A friend recently asked me how to find health insurance. His employer had eliminated coverage because of cost, leaving him and several other employees to fend for themselves. My friend is well-educated, intelligent and capable. At first, I wondered if he was just playing with me. “I’m serious,” he said into the phone.

In the coming months, as small businesses look for ways to tighten their belts in the wake of a toughening economy, more people will fall into the category of my friend. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that 8.6 million of the estimated 47 million who are uninsured in the U.S. joined the ranks because of the loss of employer-sponsored health coverage. Read the rest of this entry »

Maryland politics — and the byproduct of consumer disservice that goes along with it — takes an even messier turn with the creation of the Peoples Insurance Counsel.

With a name that sounds ominously close to a Communist Party agency, this “watchdog” group’s origins had more to do with politics than protecting the people.

The counsel was created when the Democratic State of Maryland had a Republican governor a few years back, Bob Ehrlich, who in turn appointed a former Republican state delegate and insurance professional, Al Redmer, to head up the Maryland Insurance Administration. With that duo, the Democrat-controlled legislature reasoned, there would be rampant corruption in the MIA and consumer protection would go right out the door. Read the rest of this entry »

Nearly half of motorists (85 million) fear their assets won’t be fully covered if a hurricane struck them, according to a new GMAC Insurance survey.

“Clearly, somewhere along the way, trust in the insurance company has been lost,” said Gary Kusumi, CEO and president of GMAC Insurance’s personal lines division.

If property-casualty agents don’t respond to this news, the trust their clients have in them also will suffer. Read the rest of this entry »

The National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors (NAIFA) sees no problem with bringing to an end the era of the independent insurance agent.

Or so it must seem, after NAIFA recently presented its opinion on a proposed Optional Federal Charter, which is now closer to reality following the Bush Administration’s pronouncement that it will seek to overhaul the insurance industry. Such an overhaul would in effect make state insurance regulation secondary to a federal insurance “czar,” making it easier for large agencies to grow and expand like a supernova, leaving smaller, independent agents hawking their products on street corners the way the unemployed sold apples for a penny during the Great Depression. Read the rest of this entry »

So one of the first “universal health” progams in the nation is becoming ever-more costly for the state to support.

Now, Massachusetts legislators are going to add $1 per pack to the price of cigarettes to fund costs that are far beyond the state’s ability to pay.

What happens if people smoke less, and the funding for the “savior of the health care crisis” becomes even more insolvent? Read the rest of this entry »

Small business owners are now more worried about the economy than providing health insurance for their employees, according to an article on IFAwebnews.com.

The news from a survey of small business owners conducted by the National Small Business Association cuts several ways, none of which are good for the insurance industry.

That health insurance isn’t the biggest concern would seem on the surface to be good news. Read the rest of this entry »

Former comedian turned political attack dog turned Senate candidate and, now, hypocrite, Al Franken has been fined for his continued failure to pay workers compensation insuance for his employees. This is not the first time that he has defied state laws requiring him to carry the necessary coverage.

Not only did Franken “forget” to pay workers’ comp insurance in New York, where the transgression occurred, but he also neglected to provide disability benefits insurance in the state. Read the rest of this entry »

The Consumer Federation of America is at it again, this time setting its sights on a meaty target, indeed: New Yorkers.

In its latest attempt to tarnish the reputation of the insurance industry, the organization is saying that New Yorkers are being overcharged by insurers for their home and auto insurance. In a press release, the group alleges that insurance companies aren’t just overcharging, they are lowering reimbursement rates. Read the rest of this entry »

Nationwide has made a smart business decision in developing a new, “back-to-basics” insurance and financial planning guide in both English and Spanish. The company’s press release rightfully states that the guide helps to open the discussion between family members about important coverage, safety and financial issues.

The company’s website also allows Hispanic visitors to locate Spanish-speaking agents.

Certainly, having an educated immigrant population is a very wise thing. While they don’t state it, the obvious target is new citizens and immigrants from below the Mexican border. Whether legal or illegal residents, the children and grandchildren of these consumers will be American citizens, and with ever-increasing declines in the education of American children, any education is vital to an informed populace.

And going after this market is just plain smart. Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said today that the Bush Administration wants to create a federal insurance regulator, the latest call for change in how insurance agents and brokers, and insurers conduct their business, according to a story on IFAwebnews.com.