(BUSINESS WIRE) – GEICO Powersports has partnered with several local sponsors to raise money for the upcoming Bikers for Tykes and Troops Rally and Concerts to benefit the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD) and the USO of Hampton Roads.

Tonight, join GEICO and 92.9 The Wave and head to Red Robin in Chesapeake, Va., in honor of the many families in Hampton Roads whose children are assisted by CHKD. While enjoying your dinner, participate in give-a-ways, buy raffle tickets and get a chance to meet the GEICO Gecko. And if you can’t make it to the Red Robin in Chesapeake, visit any other Red Robin in the Hampton Roads region and 15 percent of the proceeds will be donated to CHKD.

“Here at GEICO, making a positive contribution to our community is extremely important to us,” said, Joe Thomas, regional vice president of GEICO’s Virginia Beach office. “When we have the opportunity to assist some the local families in the Hampton Roads’ region, we take advantage of it. We know that this community will not let us down.”

Although the charity rally and concert is not officially until April 9-11, the Hampton Roads region is getting a head start by raising money for CHKD and the USO this weekend. Last year, the Bikers for Tykes and Troops Rally and Concert raised $50,000 for both CHKD and USO of Hampton Roads. For more information, feel free to visit: bikersfortykes.com.

About GEICO

GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) – as part of Berkshire Hathaway – is the third-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States. GEICO provides auto insurance coverage for 9 million policyholders and insures more than 16 million vehicles.

In addition to auto insurance, GEICO offers customers insurance products for their motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), boats, homes, apartments and mobile homes. Commercial auto insurance and personal umbrella protection and life insurance are also available.

As a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group of companies, GEICO is rated A++ for financial strength by A.M. Best Company and ranks at the top of several national customer satisfaction surveys. For more information, go to geico.com.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday urged insurance companies not to block health reform while calling on congressional Democrats to show their support for a comprehensive bill.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held a meeting with largest health insurance companies at the White House, where Obama stopped by and had talks with the CEOs, according to the White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

Obama urged “insurance companies not to block comprehensive health insurance reform,” said Gibbs.

“The Secretary asked them to provide the American people with the actuarial data that would justify, in an environment where health insurance costs are going up at 5 or 6 percent, how to justify insurance rate increases at 39 and 40 percent,” he added.

Gibbs also said that he believes the House is on schedule to pass the legislation by March 18, when the president leaves for Indonesia and Australia, and signs it into law shortly thereafter.

Obama summoned more than a dozen House Democrats to the White House Thursday, eliciting their support for his year-long healthcare efforts.

The Obama administration is now pushing the health bill through Congress by a legislative maneuver called “reconciliation,” which only needs a simple majority in the Senate to pass a budget bill, since Democrats no longer have a filibuster-proof supermajority of 60 votes after losing a Massachusetts special Senate election in January.

For a successful “reconciliation,” Obama has to first get the Senate bill through the House, which passed its own healthcare legislation on a narrow 220-115 margin last year.

It is now highly unpredictable whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi can muster enough votes in the chamber, as conservative House Democrats have been voicing concerns about the Senate bill’s lack of strict anti-abortion language, and threatened to change “yes” into “no.”

(Courier Times) –  The change increases the amount of money a township employee involved in an accident could recover from a lawsuit.

Middletown has beefed up its insurance coverage in a move that will increase the financial protection for township employees involved in automobile accidents that aren’t their fault.

At a recent meeting, the township supervisors voted 4-1 to increase the maximum payout under the uninsured/under insured provision of the township’s liability insurance from $35,000 to $1 million. The move increases the annual premium payment $9,176, said township insurance broker Jay McManus.

The provision kicks in when a township employee is involved in an accident during work hours with a motorist who has no or inadequate insurance and the accident is not the employee’s fault.

In such a case, the employee would be fully covered for medical expenses and lost wages through the worker’s compensation policy, said McManus.

However, that employee would also have the option to sue the offending motorist and recover damages for pain and suffering and other items. If the motorist has few or no assets, the employee could tap into the uninsured/under insured provision of the township’s insurance.

Previously, the maximum payout under that provision was $35,000. Now, it’s $1 million.

Supervisor George Leonhauser, a former detective, had long pushed for the change and voted with board members Patrick Mallon, Tom Gallagher and Drew Kreiling to increase the payout. Robert McMonagle was the lone dissenter.

He said township employees are already adequately covered for medical and other expenses. Increasing the uninsured/under insured provision could encourage more claims under the provision and possibly drive township insurance premiums up, McMonagle said.

“It protects our people,” Gallagher said. “I consider $9,000 to be a small amount to better protect the well being of our employees.”

Township police Sgt. Bob Burnett, who’s been out on leave for most of the last two years because of injuries suffered in a work-related accident that wasn’t his fault, welcomed the change.

Though Burnett’s medical expenses and lost wages have been taken care of by the township, he said he’s lost a considerable amount of money by not being able to work and take advantage of available overtime.

