| Entertainment and Technology Feature Summary for Week Ending Mar. 16
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Mar. 16 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The weekly news feature summary from the Send2Press Wire Service includes this week: NETGEAR selects TeamF1 embedded software for secure gateway/routers; Living Folklore releases Funny Bone Logic interactive DVD with games for developing minds ages 3-8; fitness innovator John Abdo inducted into Hall of Fame; and Georgetown hosts Policy Conference on National Security. Selected News Stories for Week Ending March 16th, 2007: * to read these and other stories in complete detail, with images, please visit: http://www.send2press.com/newswire/ * Long Term Care Insurance for Spanish Speaking Americans KIRKLAND, Wash. - Mar. 16 -- Today LTC Financial Partners LLC, the nation's most experienced long term care insurance brokerage, announced a campaign to bring long term care protection to members of America's second-largest ethnic group, Hispanics.
Phone laws to hit car insurance premiums
The new mobile phone laws will make it increasingly difficult for UK drivers to find competitive insurance premiums, a report has claimed.Drivers caught using a mobile phone at the wheel can now receive a £60 fine and three points on their licence, as part of the government's attempt to hammer home the importance of concentration in the car.Insurance broker Quoteline Direct believes that 10,000 drivers will be pushed into the non-standard insurance bracket as a result of convictions, as insurers take an unforgiving approach to this particular folly.Quoteline Direct's Paul O' Gorman said: "Insurers will be using this as an excuse to push people automatically into the non-standard insurance bracket. Three points on a licence for speeding or jumping a red light has always bumped up premiums slightly but I expect many insurers to take a harsher view of people convicted of this offence.
Buyer Can't Keep Mum about Unum
VALUE-SEEKERS RELATIONAL INVESTORS has just upped its stake in Unum Group, less than a month after Relational said it would keep an eye on the insurance brokerage's turnaround efforts. In a March 30 filing, Relational reported boosting its stake in the insurance provider to 25.7 million shares, or a 7.5% stake, up from the 21.3 million shares, or 6.2% stake, it reported holding in its initial 13D filing for Unum on March 9. Relational's most recent Unum shopping spree occurred from March 12 to March 30 at share prices ranging from $21.69 to $23.33. Shares of ... .
Canadian pleads not guilty in $7mln insurance scam
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Canadian man accused of running an insurance-fraud scheme that netted more than $7 million pleaded not guilty on Friday to criminal fraud charges in U.S. District Court. Ian Stuart, who was arrested in Canada last May and extradited to New York on Thursday, was arraigned before U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan. Stuart was accused of holding himself out to New York insurance brokers as a wholesale insurance broker able to place insurance coverage, and as an authorized agent for various insurance companies, including underwriters at Lloyd's of London, Great American Insurance Co., Tower Insurance, and Traveler's Insurance. The government alleged Stuart, using several fake agency affiliations and pseudonyms, collected more than $7 million in policy premiums from about 2000 through 2004 as part of the fraud.
Willis Group Sharpens Focus on the Small Business Market
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Willis Group Holdings Limited (NYSE:WSH), the global insurance broker, announced today that it is accelerating its effort to grow its business among small companies around the world. As a component of Shaping Our Future, a series of strategic initiatives aimed at continuing the Company's growth, Willis is targeting this segment by partnering with carriers to develop insurance solutions which are highly tailored to small enterprises. Growth will be achieved by developing innovative solutions (including facilities, programs and binders) and expanding the broker's already strong Managing General Agent (MGA) business. This effort will also include using the Internet and other technology platforms to streamline processes. To manage and drive this important program, Willis has named Tom Bartleet as Chief Executive Officer of the Global Small Commercial Business.
Axa ramps up UK broker network
Axa, the French insurance giant, is accelerating its plans to build a network of insurance brokers across Britain with the acquisition of a Yorkshire-based chain in a deal worth more than £100m. Smart & Cook, which has evolved into one of Britain's biggest insurance brokers over recent years, is being sold by 3i, the private equity group. A deal with Axa is expected to be announced as early as this week. The takeover will fuel an acquisition spree that began in January, when the insurer bought Stuart Alexander and Layton Blackham, the regional brokers. Those acquisitions have already been followed by some smaller bolt-on deals. Axa has also bought Swiftcover, a direct insurer specialising in motor, pet and travel insurance, and has been linked to interest in the AA's direct insurance arm.
Buy Health Insurance Online From Established Insurance Brokers
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Companies Find New Insurance Program Makes Exercise Pay Off
Chris Spensley was 49 pounds heavier when his employer, Seattle's Cobalt Group, implemented an innovative insurance plan in January 2006. The fitness and wellness portions of ClearAdvantage, a new program from ClearPoint LLP insurance brokerage of Seattle, have prompted the 41-year-old manager to resume his running, improve his diet and engage in friendly competition with colleagues to get fit. "I haven't felt this good since I was 25 years old," Spensley said. "I think I've extended my life a good bit." One component of ClearAdvantage is that the employer can impose a high deductible fee while also setting aside money that employees can use toward paying that deductible. This is meant to make employees more aware of what medicine and medical treatment really cost -- and of what alternatives may be available -- while not penalizing them for deciding to use health care.
Bank company's insurance arm adding office
Commerce Banc Insurance Services said Monday that it will open a new office in Center City Philadelphia staffed by 50 employees. The new site in the One Commerce Square building at 2005 Market St. will serve the insurance brokerage's commercial and employee- benefits insurance customers when it opens in June. A subsidiary of Commerce Bancorp Inc. (NYSE:CBH) of Cherry Hill, N.J., the company said its market expansion has traditionally followed the bank's footprint. .
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