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Utah Woman Fleeing Police Struck By Two Trains - And Survives! Florida Office Of Insurance Regulation Joins Facebook Money Saving Secrets Phone Carriers Don’t Want You To Know... By Kim Komando Malicious Damage That Causes Damage is Vandalism - Expert Analysis by Baryy Zalma, Esq. ObamaCare’s Biggest Victim - Op/Ed by Spencer A. Lehmann, RHU Capitalism vs. Socialism - By Renowned Financial Expert Dave Ramsey U.S. Legal System Is World’s Most Costly According To New Study AIA Statement On Global Insurance Capital Standard Millions Losing Health Insurance As A Result Of ObamaCare - At Least 300,000 In Florida Alone Game Changer! - Boeing Develops Revolutionary Weapon That Could Put U.S. Decades Ahead Of Her Enemies ObamaCare Forcing Up Ohio Health Insurance Premiums 41 Percent Florida Slams Universal Casualty With $1.26 Million Administrative fine - And Change Their Claims Practices
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Hole-In-One Insurance Really HoleIn-One Scam? The Odd Story Of Kevin Kolenda In The Beginning - There Was Risk Sharing - Improve Your Mileage and More - The Insider’s Advisor Zero-Tolerance=Zero Thinking? Would Obama Admit Chopping Down The Cherry Tree? - Say What? Shocker - College Students From Liberal Universisty Blame Obama & Democrats For Government Shut Down Hilarious - Jimmy Kimmel Show Interviews “Low-Information Voters” Crawford’s 2012 Annual Report Winds Gold At International ARC Awards Florida Arrests Wellington Insurance Agent For Fraud - Leon Mobley Faces Up To 5 Years In Jail Thermonuclear Bomb Missing Off The Coast Of Savannah - 5 Times The Power Of Hiroshima A-Bomb Clinic Owner Arrested For Personal Injury Protection Fraud Involving Staged Accidents 400 New Customers Subscribing To QQ Solutions QQ Catalyst Due To Innovative Design and New Features Obama Team Meeting Notes Show Only Six (That’s Right, Six!) Signups For ObamaCare In First Day... North Carolina Arrests Four in Insurance Related Schemes And Embezzlements Florida Office Of Insurance Regulation State on Court Appeal Reinstating The P.I.P. Stay Of Injunction Florida Announces Decision On NCCI Worker’s Compensation Rate Filing Request Denied
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UTAH WOMAN FLEEING POLICE STRUCK BY TWO TRAINS - AND SURVIVES WITH ONLY MINOR INJURIES...
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oods Cross, Utah - A women fleeing police as a result of an “unwanted guest” complaint received from a local party, ran her Mercedes smack into one moving train which spun her vehicle sidewise onto an adjoining track. Police arrive and attempt to extricate the possibly inebriated woman from
her car, but another train traveling in the other direction slams into the rear of the car, pushing it far down the tracks. Amazingly, the still unnamed women survived both strikes with only minor injuries - including a broken arm. Woods Cross police said the woman faces charges for evading arrest and additional charges, including a possible DUI, are being investigated.
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FLORIDA OFFICE OF INSURANCE REGULATION JOINS FACEBOOK
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ALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) today announced it has joined Facebook in an effort to provide additional outreach on important insurance topics to Florida’s insurance industry and residents through this popular social media networking site.
videos, and other news in addition to providing direct links to the Office website and Twitter page. To access the Office Facebook page, visit https://www.facebook.com/ pages/Florida-Office-of-InsuranceRegulation/214098708713740. If you are already a Facebook user, the Office’s page can be found by searching “Florida Office of Insurance Regulation”. As we look to expand our presence on Facebook, please encourage your family and friends to “Like Us”. Click on Image to View:
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THE ONE MONEY-SAVING SECRET PHONE CARRIERS DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW
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Really Cool Info - by Kim Komando
id you know that last year cellphone users sent an average of 17.6 billion text messages every day? Yes, I did say billion. Given how technology is growing, this year they should send even more. Or will they? Traditional text messaging is actually losing steam, and it isn’t hard to see why. With many cellular plans, you only get a limited number of texts per month. If you have teenagers in the house, that might last days. You can get unlimited texts with some plans, but you’re tacking $10 to $20 extra a month on to your cellular bill. Considering t h a t
supporting text messaging costs carriers next to nothing, that’s just money in their pocket. Wouldn’t it be nice to put that money back in yours? Well, you can. There’s an alternative that won’t cost you a dime. People are already sending 19 billion messages a day using it. That’s got carriers plenty worried. So, what’s the big secret that has the major wireless carriers scared stiff? The answer is chat apps. Apple’s iMessage, WhatsApp, TextFree and TextPlus are just a few of the services behind the decline of regular texts. These apps let you send free, unlimited messages to your friends and family. F r e e video chat
apps like Skype, FaceTime and Viber are helping people connect for free, too. Chat apps send messages using your cellular data plan. Since the messages are very small, you can send thousands before noticing a bump in your data usage. Even a basic data plan should handle more texts than you could hope to send in a month. Just be careful when sending picture messages. Those will be larger and can use up your data plan much faster. Or you can send messages over Wi-Fi and it won’t affect your data plan at all! In fact, I recommend using Wi-Fi instead of your data plan whenever possible. That makes it less likely you’ll go over your data limit and get slapped with overage fees. Learn how to find free Wi-Fi wherever you go. http://www.komando.com/ columns/index.aspx?id=14157 Find out how to stay safe when using public Wi-Fi. http://www.komando. com/tips/index.aspx?id=14470 Of course, I still recommend you track your mobile gadget’s data use. You never know when an app could start chugging data without warning. Some newer smartphones and tablets have built-in data usage monitors under the Settings. On
See Kim Komando Pg 33 www.underwritersinsider.com
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MALICIOUS CONDUCT THAT CAUSES DAMAGE IS VANDALISM
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Expert Analysis & Commentary by Barry Zalma, Esq.
he United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit asked the highest court in New York two questions relating to a property insurance policy covering acts of “vandalism.”
Plaintiff alleges that the violations resulted in guilty pleas or defaults and fines totaling more than $36,000, but that the stop work orders were ignored and the contractors kept working.
(1) For purposes of construing a property insurance policy covering acts of vandalism, may malicious damage be found to result from an act not directed specifically at the covered property?”
Plaintiff obtained a temporary restraining order from the trial court directing Armory and its contractors “to cease all construction and/or excavation work.” This order too, plaintiff says, was ignored.
(2) If so, what state of mind is required? New York’s Court of Appeals, in Georgitsi Realty, LLC v. PennStar Ins. Co., 2013-06731 (N.Y. 10/17/2013), answered the questions.
FACTS
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE is a California attorney specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling and fraud who serves as a consultant and expert for insurers and policyholders. He founded Zalma Insurance Consultants in 2001 and serves as its senior consultant. He recently published an e-book, “Getting The Whole Truth,” which is available at his Web site, www.zalma.com. Go to Zalma Books at http://www.zalma.com/zalmabooks. htm.
Plaintiff is the owner of a fourstory apartment building in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It obtained from defendant a “named perils” policy of property insurance, covering “direct physical loss or damage… caused by or resulting from” any of 14 kinds of events. The peril involved is described in the policy as: “Vandalism, meaning willful and malicious damage to, or destruction of, the described property.” Join Barry Zalma’s new Blog:
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Armory Plaza, Inc., the owner of the lot next to plaintiff’s building, decided to build a new building that would include an underground parking garage. It hired contractors to do the excavation. According to plaintiff, the excavation caused cracks in the walls and foundations of plaintiff’s building; the cracks became more pronounced, the building began to settle, and plaintiff feared the building would collapse. Plaintiff complained to the New York City Department of Buildings, which issued a series of violations and “stop work” orders.
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Plaintiff made a claim under its policy which Penn-Star Insurance Company (Penn-Star) rejected, and plaintiff brought suit in trial court. The case was removed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which granted summary judgment for defendant, holding that the alleged conduct of Armory and its contractors was not “vandalism” within the meaning of the policy (Georgitsi Realty, LLC v Penn-Star Ins. Co., 2011 WL 4804873 [ED NY Aug. 30, 2011] [Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge]; Georgitsi Realty, LLC v PennStar Ins. Co., 2011 WL 4889251 [ED NY Sept. 30, 2011] [adopting Report and Recommendation]). Plaintiff appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals (Georgitsi Realty, LLC v Penn-Star Ins Co, 702 F.3d 152, 159 [2d Cir 2012]).
See Zalma Pg 31 The Underwriter’s Insider
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OBAMACARE’S BIGGEST VICTIM
OP/ED BY SPENCER A. LEHMANN, RHU
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his has been the week of unrelenting news releases about the many things President Barack Obama and his “Team ObamaCare” knew, and when they knew it, such as the millions of Americans who would lose their insurance policies, (“If you want to keep your insurance policy, you can!”, their doctors, (“If you want to keep your doctor, you can!”), would pay higher premiums than before ObamaCare, (“The average American will pay $2,500 less under my plan!”), would be able to sign up online for their PPACA policy so as to be in compliance by January 1, 2014, and instead are now being told, “Please be patient, HealthCare.gov will be back up and running…oh some time, we think, in the next year or two.”, and on and on, ad nauseam. It isn’t easy to get the “Mainstream Media” to criticize Barack Obama, but Obama has managed to accomplish even that - from CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show to Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live, to SNL on NBC. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius has made clear her contempt for the American electorate as when asked by a reporter what she thought about the calls for her resignation given her appalling job in rolling out the HealthCare.gov
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website she responded, “The majority of people calling for me to resign I would say are people who I don’t work for…”, as if she gets to pick and choose for whom among the American
electorate she works…the arrogance of this woman is equal only to that of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, …oh yeah, never mind, it’s the attitude of the Obama Administration and the Congressional Democrat Leadership in general, I forgot. Equally disturbing is that the Obama Administration gave a “No-bid” contract to create the HealthCare.gov website to a Foreign Company, CGI, in a Foreign country, Canada. Go figure! An American Health Care Reform Law national website contract is given to a Foreign Company in a Foreign Country. Well sure, they probably need the jobs in Canada, and they must need American money as well, why keep it in America, for an American health care system? Beats me.
