| Unitrin Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Merastar ...
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 2007--Unitrin, Inc. (NYSE:UTR) announced today that its subsidiary, Trinity Universal Insurance Company ("Trinity"), has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Merastar Insurance Company ("Merastar Insurance") and certain of its affiliates, superseding the previously announced agreement in principle. Trinity will acquire Merastar Insurance in a cash transaction valued at approximately $45 million, subject to certain purchase price adjustments. The transaction is subject to approvals by insurance regulators and other third parties and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the second quarter. Merastar Insurance is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee and specializes in the sale of personal automobile and homeowners' insurance through employer-sponsored voluntary benefit programs.
Insurance Company Splits When Claims Roll In
How would you like it if your insurance company refused to honor its deal and, rather than pay a claim, it only refunds a portion of the premium.When just such a practice outraged a bountiful woman, it was time to Get Gephardt.In this case, the insurance was in the form of a home owners warranty.The peace of mind was sold that if something goes wrong with such things as a furnace or a hot water heater, the warranty will fix the problem.But not in this caseWhen Calliene Curzon bought a condominium last year, she decided to take her real estate agents advice just incase any major appliances broke down.And so we purchased a Home warranty policy, says Calliene.Calliene paid $375 to Members Home Warranty, and the company cashed her check.The policy says it covers heating, and other home appliances, and she was glad she did.The furnace stopped working, says Calliene.That was just 4 days after Calliene moved in.
RAM Mutual Insurance Company Provides Identity Theft Services ...
Services Free of Charge Business Editors/Security Writers ESKO, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 3, 2007--RAM Mutual Insurance Company, a carrier offering products to nearly 600 independent agencies throughout Minnesota, announced today a partnership that will provide cutting-edge identity theft resolution services to all its farm and homeowner policyholders, free of charge. Ram Mutual has collaborated with the leading provider of identity theft-related services, Arizona-based Identity Theft 911(R). This is a step forward for Ram Mutual in protecting its policyholders from the virulent crime of identity theft, which has topped the FTC's list of consumer complaints for the last seven years.* "We've invested a considerable amount of time and energy in finding the most comprehensive identity theft solution for our policyholders," said Steve Knutson, President of RAM Mutual.
Home Warranty Wouldn't Pay Claim!
How would you like it if your insurance company refused to honor its deal and, rather than pay a claim, it only refunds a portion of the premium.When just such a practice outraged a Bountiful woman, it was time to Get-Gephardt.In this case, the insurance was in the form of a home owner's warranty.The peace of mind was sold that if something goes wrong with such things as a furnace or a hot water heater, the warranty will fix the problem.But not in this case... We thought that this would be ok for awhile, said Calliene Curzon.When Calliene Curzon bought this condominium last year, she decided to take her real estate agent's advice just in case any major appliances broke down. And so we purchased a home warranty policy, said Calliene.Calliene paid $375 to Members Home Warranty, and the company cashed her check.The policy says it covers heating, and other home appliances and she was glad she did.Calliene said, The furnace stopped working! That was just 4 days after Calliene moved in.
First Floridian drops 40000
First Floridian Auto and Home Insurance Co. is in the process of notifying thousands of Floridians that their homeowners policies will not be renewed, the most recent insurer to significantly reduce its business in Florida. Around 40,000 of the 97,000 policyholders covered by First Floridian, a subsidiary of The Travelers Cos. Inc. (NYSE: TRV, $52.79), have been slated to be dropped, according to people familiar with the company's plans. .
Insurance Law Fuels Confusion
Bill Bartram is one of more than 38,000 residents in Florida who are receiving notices from Nationwide Insurance that their homeowners policies will not be renewed. Like others, Bartram, a retired cop from Washington, D.C., who has lived in his Bradenton home for the past 28 years, thought recently passed legislation protected him from receiving such a notice. He was wrong. Actually, the law states that once insurance companies submit rate-reduction filings with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation - as Nationwide and others have done - then those companies can deliver nonrenewal notices to customers. Still, Bartram thinks someone's not keeping his word. "From what (Gov. Charlie) Crist's office said, if they (companies) sell insurance in Florida, they're going to have to continue to offer coverage," says Bartram, who has been with Nationwide for 25 years and also has automobile and life insurance with the company.
State orders insurer to cut rates further
VERO BEACH Cincinnati Insurance Co.'s proposal to roll back their homeowners property insurance coverage by 3.2 percent statewide was rejected by officials with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, who instructed the company to instead decrease rates by 31.3 percent. "They will have to make a new filing with us," said agency spokesman Bob Lotane on Wednesday. "The simplest way to put it is, they are going to have to get their math right." .
