunez also endorsed an expansion of electronic medical records, which would allow health providers to access a patient's records over the Internet. Proponents say the system could avoid costly duplication of tests and procedures, and reduce medical errors.

Schwarzenegger is expected to roll out his health care ideas with a series of announcements in January. The governor, who had breakfast with Nunez and their wives hours before the Assembly speaker made his announcement Thursday, has raised expectations about a notoriously difficult issue.

"With the same bipartisan spirit we worked in last year," Schwarzenegger said in a statement, "I know that meaningful health care reform can be achieved.

Students learn about insurance needs

In a class of a dozen students at Century High School nearly every student has a car.

By a show of hands, two pay for their own car insurance. A handful have credit cards or bank accounts. Some have collected a traffic ticket or two.

Each of these actions is affecting the students’ auto insurance premiums, as insurance commissioner Jim Poolman explained to Karri Landeis’ English class and four other Century classes Monday. His presentations are part of the insurance department’s efforts to educate people about insurance.

A low credit score caused by credit card debt or bounced checks could increase a person’s insurance rate. Tickets for moving violations, like speeding, also can raise rates. A higher credit score gives a person a more favorable rate.

“No credit score is not a reason for them to increase your rate,” Poolman told the class.

A person can have no credit score if they have not done things to establish a credit history, like taking out credit cards, or always paying for big ticket items with cash instead of financing. Insurance providers were charging people without a credit score at the same rate as people who were considered high risk, such as the low credit score group. North Dakota has a law to prevent this, Poolman said.

A young adult covered by their parents’ auto insurance policy will pay less than if the person lived on their own, he said. This is because premiums are based on risk. Generally, teens can stay on their parent’ policy if they live at home or they are at college, and get a better rate.

It’s the same with health insurance. Many group health plans allow children to stay on their parents’ health plan while they are in college or until a certain age. But a fifth of young adults, if left to choose, would opt not to get health insurance if they had to pay for it, Poolman said.

“The largest group of uninsured people are young singles,” Poolman said. “Medical debt is the major cause of bankruptcy.”

While young adults might not have a regular need for health services, going without health insurance does not provide coverage for emergencies, which could put a person into debt. A lower-cost option for healthy young adults is to buy a plan that provides catastrophic coverage.

Poolman also explained why they should consider renters insurance and understand life insurance for future life needs. Renters Insurance covers a person’s belongings when they live somewhere they do not own. The property owner is not liable if a renter’s belongings are damaged or stolen, Poolman said. Life Insurance is more of a concern as people begin to get married and start families, he said.

The insurance department is working to educate people about different insurance needs for four life stages: young adult, young families, established families and empty nesters.

New insurance law could start next year

The revised insurance law, which will enable insurance companies to invest in real estate, will go public as early as the end of next year, said top managers at China’s insurance regulator.

The current insurance law was enacted in 1995 and revised in 2002. However, due to the skyrocketing development of China’s insurance sector, which has seen an average annual growth of 30 per cent over the past two decades, the original insurance law lags far behind the times.

“One of the major problems is with investment channels,” said Yang Huabai, director of the legislation department of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC).

China’s Insurance companies held a combined 1.85 trillion yuan (US$236.5 billion) of assets as of October 31, up 25 per cent on last year.

However, because of strict constraints on which fields insurers can invest under the original insurance law, their investment return has hovered at around only 3 per cent over the past few years.

Although the CIRC has taken measures to open investment channels, such as allowing some insurers to pour money into infrastructure projects and buy stakes in banks, these moves haven’t yet been included in the law.

“As a major change, insurers can invest in real estate in the revised draft,” said Yang.

Some insurance companies have already embarked on pilot programmes in the property sector.

“We have bought several commercial buildings this year and will further strengthen our investment in this sector, including in medium-sized cities,” Li Yanhua, chief risks officer at Taikang Life Insurance, told China Daily. Taikang Life is the country’s fifth largest life insurer by premium.

Insurance companies’ liabilities are mostly long-term, so finding good long-term assets to match them is important, with real estate projects are among the best choices, Li explained.

“My confidence in China’s real estate sector is based on the country’s growing economy and limited land supply, especially in hot areas,” Li said.

For Li, the revised insurance law is good news, promising further regulation of the market.

She cares most about the clarification of consumers’ benefits and liabilities.

“We hope that there will be more articles to protect consumers in the revised insurance law,” she said.

Most of the articles in the original insurance law were targeted at insurance companies. However, the enhanced competition in the insurance sector has led to more irregularities, damaging consumers’ services.

“On the other hand, there are very few regulations to clarify consumers’ liabilities,” said Li. “Insurance companies are becoming frustrated by the growing number of fake claims.”

According to Janet De Silva, CEO of Sun Life Everbright, a 50-50 joint venture life insurer between Canada’s Sun Life Financial and China’s Everbright Group, the broadened investment channels in the revised law will make product innovation easier.

“We will be pleased if CIRC loosens the restrictions on insurers’ overseas investments, as it could make product innovation more straightforward,” said De Silva.

While broadening investment channels, the revised insurance law will also expand insurers’ business scope and add new market entities.

For instance, there are only three types of business insurers could do under the original insurance law life insurance, non-life insurance and reinsurance. However, with the growth of the economy, there is now demand for different types of insurance.

The new medical co-operative system in rural areas, for instance, was widely welcomed by peasants but has exceeded the business scope of the original law, said Yang. The system aims to help peasants receive better medical treatments at lower cost.

Yang said the revised insurance law could go public as early as the end of next year.

“We submitted the draft law to the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council at the end of 2005 and we’ve reached an initial consensus now after some amendments,” said Yang.

The Legislative Affairs Office will submit the draft to the National People’s Congress (NPC) for a review early next year. The NPC usually conducts three reviews before passing a law, said Yang.

“Therefore, if everything moves on smoothly, the revised insurance law could be made public at the end of next year,” Yang added.

China’s insurance sector has seen an annual growth rate of 35 per cent over the past five years, with the overall premium topping 517.7 billion yuan (US$66.2 billion) by the end of November this year.

Under the 11th Five-year Plan, China’s insurance revenue is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan (US$128 billion) by the end of 2010, and insurance assets are expected to hit 5 trillion yuan (US$639 billion).

Best Vitamin Supplements

In todays society, there are a ton of liquid vitamins to chose from.

Anything from Eniva Vibe, Goji Juice, Xango Juice, or Noni Juice, there is a new one coming out everyday that claims to have all of your bodies nutritional needs on a daily basis.

But when you dig deeper, and examine these liquid multi vitamins a little closer, you will see that some to not contain the complete liquid vitamins and minerals we need from our nutrition supplements.

I have picked some of the top liquid vitamin supplements and compared them to what I think is the most complete supplement available - Eniva Vibe.

When comparing the Antioxidants alone, Eniva Vibe beats out Xango Juice, Goji Juice, and Noni Juice with a huge gap in between them. Vibe is 3.125 ORAC per ounce and the next closest to VIBE of those three is Xango Juice at 530 ORAC per ounce.

So you can see from those alone, that Eniva has a product in VIBE that will help reduce the free radicals in your body and help you get your body to achieve better health.