Spencer A. Lehmann is a Registered Health Underwriter (RHU), whose company, Lehmann/Wood & Associates, Inc., specializes in Group and Individual Long Term Care insurance and Medicare Supplemental Coverage. Mr. Lehmann retired from his company in 2005 and now spends his time writing on Health Care Insurance and Political Issues, both of which have encompassed over 40+ years of his life. He has been an actively involved member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) since 1978, and serves on the Board of Directors of several Charitable Organizations’ helping Special Needs Children, and Inner-City Children to experience and participate in the world of the Arts and Music. In his free time he plays golf with his wife, Fran, who usually wins.
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The list of victims of this major mess of a HCR Law is legion, but the biggest victim of all is the American people. We have needed major Insurance reform in America for decades. Insurance companies have canceled policies because of claims history with far too much ease. Policy rescissions because of medical history not admitted on the application have been far too common. There is no reason for these occurrences to ever have happened.
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Cancellations: Most states today, have minimum loss ratios (MLRs) and blocks of business, group or individual, are subject to these regulations. In most cases the MLRs have been 80% for group, and 60% for individual. Yes, there are states in which there weren’t MLRs, and that could have been resolved with insurance company reform legislation. Rescissions: When companies claim that certain medical history wasn’t admitted on the application, and therefore the policy is rescinded and premium paid refunded. (Editor: Normally after an uncovered loss) This is totally unnecessary. The fix? Insurance company reform requiring that all insurance companies must request an Attending Physician Statement (APS) on every application. No exceptions, or if a company chooses to save the money necessary to run an APS, they may not rescind the policy after policy issue, period.
CAPITALISM VS. SOCIALISM Popular Financial Expert Dave Ramsey Takes A Few Minutes To Explain The Difference In These Two Prominent Economic Systems - And Why Only One Of Them Works
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ou hear alot of talk about socialism coming to America lately, with ObamaCare giving government control over 1/6th of our economy - and an evergrowing federal government spitting out new regulations and government controls over just about everything else at an ever-increasing rate. Perhaps it shouldn’t worry you. Perhaps Socialism is a good thing and you should welcome the change with open arms. Then again, perhaps you should be more concerned about what socialism has the potential to do
to America than you ever were about Soviet nuclear weapons during the cold war. Yet fewer than 1 out of 20 can articulate the difference between freemarket capitalism - a system that has delivered more wealth to more people of every economic class than any other in history - and big-government socialism - a system that has led to more dependent, entitlementclass citizens and bankrupt national economies than any other. Well, there is communism - but that’s just socialism on steroids. Watch the Vid!
A far more difficult issue and the most contentious and arguably important, is that of Guarantee Issue (GI), i.e., no one can be turned down because of a pre-existing condition, no matter what the condition. There are several See Biggest Victim Page 40
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U.S. LEGAL SYSTEM IS WORLD’S MOST COSTLY ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY Additional Opinion Survey Shows Increasingly Abused Legal System Primarily Benefits Lawyers
as a percentage of its economy, the U.S. legal system costs over 150 percent more than the Eurozone average, and over 50 percent more than the United Kingdom.
ASHINGTON, D.C.— The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) released a study by NERA Economic Consulting showing that the U.S. has the world’s most costly legal system as a share of its economy.
“America is known as the land of the free, but it is also the land of unnecessary lawsuits,” said Lisa A. Rickard, president of the ILR. “As the U.S. experience has shown, excessive litigation creates enormous costs for businesses, workers, consumers, and the overall economy.”
The study compared liability costs as a percentage of GDP using general liability insurance sold to companies in Canada, Eurozone countries, and the U.S. because it covers similar types of costs in each country. Data shows that
The study controlled for factors across countries that could account for significant differences in liability costs including the mix of businesses in a country, spending on government social programs, and the cost of private
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healthcare. It concludes that features of a country’s legal system explain most of the variation in liability costs. In conjunction with the study, ILR also unveiled the results of a new national opinion survey showing that voters overwhelmingly view the civil legal system negatively, see it as more abuse-prone than a decade ago, and are concerned that it primarily benefits lawyers. Click [HERE] to view a slidedeck with the survey findings. The national opinion survey of voters was conducted in April 2013 by leading Continued on Next Page
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Continued from Previous Page polling firms Penn Schoen Berland and Public Opinion Strategies. The poll showed that 87% of voters view the number of lawsuits in the country as a problem and that 69% say that there has been increased abuse of the legal system over the past decade. Furthermore, one-in-three voters – and 43% of small business owners – report having either been threatened with or involved in a civil lawsuit. Only 14% of those who were part of a class action lawsuit report having received something of meaningful value, such as a cashed check or redeemed coupon, as a result of the lawsuit. In contrast, four-in-five voters that had been involved in a civil lawsuit said that lawyers benefit the most from class action lawsuits. www.underwritersinsider.com
“America’s costly legal system inhibits our global competitiveness, and impedes our ability to grow our economy and create jobs,” said Rickard. “Global businesses consider the cost of litigation in deciding where to locate. These results underscore that our system puts us at a competitive disadvantage.” ILR seeks to promote civil justice reform through legislative, political, judicial, and educational activities at the national, state, and local levels. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. Editor’s Note: Addressing the enormous cost of frivilous lawsuits,
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i.e., tort reform, would have been a great starting point in health care reform - but it was completely ignored, even studiously avoided, by the Obama Administration. Why? According to a story in the Wall Street Journal by James Copland, “Since 1990, the sums donated to federal political candidates by lawyers— excluding lobbyists—exceed $1 billion, according to CRP. Lawyers as a group have given more to federal candidates than any other industry or profession. Their ability to keep tort reform out of the health-care reform bills is unsurprising: Congressional campaign contributions by lawyers in the last election cycle were about $25 million more than the combined total of political donations from doctors, pharmaceutical companies, HMOs, hospitals and nursing homes. 15
AIA STATEMENT ON GLOBAL INSURANCE CAPITAL STANDARD
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ASHINGTON, D.C., October 9, 2013 – J. Stephen (“Stef”) Zielezienski, senior vice president and general counsel for the American Insurance Association (AIA), issued a statement in response to today’s announcement by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) of its plans to develop a global insurance capital standard (ICS) by 2016. The IAIS plans to fully implement the ICS for internationally active insurance groups (IAIGs) in 2019 following two years of field testing among insurance supervisors. The standard will be included within ComFrame, the comprehensive framework for the supervision of IAIGs being developed by the IAIS. Mr. Zielezienski’s statement follows: “AIA recommends that the development of a global insurance capital standard take a well-reasoned and risk-focused approach to capital assessment that can be applied consistently to internationally active groups without compromising their ability to compete. “Coupled with the IAIS’ recent work on capital adequacy assessment through ComFrame and the
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development of a backstop capital requirement for global systemically important insurers, we will be anxious to see how an insurance capital standard evolves and how it aligns (or does not align) with these workstreams and different jurisdictional regulatory structures. Any standard should be workable for insurance companies and not result in additional regulatory layers. “AIA will continue to work with the IAIS and national and international regulatory regimes to resolve this critical debate in a way that protects insurance consumers, leads to efficient and effective supervision, and advances competition.”
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MILLIONS LOSING HEALTHCARE INSURANCE DUE TO OBAMACARE - AT LEAST 300,000 IN FLORIDA ALONE The Obama Team Knew Well In Advance People Would Lose Their Insurance - While The President Himself Lied Directly To The American People - Over & Over Again & Over -by Ronald Manera, Editor
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he president’s promise was unequivocal. “If you look your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan. Period.” Perhaps it was a misstatement. Perhaps it was subject to interpretation. Yet to millions of Americans losing their current health insurance, it was a bald-face lie by the President of the United States. According to a report by Kaiser Health News reporters Anna Gorman and Julie Appleby: “Florida Blue, for example, is terminating about 300,000 policies, about 80 percent of its individual
policies in the state. Kaiser Permanente in California has sent notices to 160,000 people – about www.underwritersinsider.com
half of its individual business in the state. Insurer Highmark in Pittsburgh is dropping about 20 percent of its individual market customers, while Independence Blue Cross, the major insurer in Philadelphia, is
“That means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.” - President Obama while selling the PPACA to the American Public (6/15/2009) dropping about 45 percent,” Kaiser reports. “Blue Shield of California sent roughly 119,000 cancellation notices out in mid-September, about 60 percent of its individual business. About two-thirds of those policyholders will see rate increases in their new policies, said spokesman Steve Shivinsky.”
administration knew of what was going to happen, based on a little known report found in the June 2010 edition of the Federal Register where a massive disruption of the private insurance market was predicted by administration officials. Obama knew. By most estimates, the mass cancellations will affect as many as 15 million Americans with individual health insurance policies. A 10/31/2013 Forbes report put it this way: “Section 1251 of the Affordable Care Act contains what’s called a “grandfather” provision that, in theory, allows people to keep their existing plans if they like them. But subsequent regulations from the Obama administration interpreted that provision so narrowly as to prevent most plans from gaining this protection. “The Departments’ mid-range estimate is that 66 percent of small employer plans and 45 percent of large employer plans will relinquish their grandfather status by the end of 2013,” wrote the administration on page 34,552 of the Register. All in all, more than half of employer-sponsored plans See Millions Lose Insurance Pg 35
Were these cancellations an intended or unintended result of Obama’s health care law? We now know that the
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Breaking Industry News
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rom independent insurance agent to world-renowned novelist - Tom Clancy made an a brave leap between careers in 1984 when he took time off from selling insurance and typed out his first book, The Hunt For Red October, earning $1.3 million for his effort. Clancy died famous and a multi-millionaire on October 1, 2013 in a hospital near his home in Maryland from natural causes. We were unable to confirm the rumor that the strongly conservative author choose to pass away on that specific date just to avoid ObamaCare.