Crist renews rates assault
TALLAHASSEE With homeowners still feeling the pinch of high insurance premiums despite the Legislature's promises in January to cut rates, Gov. Charlie Crist made a rare, personal appeal to legislators on Monday to not lose sight of the state's property insurance crisis.
At a Senate Banking and Insurance Committee packed with insurance industry lobbyists, Crist touted a bill that could send more business to Florida's state-run insurance company.
It was the first time a governor has testified at a legislative hearing in nearly a decade; in 1998, Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles spoke to a committee headed by then-state Sen. Charlie Crist. The issue then was how the state intended to spend a major lawsuit settlement with tobacco companies.
Monday's meeting came to a brief but heated standoff between Crist and insurance lobbyists.
Nationwide Rates Set To Rise
31--TALLAHASSEE -- Arbitrators have overruled the state and will allow Nationwide Insurance to raise homeowners' premiums by an average of 54 percent. The increase by the Tampa Bay area's second-largest insurer applies to hurricane and nonhurricane coverage, though the amount will vary by location. Nationwide spokesman Eric Hardgrove said the company will implement the increase "as soon as possible." Nationwide, which has 240,000 policyholders in Florida and 42,005 in the Tampa Bay area, sought a 71 percent rate increase in July, but regulators rejected it. The company then filed for arbitration and won the case during hearings earlier this month. The ruling was released Friday. Under the original 71 percent average request, increases for the Tampa Bay area varied widely. Hillsborough County was projected to be 49.8 percent; Pinellas, 134.6 percent; Pasco, 73.7 percent; and Polk, 43.7 percent.
Insuring smooth transition
Fifteen years ago, Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co.'s products had become as stale as week-old Communion bread. The Fort Wayne-based insurance company had gotten "very behind and antiquated" in the coverage it was offering, President James Blum said. Blum, who was named president in 1995, modernized the insurer of churches and related ministries. In recent years, the company has added policies that include coverage for terrorism, sexual misconduct, broadcast communications and overseas missions trips. The executive also moved Brotherhood Mutual away from homeowners' insurance, an area that accounted for only 5 percent of the company's income before it was discontinued in 2005. "We can't be all things to all people and do it well," he said. Blum, who will retire at the end of the month, sat down recently with The Journal Gazette to talk about how Brotherhood Mutual has evolved during his 40 years with the company.
•Insurer's handling of fire has Ossining condo owners fuming
Ask some distraught people in Ossining and they'll tell you emphatically that integrity went up in smoke on April 7, 2005, when a basement electrical fire destroyed, or badly damaged, six townhouse condominiums. Since the fire, they haven't been able to return to their homes. That's two full years ago Saturday. And the way things are going, it could conceivably be another two years before life is back to normal at Building G of the Cedar Garden Townhouses. The Cedar Garden condo owners blame the delay on their insurance carrier, the Insurance Company of Greater New York, whom they claim has scandalously low-balled the estimated cost of reconstruction. No one from GNY Insurance could be reached for comment yesterday. I tried their marketing and legal departments in New York City without luck.
Is Citizens ready to handle more growth?
Everyone dreads that letter from Citizens Property Insurance. And, believe me, I have read all your e-mails and also know the pain firsthand. Insurance rate relief has been minimal so far -- and much more is needed from our Legislature this session. But let's try to put the rate issue aside for a moment. Let's look closely at the company at the center of the insurance crisis -- and the subject of much debate in Tallahassee. After all, more than likely, it is your insurance company. Formed to be the insurer of last resort, Citizens is now the insurer of only resort for many home, condo and small-business owners. The state-run insurer has added 50 percent more policies in just the past two years, making it the biggest home insurer in the state. And it is poised to grow much bigger, also expanding its commercial business.
Citizens Insurance Company of America Launches Connections(TM ...
HOWELL, Mich., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizens Insurance Company of America today announced the launch of a new homeowners insurance product, Connections(TM) Home, in Michigan. This announcement follows the launch of Connections Home by its affiliate, The Hanover Insurance Group, in Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New York, Ohio and Tennessee, where the product has increased homeowners' quotes for the company since its launch. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051031/NEM023LOGO ) Connections Home makes it easier for agents to sell and retain more business by providing a total account solution, competitive coverage packages, enhanced premium choices, an expanded appetite and reliable, more convenient service. The introduction of Connections Home completes Citizens' total account solution for personal lines, giving the company's agent partners the products they need to sell and retain more business.