Because Eniva Vibe has the complete vitamins and minerals that are needed, it makes it one of the best vitamin supplements available. It will give you what Redbull cant, and that is healthy energy drinks. And that is why I have chose Eniva Vibe as my liquid vitamin supplement of choice and home based business because of is superior nutrient content compared to other leaders in vitamins.

Marshall Sylver

Marshall Sylver Will Change Your Life Just Like He Changed Mine!

Over the past 10 years I have attended dozens of personal development seminars and wealth conferences searching for that one thing I could take and run with. I have always known where I wanted to go in my life; the challenge for me was getting there!

I first came across Marshall Sylver at a Real Estate Expo in 2005 and I was absolutely blown away by his mentality and grasp on the human psyche. I felt an overwhelming passion to learn more from this man and immediately enrolled in his Turning Point seminar. I had no idea the impact his teachings would have on my life. I quit my job within 2 days after the seminar and became a full time real estate investor. Now 8 months later I am enjoying a lifestyle I never thought possible and I know without Marshall’s training I would still be in the same place I have been for the last 10 years. I can’t thank Marshall enough for leading me down the path I was destined to take.

Marshall uses hypnosis as the backbone for helping people achieve their dreams and conquer their fears. The process really works and Marshall is known today as the greatest hypnotist of all time, for a good reason too. In fact I would like to further validate his title as the greatest hypnotist of all time for all those people who say hypnosis doesn't work.

The proof is in the pudding!

- Marshall
Sylver has hypnotized more people during his lifetime than anyone
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Sylver holds the record for hypnotizing over 8,000 people at the
same time
- Marshall Sylver has sold more hypnosis CDs, books, and
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Sylver has created more millionaires and successful businesses
using the process of hypnosis than anyone in history
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Sylver recently made a movie that hypnotizes you when you watch it,
it is the first movie of its kind, (Tranced)

Marshall has educated and entertained television audiences from guest spots on The Late Show with David Letterman, Howard Stern, Rosie O'Donnell, Dr. Joy Browne, Donny & Marie, Sally Jesse Raphael, Montel Williams and The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. Marshall is also a respected business consultant sought by many Fortune 500 companies. He has led training programs for such companies as IBM, Ford, KFC and Pepsi, teaching management how to motivate employees & sales staff how to close a deal.

There are some negative articles circulating about Marshall because of a few rotten eggs, I want to encourage you to check Marshall Sylver out for yourself because he could easily change your life just like he did mine.

Tag: Marshall Sylver, Hypnosis, Theraputic Metaphors, Hypnotist, Tranced Movie, trance, hypnotic, induction

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What is the best weight loss blog?. After much research Dr. Simple decided to put together a document that summarized the most effective strategies on weight loss.”I wanted to create something that not only was effective, but a document that people could implement simply and see the results” says, Dr. Simple. If you are tired of not losing weight then “Weight Loss HD” is a simple to follow, easy to implement blog on how to make your weight loss a reality. Check out their free natural weight loss tips at http://www.WeightLossHD.com

WeightLossHD.com offers a complete range of nutrition information, tips, news, exercise routines, diet plans, and supplement reviews.

“People can still enjoy the holidays without having to give up all their weight loss efforts,” says Simple Edwin Registered Dietitian and founder of WeightLossHD.com. “It truly comes down to balance and moderation.”

About WeightLossHD.com
Simple Edwin is the owner of the WeightLossHD.com web site, established in 2003 and based in New York to promote and provide weight loss and wellness information to assist people to achieve long term results. The company was founded by Registered Dietitian, Simple Edwin.

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Firm banned from selling insurance

The Registrar of Medical Schemes, T Patrick Masobe, on Tuesday obtained an order in the Johannesburg High Court prohibiting Guardrisk from marketing and selling health insurance products.

The Council for Medical Schemes said in a news release Masobe claimed the products contravened the Medical Schemes Act.

The court found Guardrisk's Admedgap and Admedpulse health insurance products to be undertaking the business of a medical scheme without being lawfully registered to do so, the council said.

The argument brought before the Court by CMS was that Guardrisk was undertaking a business of a medical scheme if done in return for a premium or contribution but Guardrisk maintained that they were providing their insurance policies in terms of the Short Term Insurance Act.

This contention by Guardrisk was dismissed by the court.

"Judge Goldblatt also interdicted and restrained Guardrisk from directly or indirectly marketing, promoting, advertising and/or concluding any policies of insurance which offer benefits similar to those of Admedgap and Admedpulse."

Guardrisk was also ordered to terminate all existing policies within three months.

The three months would give policyholders an opportunity to seek and obtain other alternative health insurance cover.

Guardrisk was also ordered to pay the costs of the application including costs consequent upon the employment of two counsels.

Insurance company won't pay 50 Cent damages

Rapper 50 Cent has suffered a further blow in a $10m (€7.6m) lawsuit brought against him by radio DJ Richard ‘DJ Xzulu’ Dunkerson.

Rapper 50 Cent has suffered a further blow in a $10m (€7.6m) lawsuit brought against him by radio DJ Richard ‘DJ Xzulu’ Dunkerson. His insurance company claims it is not liable for any damages.

National Fire insists the In Da Club hitmaker violated his insurance coverage after waiting a year before informing the company of the suit.

The New York Post reports the rapper is being sued by Dunkerson after he claimed a member of 50 Cent's entourage attacked him and stole his phone last year in Washington DC.

In addition to the alleged assault, 50 Cent's group G-Unit released a song, Hate It Or Love It, that allegedly mocks the DJ and celebrates the Washington attack.

Chubb to offer added flood insurance

Going against the trend of insurers cutting back coverage for homeowners who live in storm-exposed areas, Chubb Corp. said Tuesday it will begin offering excess flood coverage policies the coasts of Florida, New York and other states.

The new policies cover water damage from hurricanes, storms and other types of flooding and is meant to supplement the National Flood Insurance Program that has largely replaced the private market in first-dollar flood protection.

The offer to cover hurricane flood damage puts Warren, N.J.-based Chubb at odds with other insurers, who are cutting back in the area.

After a record-breaking 2005 storm season, insurers and risk modeling companies came to believe that coming years will have more hurricanes than average, and that coastal areas as far north as New York could be more vulnerable to a big storm than generally thought.

Allstate Corp., the second-largest homeowners insurer nationwide, has been the most aggressive in cutting its exposure to huge hurricane losses. Earlier this year, it said it will stop writing new homeowners policies in New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware, and is cutting back in Florida and coastal New York.

Chubb, whose home insurance market share is far smaller than Allstate's, primarily insures more upscale homes whose owners may find the $250,000 building damage limit of the national flood program inadequate.

"This is something our customers have demanded of us," said Peter Spicer, new product manager, Chubb Personal Insurance, who credited Hurricane Katrina with drawing homeowners' attention to the problem of inadequate coverage.

But at the same time that homeowners are clamoring for more coverage, "you see carriers making adjustments to portfolios because new catastrophe models are suggesting they are more exposed than they thought they were."

Chubb customers who decide to add on the coverage will get a bill in the general range of $5,000 to $7,000 annually for $1 million to $2 million of coverage, Spicer said. That is on top of their regular homeowners policy and federal flood insurance, he said. The policies are available in 15 states and will eventually be available in a few more.

Although the price tag is substantial, he said customers who investigate their national flood coverage are typically receptive to the idea "when they realize how little coverage they get on the government policy," Spicer said.

