From The New Orleans Times-Picayune | A whistleblower suit alleging that Allstate Insurance Co. defrauded taxpayers by overbilling the National Flood Insurance Program has been unsealed in federal court in New Orleans.
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Premiums for Medicare Advantage drop 1%
Seniors enrolled in popular private health insurance plans through Medicare will pay a little less on average next year, the Obama administration said Tuesday.
The average monthly premium in so-called Medicare Advantage plans will dip to $35.69 in 2011, a 45-cent reduction from $36.14 this year, Medicare officials said.
Shareholders OK Aon, Hewitt deal
The $4.9 billion sale of human resources specialist Hewitt Associates to Aon was approved by the shareholders of both companies Monday.
The buyout is still subject to regulatory approval. Get the full story »
2 Chicago companies announce acquisitions
Two Chicago-based companies – a railroad freightcar maker and an insurance brokerage – announced acquisitions Wednesday morning. Get the full story »
Study: Malpractice liability costs $55B a year
A new study showing the cost of malpractice at more than $55 billion a year to the U.S. health care system has Illinois medical-care providers once again calling for tort reform.
A comprehensive analysis by researchers at Harvard University figures the annual overall cost of medical liability to be $55.6 billion, or 2.4 percent of total health care spending, according to an article published in the September issue of the journal Health Affairs. Get the full story »
Employee health costs up 14%, survey finds
Strained by rising health care costs and the sour economy, U.S. employers are pressing workers to shoulder the added burden alone as employees pay higher insurance premiums and more out-of-pocket expenses for their medical care.
The average employer-provided family health plan now costs workers nearly $4,000 a year, up 14 percent from last year, according to a survey by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust.
That is the largest annual increase since the survey began in 1999 and a marked change from previous years when employers generally split the cost of rising premiums with their employees.
Allstate survey says Chicago’s dangerous for drivers
Chicago is one of the least safe U.S. cities for drivers, according to a new annual survey by Allstate Insurance Co.
Out of 200 U.S. cities, Chicago ranked #167, Allstate said Thursday. The company’s data show that the average driver in Chicago will experience an auto collision every 7.6 years. This is a marginal improvement over the 7.3-year figure in the 2009 survey, but still puts Chicago behind other cities such as New York (#159) and San Diego (#103).
Allstate noted that U.S. cities with populations over 1 million people are more likely than the national average to experience a collision. Fort Collins, Colo., which has a population of roughly 140,600 as of July 2009, emerged as the safest driving city for 2010. Residents in Fort Collins go an average 14.5 years between collisions. Get the full story »
Getting hung up on cell phone insurance
If you’ve purchased a cell phone recently, your head is probably still swimming. There is a seemingly endless array of new phones with an equally endless array of options. Between applications and rate plans, accessories and coverage areas, the process has become so complicated, it can drive even the calmest consumer batty.
A third of households go without life insurance
Nearly a third of U.S. households have no life-insurance coverage, the highest percentage in more than four decades, according to research firm Limra.
About 35 million U.S. households neither own their own life-insurance policies nor are covered under employer-sponsored plans, up from the 24 million, or 22 percent of households, without coverage in 2004, according to the study this year by Limra, of Windsor, Conn. Get the full story »
Allstate to sponsor Wrigley college football game
The Chicago Cubs and Northwestern University said Allstate Corp., the Northbrook-based home and auto insurer, will be the official sponsor for the Nov. 20, 2010 college football game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Illinois Fighting Illini at Wrigley Field.
Allstate’s sports marketing activities already include college football. It renewed its sponsorship of the Sugar Bowl earlier this summer for another four years. That affiliation began in 2006. Get the full story »
Discover Financial sponsoring Orange Bowl
Discover Financial Services, a distant fourth in the credit-card industry, is raising its profile as the new title sponsor of one of college football’s most prestigious bowl games – the Orange Bowl, of course.
The Riverwoods-based company, which has orange in its corporate logo, replaces longtime sponsor FedEx, which ended its 21-year run.
Discover joins Allstate Corp. as a Chicago-area sponsor of a major college football bowl game. Get the full story »
1,000 in Illinois sign up for new health insurance
More than 1,000 Illinois residents have submitted applications for a new federally funded health insurance program for people with medical problems. Enrollment opened Friday. Illinois Department of Insurance Director Michael McRaith calls it an “enthusiastic response.”
Enrollees will pay monthly premiums ranging from about $110 to $650. There’s also a $2,000 annual deductible and 80 percent-20 percent coinsurance. Get the full story »
Aon’s acquisition of Hewitt clears waiting period
Insurance broker Aon Corp. said Tuesday a required waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. has expired for its $4.9 billion acquisition of human resources specialist Hewitt Associates Inc. Get the full story »
Warren Buffett’s man in Chicago retiring from Geico
Lou Simpson, the Chicago-based investor with such a stellar track record he once was considered the successor to Warren Buffett, is retiring at the end of the year after decades managing Geico’s investment portfolio.
Geico is owned by Buffett’s investment vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway. Simpson, 73, who grew up in Highland Park, is the only person other than Buffett who controls Berkshire investments.
“I wish he weren’t” retiring, Buffett told me. “Obviously, I would keep him employed till he was 100. I was very surprised when he called me a month ago and said, ‘At 74, I’d just as soon turn it over to somebody else.’ It was not a happy day at Berkshire. But I’m happy for him.” Get the full story »