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PRINGFIELD, VA -- Innovative agency principal Linda Rey, with Rey Insurance Agency, will attend Brand Camp 2013 in Baltimore November 4-6 as recipient of the Maureen Wall Bentley Memorial Scholarship. Rey will head to the insurance marketing event to seek ways to expand on her already formidable social networking prowess. Rey was chosen for the scholarship to Brand Camp as a young, up-andcoming independent agent with performance and potential in strategic branding approaches to build her or his insurance practice. Rey and her sister recently purchased the agency from their father.
compensation underwriter. Prior to joining Atlas, Garren served as a property, casualty and workers compensation underwriter for an ‘A’ rated insurance company. Tinker is a successful workers’ compensation insurance underwriter with more than five years of experience in the insurance industry. Prior to joining Atlas, Tinker served as the new business supervisor and production underwriter for a multiline national program manager and general agency.
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arwick, RI, - Astonish, a leading technology, marketing, and training company dedicated solely to the needs of insurance agencies, announces the election of David Wroe to its board of directors. Wroe started his career in technology more than four decades ago. First, as a
systems analyst at Texas Instruments, he quickly moved up to become the Manager of Operations Research, and then the Manager of Production Control. In that time he created a system that won the SBC Pioneer of Timesharing Award for Texas Instruments.
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rown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO) announces that it released its 2013 third-quarter earnings on Monday, October 14, 2013, after the close of the market. On Tuesday, October 15, 2013, J. Powell Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Cory T. Walker, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Brown & Brown, Inc., hosted an investor update conference call concerning Brown & Brown’s third-quarter 2013 financial results.
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tate Farm recently released a study derived from their massive automobile accident database showing the top 5 most likely states for deer collisions: The state where you and Bambi are most likely to meet by accident is West Virginia - for the 7th
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tlas General Insurance Services, LLC, a national multi-line program manager, is pleased to announce two new additions to the Knoxville dedicated marketing office. The Knoxville office welcomes Billy Garren as the underwriting manager for the commercial division and Kristi Tinker as the senior workers’
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straight year. The odds of smacking a deer with your car is so high in WV that 1 in 41 drivers will be picking venison off their car grills rather than their BBQ grills in the next five years. Next is Montana, with a 1 in 65 chance of a deer collision, then Iowa with a 1 in 73 chance, South Dakota with a 1 in 75 chance, and, finally, Pennsylvania at 5th place with a 1 in 77 chance. State Farm states the average cost of a deer collision is $3,414 - up 3.3% from the prior year.
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rown & Brown, Inc. announced in October its preliminary, unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2013. Net income for the third quarter of 2013 was $57,749,000, or $0.39 per share, compared with $49,504,000, or $0.34 per share for the same quarter of 2012, an increase of 14.7%. Total revenue for the third quarter was $359,310,000, compared with 2012 third-quarter revenue of $303,800,000, an increase of 18.3%. Total revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 was $1,020,114,000, compared with total revenue for the same period of 2012 of $897,202,000, an increase of 13.7%. Net income for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2013 was $169,887,000, or $1.16 per share, compared with $141,408,000, or $0.97 per share for the same period of 2012, an increase of 19.6%.
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ccording to an October 14, 2013 NewsMax article, “The National Security Agency collects contact lists of email and instant message services from users worldwide, and Americans are among those whose data is being harvested. The revelations, from senior intelligence officials and documents provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden, were reported by The Washington Post on Monday. The program feeds off email address books and buddy lists transmitted by various online www.underwritersinsider.com
services when users sign on, write a message, or sync their computers or mobile devices to one another, The Post reported. Instead of targeting individual users, the lists are described as being collected en masse, in hopes of letting the spy agency map out and discover relationships between various players.
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hristopher Paradiso, CPIA, president of Paradiso Financial & Insurance Services in Stafford Springs, Conn., has been elected to the American Insurance Marketing & Sales (AIMS) Society board of directors. AIMS Society is a professional organization dedicated to building insurance sales, marketing and technical expertise. Paradiso started selling life, health and annuities in 1998 and later expanded his agency offerings to include property and casualty insurance. He subsequently incorporated digital marketing into his agency strategy and has seen significant growth and increased client retention as a result.
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esponses to this year’s Agency Technology Survey, conducted by the industry-wide Real Time/ Download Campaign, offer a glimpse into why agency and brokerage professionals have not more fully adopted interface functionality. Campaign leaders view these responses as opportunities to educate users and encourage providers to offer more functionality. “Despite considerable growth in the use of realtime and download functionality by agents and brokers, the independent agency system needs to see further progress as we compete against other distribution channels,” said Stu
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Durland, AAI, AINS, campaign co-chair and vice president and co-owner of Seely & Durland Insurance in Warwick, N.Y. “We’re pleased that use of real-time rating is up by 32% and download use is up, as well, but we need to help more agents and brokers boost their efficiency.” Survey results are available at bit.ly/RealTime2013. Real-time rating for commercial lines has seen the lowest adoption rates of the five key interfaces available, with roughly half of respondents saying they use it. The top two reasons cited by those who don’t use it were: “We don’t have a real-time comparative rater for commercial lines,” and, “Too few carriers offer commercial lines real-time rating tools.”
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Hart Research Associates public opinion poll conducted in late October show record low approval ratings for President Barack Obama. Only 42% of respondents now give Obama a positive approval rating while 51% disapprove of his job performance. Of those respondents, 32% were “Very Negative” on the president while only 24% were “Very Positive,” respresenting an all-time low approval for Mr. Obama. An even more depressing review of the current state of the union can be found in a question asking, “All in all, do you think think things in the nation are generally headed in the right direction, or do you feel things are off on the wrong track?” Only 22% of the respondents thought the U.S. was headed in the right direction - while 70% felt we were off on the wrong track. Even more ominious, at least to those of us that do not wish for the diminshment of America, 63% felt this country was in a “state of decline” under Obama’s leadership - while only 34% felt we were not in a “state of decline.” 19
GAME CHANGER! BOEING DEVELOPS REVOLUTIONARY WEAPON THAT COULD PUT U.S.A. DECADES FURTHER AHEAD OF THE BAD GUYS
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recent weapons flight test in the Utah desert may change future warfare after the missile successfully defeated electronic targets with little to no collateral damage. Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., successfully tested the Counter-electronics Highpowered Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) during a flight over the Utah Test and Training Range that was monitored from Hill Air Force Base. CHAMP, which renders electronic targets useless, is a non-kinetic
alternative to traditional explosive weapons that use the energy of motion to defeat a target.
mission. “This technology marks a new era in modern-day warfare,” said Keith Coleman, CHAMP program manager for Boeing Phantom Works. “In the near future, this technology may be used to render an enemy’s electronic and data systems useless even before the first troops or aircraft arrive.” CHAMP is a multiyear, joint capability technology demonstration that includes ground and flight tests.
A unit of The Boeing Company, B o e i n g During the test, Defense, Space the CHAMP missile & Security is navigated a preone of the programmed flight world’s largest plan and emitted defense, space bursts of highand security powered energy, effectively knocking Power is cut to a room of computers b u s i n e s s e s after being hit by a high-powered specializing in out the target’s microwave pulse from a Counterinnovative and data and electronic electronics High-powered Advanced capabilitiessubsystems. Missile Project. driven customer CHAMP allows for selective high- solutions, and the world’s largest frequency radio wave strikes against and most versatile manufacturer of numerous targets during a single military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 61,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense. Editor’s Note: Why is CHAMP such a game changer? Once the missile has knocked out the enemy’s electronics, including computers, cell-phones and other communication gear, radar and radar guided munitions and GPS gear, we have reduced the enemy to a confused, uncoordinated, isolated, chaotic World War I fighting unit - no match for our 21st Century military.
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FLORIDA SLAMS UNIVERSAL CASUALTY WITH $1.26 MILLION ADMINISTRATIVE FINE - MUST CHANGE “POST-CLAIM UNDERWRITING” BUSINESS PRACTICE
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ALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty announced today that Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company has agreed to implement corrective action, including changes to its claims and underwriting practices that were the subject of a Prior Order the Office issued on May 30, 2013. In a Consent Order dated October 4, 2013, Universal agreed to drop its challenge to the May Order, adopt operational changes substantially similar to those contained in the prior Order, and pay an administrative fine to the Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) totaling $1.26 million. The fine
HOLE-IN-ONE INSURANCE REALLY HOLE-IN-ONE SCAM? Or Is This Just A Case Of Over-Zealous Regulators?