He also said the Chubb policy offered extras such as coverage for additional living expenses if a house is rendered uninhabitable by flooding.

Earlier this year, Chubb began offering first-dollar flood coverage in some areas, but not for homeowners near a coastline.

The active hurricane season last year, along with news coverage of major insurers who are dropping coverage "opens a door," for Chubb agents to talk to their customers about the new policy, and perhaps make a sale, he said. "It is an unfilled need."

Shares of Chubb rose 23 cents to close Tuesday at $51.84 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Health Insurance Quote

Choosing a Health Insurance Quote: The Best Bang for your Buck

Most people get a series of health insurance quotes when shopping around. Everyone requires health insurance of some sorts, whether you are single, married have kids or are a student – and quotes help narrow down your options. However, the process can be quite a tedious one! Not only will this decision affect your levels of medical care, it will also affect your pocketbook. This article will help you manage the choices available to you when shopping for a health insurance quote, so that your medical requirements and budget are both met satisfactorily.

Most of the health insurance quotes that you’ll receive will be grouped into one of three categories:

Health Insurance Quotes: Indemnity of Fee-For-Service Plans

The plans that our parents used to use were probably indemnity plans; these health insurance quotes allow you to visit any doctor of your choosing. Highly desirable by many people, these types of health insurance quote are in great demand, however, they are becoming harder and harder to come by, and seem to be creeping up in price. But many consumers are willing to pay this price, because of the convenience and flexibility these plans offer.

Health Insurance Quotes: Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)

HMOs are becoming more and more common lately; most health insurance quotes are for this type of plan nowadays. HMOs are, essentially, a group of health service providers who bundle their services together in a fixed price option. If your doctor doesn’t refer you to certain care, then you won’t be eligible to receive payment for it under your health insurance quote. These types of plans are good for people who know they won’t need any specialized services, and if your budget is a factor, this is one of the lower, and more predictable options.

Health Insurance Quotes: Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs)

PPOs are a health insurance quote that combines aspects the two aforementioned plans. PPOs offer the same type of managed group services as HMOs, but also allow users to go outside of their network without a referral. It only makes sense, though, that using this option will cost you more out-of-pocket expenses, but it is covered partially. PPOs are a good middle group health insuranceground health insurance quote option; you get the flexibility of using your group of health care providers or ones outside of the network, and the costs for this type of plan are in the middle range of the three (although costs can be a bit less predictable).

Health Insurance Quotes: Where to Go?

Many consumers get their health insurance quotes from their workplace, which may or may not be partially paid for through the company. If your company doesn’t offer this benefit, perhaps talk to professional organizations, unions, banks, club or other group that you belong to – they may have an option that is attractive to you. If you cannot find group coverage this way, you can always opt for individual coverage – but this is by far the most expensive health insurance quote option out there. Talking to an insurance agent who can assist you with the quote process is a good idea, if this is your only avenue.

The growing appeal of disability insurance

Often, it's one of the last safety nets people think about -- after health, home and car insurance. After life, dental and maybe even pet insurance. But now, disability insurance is attracting new interest.

Sales of disability insurance, which provides an income if you can't work because of a serious illness or injury, had been stagnant after industry losses drove out many providers. But now sales are on the rise, driven by more-affordable policies, as well as a growing number of employers making disability insurance available for workers to purchase at a discount.

In particular, a simpler and cheaper type of disability policy called "guaranteed renewable" is becoming increasingly popular, with sales of new policies increasing 8 percent last year, according to Limra International, an insurance-industry research group. Guaranteed renewable provides less of a safety net than older-style "noncancelable" policies that lock in premiums for the life of the policy. The rates on guaranteed-renewable insurance can go up each year. But it is significantly cheaper than noncancelable coverage.

Prices and benefits range widely according to age, the amount of income being replaced and a host of other variables. The average monthly benefit for noncancelable individual disability insurance is $4,242, for an average annual premium of $1,684, among companies reporting to Limra. The average monthly benefit for guaranteed renewable is $1,479, for an annual premium of $523. (Figures include both long- and short-term policies.)

Fewer employers are paying for group coverage in their employee-benefit packages, in a bid to cut labor costs. But the newer products are allowing employers such as Staples Inc., ING Groep NV and hospital group Freeman Health System to offer private policies for at least 20 percent less than what workers would pay if they bought coverage on their own.

Some of the big providers of individual long- and short-term disability policies are UnumProvident Corp., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of MassMutual Financial Group. At MassMutual, worksite sales of private insurance grew 17 percent in the past three years, a spokesman says. Aflac Inc. is the top seller of short-term disability policies that cover workers for a few months, as well as accident disability policies.

There are a number of issues to consider before buying a disability policy, say insurers, consultants and consumer experts. Consumers should be sure they understand how "disabled" is defined by the policy, the percentage of income that would be replaced, and the duration and tax treatment of benefits. Also, policies bought at the office fall into a gray area of benefits law, with some courts limiting consumers' ability to sue if claims are denied.

But even consumer advocates who are often critical of the insurance industry for pushing unnecessary products (such as life insurance for someone with no dependents) say that a disability policy can be a smart buy. "Disability insurance would probably be the one insurance product that is undersold," says J. Robert Hunter, insurance director for the Consumer Federation of America.

The renewed interest in disability insurance comes as disability rates are rising. Americans are recovering and living longer from accidents and diseases such as cancer, but they aren't always able to go back to their jobs. And some research, such as a recent Hartford Insurance Co. study, suggest that rising rates of obesity and diabetes are leaving workers disabled at younger ages than in the recent past. Cancer was the No. 1 cause of long-term disability last year at the largest disability insurer, UnumProvident, the company says. Other top causes include complications of pregnancy, musculoskeletal diseases, back injuries and heart disease.

Despite the growing risks, less than a third of all workers in private industry have long-term disability insurance, and only 40 percent of managerial and professional workers do, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As recognition of the coverage gap grows, some people are buying policies to supplement an employer-paid benefit -- say, to increase the income replacement or cover short-term loss if the employer pays for only long-term. But many buy it because they otherwise have no coverage.

Five states (New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, California and Hawaii) and Puerto Rico mandate that employers provide some short-term disability coverage, or provide it through a state-funded program.

Elizabeth Vaughn, 53, a cardiovascular scrub nurse at Freeman West Hospital in Joplin, Mo., signed up for a short-term disability policy with $40-a-month payroll deductions to cover 60 percent of her income this spring. Her employer has offered discounted short-term disability from UnumProvident since November 2004. In August, she underwent a knee-replacement surgery. During a 12-week leave of absence, she received nearly $5,000 in disability benefits.

Four years ago, when she had the same operation on her other knee, she borrowed money from her retirement plan to live on while she recovered. Ms. Vaughn says she had never considered buying disability insurance until she was offered it at work. "I never checked into it. I didn't know the benefits of it until we received it here," she says.

Karen Morse, director of employee benefits at ING Groep in New York, says the financial-services company started offering supplemental disability insurance from MassMutual at a 25 percent discount in addition to its long-term employer-paid group coverage nearly six years ago. The employer-paid plan simply didn't cover enough of the highly compensated executives' salaries, Ms. Morse says.