The increase in the maximum payout will better take care of township employees in similar situations, Burnett said.

Burnett said he didn’t have any estimate on how much overtime he might have missed out on. However, the increased uninsured/under insured coverage will also better compensate employees in his situation for the disruption in their lives, he said.

“It’s not just the money I might have lost,” said Burnett. “I’m stuck at home. I can’t bowl or golf or do any of the normal things I do. I can’t even walk the dog because my back is so bad.”

The township is adequately covered if an employee is involved in an accident during work hours that is the employee’s fault, McManus said.

Among area townships, both Falls and Bensalem have the $1 million maximum payout on their uninsured/under insured provisions, Middletown officials said.

(OfficialWire) – You can agree to reform the U.S. health insurance system or you don’t; you can’t have it both ways, Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday.

During a bipartisan summit about healthcare reform, including changes to the health insurance industry that were in Democratic bills and an outline offered by President Barack Obama, Republicans said they endorsed reforms such as language that would end yearly and lifetime caps, bar companies from dropping people, and allow increasing the age children could remain on a parent’s policy.

But, several Republicans said, they have an issue with mandated insurance minimums and a non-elected panel that would review how health insurance companies spend premium money and how much it returns to medical coverage.

“If you agree that you can’t be dropped, there has to be dependent coverage, if there’s no annual or lifetime cap, then, in fact, you’ve acknowledged that is the government’s role,” Biden said. “The question is how far to go. So … you’re either in or you’re out. (Either) the government can’t do it — none of it — or they can do some.”

Democrats and Republicans agree in theory about the issue of barring insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Republicans, several speakers said, favor state-level risk pools for people who are chronically ill or have pre-existing conditions.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius outlined the issues of rate reviews and establishing benchmark standards that insurance companies must abide by.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said insurance companies need to be regulated because “this is a rapacious industry that does what it wants.”

“If you don’t put the restriction on them, they’re going to go on doing this,” Rockefeller said. “And so, you know, the public option was, I liked that a lot, but that’s not going to probably be possible. So you have to go at them to clip their wings in every way that you can.”

Blue-dog Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., threw down the gauntlet to both Republicans and Democrats to stop the talk and walk the walk. “(So) far we’ve heard a lot of folks trying to outdo each other in deficit reduction,” he said. “I welcome that competition, especially if it’s backed up votes, because it’s easy to talk tough on this. It’s harder to deliver. For all the folks who want to talk tough and not vote tough, that’s not good enough. It means that for all the folks who want to do this next year or next decade or leave it to their successor, that’s not good enough.”

(The Oakland Press) – Improvements to the Oxford Fire Department may pay off in real dollars for homeowners in both the village and the township.

“It’s very much something to be proud of,” said Peter Scholz, chief of the fire department.

The fire department got its ISO rating lowered from a 9 to a 3 for areas within the village limits, as well as areas in the township that are within the community well system.

“It means a very large, substantial savings to the residents on homeowner’s insurance and commercial insurance,” Scholz said.

The ISO rating is given by the Insurance Services Organization to all communities in Michigan and reflects the capabilities of the fire department. Lower ISO ratings generally mean lower insurance premiums for residential and commercial property owners, and vice versa.

Scholz credits the lower rating to the passage of a dedicated fire millage in 2001 and an emergency services millage in 2005.

The dedicated millages, which were renewed in the fall of 2009, now raise about $792,413 annually.

The fire department was able to make $7.3 million in improvements starting in 2002, including the construction of two new fire stations.

Several pieces of equipment also were purchased, including an aerial truck with a 95-foot ladder, a heavy rescue truck that carries extrication equipment, a fire engine, a new tanker that carries 2,500 gallons of water to fires in rural areas where there are no hydrants, an ambulance and a new four-wheel-drive vehicle modified to fight grass fires.

Extra training also was given to firefighters and emergency responders, and 10 full-time firefighter paramedics were hired, allowing the department to have its stations staffed 24 hours a day.

Another factor that contributed to the lower rating is the updating and expansion of the communities’ water systems, including the addition of more hydrants in the township.

Officials with the Insurance Services Organization spent all of 2009 in Oxford reviewing the finest details of the fire department, Scholz said. The new rating took effect Dec. 1.

“In 2008, there were only 23 departments that had a class 3 rating in the state of Michigan,” Scholz said.

The new rating does not apply to the approximately 55 percent of the township that is without fire hydrants, Scholz said. The ISO rating for those areas has dropped from 9 to 8 and could drop further.

“They’re still doing final calculations and we should have that within the next 30 days,” Scholz said. “That should drop substantially also. I hope to be able to get at least a 6.”

Residents are urged to contact their insurance companies regarding the change.

“The insurance companies aren’t going to drop rates on their own,” said Bill Dunn, supervisor of Oxford Township. “That can be hundreds of dollars in savings for every home.”

Scholz said he’s talked to several residents who have seen a drop in their premiums.