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evin Kolenda is not a guy that likes to follow the rules. And it’s gotten him in big trouble with 11 states charging him with felony insurance fraud for selling hole-in-one insurance that wasn’t. A quick visit to his quirky website www.underwritersinsider.com
was the same as required by the May Order. One of the issues involved in the case was the allegation that the company, in some instances, wrote policies without full underwriting, and then only did complete underwriting after a claim was filed. The “postclaim underwriting” resulted in some policyholders having unpaid claims or having coverage cancelled without sufficient notice. The company agreed in the Consent Order to perform full underwriting within the first 90 days after the effective date of a new policy. It has also agreed to review the 262 claims it previously denied based www.kevinkolenda.com reveals an odd, self-important individual seemingly at war with the world. He threatens to write a tell-all book about “high-level politicians” that will “make Elliot Spitzer & Anthony Weiner look like Choir Boys.” The book is to titled, “Behind Blue Eyes,” and we can surmise that Kevin is rather impressed with his appearance. One of his unfinished links is titled, “The man, the myth, the legend,” giving some insight into the odd nature of this insurance man who isn’t. The amateurish, homemade website is is a continuous rant against insurance regulators and any other authority figure that’s ever crossed Kevin’s path. Example: STATE of CT knew about this 16 years ago THEY WERE WRONG -
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on allegations of misrepresentation. Florida law allows insurance companies to rescind a policy for fraud or misrepresentation, but the law contains specific requirements which the company has now agreed to apply. UPCIC is the second largest property insurer in Florida and one of the most active writers with more than $765 million in annual written premium and over 542,000 policyholders. The company represents an estimated 8.9% of the total Florida property insurance market and has been licensed to transact insurance business in the state of Florida since 1997.
HAD STORY UPSIDE DOWN - JACKASS BACKWARDS as well as hoodwinking journalists and other state officials to back them. They just believed in SHOOT FIRST ask Q?s later. That they were so powerful, they could override or ride out the facts, get them suppressed CENSORED than try to deal with the embarrassing truths. WHY because they thought that had Unlimited $$ (that they could waste and not be held accountable, like in the old days for CT) and would NEVER admit a wrong . . . . . rather spending Millions of dollars and wasting taxpayer time and money over a simple subjective argument that will never have a definitive answer on a level of shoplifting gum.” Read the whole story [HERE]. 21
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“The Final Authority on Everything!” In The Beginning... There Was Risk-Sharing
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’ve been selling insurance for a dozen years and I’ve often wondered: Where did the business begin? I remember learning about Lloyds of London in the 1800’s when I entered the business, but there must have been some risk sharing before that. What can you tell me? C.K. Tallahassee, FL Risk sharing certainly existed before recorded history and became an integral portion of many human endeavors. Consider how early man hunted wooly mammoths in hunting parties of up to 12 men, not just because the task required more than one, but because the risk of getting your head stomped was bearable when it was one in 12 rather than 100%. And, if you did get stomped or gored in this common endeavor, the tribe felt some responsibility to take care of your family — another benefit of the risk sharing.
ADVISOR
of laying-off a portion of the risk was so essential to the commerce of the time that it was written into the Code of Hammurabi 2100 years before the birth of Christ, although nothing is recorded as to deductibles or windstorm exclusions.
Later, the Romans actually devised a form of life insurance which they called “burial clubs.” Presumably you joined the club and paid a proportionate share of burial and survivor costs when one of the other members passed on. The club, in turn, took care of the cost of your burial when the time came and some provided some survivor benefits to your family. A more modern and recognizable form of insurance came with the rapid growth of British commerce
where groups formed solely for the undertaking of writing insurance. These groups, such as Lloyds, met in coffee houses where ships and cargos that would soon be departing were posted on large blackboards around the room. Those individuals that wanted to assume some of the risk wrote their names under the risk – hence the name “underwriter.” Big fires were the impetus for the growth of property and casualty insurance in this country, including the New York fire of 1835 and the great Chicago fire of 1871. These catastrophic losses also called into attention the need for insurers to maintain adequate reserves. See The Advisor Page37
The first recorded occurrence of a formal, insurance-type device that we know of was probably in Babylonia where trade was conveyed by caravans of mules or camels through bandit-infested territory. In a reverse scenario where the claim was paid first and had to be returned if a loss did not occur, traders lent money to the operators of the caravan which only had to be repaid (with substantial interest) if the caravan and its cargo arrived at its destination safely. This practice www.underwritersinsider.com
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2-20 or 20-44 Agent Needed In Pembroke Pines, FL
FREE CLASSIFIED RULES: Submit all ads online at: www.underwritersinsider. com/classifieds. Ads must be less than 501 characters plus a title line. Eligible free classifieds include help wanted, position wanted, personal ads, agency for sale/purchase, or the one-time sale of an item or items. REGULAR CLASSIFIED RULES: Submit all ads online at: www. underwritersinsider.com/classifieds. Only $1.00 per word, including title line and response info. Payment must be received prior to print date. Ads run 3 mo.
Comm.P&C Producer Central Florida Commercial Insurance sales from a retail agency / broker or direct writer with a proven track record. Must have 3 to 10 years experience, 220 license, with an industry focus or mix of targeted niches. Must have aggressive sales skills and credible business relationship development abilities. Central Florida. Michael@einsgroup.com 10-8
INSURANCE BOOK OF BuSINESS WANTED Looking for seasoned, quality book in SE Florida. 35 year veteran will slowly ease your exit or quick buyout - your terms. Email: Appropriaterisk@gmail.com 10-11
Wholesale Broker/Carrier
Asst. Controller Hartford
License Insurance Agent 220 - Kissimmee Area
Strong Stat/GAAP with corporate tax is required. Will consider negotiating relocation assistance. Contact:
We are looking 220 Insurance Agent License in Kissimmee Florida. A detail-oriented professional with excellent timemanagement, organization and computer skills High school diploma or equivalent (GED) with a valid state driver’s license and reliable insured transportation. Currently posses an active 220 License Call us at 407-847-2539 10-9
Jeanine Drahota Lost Dutchman Search 480-563-7676 jkd@lostdutchmansearch.com 10-7
TAMPA, FL Area Part Time CSR Must like and know computers - near Hwy 301 and MLK. Flexible hours, low key environment. Pay commensurate with experience. Contact: cp.kazor@gmail.com 10-6 24
CSR 440 or 220 Agent N Miami area Looking for a 2-20 agent or CSR Bilingual ( English-Spanish ), Excelent on Customer service Email resume to jamie@ jmendezandassociates.com 10-1
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Great opportunity for the agent looking for the opportunity to be paid by production rather than salary. Our Pembroke Pines office is looking the right people to write commercial and/or personal lines. Email cr2dome1@ gmail.com for more information. 10-7
Roswell, GA Premium Finance Sales Opportunity Are you ready to take your sales career to the next level? Est. in 1984 and based in Roswell, GA, Advanced Insurance Systems Inc. is a fast paced, high growth technology company that develops and markets premium finance software throughout N. America. While working mostly insidesales in our Roswell office, you will be challenged by the development of new business and the on-going support for existing clients. Help move sales opportunities through demos, proof of concept and responding to requests for information and proposals. Resumes to:
Arthur@financemaster.com
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Experienced 2-20 Commercial Agent in Boca Raton, FL Great opportunity for the experienced Agent looking for the opportunity to be paid well by production, rather than salary. Our office in Boca Raton is looking for a results oriented commercial agent. Compensation will be far higher than industry standards, including renewals. Contact email address with resume and cover letter: agencyops@gmail.com 10-11 The Underwriter’s Insider
Experenced Commercial Lines CSR-Tampa Area Established large Independent Agency seeks experienced Commercial Lines CSR. Duties include all aspects of customer service incl. telephone calls from customer and underwriters, issue COI, Auto ID Cards, Evid. of Prop. Market new and renewal policies, prepare proposals, process invoices, binders, policies, endorse., audits, recommend., etc. This position requires a minimum of 4 years of commercial account handling. Knowledge of AMS360 management system will be a plus. Contact: susank@adcock-insurance.com 10-8
P&C Carrier Asst. Controller Upper NY State Stat/GAAP - solid yellow book required.Company will negotiate relocation at offer. Great area to raise a family. Enjoy all outdoor sports - hunting, fishing, hiking, water sports, skiing. Contact: Jeanine Drahota Lost Dutchman Search 480-563-7676 jkd@lostdutchmansearch.com 10-7 “The wise man learns from the mistakes of others, the fool has to learn from his own.” - Chinese Proverb
www.underwritersinsider.com
Multinational Account Executive
NY/NJ/CT area
International property & casualty insurance skills including professional lines, directors & officers too. Manage, marketing servicing and be a resource for multinational or domestic P&C Programs. Carrier or Broker background preferred. Selfstarter, foreign language skills a plus. NY/NJ/CT area Contact: Michael@einsgroup.com 10-8
FREE CLASSIFIEDS HERE 2-20 Agent Wanted Today Insurance Services is looking for friendly, sharp, and PATIENT agent partners to take advantage of the health care reform opportunities, and the sizzling auto insurance market! I can help you- Can you help yourself? www.todayins.com CALL TODAY! 321-360-8516
IMPORTANT! You may also place FREE position-wanted classified ads in this section. Just click on the link below and fill out the simple form and we’ll get you online.