To be sure, most people in the U.S. who do have disability coverage get it from their employers as a benefit. Group coverage has the advantage of being often free to employees and guaranteed: No medical questions are asked and you can't be disqualified. But benefits are often limited to 50 percent-60 percent of income and may be capped at $5,000-$10,000 a month, among other limitations. Benefits are taxable when the employer pays the premium. Group policies also aren't portable; you usually have to leave insurance behind with the job.

With private, individual policies, benefits aren't taxable if you pay your own premium. And policies are portable if you change employers. Private policies sold in the workplace may even share some characteristics of group policies, such as not requiring medical testing.

Among individual policies, noncancelable insurance is often marketed to high-income executives and professionals. It tends to have generous features such as desirable "own occupation" definitions of disability that pay a full benefit if one is unable to perform the specialized duties of one's occupation -- say, those of a surgeon -- but one can still work at other jobs, such as a general practitioner.

Guaranteed-renewable policies tend to have fewer features, but their lower cost -- an average of 20 percent less than noncancelable -- makes them more affordable. As long as the premium is paid, the insurer can't drop the policy. But rates on guaranteed-renewable policies can be increased, subject to approval by state regulators.

Rates for newly issued policies of both types of policies for 35-year-old males have been rising at about 7 percent a year, according to Gregory Large, managing partner of Lenox Advisors Inc., a benefits broker and administrator based in New York.

Individual policies of all types often include the option to buy inflation-protection and other riders. And a growing number of insurers also offer policies and riders that make up for lost retirement-account contributions during disability, including Berkshire Life Insurance Co. of America's Retirement Protection Plus and MassMutual's RetireGuard (though some group plans do, tthat legal protections for consumers who buy some individual disability insurance products at work can be unclear.

Insurance watchdog Joseph Belth, professor emeritus at Indiana University of Bloomington, has criticized some insurers for invoking the Employment Retirement Income Security Act, a federal law that regulates benefits plans, to avoid lawsuits by disgruntled oo).

Consumer advocates warn claimants.

Erisa was intended to protect employees' retirement benefits, but has sometimes been interpreted by the courts in ways that favor employers and insurers defending against claimant lawsuits.

Safety Net

What's driving disability insurance:

Affordable "guaranteed renewable" policies are the fastest-rising category of disability insurance, insurers say.

More employers are making private disability insurance available for workers to purchase at a discount.

Disability rates are rising, as the work force ages and Americans live longer with diseases such as cancer but aren't always able to keep working.

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Builders Insurance Urges Employers to Join the Fight against Workers' Compensation Fraud

LAS VEGAS -- As construction cools down in Nevada, there is one thing that is starting to heat up: Workers' compensation fraud. To fight this increase, employers must maintain a vigilant eye on both old claims and new claims.

According to Dave Oakden of S&C Claims Services, when lay offs and slow downs occur in the construction trade, the number of workers' comp fraud cases increases, as does the amount of those claims. Oakden handles claims for Builders Insurance Company, one of the two largest workers' comp carriers in the state, and has issued a fraud-alert warning to the more than 1,000 Nevada construction companies covered by Builders Insurance.

"There are 40,000 workers' comp cases that are filed annually in Nevada. Of those, 10 percent are possibly fraudulent," said Oakden. "Employers need to keep an eye out for workers that re-open an old claim before they get laid off. They also need to watch out for workers who hire an attorney before they hit the ground."

Oakden stressed that it's important to do thorough reports on every accident and to interview co-workers who witnessed the incident. "The more detailed you are at the first report of an accident the better your cases of eliminating fraud," he advised employers.

With workers' comp compensation pegged at a maximum of $4,800 a month, the workers' income potential is a lot better than what they can receive from unemployment benefits. And, because of this, some less-scrupulous, less-honest workers will invariably opt to try for the bigger paycheck.

To keep their claims to a minimum, there are a multitude of things employers can do, Oakden noted. "Be on the look out for accidents reported well after they allegedly occurred," he suggested. "Stress to employees that accidents must be reported when they happen, not days or weeks later.

"In addition, look for any inconsistencies in reported cases, such as refusing medical attention, then seeking it out at a much later date," Oakden suggested. "Do drug screenings and look into the possibility that the worker is exhibiting a drug seeking behavior. In these kinds of cases, workers often claim nothing definitive, but claim to have pain everywhere."

Oakden noted that there are other warning signs applicable to fraud cases. "Be wary of spouses who get involved in the case," he noted. "This is a telltale sign that the claim could be suspicious. The claimant has the sole responsibility to handle their own case unless it involves major injury, which makes it impossible for them to do so.

"In addition, watch for employees who play in sports leagues," he said. "It is not uncommon for an after-work sports injury to be reported as an on-the-job accident."

Once an employee has opened a claim, Oakden urges employers to make sure injured employees are doing the light duty assignments they have been approved to handle. Failure to work in their reassigned area or no call/no show for light duty can be red flags for workers' comp.

In the end, Oakden said, workers' comp fraud not only costs money, it is illegal.

"When we discover fraud, we turn the case over to the Attorney General's Office for criminal charges," said Oakden. According to him, Builders Insurance Company is one of the most pro-active carriers in the state when it comes to referring fraud practitioners for prosecution.

About Builders Insurance Company

Builders Insurance Company - BIC - offers post accident drug testing, back-to-work programs and created a drug-free workplace program to save Nevada's construction companies millions in workers' comp costs. More than 1,000 Nevada construction companies look to Builders Insurance to provide comprehensive workers' comp protection to their employees.

Builders Insurance distinguishes itself by providing workers' comp coverage - as well as comprehensive safety and fraud-reduction measures - designed to help participating companies reduce on-the-job injuries and reduce workers' comp claims - and costs.

Builders Insurance Company is a Nevada domestic insurer wholly owned by Nevada Contractors Insurance Company, Inc., a Nevada captive insurer; in turn, Builders Insurance is the sole owner of Risk Services-Nevada, which provides safety training and claims support for Builders Insurance's more than 1,000 policyholder companies. For more information, please visit the web site at http://www.nevada-comp.com.

Homeowners Insurance Guide

Homeowners insurance covers damages resulting from most kinds of natural calamities. If a third party lender finances a home, it becomes important to obtain homeowners insurance, in order to cover the building and the material possessions inside.

Homeowners insurance is a package policy: This means that homeowners insurance takes care of both, the damage caused to the home, and the legal responsibilities involved. Homeowners insurance can also be used to protect the homeowner against injuries or property damage caused to other people, by the owner or his/her family members. This includes injury caused by household pets.

Homeowners insurance covers damage caused by most disasters except floods, earthquakes, and the lack of maintenance. Individuals are required to buy separate policies to cover the losses incurred due to earthquakes and floods. Maintenance related damage is not covered by any insurance policy.

Types of Homeowners Insurance

Following are the four types of coverage included in the standard homeowners insurance policy: -

Coverage For The Structures

This policy pays for repairing or re-building the house if it gets damaged because of fire, hail, lightning, hurricane, damage caused by vehicle or aircraft, explosion, windstorm or other disasters, according to the formulation of the policy. Most of the standard policies also deal with structures that are not attached to the house, like the garage or a gazebo.

Coverage For Contents Of Home

This policy covers personal belongings such as furniture, clothes, electronic goods and other household items that get destroyed by any of the insured disasters. Most companies offer coverage of 50% to 70% of the amount insured for the building. For example, if a homeowner has $200,000 worth of insurance on building structure, then he/she would have $100,000 to $140,000 worth of coverage on the personal belongings. The best way to find out whether this coverage is adequate is to carry out a home inventory, which includes the original cost of each item.