Contract helps build successful partnerships
When it comes to successful relationships with contractors, a clear description of the work and a contract head the list — when they are in writing.Last week we hit some of the high points on the formal relationship with someone you hire to work in your home. Today we're going to talk more specifically about the written contract.Create a written contractBesides your name and address, a contract should name the construction company, all of its owners, all pertinent addresses, phone numbers and the contractor's license number, bonding agent, bond amount, as well as his insurance company and the liability coverage amount.To verify this information and check for complaints, call Labor and Industries and the Better Business Bureau.Your contract should refer to and contain the scope of work, any drawings or other specifications (such as a manufacturer's installation specifications).
Home insurance has gone to the dogs
Margie Foshe was stunned when, without warning, her homeowners insurance policy from Rockford Mutual was canceled. She was "amazed" to read the company's explanation for nonrenewal: "Pit bulls are not allowed." Although Foshe admits that her dog, Mocha, has features common to pit bulls, he's not actually a pit bull. That explanation fell on deaf ears. Also, Foshe was told it is "irrelevant" that 5-year-old Mocha has never been involved in a claim or complaint. When searching for a replacement policy, Foshe of Lee, Ill., got a double whammy. Her other dog, a 7-year-old Rottweiler mix named Radar, is also a liability because many insurers profile Rottweilers as well as all dogs resembling pit bulls. It turns out insurance companies that discriminate on dog breeds have "blacklists," which vary from carrier to carrier.
The Hanover Insurance Group Launches Connections(TM) Home in ...
WORCESTER, Mass., April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) , a leading super regional property and casualty company, today announced the launch of a new homeowners insurance product, Connections(TM) Home, in Indiana and Wisconsin. This announcement follows the launch of Connections Home in Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New York, Ohio and Tennessee, where the product has increased homeowners' quotes for The Hanover since its launch.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051031/NEM023LOGO )
Connections Home makes it easier for agents to sell and retain more business by providing a total account solution, competitive coverage packages, enhanced premium choices, an expanded appetite and reliable, more convenient service.
State Farm to accelerate settlements in Mississippi
NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters) - State Farm Mutual, Mississippi's largest insurer, said on Monday it has started reviewing claims by as many as 35.000 Gulf Coast residents whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, in order to speed up the payment process. The company said it would use criteria set out in a failed settlement of a class-action lawsuit. It said the move resulted from a deal, which makes millions of additional dollars available to homeowners in three coastal counties, between the insurer and State Insurance Commissioner George Dale. "The process will put dollars into people's hands more quickly," according to a statement read by company spokesman Fraser Engerman. State Farm said it was beginning an immediate revaluation and payment program for the claims of Mississippians whose homes had been completely destroyed by the August 2005 hurricane, the most expensive storm in history.
Black Betsy’s current owner open to returning the bat to Greenville
Black Betsy's current owner, Rob Mitchell, said he would discuss a deal with Greenville officials that might return the bat to the Upstate. Mitchell said he would consider waiving his usual loan fee if Greenville officials pay insurance costs. Mitchell said he pays thousands of dollars in premiums each year, and his insurance company charges upward of $7,500 each time the bat is moved. Mitchell and his ownership partner, his sister Mandy, auctioned the bat in December 2005. Its reserve price, or minimum bid, was not reached. Mitchell said he could not disclose the reserve price. Marcley, who said she would consider speaking with Mitchell about a loan, said the bat's rightful home is Greenville. It is the city where the bat spent 71 years, the same city in which Young unveiled a statue in July 2002 and a place where it would remain in public view.
INSURANCE: Senate kills dog insurance bill
SPRINGFIELD -- Legislation that would ban Illinois insurance companies from canceling dog owners' policies or charging more based on the breed of the dog was killed in the Senate Insurance Committee. The committee's action earlier this month has left some dog owners frustrated, wondering where they can purchase homeowners insurance. Some insurance carriers will not issue homeowner's policies to people who own pit bulls, Rottweilers or some other breeds because of concern over dog-bite claims. But pet owners and animal welfare groups are pushing to end this practice. Insurance company lobbyists have fought the proposal. Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said he has many constituents upset about losing coverage even though their pets have never harmed anyone. In fact, many canine owners believe coverage should be based on an individual dog's history and not the reputation of the breed.
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