Expert Insurance Articles

BOSTON – Damaging hailstorms in Australia. Unprecedented tornadoes in the southeastern United States. Constant windstorms in northern Europe. Sound familiar?

This year is starting a lot like last year in terms of unexpectedly severe weather, to the consternation of the insurance industry, which paid out more than 100 billion in 2011 on natural disasters.

That could put more pressure on the shares of property and casualty insurers, who did relatively better than other insurers last year but who have turned in a mixed performance so far in 2012, despite being a favorite of some analysts.

To be fair, more than half of the 2011 losses came from earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand, and earthquakes are impossible to precisely predict. Read more…

In my last post, I covered Christmas tree and decorating safety tips.  To us, Happy Holidays includes no disability insurance claims for our clients.  Here are some additional tips from the National Safety Council to help you avoid a claims situation:

Ladder Safety

• When putting up holiday decorations, always use the proper step stool or ladder to reach high places. D

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A spat between Walgreens and U.S. Department of Defenses Tricare pharmacy benefits program could prohibit nearly 6 million enrollees from obtaining medications from the companys pharmacies next year.

Express Scripts has “repeatedly” rejected proposals from Walgreens, according to Walgreens officials, meaning Tricare’s beneficiaries will no longer have in-network insurance coverage for prescriptions they fill at Walgreens and Duane Reade pharmacies, starting on Jan. 1, 2012. The Tricare program covers U.S. military personnel, family members and retirees.

“We would welcome Walgreens to continue serving along with the more than 56,000 others in our retail pharmacy network, but only if its prices are in line with other pharmacies and good for our clients,” said Thom Gross, an Express Scripts spokesman, in an email. He said W

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WASHINGTON – Top international climate scientists and disaster experts meeting in Africa had a sharp message Friday for the world’s political leaders: Get ready for more dangerous and “unprecedented extreme weather” caused by global warming.

Making preparations, they say, will save lives and money.

These experts fear that without preparedness, crazy weather extremes may overwhelm some locations, making some places unlivable.

The Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a new special report on global warming and extreme weather after meeting in Kampala, Uganda. Read more…

South West rural insurance firm Cornish Mutual has released new figures confirming that the terrible winter the country suffered last year was one of the costliest on record.

The Truro-based company received almost 300 claims from the start of November 2010 to the end of March 2011 which cost the firm over £700,000, with an average claim cost of £2,462.

Water problems proved to be amongst the most expensive issues to rectify, with burst pipes and similar claims having an average cost of £4,624 and accounting for almost half the total paid out (£337,601) by the insurer.

Unfortunately, the figures are released just as some are now forecasting a similarly dreadful winter for the end of 2011 and start of 2012, which would make it three historically severe seasons in a row.

Cornish Mutual Managing Director Alan Goddard said that it was important for people to plan ahead, and ensure that homes, vehicles and other property is in a good state of repair.

During the last winter, the ABI offered advice to help prevent burst pipes, including making sure there is sufficient lagging and keeping the heating on at a low level to prevent freezing.