HERE!
10-7
Experienced CSR Wanted - New Port Richey area Experienced Commercial Lines CSR wanted for Roe Insurance, Inc in New Port Richey, Fl. 34655. Applied Systems experience required, will service approx 250 small C.L. clients, mostly in the nonprofit industry. Contact: greg@roeins.com 10-6
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Gainesville, FL Area
4-40 or 2-20 Needed Insurance Den Inc needs a 2-20 or a 4-40 licensed agent. Email: insuranceden@aol.com Fax: 352-628-5619 Phone: 352-628-2331 10-5 25
SAY WHAT? Notable Quotes You May Have Missed!
Zero-Tolerance = Zero Thinking PC Gone Crazy?
It Truly IS Disgusting...
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He had nothing in his hand. It was a finger gun, a pretend gun. He didn’t threaten violence. He didn’t utter words that were inappropriate. He made a sound and used his fingers and that was it.” - Bonnie Bennett, mother of 8-year-old Jordan Bennett who was suspended from school for using his fingers as a toy gun while he played cops and robbers with a classmate. Super-PC school administrators called it an “act of violence,” proudly touting their “zerotolerance” policy. Last month, in another fine example of PC gone wild, two 7th grade students in Virginia Beach, VA were punished with long-term school suspensions for playing with air-soft guns on their family’s private property while waiting for the school bus. Is there an adult with a modicum of common sense that doesn’t think this is ridiculous? Young lives rudely interrupted to support liberal nonsense - and the feminization of young men...
Centralized Government Planning For People’s Lives Doesn’t Work
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Premiums are going up and when you look at the premiums and the fact that they’re taxing people if you don’t buy healthcare insurance, it’s the largest tax increase in the history of this country. When you factor in this ... new cost of healthcare that has been driven up by Obamacare, it’s unsustainable. I mean I really don’t know how young people are going to afford it. There’s a ton of glitches taking place today — I heard 34 states are having problems,” he said. “It’s just been one problem after another with Obamacare....it’s one of the worst forms of insurance you can get in this country. Before we jump into the water and pat ourselves on the back and claim that
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we’ve given more people health insurance, we should fully understand the long-term implications of what Medicaid expansion could do to our budget and to our state. And look, government-run healthcare just doesn’t work. Centralized government planning for people’s live [doesn’t] work. The free market and free enterprise is the true answer to this problem.” - Florida State Representative Will Weatherford October 1st, on the occassion of the glitch-filled opening of the ObamaCare exchanges.
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It’s a cheap way to deal with the situation. We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.” - An unnamed but angry park ranger in Washington D.C., forced to participate in the useless barricading of national monuments, explaining the Obama administration’s cynical penchant for casting the government shut-down in the most petty and visable ways in a cheap and obvious attempt to damage Republicans for the shut-down. World War II memorials that are normally completely unmanned have been barricaded and wired shut even though aging veterans traveling thousands of miles are arriving on honor flights to visit their memorials. It was clear to observers that the manpower required to barricade the memorials was far greater than what it would have taken to simply leave the memorials run as usual. The administration’s temper trantrum is similar to the continuing cancellation of White House tours Obama’s showboat response to “sequestration” - while the 1st family continued unabated on their multimillion dollar vacations. It truly IS disgusting.
Would Obama Have Admitted Chopping Down The Cherry Tree?
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These progressives seem to have one talent that they excel at beyond all others. The ability to deceive. They are masters of deception. There is nothing they will not blame on conservatives. There is no limit to the spin, manipulation, and out right lies they will tell -- even to themselves - to keep their progressive ideas from being proven wrong. No matter how many times they do the same thing with the same disastrous results.
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No matter how much evidence piles up. No matter how many times history has proven their ideaology to be flat wrong and dangerous. No matter the misery, poverty and lost opportunity of millions that can be attributed to their liberal adventurism - no matter what, they will rationalize up some excuse to say “its not our fault! No!!! We just were not able to do ENOUGH of our centrally planned social engineering!!” They will NEVER run out of excuses as to why the current disaster they shoved down our throats is failing. They will NEVER accept fault for any of their goofy ideas when they fail. They will accept ANY theory that puts conservatives at fault no matter how flimsy the evidence. They are hopeless. Lying is the one thing they do well.” - Angry blogger Jon Doe responding to a Politico news story pointing out that President Obama was not telling the truth when he proclaimed that “there had never before been a negotiation on the debt ceiling.” Journalist Chris Wallace pointed out in the article, “They’ve had negotiations over the debt limit sometimes on related budget issues, sometimes on completely unrelated issues for years.”
The Website Is Experiencing Technical Issues - Please Try Again. And Again. And Again...
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Frankly, the website should have been the easy part...” Chairman of the Congressional Energy & Commerce Committee opening the 10/24/13 hearing investigating the reasons behind the utter debacle that was the opening of healthcare.gov - the $650 million ObamaCare sign-up website.
Prophetic Kruschev
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Your children will live under Communism. You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept Communism outright; but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of Socialism until you will finally wake up and find that you already have Communism. We won’t have to fight you; we’ll so weaken your economy, until you fall like overripe fruit into our hands.” - Nikita Kruschev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, in a 1956 conversation with then Secretary of Agriculture under the Eisenhower Administration, Ezra Taft Benson. And he didn’t even know about ObamaCare... www.underwritersinsider.com
Individual Health Care Insurance Cancellations: Intended Consequence?
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It wasn’t an unintended consequence. It was an intended consequence. This was done on purpose because they want to undermine and gut the individual marketplace.” - U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) speaking on the On the Record show with Greta Van Susteren as to the reason behind the millions of cancellations going out on individual health care plans in the wake of the PPACA roll-out debacle. Rubio feels, as do thousands of conservatives, the socalled Affordable Health Care Act is simply Step One in a planned transistion to a “singlepayer system” where the federal government will be the one and only insuror. One should not want to be on the board of directors of any naive health insuror Sen. Marco Rubio, (R-FL) now willingly promoting ObamaCare in exchange for some perceived government quid pro quo - when you are asked by your stockholders in five years why your company is being dissolved... Make certain you have solid D&O coverage!
Afghanistan Complicit in Ambush?
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The families also want our military’s rules of engagement to be changed, as a testament to and in honor of their dead sons. When our nation enters into battle, it must be to win the battle, not the ‘hearts and minds’ of the Islamic jihadist enemy and the Muslim civilian population it uses as human shields.” - Larry Klayman , who runs the nonprofit watchdog group Freedom Watch, and has filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Pentagon, as well as the Air Force , Army and Navy. He wants a judge to order the military to turn over an array of documents under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act regarding a attack on a military helocopter in Afghanistan that killed 22 members of Seal Team 6 - the special forces unit that took out Osama Bin Laden. Many feel the Afghanis were complicit in setting up an ambush that resulted in the attack and the massive loss of American lives.
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October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
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January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012 INSURANCE • POLITICS • TECHNOLOGY • PEOPLE VOLUME 9 • 2012 • ISSUE 4
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July 2012 www.underwritersinsider.com
June 2012
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May 2012 29
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SHOCKER: COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM ONE OF THE MOST LIBERAL UNIVERSITIES BLAME OBAMA AND DEMOCRATS FOR GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN...
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MAN ON THE STREET REPORTER ASKS PEDESTRIANS: DO YOU PREFER OBAMACARE OR THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT? Hilarious Results - But Sadly Illustrates How We Ended Up In This Health Care Mess: Uninformed, Low-Information Voters.