Protection Against Liability

This covers against lawsuits for any physical injury or property damage that the homeowner, or his/her family members, or pets cause other people. This liability policy covers a homeowner anywhere in the world. For example, if a homeowner's children, or dog, or any other pet accidentally damages the neighbor's furniture, or expensive carpet, or any other property, the homeowner is covered by this policy. But the homeowner's own property is not covered by this policy, if the children or pets damage it similarly. Liability coverage generally starts at $100,000.

Additional Living Expenses Under Conditions The Homeowner Is Not Able To Live In The Home:

This policy pays for the additional cost of living away from home if it gets damaged by fire, lightning, hail, smoke, theft, storm, volcanic eruption or any other insured disaster. It covers restaurant bills, hotel bills and additional living expenses incurred while the home is being repaired. Generally, companies provide coverage for about 20% of the insurance on the structure of the house.

For example, if a homeowner has insurance worth of $100,000 on the structure of his/her house, then the additional living expenses coverage in case of damage will be 20% of $100,000, which is $20,000. This policy also reimburses the rent amount if a part of the damaged house had been on rent.

For most people, a home involves a large investment. Insuring it against damage due to some unforeseen calamity can protect you from bearing the burden of such losses.

Fraud 'adds 5% to nation's insurance premiums'

Fraud adds five per cent onto the value of the public's insurance premiums, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The comments come after the Insurance Fraud Bureau claimed that there may be 400 criminal gangs operating in the UK that specialise in insurance fraud – often in motor insurance where they target innocent members of the public and blame them for accidents, claiming thousands in costs for damage and injuries.

Malcolm Tarling, a spokesperson for the ABI, said it is a "major problem" that "needs to be rooted out", as it costs motorists £200 million every year.

Advising motorists not to argue with the gangs if they suspect they have been a victim, Mr Tarling remarked: "A good precaution is to take a camera with you so that in the unlikely event something happens you can take pictures at the scene."

He added that customers should always report suspicions to the police and contact their insurance company – "even if they don't intend to claim".

In January 2005, the ABI launched a national database designed to expose fraudulent insurance claims.

The association claimed that the register, designed to highlight fraudsters who insure their vehicle with multiple policies from different providers, would save motorists £20,000 a day.

Insurance agent arrested, charged with fraud, forgery charges

DONALDSONVILLE - A woman who worked as an agent for a local insurance firm was arrested Wednesday on multiple counts of insurance fraud, felony theft and money laundering, according to a report from State Police.

Troopers with the Louisiana State Police Insurance Fraud and Auto Theft Unit arrested Roberta Schaferkotter, 63, of Albany, and charged her with 59 counts of insurance fraud, two counts of felony theft and a felony charge of money laundering.

Schaferkotter was ordered to cease and desist from engaging in the business of insurance and her insurance licenses were suspended by members of the Department of Insurance Fraud Section, according to a release from Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon's office Friday.
*

Schaferkotter worked as an insurance agent with Security Plan Life and Fire Insurance Company, based in Donaldsonville. Department of Insurance records show that Schaferkotter obtained a Property and Casualty license in October 1991 and a Life and Health license in May 1991, both of which were suspended by the state.

The company filed a complaint with State Police, claiming that Schaferkotter falsified multiple life insurance policies for her own financial gain.

Investigation found that Schaferkotter allegedly used her customers' personal information to obtain life insurance policies in their name, but without their knowledge. She then named herself or her family members as the beneficiary of the policy. She then allegedly collected commissions and death benefits from the policies she created and diverted money between her personal and business bank accounts to perpetuate her scheme.

Schaferkotter was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail Wednesday.

Why do you need Insurance ?

An article about insurance. Why you need to do it, and what are the advantages

Do you have insurance ? In simple terms insurance is something you pay to be sure that if something goes wrong you will recover the full or partial value of your house, your car , phone or something else . Its a contract between you and the insurance company that states that the company is going to pay you in the case that the risk that is stated in the contract is going to happen.

You get in a car accident and your car gets smashed, the insurance company will give you a new car, you house gets robed, you will receive your valuable back from the insurance company or a part of them . Or your photo camera drops from a bridge, you will get a new one from the insurance company. It is a good idea to insure things today ? Now you can insure your legs even if you are a Hollywood Star . Celebrity leg insurance started from 1940 with Betty Grable, a famous actress, dancer, and singer who was the first woman to insure her precious legs for a million.

Today you can insure almost every part of your body, and why is that ? Because some celebrities certainly do want to be safe and to insure their body parts for huge amounts sometimes. If I am a Hollywood star and I do a breast operation why not insure my breasts so they will stay for years big and strong, and if one day something happens I can go to do another operation paid by the insurance ..why not? Sure I don't want this to happened But If it does ? Its best for me to be assured so I will not be worried for them.Exactly happens of you insure you legs and you broke them , your face and you get mugged and scarred by some robbers.

Insurance is sold in policies, so you are buying a product for one individual and most policies are bulk standard and so the same,

but if you like other things added like skiing extreme sports or something else... , then you will probably need to buy an upgraded version of the basic policy. Or if you have a special problem like a medical condition or a very expensive car or villa then you can sign some special policies at a special price for you.


How does it work?

Its simple ! You ensure your car for a small sum of money per month and you have an accident and survive you can get your new car back that is paid by the insurance company. Do they pay for it ? Yes, of course as long as you are covered for the damage.

And if you have some broken bones and you have medical insurance also you can have a well stay at the hospital where they will take care of you. But insurance of itself does not work to protect you against the risk happening, it covers the consequences of the happening, insurance can be only a win-win situation both for the insured and the insurance company.
What do I need to insure ?

Well, this is a question that only you can answer. You can insure some of your body parts or some expensive car, your private plane or your villa, some valuables, on short everything that you own and you like to keep it safe. You need insurance to prevent your accidents resulting in your family or friends becoming bankrupt, losing their house and their life saving .

God forbid you your family or your friends to have a bad accident some where in the mountains and you rush to a hospital by helicopter, it will cost you the medical bill and maybe the helicopter trip, if you called for a emergency exit from the situation.

But before to by a insurance policies you must look and compare the offers from the company's and to select the best solution for you, and to choose a parter for a longer term.
How the company gets his profit ?

Lets try to give an answer to that problem. The insurance company's make money form million people that insure, but only few of them are using the money from insurance so there is some chunks of them left for them, no? and the insurance companies are also insured, so if they do get hit for some biggie's, someone else helps them pay.

In sort, insurance today is something you need . Without it you are selfish and you are putting your house and savings at risk.So to be safe it is wise to insure.

Who are the worst drivers?

Lawyers, doctors and engineers may get the car insurance discounts, but new data suggest homemakers, firefighters and farmers are by far the better risks. The worst: students.

Who's less likely to get in an accident -- a careful, methodical engineer or a harried soccer mom with a van full of screaming children?

Your insurance company probably would say the engineer.

That same company may even back it up with a discount on the premiums for people in that profession.

If research by a California data-crunching firm is correct, however, the lower-risk driver may actually be the homemaker.