“As an example, we even called our insurance company that insures both fire halls and it’s saving us $1,000 a year just for our two stations,” Scholz said.

(BBC NEWS) – Politicians and bankers have expressed support for the idea, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has described it as “practical”.

The levy would go into a fund which could be used to bail out the banks instead of taxpayer money.

Governments across the world have spent billions of dollars saving banks.

‘Rescue fund’

The insurance levy is seen by many as a more realistic option than a tax on financial transactions, often referred to as a “Tobin Tax”, which has been discussed but has proved unpopular in some quarters.

The tax has been proposed by the UK and France, but has garnered less support in the US.

The insurance levy is seen as a more workable solution, not least because it has been backed by some leading bankers.

Josef Ackermann, chief executive of Deutsche Bank, has advocated what he called “a European rescue and resolution fund”, while Barclays head Bob Diamond has supported the idea of a global levy.

The leader of the opposition in the UK, David Cameron, has also backed the proposals.

“We would work for a new international levy on banks to protect the taxpayer from footing the bill for banking crises,” he said during a speech in Davos.

‘Defining risk’

Such a levy is one of a number of options being outlined by the IMF that will be presented to G20 ministers in April.

However, working out the details of such a scheme could prove difficult, said the IMF’s deputy managing director John Lipsky.

“You need some sense of how to define the risk you’re trying to insure,” he said.

The US government has already proposed a tax on big banks to try and recoup some of the taxpayers’ money spent through its $700bn (£440bn) bail-out programme.

Governments across the world are also trying to push through changes to banking regulation to try and prevent future financial crises happening in the first place.

Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama outlined far-reaching reforms of the banking sector, including limits on the size of banks and restrictions of some risky trading practices.

(Proactiveinvestors) – FTSE100 insurance group Admiral (LSE: ADM) has signed re-insurance contracts for its new car insurance operation in the United States, Elephant Insurance. German based re-insurance specialists Munich Re and Hannover Re will jointly take 60% of the risk through a quota share reinsurance agreement. Admiral also extended a number of European reinsurance contracts with Munich Re.

“This is a very good day for Admiral Group. These deals will help us perpetuate our model that minimises risk and consistently produces a high return on capital”, Admiral chief executive Henry Engelhardt said, “It is an exciting time to be part of the Admiral Group given our growth and geographical expansion and we are very pleased to be working with Munich Re and Hannover Re to build growing, profitable, sustainable businesses in Europe and the USA.”

For the new American venture, Munich Re and Hannover Re will each take one third of the insured risk and Admiral will retain one third. These are long term contracts with Hannover Re lasting for 10 years whilst the Munich Re deal has a 15 year duration.

Elsewhere in Europe, Admiral has extended some of its existing reinsurance deals with Munich Re, most significantly in its Spanish and Italian operations with extensions totalling 15 years. According to the FTSE100 constituent, the new deals have a stronger alignment of long term interests and higher profit commissions for Admiral if results are very positive.

The British operation extended its Munich Re contract by a further 2 years, taking it to 2016. For the additional years Munich Re will retain 40% of Admiral’s UK risks.

The new contracts are effective from the 1st January 2010 and according to Admiral the partnership arrangements build on the successful risk and profit sharing model which has been at the heart of the success of its established UK business.

The New York State Insurance Department upheld 948 consumer complaints against private passenger automobile insurance companies last year, according to the Department’s 2009 Annual Ranking of Automobile Insurance Complaints.

“New York is a very competitive marketplace, so consumers have a wide range of choices when buying automobile insurance,” said Insurance Superintendent James Wrynn.

“Consumers should always compare the policies, prices and performance of multiple insurers before deciding on the insurance company that best meets their needs. The auto ranking is designed to give consumers a yardstick that measures the number of complaints against an individual company as a percentage of that company’s total auto insurance business.” Read more…

Avoiding these mistakes can save money on insurance and keep you financially protected.

(PRNewswire) –  The Insurance Information Institute says you can save money on insurance if you avoid five big insurance mistakes:

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/iii/41715/

Mistake #1: Insuring a home for its real estate value rather than the cost of rebuilding.

When real estate prices go down, homeowners may think they can reduce the amount of coverage on their home. But insurance covers the cost of rebuilding, not the sales price.

A better way to save: Raise your deductible. An increase from $500 to $1,000, could save up to 25%. Read more…

(The Wall Street Journal) – Consumers could see some immediate gains from health-overhaul legislation in Congress. But most benefits would take years to kick in.

The impact of the health bill hangs on how the final version is written, and lawmakers will have to merge the Senate and House bills. Democrats still face fierce Republican opposition, and they don’t agree among themselves on controversial issues such as a government-run insurance plan.

Still, here are some likely changes to expect.

Beginning next year, Medicare beneficiaries would receive a 50% discount on brand-name drugs when they fall into the coverage gap known as the doughnut hole, according to an analysis of the House and Senate legislation by consulting firm Avalere Health. Read more…