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by an insurance policy applicable to recover the damage to the plant under “[v]andalism and malicious mischief, a policy insuring against vandalism. meaning only willful and malicious Distler obviously was not directing damage to or his activities at the destruction of the sewage treatment “The Court of Appeals property covered plant. The mere ANALYSIS answered the first h e r e u n d e r ”, fact of dumping even though the away from the question “yes.” It On the question of whether an act “perpetrators” did treatment plant answered the second may be called “vandalism” when it not direct their acts did not prevent by saying that the state was not directed specifically at the at the plaintiff’s recovery because of mind is the same damaged property, the authorities, property, and Distler’s actions though sparse, support an affirmative presumably never that would be required were clearly answer. New York, until now, has never knew that plaintiff malicious. to award punitive addressed the meaning of “vandalism” or its property damages against the in an insurance policy. The most existed. The Court of alleged vandal. That is, a relevant New York case is an Appellate Appeal, therefore, conscious and deliberate concluded it saw Division decision, Cresthill Indus. A case closer to v Providence Washington Ins. Co. this one on its facts disregard of the interests no reason why the (53 A.D.2d 488 [2d Dept 1976]). The is the decision of term “vandalism” of others that the plaintiff in that case had leased part the United States should be limited conduct in question of the ground floor of a warehouse Court of Appeals to acts directed may be called willful or and stored its property there. “[P] for the Sixth specifically at the ersons described… as ‘perpetrators’ Circuit in Louisville covered property. wanton.” apparently broke into the unoccupied & Jefferson Co. Vandalism, as the third floor of the warehouse, Metropolitan Sewer term is ordinarily uncoupled the pipes carrying water Dist. v Travelers Ins. Co. (753 F.2d 533 understood, need not imply a specific to the bathroom fixture, carried away [6th Cir 1985]). intent to accomplish any particular the fixtures and left the water running result; vandals may act simply out of from the severed connections”. The There, the alleged vandal was a a love of excitement, or an unfocused water flowed down to the first floor person named Distler, the owner of desire to do harm, or out of a desire to and damaged plaintiff’s property. a recycling firm that had a contract enrich oneself without caring about The damage was held to be covered to store toxic waste. Distler decided the consequences to others. It is, to save money therefore, not relevant that the alleged by “storing” act of vandalism did not bring the the waste in a alleged vandals in direct contact with public sewer. the covered property. Where damage The sewer itself naturally and foreseeably results from was not property an act of vandalism, a vandalism covered under clause in an insurance policy should the plaintiff’s cover it. i n s u r a n c e policy, but the It is true that, in some cases of alleged waste flowed vandalism not directed at particular to a sewage property, the term does not fit. The treatment plant word vandalism, which derives from that was covered. The plaintiff See Zalma Pg 35 was allowed to
ZALMA
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Experts and Consultants for Insurance Disputes 4441 Sepulveda Boulevard Culver City, California 90230 310-390-4455 zalma@zalma.com http://www.zalma.com
Consultation from Zalma Insurance Consultants (ZIC) can save you or your client thousands of dollars in the defense or prosecution of an insurance dispute. ZIC provides expert advice and counsel insurers and plaintiffs’ counsel find indispensable. Consultation from ZIC can save you, your counsel or client hundreds of hours of investigative and legal work. ZALMA INSURANCE CONSULTANTS is a service of Barry Zalma, Inc. a California professional corporation. Barry Zalma is an internationally recognized expert on insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith, insurance fraud detection, the defeat of false and fraudulent claims, Barry Zalma, Esq. insurance claims handling, and the resolution of insurance disputes. As a consultant, expert witness, lawyer, author, mediator or arbitrator he serves all parties who need consultation or expert testimony on matters relating to insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance fraud and the tort of bad faith. Barry Zalma founded Zalma Insurance Consultants to help resolve any insurance claim problem faced by you or your clients that do not need Mr. Zalma’s services as a lawyer. His experience and skill as a consultant and expert witness can make the difference before a jury or other trier of fact. For more than 44 years as a claims person and insurance coverage attorney, Barry Zalma has represented insurers, advised insurers on claims handling, interpreted coverages and testified as an insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, insurance claims handling and insurance fraud expert on behalf of insurers and policyholders in state and federal courts.
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Zalma Insurance Consultants serves insurers, policyholders, underwriters, brokers, agents, adjusters, public insurance adjusters, lawyers and any person involved in an insurance dispute. Because he is an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of California M r. Zalma may be prohibited by California case law from acting as a consultant or expert witness and, therefore, refuses to serve in any situation where a past client of his law firm, Barry Zalma, Inc. is adverse to anyone seeking his services.
Y ou can obtain M r. Zalma’s C.V . at http://www.zalma.com and his e-book publications http://www.zalma.com/zalmabooks.htm and blogs daily at Zalma on Insurance, http://zalma.com/blog.
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KIM KOMANDO
other gadgets, you can grab an app like Data Usage to keep track. If you have a small data plan, an app like Onavo Extend can do wonders. It compresses your data traffic so you get up to 5 times more data.
So, how do you choose which chat app to use? It all depends on which services your friends and family like. Since most of these apps are free, don’t be afraid to test out or use several different apps. Copyright 2013, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.
Kim Komando hosts the nation’s largest talk radio show about consumer electronics, computers and the Internet. To get the podcast, watch the show or find the station nearest you, visit: http://www. komando.com/listen. To subscribe to Kim’s free email newsletters, sign-up at: http://www. komando.com/newsletters.
Of course, since chat apps work over Wi-Fi, you don’t even need a cellular plan to use them. You can install them on an old smartphone, any tablet or even some MP3 players. I’ve seen some people go this route to completely kick their cellular contract to the curb. The only hang-up with some of these apps is that you can’t send a text to just anyone. Some apps, like iMessage, are limited to a certain type of gadget - iOS, in this case. Others only let you send messages to other people who use that app. Some apps do send regular texts, though. You can either use your current phone number or the app can give you a new one specifically for texts. When you pass out a special texting number, make sure people know it’s only for texts. Otherwise you may get charged if they try to call it. Voice calls with these apps usually cost anywhere from 2 to 10 cents a minute. That can be cheaper than some of the major carriers, but if you already have a voice plan you don’t want to pay extra. www.underwritersinsider.com
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CRAWFORD’S 2012 ONLINE ANNUAL REPORT WINS GOLD AT THE INTERNATIONAL ARC AWARDS
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TLANTA (October 8, 2013) - Crawford & Company announced today that its 2012 Online Annual Report was honored with a Gold Award at the 2013 International Annual Report Competition (ARC) Awards. The report, entitled Leaner, Faster, Smarter, was designed by communications design firm Curran & Connors and received the prize in the Interactive Annual Report category under the Insurance: Property & Casualty classification. Crawford's 2012 Online Annual Report features nine vignettes illustrating Crawford technological innovations debuted in 2012, animated financial graphics depicting the year's results and an embedded video from Crawford President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Bowman as part of the shareholder letter. "Receiving the Gold ARC Award is a strong testament to and recognition of the Company's commitment to responsible and innovative reporting to its shareholders, clients and employees," said Bowman. Established in 1987 by the independent awards organization MerComm, Inc., the ARC Awards is a highly-esteemed global competition honoring outstanding achievement in annual reports, judging entries based on the values of creativity, clarity, effectiveness and innovation. Each year, a number of companies and individuals that are involved in
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the process of producing annual reports enter and compete for Honors, Silver, Gold and Grand Award titles, including publicly- and privately-held companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. A jury of international leaders in the fields of investor relations, writing, design and photography holds preliminary evaluations, while final judging is made by presidents, CEOs and other senior executives of corporations, agencies and design firms. This year, the ARC Awards received a recordbreaking 2,260 entries from 34 countries.
About Crawford Based in Atlanta, Ga., Crawford & Company (www. crawfordandcompany.com) is the world's largest independent provider of claims management solutions to the risk management and insurance industry as well as self-insured entities, with an expansive global network serving clients in more than 70 countries. The Crawford System of Claims Solutions® offers comprehensive, integrated claims services, business process outsourcing and consulting services for major product lines including property and casualty claims management, workers compensation claims and medical management, and legal settlement administration. The Company's shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbols CRDA and CRDB.
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ZALMA the sack of Rome by the original Vandals in 455 AD more readily brings to mind people who smash and loot than business owners who seek their own profit in disregard of the injury they do to the property of others. However, there is no principled distinction between the two. An excavator who is paid to dig a hole, and does so in conscious disregard of likely damage to the building next door, is, for these purposes, not essentially different from an irresponsible youth who might dig a hole on the same property, with the same effect, whether in search of buried treasure or just for fun.
first question “yes.” It answered the second by saying that the state of mind is the same that would be required to award punitive damages against the alleged vandal. That is, a conscious and deliberate disregard of the interests of others that the conduct in question may be called willful or wanton.
ZALMA OPINION
The Second Circuit and the New York Court of Appeal was faced with a clear and unambiguous statement of a peril, that if it occurred, the insurer agreed to pay indemnity. That definition, “vandalism, meaning willful and malicious damage to, or destruction of, the described property.” Although the actions of Armory Plaza, Inc. was not directed to the property of the In common speech, and by the plaintiff its conduct caused damage express terms of the policy in suit, to plaintiffs property. Since they had vandalism is “malicious” damage to notice and even ignored a court order, property. The Second Circuit’s second the conduct deliberately disregarded question asks, in essence, what the interests of the plaintiff and was state of mind amounts to “malice” willful or wanton. for these purposes. As a court must, before assessing punitive damages, Continued From Page 17 it must conclude that the conduct posited as vandalism is “malicious” when it reflects such a conscious and deliberate disregard of the interests of others that it may be called willful or wanton. This test will serve to distinguish between acts that may fairly be called vandalism and ordinary will lose their “grandfather status” tortious conduct. and become illegal. According to the Congressional Budget Office, However, insurance against vandalism 156 million Americans—more than should not be converted into half the population—was covered something approaching general by employer-sponsored insurance in coverage for property damage. 2013.” Insureds who want broader coverage should obtain it and pay an Forbes goes on to report that 60% appropriate premium. of Americans have private-sector health insurance and will be affected The Court of Appeals answered the because of mandates contained in the
MILLIONS LOSING INSURANCE
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ObamaCare law: “ObamaCare forces insurers to offer services that most Americans don’t need, don’t want, and won’t use, for a higher price. Bob Laszewski, in a revealing blog post, wrote about the cancellation of his own health coverage. “Right now,” he wrote, “I have ‘Cadillac’ health insurance. I can access every provider in the national Blue Cross network—about every doc and hospital in America— without a referral and without higher deductibles and co-pays. But his plan is being canceled. His new, Obamacarecompatible plan has a $500 higher deductible, and a narrower physician and hospital network that restricts out-of-town providers. And yet it costs 66 percent more than his current plan. “Mr. President,” he writes, “I really like my health plan and I would like to keep it. Can you help me out here?” Yet, in spite of the continuing string of bad news, the debacle of a website rollout and the disclosure of outright lies, the president unbelievably continues on the offensive, actually blaming the “bad apples” in the insurance industry for the cancellations! “Remember,” Obama said, “before the Affordable Care Act, these bad-apple insurers had free rein every single year to limit the care that you received, or used minor pre-existing conditions to jack up your premiums, or bill you into bankruptcy. I don’t think we should go back to the daily cruelties and indignities and constant insecurity of a broken health care system.” Perhaps not so coincidentally, Reuter’s reported President Obama’s approval rating fell to an all-time record low during the week. 35
FLORIDA ARRESTS A WELLINGTON INSURANCE AGENT FOR FRAUD
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ALLAHASSEE – Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today announced the arrest of Leon Mobley, 45, a licensed insurance agent in Wellington for allegedly submitting false and forged wind mitigation verification inspection forms on behalf of clients to obtain discounted homeowner’s premiums. “Floridians place their trust in the hands of insurance agents and a
that Mobley had allegedly submitted a fraudulent wind mitigation form to her insurance company without prior knowledge or approval. Subsequent investigations identified two homeowners that fraudulent policy can devastate not received premium discounts on homeowners’ insurance only a consumer’s financial security their policies based on wind but also their confidence mitigation inspections in the insurance process,” that never took place. The said CFO Atwater. “My forms contained forged office will continue to homeowner and inspector ensure that licensed signatures. Mobley was insurance agents in charged with filing a false Florida are held to the and fraudulent insurance highest standards of Leon Mobley claim and uttering forged honesty and integrity.” instruments. Both are third In July, a consumer notified the degree felonies. Department of Financial Services
THERMONUCLEAR BOMB MISSING OFF THE SAVANNAH COAST - 5 TIMES THE POWER OF THE HIROSHIMA A-BOMB
Mobley was booked into Palm Beach County Jail. If convicted, he faces up to 5 years in prison and possible action against his insurance license. Editor’s Note: Possible action against his insurance license?