A review of more than 1 million accident, speeding and moving-violation records across the country is challenging some insurers' long-held beliefs about which jobs are likely to indicate high-risk drivers.

San Francisco-based Quality Planning Corp., an insurance research firm, matched Department of Motor Vehicle records with its own database of 14 million auto insurance policies to match incidents, drivers and occupations.

Just take a look at this first list.



It is ranked 40 occupations by the number of accidents per 1,000 insured drivers in the 12-month period studied:

That students are by far the most accident-prone shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, said statistician Daniel Finnegan, Quality Planning's CEO. Their lack of driving experience and underestimation of their own mortality typically make them poorer-than-average drivers.

Or, to use language any actuary would love: "Youthful operators are highly predictive of losses," Finnegan said.

You also can understand real estate agents being on the list, given the 30,000 to 40,000 miles a year they drive on average. More miles mean more opportunities to crunch or be crunched.

Too confident -- or arrogant?
But many insurance executives, Finnegan said, assume highly educated professionals such as doctors, lawyers and architects are less likely to be risky drivers -- exactly the opposite of what the review found. (Engineers, by the way, ranked 10th among the 40 professions analyzed, with a higher-than-average accident rate of 94 per 1,000 professionals.)

Finnegan can't say exactly why these professions rose to the top of the smash-up pile, but he has some theories.

"Anything we say is speculative," Finnegan said, "but these tend to be highly educated professionals . . . who are used to having the world pay attention to them."

In other words, the very traits that may help doctors, lawyers and architects in their professions -- call it confidence, or self-assurance, or downright arrogance -- make them riskier on the road.

There could be other explanations as well, such as huge workloads leading to fatigue or excessive cell phone use on the road.

Interestingly, doctors and lawyers fell to the middle of the pack when Finnegan looked at speeding tickets and moving violations. Architects, however, remained at the top of all three:

And politicians, who ranked near the bottom for accidents, moved up to the top for citations:

Homemakers, teachers, librarians and secretaries ranked near the bottom of all three lists. So, too, did law enforcement personnel. Cynics may argue that cops are giving each other "professional courtesies" -- not writing up violations, for example. But it just might be, given their training and the number of humans they see made into road pizza, that cops are more careful than the rest of us.

Are insurance companies out of touch?
So are insurance companies getting it all wrong? Not many insurers give breaks to police officers and homemakers, but discounts for engineers or military personnel aren't uncommon.

Here are a couple of possible explanations:

Every insurer is different. Finnegan looked at a large pool of drivers, but insurers base their rates mostly on their own experience with a given group of people.

Based on Finnegan's figures, for example, giving discounts to military folks would seem like a bad move. Enlisted personnel ranked seventh in accidents, second in speeding tickets and fourth in moving violations. Officers did somewhat better, but still had higher-than-average rates: 14th in accidents, 15th in speeding violations and 17th in moving violations. Yet USAA successfully specializes in covering military families and consistently offers some of the lowest rates around.

Farmers Insurance, one of the nation's largest auto insurers, is another company that offers discounts -- to doctors and engineers as well as teachers, scientists, firefighters and cops. The company has found all those professionals to have lower losses than the average driver, said spokeswoman Mary Flynn.

The data don't reflect severity. A fender-bender costs an insurance company a lot less than a 15-car fatal pileup. It's entirely possible that professionals getting the discounts still have lower losses in dollar terms than occupations that don't get a break.

Many insurers don't take professions into account. The country's largest insurer, State Farm, doesn't offer breaks for any particular profession. The breaks that are offered at other insurers tend to be small. What you pay for insurance depends mostly on your driving record and experience, where you live, how many miles you drive and, increasingly, on your history of paying bills. (For more, see my column "How bad credit costs you with insurers.")

That's not to say insurers might not use these numbers, or figures like them, to start differentiating more by profession in the future. Allstate, for example, is considering offering discounts to certain unnamed professions, said spokeswoman Lisa Wannamaker, perhaps as early as next year.

Finnegan warned, though, that rating by occupation is tough for insurers to do successfully. Many people might be less than truthful about what they do to get a discount -- or avoid paying extra.

His research has shown him that many real estate agents fudge the number of miles they drive. To avoid detection, they lie about what they do, Finnegan said.

"A significant number don't tell their insurers their jobs," he said.

So, how do all these occupations stack up? This table shows the incidence and ranking of accidents, speeding tickets and other types of moving violations for all of the jobs studied:





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Website portal in Arabic, d1g.com launched

It has been an inspiring journey for the internet market in Arab as it evolves from a nascent sector in the last decade to the booming industry of the country. The boom has not only created investment opportunities for those associated with the sector but has also opened up markets for growth in the business, computing and retail sectors to name a few.

The Arabic Search Engine (www.d1g.com) is an online attempt to mobilize the internet functioning in Arab and make it easy for all users to have access to their required field of information relating to arabian through the website. The portal besides being a one-stop Arabian website portal for information regarding news and community; provides information on local and tourist, directories and portals related to the Arabian business.

The Arabic Search Engine (www.d1g.com) offers the privilege to their user to get involved in the activity provided in the website. Beside the Arabic news, the portal also offers the opportunity for all those related and associated with the arabic to discuss and become active in activities and exchange business. These include free image gallery, online arcade, free email service, video hosting and free international SMS service and Related Services etc.

D1g.com has been conceptualized with the purpose of providing the arabian surfer on the Net easy access to the world of Arabic. At the same time, the portal envisages the business opportunities that would be created for the community by being a part of this website portal.

For more information, visits www.d1g.com its a new website and is the 1st website to offer a search engine specifically built for the Arabic language.

Tag: Arabian, arab, E-Mail, news, search engine, arabic languages, Comics, Gallery, Games, Clips, Forums, Blogs, a free image gallery, online arcade, free email service, video hosting, free international SMS service

Barcelona’s Best Hotels – the customers’ choice!

Pre-Sale Launched! Leading online accommodation specialist, EasyToBook ( www.easytobook.com ) had launched the inaugural edition of the Barcelona Hotels. The accommodation guidebook is based on customers’ genuine opinions of hotels and resorts throughout the Barcelona region, and features 100 hotels from around countries.

The online Guidebook is available for free via http://www.easytobook.com/en/barcelona-hotels/, readers will receive an immediate benefit of a HotelClub Membership Card to use towards their desired hotel from the Guidebook or any other of the 21,000 hotels offered by EasyToBook.

From over 74,000 consumers votes for over 2,200 hotels, Barcelona’s Best Hotels & Resorts, showcases the 100 Best Hotels as voted by consumers countrywide. From islands resorts to city hotels and regional gems, the online Guidebook delivers a unique & independent read for those in search of a great hotel for business or pleasure. Each hotel’s listing comes with a price guide and is rated for ambience, cleanliness, facilities, family friendliness, location, restaurants, staff attitude and value for money. All hotels are grouped alphabetically by destination with easy reference indexes that help you locate the hotel that best meets consumers’ needs.

Omry Easy, Director of Internet Marketing, EasyToBook, said: “This is the first publication to cover accommodation choices throughout the Barcelona region and reflects true consumer choice! To find an outstanding hotel can be challenging sometimes. The best source of information comes from someone who has actually been there - tried the beds, sampled the food and been served by the staff. This inaugural guide is just that, and it features everything from famous and iconic properties such as Laietana Palace to some stylish boutique hotels like the Gaudí Barcelona to the island resorts such as Angli Barcelona.”

