insurance companies

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Insurers Have Aerial Intel on 99% of US Homes

More homeowners are being dropped based on drone photography

(Newser) - The Wall Street Journal dives into the sticky topic of home insurance companies utilizing fly-by footage from drones, planes, and high-altitude balloons to assess properties. They report that the industry-funded Geospatial Insurance Consortium has aerial footage of 99% of properties in the US, and insurers are using it to make...

California Is Making a Change to Stop Fleeing Insurers

Rates likely to spike as insurers incorporate catastrophe models in policy pricing

(Newser) - Insurance providers are applauding proposed changes likely to result in rate increases in one of the world's largest insurance markets to better account for billions of dollars in potential damage from natural disasters amid a changing climate. Through executive orders approving "emergency regulatory action," California moved Thursday...

Yet Another Insurer Ditches the Sunshine State

Farmers is dropping home, auto, and umbrella policies in Florida, citing 'risk exposure'

(Newser) - More homeowners in Florida received some bad news this week, with yet another insurance company pulling out of the state due to too much possible liability. The Miami Herald reports that Farmers Insurance will no longer be offering home, auto, or umbrella policies in the Sunshine State, the fourth carrier...

Former 1-800-GET-THIN Doc: 'I Live in Constant Remorse'

Julian Omidi gets 7 years behind bars for hawking unnecessary surgeries, defrauding insurance firms

(Newser) - The man behind 1-800-GET-THIN has been sentenced to seven years in prison for a fraud scheme that saw insurance companies billed nearly $120 million for forged sleep studies and unnecessary surgeries. Charged in 2018, Julian Omidi, 54, of West Hollywood, California, was convicted in December 2021 of 28 counts of...

Want Life Insurance? Of Course. Now Try Getting It.

Insurers make 'unprecedented' changes during the pandemic

(Newser) - Looking for life insurance during—or because of—the pandemic? Be prepared for companies raising their prices, lowering benefits, and even refusing to sell some products, the Wall Street Journal reports. Penn Mutual Life Insurance, for example, is among companies that hit pause on selling life insurance to people 70...

Car Insurers Are Giving Americans Their Money Back

Driving is down by up to 50% in most states

(Newser) - "Less driving means fewer accidents," says Allstate CEO Tom Wilson, whose company is giving refunds to millions of American drivers with nowhere to go. Allstate says it is giving $600 million back to customers after a steep drop in car accidents amid coronavirus prevention lockdowns, the BBC reports....

Diversity Training Follows Rap Video a la Michael Scott

Manulife Financial apologizes for video featuring senior management

(Newser) - The CEO of John Hancock's parent company apologized, then hosted an employee forum on diversity, after a video was released showing senior management rapping in hoodies and dark shades, in a scene that wouldn't be out of place in The Office . The video shared on the company's...

She Read the Fine Print. And Got an Easy $10K

High School teacher Donelan Andrews scores for being diligent

(Newser) - A Florida travel insurance company has awarded a Georgia high school teacher $10,000 for reading the fine print in a policy she recently purchased, the AP reports. A Squaremouth statement says Donelan Andrews claimed the prize 23 hours after the contest began. The St. Petersburg-based company says it launched...

New Investigation Follows Cohen's Insurance Claims

NY regulators subpoena Trump Organization's insurance broker

(Newser) - Add one more to the list of investigations linked to President Trump: A week after Michael Cohen told the House Oversight Committee that his former client had inflated the value of assets to insurance companies comes news that the New York State Department of Financial Services is investigating the Trump...

9/11 File Hackers: Pay Up or We'll 'Bury You'

The Dark Overlord is blackmailing people again

(Newser) - The Dark Overlord strikes again—this time, exploiting 9/11 conspiracy theories to blackmail its victims. The hacker group announced Monday it had stolen 9/11-related documents and would reveal them if ransom demands were ignored, Motherboard reports. The hackers claim to have breached legal firms and insurers, specifically naming Silverstein Properties,...

Insurance Companies to Weinstein: Forget About It

Accused rapist is locked in a legal battle with his insurers

(Newser) - Harvey Weinstein is locked in a messy battle with insurance companies over his steadily mounting legal bills, the AP reports. The insurance giant Chubb and other carriers that wrote liability policies for Weinstein and his film company are arguing in court that they shouldn't have to pay for his...

Teen to Aetna After Brain Surgery Denied: 'Screw You'

Parents of girl wracked by seizures now trying to come up with $300K on their own

(Newser) - When Cara Pressman gets seizures, she describes it as "like having a nightmare but while you're awake," giving her the chills and the shakes and causing her to zone out for up to two minutes. So the 15-year-old, who a release says is from New York and...

Why Insurance Companies Are Saying No to Generic Drugs

And yes, it might be hurting your pocket

(Newser) - It flies in the face of conventional wisdom: insurance companies that won't pay for a generic medicine, essentially forcing patients to opt for pricey brand-name drugs. And yet that's exactly what's happening, report ProPublica and the New York Times . It's "befuddling," says one 41-year-old...

The Key to Easy Life Insurance: a Selfie?

Insurance companies testing facial analytics

(Newser) - A selfie reveals more than whether it's a good hair day. Facial lines and contours, droops and dark spots could indicate how well you're aging, and, when paired with other data, could someday help determine whether you qualify for life insurance, the AP reports. Several life insurance companies...

Nickelback Frontman Sued By Own Insurance Company

Lloyd's of London sues to cancel band's insurance policy

(Newser) - After Nickelback was forced to cancel more than 60 summer concerts due to a cyst on lead singer Chad Kroeger's vocal cords, Kroeger filed a $13 million claim with the band's insurance company to cover the losses. But Lloyd's of London is now suing Kroeger, claiming the...

Insurance Laws Forced Woman to Sue Nephew: Lawyers

Jennifer Connell was only going to get $1 for medical bills: attorneys

(Newser) - There are two sides to every story, and now lawyers for the New York City woman who sued her 12-year-old nephew are telling hers. The Internet has demonized Jennifer Connell for suing Sean Tarala after he accidentally broke her wrist while in an excited state at his eighth-birthday party in...

School District Getting Rid of 'Dangerous' Swings

'It's a matter of liability,' Washington district says

(Newser) - Swingsets are becoming a thing of the past at school playgrounds in a Washington state school district because insurance companies have decided they're too hazardous. "It's just really a safety issue; swings have been determined to be the most unsafe of all the equipment on a playground,...

Insurance Firm Pays $21K of Settlement in Coins

Employees dropped off buckets of loose change to 73-year-old

(Newser) - Andres Carrasco was likely happy to hear in June that he was being awarded a settlement from an insurance company after one of its workers allegedly assaulted him. He was definitely not happy to see how $21,000 of that settlement recently arrived at his attorney's office—in 5-gallon...

Fans of Arming School Staff Have Surprising Opponent

Insurance companies, who say they will deny coverage or jack up premiums

(Newser) - Arming staff with guns may not be the magic bullet some schools had hoped in the battle to prevent future school shootings. That's because many insurers won't even let them try, the New York Times reports. In Kansas, where schools are now allowed to arm employees , EMC, the...

Sony Most Successful at ... Selling Insurance

Its devices are a money-losing operation

(Newser) - Walkman, Trinitron, PlayStation: In the US, we know Sony as a longtime player in the electronics world. But its electronics arm has lost $8.5 billion over the past decade, the New York Times reports. In fact, the driver of its current success is its insurance business, which doesn't...

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