Navy Has Searched For Decades To No Avail - Experts Differ On Actual Threat, But Bomb Was Complete And Armed...
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ADVISOR Massachusetts was the first state to require companies to maintain such reserves. By the time Marilyn Monroe needed her legs insured, (a great time for a risk inspector to be alive) the industry had become much more sophisticated – and regulated. Until the 1950’s most insurance companies were not allowed by law to offer but one type of insurance when, finally, legislation permitted multiple-line companies to flourish.
Slow Computer Solutions
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’ve got a 4 year old computer at home that’s fairly fast, but I need some more horsepower for video and photo editing. Should I try and replace the processor in my existing computer or should I just buy a new one? R.K Dunwoody, GA We checked with our resident information technology geek, Sparky Johnson, who had this to say: First, scan your system for malware and adware using free software available from a number of sources. Start at www.downloads.com An old computer may have picked up enough of this software garbage to cut your speed in half. Run a registry cleaner/optimizer as well. Next, make sure your computer’s RAM (memory) is adequate. Just increasing ram to a 4 gigabytes or more can dramatically speed up a computer and should be your first choice in any upgrade. www.underwritersinsider.com
Still not fast enough? Now it gets a little more complicated if you still need more speed. Installing a faster processor in your motherboard (the big square circuit board against the back wall of your computer) could increase performance, but you may
new mobo, processor and SSD hard drive, you are going to need to upgrade your RAM - just as with processors, the newest motherboards require the latest RAM.
Don’t forget the power supply (PSU). Your existing computer is probably sporting some anemic little unit putting out as little as 250 watts. Watt did you say? Often a high-performance Not enough? Not nearly. video card with a lot of Look for something in the onboard memory will goose up 400-600 watt range that can lope along while delivering your computer by off-loading consistent power to your some of the processing tasks system and comes with the special connectors necessary now handled by your CPU. for newer motherboards Most new video cards require and and power-hungry PCIExpress video cards. PCI-Express slots, available on
most new motherboards. find that your motherboard (“mobo” to techies) will not accept a processor that is fast enough to justify the time and expense of the replacement. The latest processors will only fit in the latest motherboards. Often a high-performance video card with a lot of onboard memory will goose up your computer by offloading some of the processing tasks now handled by your CPU. Most new video cards require PCI-Express slots, available on most new motherboards.
As you can see, there is a slippery slope here that can quickly bust your budget even though you may end up with a real hot rod under the desk. You might just want to fork over $499 for that Dell and be done with it.
Fuel Cost Killing Me
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’ve got about a 25 mile one-way commute into the office every day and the cost of gas is killing me, even though it is not as bad as it was a couple of months ago. A couple of years ago, you published some tips on increasing gas mileage. Can you give me an update? T.A.W. Memphis, TN
And don’t forget the hard drive. The newest ones are SSDs - solid state drives - and can really speed up your reads and writes especially on bootup. The SSD drives are pricey, but fast and durable. You’ll want one for your boot drive at least.
We checked with former GT racing great, Poncho Vam Vito who gave us this summary on mileage: First – check your tire pressure and make sure those tires are set on the highest setting recommended by
Once you’ve screwed together your
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ADVISOR
your auto’s manufacturer, usually printed on the door jam behind the driver’s door. Low pressure tires take more energy to roll and can also increase the risk of a blow out due to heat build-up. An out of alignment front-end can also cost you mileage and tire rubber, so if your vehicle is pulling to either side or showing uneven tire wear, have it fixed. Change your driving style. Accelerate briskly up to cruising speed and hit the cruise control — even on short stretches. When you are approaching a known stop, cancel the cruise and coast. Don’t charge up to an intersection or known stop forcing yourself to hit the brakes hard. Accelerating briskly may be counter-intuitive, but remember that mileage is an equation using distance as a variable. The longer distance you drive while accelerating, the lower your mileage. Coast! Coasting is using the energy you’ve already bought and paid for. Braking is throwing away the same energy. As much as possible, stay off the pedals and let the cruise work for you. Avoid complete stops when safely possible. It takes about 4 times more energy to move your car from a complete stop as it does from 1 mph. Kill that A/C when the weather permits. It will save you money even though open windows will slightly increase your drag coefficient. 38
Speaking of drag co-efficient, keep your car cleaned and waxed. It will actually reduce wind resistance and increase mileage. Follow all these tips and you might add 2-6 mpg to your existing mileage - depending on how you currently operate your vehicle.
Run Don’t Walk...
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’m a licensed PC agent and was recently was hired by a new auto insurance agency here in town. In 5 weeks, I’ve never met the owneragent. I was interviewed and hired by a temp! The owner picks up all the apps and checks every night after I leave. So far, I have not seen a policy even though I’ve sold at least one every day since I’ve been in the office, including one policy to my boyfriend. The owner told me to just send him an email if there are any problems with policies or customers or claims (all of which he wants to handle personally) he will get back to me with an answer. Since I am the agent of record, I’m getting a little nervous. What do you recommend? Name, State and Town withheld. Grab your purse and run out the front door. Call the nearest DOI office and tell them what you’ve told us. Never put your license on the line unless you also accept the responsibility of managing and tracking the apps and the money. Good luck – you may need it!
All questions on any topic, reasonable or otherwise, will be reviewed for publication. If you have a question for The Advisor, simply click [HERE!]
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FLORIDA ANNOUNCES CONVICTION OF CLINIC OWNER
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ALLAHASSEE – Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today announced the conviction of David Rodriguez Lopez, 46, a Tampa clinic owner, for orchestrating a large scale personal injury protection (PIP) fraud scheme in Tampa and Jacksonville. Lopez, who will be sentenced in November, faces up to 75 years in prison. An investigation conducted by the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud revealed that Lopez directed the opening of Indian Rehabilitation Center Inc., located at 3636 University Boulevard South in Jacksonville. Lopez previously owned General Rehabilitation Center and Crystal Rehabilitation Center located in Tampa. Since March 2012, 26 staged accidents have occurred involving more than 60 individuals claiming to have been treated at Indian Rehab Center. The investigation revealed that many claims included treatment involving equipment the facility did not possess or treatments that never took place. Lopez was found to be the lead in securing a straw owner, controlling bank accounts and directing fraudulent clinic operations. Since mid-2012, 60 arrests have occurred involving accident participants, recruiters and office personnel of these fraudulent accident clinics. The Underwriter’s Insider
INDUSTRY LEADING FEATURES AND INNOVATIVE DESIGN RESULT IN OVER 400 NEW CUSTOMERS FOR THE QQ CATALYST™ INSURANCE AGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN ITS FIRST NINE MONTHS
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provides an easy way for agents to agencies, and, we have backed it up manage interruptions, pause what with the industry’s best on-boarding they are working and support on, do something programs. QQ Solutions reports else and then Starting in that over 400 independent return to it at a November, later time. When we’ll be insurance agencies – all of daily interruptions migrating which are new customers – occur, users can existing QQ are now using QQ Catalyst™. pick right back Evolution The state-of-the-art cloudup where they and QuickFile based insurance agency left off, even if customers they switch to management system was first that want another device. to upgrade. launched in January of this Catalyst works on Catalyst is year and combines marketany device with a fueling our leading features with an modern browser, growth, just including PCs, innovative design to enhance as it is for our Macs, iPads, customers. agency productivity and iPhones, Android In response, growth. devices, Microsoft we’re adding QQ Catalyst is an innovative Surface tablets, more software cloud-based insurance agency Chromebooks, and other mobile developers, support technicians, management system that has devices. When an agency subscribes marketing, and salespeople to meet changed the game for independent to Catalyst, there’s nothing to install. the growing demand.” Users only need a insurance agencies. broadband Internet For more information about QQ Visually engaging connection. and highly intuitive, Catalyst, visit the company’s website Catalyst makes or call QQ Solutions at 1.800.940.6600. Michael Stebel, everyday agency Chief Operating tasks simple, quick Officer of QQ and error-free. With Solutions,, said, “The Catalyst, agents industry’s adoption can choose to of Catalyst has been receive step-bybreathtaking. Over step guidance to 400 new customers complete tasks, from adding a contact and Michael Stebel, QQ COO have now subscribed to - Lance Armstrong Catalyst. We believe that creating a new policy to renewing an existing policy. In Catalyst is the best management addition, its patent pending “Stack” system for most independent Q Solutions, Inc, one of the largest providers of insurance agency management systems for independent agencies, announced that over 400 independent insurance agencies – all of which are new customers – are now using the company’s new cloud-based insurance agency management system, QQ Catalyst, since its launch earlier this year. This very high adoption rate demonstrates that the new SaaS based system meets the current and future needs of independent insurance agencies nationwide. The company is also readying a major update to Catalyst, version 2.5, which will be released at the end of this month.