Check out some of the most popular locations for ‘novel gazing’ as identified by EasyToBook ( www.easytobook.com/en/barcelona-hotels/ )

Tag: Barcelona hotels, hotels in Barcelona, cheap hotels in Barcelona, Barcelona hotel reservations, budget hotels in Barcelona, discount hotels Barcelona, Barcelona hotel

Create and Send Free Polyphonic, MP3 Cell Phone Ringtones and Wallpapers to Your Mobile Phone with MSNEmotions.org Ringtones

Free Ringtones is designed for mobile phone owners to easily create their own customized Free Ringtones, and send them to their mobile phones. Ringtones can be made from any of the mobile phone owners’ digital audio files, including MP3, WAV, WMA and OGG files.

Get the latest Polyphonic and Monophonic Ringtones, True Tones, MP3 Ringtones, Wallpapers, Logos and Java Games, for your Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Sagem, Siemens, Sharp, Samsung, Panasonic and LG Mobile Phone from MSNEmotions.org Ringtones

According to James McKenzie, the ceo of MSNEmotions.org Ringtones, “Ringtones not only help you stand out from the crowd and musically express yourself, they are essential for people like the visually-impaired. When you go into your address book you can select different tunes for different callers. So when you hear ’A Spoonful of Sugar’ you know it’s Mary ringing!”

MSNEmotions.org Ringtones has been supplying consumers with the choice of incoming ringtone for the past 7 years. Whilst other companies have failed, MSNEmotions.org Ringtones has survived huge competition as a small company who prides itself on providing high quality ringtones and top notch service.

MSNEmotions.org Ringtones is always responding to consumer demands. James McKenzie next plans to revolutionise the industry with a new low cost 50p per ringtone download service and the ability to ’earn’ free ringtones by recommending friends.

Latest research shows most people are willing to pay anything from 10p to 50p per ringtone, however, most ringtone companies charge £4.50 and upwards, often not making the cost of the download clear. This practice has led to the reputation of many MSNEmotions.org Ringtones rivals being tarnished.

For more information, please visit http://ringtones.msnemotions.org.

Tag: Polyphonic, Monophonic Ringtones, True Tones, MP3 Ringtones, Wallpapers, Logos and Java Games, for your Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Sagem, Siemens, Sharp, Samsung, Panasonic and LG Mobile Phone

Top 5 camera phones for 2006

It seems that in recent times, it’s no longer the case that the main use of a mobile phone is to make phone calls. The cost of manufacturing miniature components has fallen dramatically, allowing us access to a host of multimedia applications on the latest mobile phones. We can now take pictures, listen to music, watch and make videos clips, access the Internet, make notes and even make phone calls on our mobile phones!

Not so long ago, people commuting to work may have taken with them a mobile phone, maybe a personal organiser and some form of music player to help alleviate the boredom of the journey. Some people in certain occupations like Estate Agents may have even taken a compact digital camera for snaps. Now people can just take their latest camera mobile phone with them, which provides them with access to movies, games, music, online shops, photos, voice recordings and so much more besides. The amalgamation of these gadgets and features into one compact, affordable device is really an amazing feat of engineering technology.

Some of the top 5 camera phones according to Mad4 Mobile Phones are, Sony Ericsson K800i, LG KG920, Nokia N93, Nokia N73 and Samsung D900. Luckily the team at mad4mobilephones.com have been able to test some of the top models and they have picked our top 5 for Christmas. Check it out and let us know what you think!

The best way to find out more about your mobile phone is to check the owners manual. If you are in any doubt with your mobile phone, you can visit http://www.mad4mobilephones.c... check there with the make and model of your mobile phone and we will do our best to assist you. Mad4mobilephones.com is one of the biggest mobile phones info blog in the UK offering unbelievably low prices on top brand camera phones.

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Open slather for private health fees

The government has dumped a plan to stop Australians being slugged with more than one private health insurance premium rebate rise in a year.

The government introduced legislation to parliament that gives effect to a major shake up of private health insurance it announced at the same time as the sale of Medibank Private in April.

The biggest change, dubbed Broader Health Cover, will allow health insurers to pay out Australians with hospital cover for services conducted outside hospitals.

Health Minister Tony Abbott said the changes would allow the private health sector to offer a greater range of services, increase competition and improve services for consumers.

"Broader Health Cover will apply to services that can safely be delivered outside a hospital and which substitute for or prevent hospital care," Mr Abbott said.

"This will potentially include a wide range of services, such as dialysis and chemotherapy, allied health services and domestic nursing assistance."

Under current law, patients have to go to hospital to receive rebates on their treatment, making some procedures unnecessarily expensive.

Mr Abbott said the change would allow health insurers to offer coverage for a wider range of services, including preventative treatments such as dietary guidance, exercise programs and support to quit smoking.

But the government has dropped one planned change.

Mr Abbott said the government was planning to legislate to provide annualised health insurance contracts, so that members would not face more than one rate adjustment in any one premium year.

Under current arrangements private health insurers may apply to the health minister each year to approve a rate rise, which is passed on to the member next time their fees are due.

Although some health insurance members pay their insurance annually, many pay on a fortnightly, monthly, quarterly or half yearly basis.

The change would have given members assurance that their fees would not rise for 12 months from the time they take out a contract with the insurer.

"However, after extensive consultation with industry and employers handling salary deductions for private health insurance, the government has decided not to proceed with this measure on the grounds of expense and efficiency," Mr Abbott told parliament on Thursday.

Mr Abbott said the industry had been behaving responsibly in helping members through rate rises, and the government expected the self-regulation to continue in lieu of legislation.

The changes, which come into effect on April 1 next year, also remove Lifetime Health Cover penalties for Australians who joined a fund after the age of 30 but have remained members for more than 10 years.

Current penalty arrangements mean Australians pay a premium on top of basic cover for each year they joined above the age of 30.

The changes also reduce regulation on health insurance funds, replacing them with a set of product standards and strict penalties for breaching the standards.

They also remove many of the personal liabilities of directors and chief executive officers of companies, instead placing them onto the corporation.

Many of the changes are designed to make it easier for new funds to enter the market.

Mr Abbott said he would consider changes to the proposed legislation over summer and was prepared to introduce amendments to the bill.

Fewer hurricanes 'good news for home insurance'

Home insurance costs will not be pushed up by this year's mild hurricane season in the Atlantic; however flooding in some areas may affect prices, according to experts.

This year's hurricane season recently ended and calmer weather in the US has meant that any potential knock-on effects have not been felt in the UK, the Herald reports.

"Hurricanes have not impacted your ordinary household in the UK this time," Malcolm Tarling, spokesman for the Association of British Insurers, told the publication.

Flooding in areas which are prone to the weather effect however is now more likely because of climate change and could cause home insurance costs to rise, he added.

Hurricanes such as Katrina caused losses of around $40 billion (£20.3 billion), according to Swiss Re.

There is now agreement among the industry that for home insurance costs to remain at reasonable levels, a couple more years without any severe natural disasters would be necessary.

"This has been a wonderful year – especially when compared to last year," Robin Spencer-Arscott, president of Cyrus Re, a company which was created in Bermuda in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, told the publication, adding that a few more years would be needed for the industry to break even after huge losses.

