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Obamacare On the Brink of Failure in Tennessee’s Third Largest City

By Todd Halterman
Obamacare On the Brink of Failure in Tennessee’s Third Largest City

Could Knoxville, Tennessee be the first U.S. city where ObamaCare fails? Should that happen, it’s likely that more than 40,000 people there will be left without options to allow them to purchase a subsidized insurance policy. As it now stands, Humana is the only insurance provider available to consumers on the exchange there, and the company has already said they don’t plan to participate during 2018. In February, Humana issued a news release stating “based…

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ProPublica, Consumer Reports and the Insurance Information Institute In a Scrap Over Minority Premium Report

By Todd Halterman
ProPublica, Consumer Reports and the Insurance Information Institute In a Scrap Over Minority Premium Report

ProPublica, Consumer Reports and the Insurance Information Institute have built their reputations on being go-to resources for research and analysis, but one report has embroiled them in a scrap over how insurance premiums are set for various consumers. The consumer protection outfits recently released their response to a column by the Insurance Information Institute’s James Lynch which criticizing a report they produced, Minority Neighborhoods Pay Higher Car Insurance Premiums Than White Areas with the Same Risk. Lynch serves…

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Inside Insurance Slang – Why You Don’t Need A Choke and Croak Credit Policy

By Todd Halterman
Inside Insurance Slang – Why You Don’t Need A Choke and Croak Credit Policy

As with all professions, practitioners develop a sort of shorthand or slang to describe the various elements of their day-to-day business. Sometimes the slang has a dark edge – and a nefarious intent. Take, for example, the phrase “robbing the coffin.” That little ditty refers to someone who has a relationship with a person considerably older than themselves – often in an effort to gain from life insurance policies of the soon-to-be deceased. Yet another…

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How Drunk Tweets and Big Data Will Affect You and Your Insurance Premiums

By Todd Halterman
How Drunk Tweets and Big Data Will Affect You and Your Insurance Premiums

Like it or not, Big Data is fast becoming critical to competing in the field of insurance from underwriting to rating in the property and casualty insurance markets. As a result, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) are taking up the gauntlet and their Innovation and Technology Task Force is focusing on offering consumer protections related to how that influx of data is utilized. The deputy commissioner and chief actuary from the Alabama Department…

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Does Your Auto Insurance Specify Original or Aftermarket Replacement Parts?

By Jim Gorzelany
Does Your Auto Insurance Specify Original or Aftermarket Replacement Parts?

You’ve had an accident. You’re okay, but your car is in need of some serious bodywork. Fortunately, you have auto insurance and you’ve already received a repair estimate from the claims adjuster. That estimate notes covered repair costs for parts and labor, yes, but do you know which types of parts the body shop is being authorized to use? A fender is a fender, right? Not necessarily. Depending on the insurance company – and your…

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Can Insurance Protect You and Your Business From Hackers

By Todd Halterman
Can Insurance Protect You and Your Business From Hackers

You’re not just left relying on LifeLock when it comes to protecting yourself from hackers these days. Now American International Group Inc (AIG) is partnering with insurers who offer products aimed at providing consumer safeguards against cyber criminals intent on filching personal data. AIG is now rolling out a product which offers coverage against expenses accrued in the fight against online threats like extortion and even online bullying. They call it “Family CyberEdge,” and the…

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Medical Pot Covered By Health Insurance? Look to Canada and See the Future

By Todd Halterman
Medical Pot Covered By Health Insurance? Look to Canada and See the Future

Patients in Canada say the high cost associated with their ‘medication’ is pushing them to seek illegal sources for their medical marijuana. They say conventional medications which fail to ease their pain from maladies ranging from back pain to PTSD to sleep disorders are often alleviated by medical marijuana, but they add that the price of the treatments can run nearly as much as conventional drugs. Canadian Jill Grindle told CBC News that her standard insurance plan…

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What the Hail? Misconceptions About Homeowner’s Insurance and Hail Damage

By Rick Richards
What the Hail? Misconceptions About Homeowner’s Insurance and Hail Damage

There’s no getting around hail. It hits without warning every year in the United States, says Joe Brennan, owner of Insurance Claims Group Inc. in Cary, N.C. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, hail causes an average of $1 billion damage to crops and property each year; last year was an especially violent year, causing more than $2 billion in damage. When predicting how large a hailstone will become and how potentially damaging…

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Boy Asleep With Hoe Returned – The Strangest Insurance Story Headline in History

By Todd Halterman
Boy Asleep With Hoe Returned – The Strangest Insurance Story Headline in History

The phrase “boy asleep with hoe” has a rather different meaning these days than it did back in 1976. But nowadays, once again, the phrase is associated with good news nonetheless. The search for a Norman Rockwell painting stolen 40 years ago from a Cherry Hill, New Jersey home began as the FBI Art Crime Team and the Cherry Hill Police Department descended on the site following a break-in back on June 30, 1976. A piece…

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Will Self-driving Cars Be Self-insuring?

By Todd Halterman
Will Self-driving Cars Be Self-insuring?

You’re not far from sharing the city streets and highways with “self-driving” cars, and aside the from the ethical and technological concerns, you’ll also have to worry about what will happen if one plows into you during your commute. Make no mistake, self-driving, autonomous cars are the future. While developers say self-driving cars will prove to be safer through their melding of sensors and analytical software, there’s one rule that applies to everything in this…

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