“I like riding my bicycle.”
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BIGGEST VICTIMS OF OBAMACARE ways this can be addressed. Guarantee Issue: One method of addressing this is to have a “preexisting condition period” during which time no incident arising from the pre-existing condition is payable. For example, a pregnant woman who sings up for coverage will not be covered for any expense occurring from that pregnancy, period. Successive pregnancies, fine, but as the old saying goes, you cannot insure a burning house so don’t expect the insurance company, and its policyholders, to take on that expense. Clearly, certain conditions will require special consideration, including either rate up for chronic conditions, or waiver of certain conditions, such as pre-existing cancer. It is hardly acceptable that someone with a condition like cancer can expect to wait until it has been diagnosed and then be insured at someone else’s expense. Another method of handling Guarantee Issue is to require an individual mandate (IM), that is a true mandate - one with teeth that can hurt when they bite. ObamaCare has an IM. It is meaningless, because the fine for not participating is so small, $95 to 1% of an individual or family’s Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) in the first year, versus paying a premium of anywhere from $1,000 annually in a 40
low-income category, to $800 penalty on an AGI of $80,000. That’s all. There is no other liability. It’s a “Walk”. A true IM would require a penalty on an $80,000 AGI of say, 75% of the premium that would be due. Suppose that $80K AGI represents the income for a family of four, and the Insurance premium would amount to $20,000, annually. Don’t pay it, but expect to pay the IRS (collecting for US) a tax penalty of $15,000 compounded for every year it is due, or whatever is finally determined to be a substantial enough penalty that it would encourage the Individual to participate and buy their insurance, rather than have no benefits and pay a heavy penalty, that will be collected, one way or another. After all, if the irresponsible individual doesn’t carry the insurance, and eventually needs it, then all of us will have to pay the price when they go in for care. Enough on insurance reform, which could ostensibly have resolved the problems that led to the crafting and passing into law of the PPACA. Who is the greatest victim of all? All Americans. It is very difficult to make law. An old saying is: “Politics is like sausage, if you knew what went in it you’d never eat it.” Repealing law once made, changing or amending it is even more difficult. It is said that you get “One bite of the apple.” Blow it, and you may not get another chance. The longer this trainwreck called ObamaCare continues to roll off the tracks, and the longer more and more Americans are coming out of the woodwork with their factual stories of harm
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being caused them, the harder it will become to convince the American electorate to amend this law, keep what works, and toss the rest. Will take this train to completely come off the tracks and hit Americans in the face before they will finally agree as a country, that this has been a major mistake and needs correction? If the Democratic Party doesn’t get the message soon, America may become so angry, that they will not allow a president or the Congress to have another bite at the apple for a very long time. And that would be a real tragedy for all of us.
OBAMA TEAM MEETING NOTES INDICATE ONLY SIX (6) AMERICANS SIGNED UP FOR OBAMACARE ON FIRST DAY! Click on Video Image
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spike in rate increases over the FLORIDA FLORIDA last four years still merit legislative stated Florida Insurance OFFICE ANNOUNCES attention,” Commissioner, Kevin M. McCarty. OF INS DECISION “Evidence from the hearing demonstrated that rates could REGULATION ON NCCI be reduced by as much as 8.3% if the reimbursement for STATEMENT WORKERS’ hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient and ambulatory ON COURT COMP RATE surgical centers were OF APPEAL FILING statutorily limited to 120% of Medicare REINSTATING reimbursement.” THE P.I.P. ALLAHASSEE, Fla. 4 ARRESTED STAY OF – Florida Insurance Kevin IN NC FOR INJUNCTION McCartyCommissioner today issued an Order notifying the National Council on INS. SCHEME
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he Florida First District Court of Appeal (DCA) yesterday reversed an injunction that stopped implementation of key provisions of the 2012 PIP law revisions. The DCA ruled that the chiropractor, acupuncturists, and massage therapists lacked “standing” to bring the claim that the PIP revisions restricted a motorist’s constitutional access to courts right. The court did not rule on the merits of whether the PIP law revisions are valid if there is a proper plaintiff. By separate order the court reinstated the stay of the trial court’s injunction that stopped implementation of the key provisions of the 2012 PIP law revisions. This means the 2012 PIP law revisions are now fully in effect. The appellate court’s opinion is not final until the time for motions for rehearing expires. www.underwritersinsider.com
Compensation Insurance (NCCI) that its 1% proposed annual rate filing increase in Florida’s workers’ compensation insurance rates has been disapproved. After a careful review and analysis by the Office of Insurance Regulation (Office), the filing reflected an increase in production expenses that were not supported by the information submitted by NCCI. NCCI can re-submit the rate filing to the Office and a 0.7% increase would be approved to become effective on January 1, 2014 for new and renewal business. This approval would represent a 56.0% cumulative reduction in Florida workers’ compensation rates as a result of legislative reforms introduced in 2003 and keep Florida rates comparable to other states. “Although a marginal rate increase is necessary for worker’s compensation insurance in Florida, the underlying factors causing the
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ALEIGH, NC -- Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin today announced the arrest of four people in an alleged insurance mbezzlement scheme. Anthony Quentin Barlow, 40 was arrested on Oct. 24 and placed under a $30,000 unsecured bond. Tony Maurice Pittman, 40, was arrested on Oct. 24 and placed under a $10,000 unsecured bond. Sabrina Michelle Smith, 37, was arrested on Oct. 24 and placed under a $30,000 unsecured bond. Rodney Smith, 39, was arrested on Oct. 24 and placed under a $30,000 unsecured bond. It’s alleged that Nationwide claims associate Barlow used company claims funds to write checks to Sabrina Smith, Rodney Smith and Tony Pittman, who are each accused of receiving and cashing the checks. Investigators allege that the defendants embezzled and split approximately $69,000 from the scheme. 41
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MISSISSIPPI INSURANCE DEPARTMENT SUES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO STOP FLOOD PROGRAM RATE INCREASES
ackson - Mississippi Insurance Mississippi, but across the country to be studied by FEMA before the Commissioner Mike Chaney and are intended to repay the debt proposed rate hikes are implemented. announced today that the from catastrophes being carried by “FEMA says they have no discretion Mississippi Insurance Department the National Flood Insurance Program in the implementation of the BWhas filed suit to try and stop 12 act. “Common sense the draconian rate increases “We’ve known for a long time that the flood needs to prevail,” Chaney proposed for the National program needed reform,” Chaney said. “We said. “The following things Flood Insurance Program. should be considered know the program is deeply in debt, but it accurate elevation maps; a seems grossly unfair to place that burden The suit was filed Thursday reasonable way for directly on homeowners who simply followed in Federal District Court consumers to challenge on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, maps; a reasonable phase the rules and did what was asked of them.” where rate increases in of actuarially sound threaten to bankrupt many rates after the studies Mississippi homeowners. and to make rates in the future are completed; voucher programs; actuarially sound. enforcement of building codes for “Congress passed the Biggert-Waters new construction; proper land use; act of 2012 and severe consequences “We’ve known for a long time that the use of reinsurance; choices in are surfacing,” Chaney said. “There is the flood program needed reform,” deductibles and separate escrow real conflict and reform is needed. Chaney said. “We know the program accounts for premiums that Congress is deeply in debt, but it seems grossly cannot raid.” Beginning October 1, 2013 some unfair to place that burden directly on consumers will see rate increases of homeowners who simply followed The lawsuit was filed in Gulfport in over 3000%. In granting approval, the rules and did what was the United States District Court for the FEMA used older Base Flood asked of them.” Southern District of Mississippi. Elevation maps and then in 2009 began to change the Base Flood Chaney went on to note Elevation Maps and Zones. This that The National Flood Why Do Ad Agencies Hate resulted in unanticipated rate Insurance program has The Underwriter’s Insider? increases. Today many consumers long been troubled. “Prior face loss of their property due to to passage of the two Because Our Total Ad the increases. Many of the new 2012 reform bills, Congress Flood Elevation Maps are riddled had renewed the NFIP Cost is Less than Then with errors and consumers numerous times for 30 to 60 They Normally Earn must pay for new elevation days and sometimes let in Commission! certificates to prove they the authorization expire are not in a flood zone.” only to be renewed Pay Yourself - Not retroactively to The proposed comply with other The Ad Agencies! rate hikes will laws,” Chaney said. affect millions of INFO HERE Mississippi Ins. Commissioner homeowners, not Chaney said Mike Chaney only in several areas need
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