Following severe flooding in Oxford, insurance broker Stuart Schofield, of Chipping Norton firm Allen & Schofield told the Oxford Mail that a wintry snap, during which many claims were made, could cause home insurance premiums to increase.

Kwik-Fit Insurance provides home insurance customers with a £40 discount when they get their quote online.

Manpower Ministry studying medical insurance for foreign workers

SINGAPORE: The Manpower Ministry is considering a medical insurance scheme for all foreign workers to meet their medical expenses - this after the recent announcement by the Health Ministry that it is reviewing health subsidies for foreigners.

Manpower Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen said the medical insurance may be tied to the work permit conditions.

With the recent announcement that medical subsidies for foreign workers would be withdrawn, the government now wants to make sure that when they fall sick, there is some provision to meet their medical expenses.

Many employers have medical insurance for their foreign workers, but there could be companies which do not provide for this.

"The second situation could be worrisome if, for example, you had a massive outbreak and many of your workers were ill. I think your company would be hard stretched because you would have to bear the full cost. At MOM, we are exploring ways to see how we can assist. Some employers have fed back and asked if there can be a group insurance for these foreign workers. That is a good idea. We are exploring to see if we make medical coverage compulsory for all foreign workers whether that will drive down premiums and that is an idea worth considering," said Dr Ng.

The Ministry is not going to wait till an accident or pandemic occurs, so Dr Ng is considering whether the medical insurance should be made compulsory and tied to work permit conditions.

On the recent announcement that Workfare is going to be a permanent feature in Singapore society, the Manpower Minister said there are merits in the argument that some quantum of the Workfare payout should indeed go into the CPF.

"The previous Workfare bonus scheme, where more of it was in cash, was one off. If you are going to do it for many years, you really want to put more of this in CPF to cater for the person's medical savings and retirement needs. We are looking at the various formulations. At the same time we also want to reward work," said Dr Ng.

Dr Ng stressed that it is important that the right group of workers gets the right help and ensure that Workfare does not degenerate into a de-facto welfare scheme.

Paying for the real costs at heart of insurance crisis

With a state regulatory board scheduled to vote today on proposed increases to premiums for windstorm insurance through state-run Citizens Property Insurance, we're getting to the heart of the insurance question.

Premiums that cover the real costs.

News stories out of Tallahassee quote CFO-elect Alex Sink as urging regulators not to approve a new, 56 percent increase on coastal windstorm rates. At a legislative conference on insurance issues, Sink said, "Folks, we are in a situation where if the rates increase as proposed we are going to destroy our economy."

In Florida today, that doesn't strike us as hyperbole.

Nor does it to Gov.-elect Charlie Crist, who said such a rate increase "scares the daylights out of people," and that "we need to do everything we can to reduce rates."

But insurance rates -- whether private or in state-sponsored plans like Citizens -- have to cover the real costs. And while the extent of the increases right now sniffs of panic, another 2004 hurricane season could induce hysteria.

Just as another 2006 season could literally calm the waters.

Sink is recommending that the state -- still flush with cash -- pony up another $700 million to cover the rest of the deficit facing Citizens, and relieve policyholders of the burden.

It's a good idea. It would give policyholders breathing room, not to mention the economy.

But it's a stopgap measure. Another 2004, and Citizens will face another deficit that somebody has to pay. And if it happens two years in a row? It could commit the state to bills that would badly strain future budgets.

Sink also says the Legislature should stop kowtowing to insurance companies. Last year, she noted, State Farm filed for rate increases practically before the ink was dry on insurance reform legislation widely seen as favorable to the industry.

The insurance industry remains healthily profitable despite hurricane losses in Florida. But pushed by stockholders to keep profits rising, and scared by the potential for catastrophic losses in the future, the state could find it increasingly difficult to force insurance companies to stay in the windstorm market.

What's needed is a mutually shared solution:

· Ratepayers will pay more, in part to make up for the fact Florida grew like topsy during an era of artificially suppressed rates, and the bill is now coming due.

· The state must contribute through a variety of means, possibly including covering Citizens' losses (if it can't be phased out altogether), participating in an enhanced catastrophic fund, offering lower-cost reinsurance, and getting tougher with insurance companies that plead losses in Florida subsidiaries while still banking comfortable overall profits.

· Insurance companies are going to have to give up the idea they can "cherry pick" profitable lines like auto insurance while turning their back on customers who depended on them for years for windstorm coverage. They must make money to stay in business, but the nature of insurance is that sometimes the money has to flow the other way.

A few more quiet hurricane seasons would paper over most of these problems, at least temporarily. But hope is not a solution -- next year could be as bad as 2004 ... or worse

Takeover raises shares of Insurance Australia

SYDNEY: Shares of Insurance Australia Group, the largest Australian car and home insurer, rose the most in almost four years Wednesday as investors bet that the company's purchase of Equity Insurance Group of Britain would spur earnings growth.

The stock rose 7.5 percent, the biggest gain since February 2003. Shares in Insurance Australia climbed to the highest in 16 months, trading for the first time since the British acquisition.

Insurance Australia bought Equity Insurance, the fifth-biggest British car insurer, for £570 million, or $1.1 billion, its third purchase in Britain in two months, to make up for slowing sales at home.

The acquisition is expected to lift earnings-per-share by 10 percent in 2008, Insurance Australia said Monday.


The British "acquisition has really pleased the market," said Paul Xiradis, a fund manager at Ausbil Dexia in Sydney. "Earnings have been upgraded quite significantly."

Insurance Australia raised 750 million Australian dollars, or $590 million, selling shares Tuesday at 5.50 dollars each to help fund the acquisition. That was 25 percent more shares than planned because of investor demand and at the top end of the price range.

Andrew Kearnan, an analyst at Merrill Lynch in Sydney, raised his rating on the stock to "buy" from "neutral" in a report Wednesday, citing higher earnings. The insurer's shares rose 42 cents to 6.06 dollars at the close of trade in Sydney.

Michael Hawker, chief executive of Insurance Australia, is buying insurers in Asia and Europe to regain sales growth as competition at home, including from Promina Group, crimps earnings. Australian premiums fell 3.6 percent in the half ended June 30 from a year earlier.

Hawker plans to increase sales outside Australia and New Zealand to 40 percent of group revenue by 2012 from about 16 percent last year. He has spent more than 4 billion dollars buying insurers since 2002, aiming to raise premiums to 13 billion dollars by 2012, from 6.4 billion dollars in fiscal 2006.

Recent acquisitions in Malaysia and Thailand should add to earnings this year and the company plans to buy 24.9 percent of China Pacific Property Insurance in Shanghai for as much as 375 million dollars in 2007. China Pacific has 12 percent of the Chinese property and casualty market.

"We believe that Insurance Australia does offer a significant value proposition in its expansion into Asia," Kearnan said.

In Britain, growth in car insurance premiums will average 10 percent from 2008 to 2011, more than double the pace of Australia, according to a Bear Stearns estimate in September. That compares with less than 4 percent growth in Australia, Hawker said Monday.

The Equity Insurance purchase follows the acquisition of Hastings Insurance Services and Advantage Insurance in Britain in September for 350 million dollars.

Combining Equity with Hastings will make Insurance Australia the fourth- largest British broker of insurance sales to individuals, Hawker said.