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Loews Corp posted a better-than-expected 8 percent rise in quarterly net profit, as the hotels and energy conglomerate recorded a gain on investments compared to significant investment losses a year earlier.
Loews, run by the billionaire Tisch family, posted investment gains of $1 million in the second quarter. A year earlier, Loews lost $178 million on investments. Get the full story »
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., the Itasca-based insurance brokerage, said it acquired the 60 percent equity interest in Australia’s Specialised Broking Associates Pty Ltd. it didn’t already own.
Terms weren’t disclosed. Get the full story »
Aon Corp.’s second-quarter earnings rose 2.7 percent as its insurance brokerage and consulting units each saw higher profit amid rising margins.
The insurance broker has seen commissions and fee revenue rise recently, though its risk and insurance-brokerage services — its biggest unit — saw its profit decline amid higher expenses. Price competition has weighed on the industry’s profits as insurers price policies low enough to attract customers less worried about risk. Get the full story »
The state of Illinois is offering low-interest disaster recovery loans for residents and businesses in northern Illinois that suffered damage from last weekend’s severe storms.
On Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn declared 12 northern Illinois counties disaster areas, after heavy storms on Saturday led to major flooding and property damage to many buildings and homes. The declaration means residents and business owners are eligible for below-market interest rates through participating lenders that they can use to finance repairs.
As of Tuesday, loan rates would be no more than 3.5 percent, according to Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, whose office oversees the loan program. Get the full story »
Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed Friday a Senate bill that would have allowed doctors to legally hire physical therapists because those partnerships, he said, would increase costs for citizens.
In Illinois, patients must have a doctor’s referral to see a physical therapist. But physical therapists can bill insurance providers for their services independently, which is why Quinn vetoed the bill.
“Senate Bill 2635,” Quinn said in a letter to the General Assembly, “also incents medical professionals to increase the volume of services provided.” Get the full story »
Lincolnshire-based Hewitt Associates Inc. was sued in an Illinois state court by investors who claimed that the $4.9 billion acquisition of the company by Aon Corp. is “inadequate.”
Aon Corp. said it will again accept contingent commissions, a type of insurance-broker fee that was at the center of a major investigation and that resulted in billions of dollars in restitution. Get the full story »
From the Chicago Daily Herald | Allstate Corp. has sold one of its businesses that provides group legal-services coverage. The Northbrook-based company sold the business to MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. life insurer.
From Bloomberg | Aon Corp., the world’s biggest insurance broker, said it may resume taking payments that were banned for five years under a 2005 settlement with Eliot Spitzer, then the attorney general of New York.
“Dog bites man” is rarely newsworthy. But a “dog bites chainsaw, chainsaw bites back” incident involving a Belleville, Ill., West Highland terrier was named the “most unusual” claim received in June by the nation’s biggest pet insurance company.
Barbara Abell’s 2-year-old Westie, Darci, lunged at a buzzing chainsaw recently, getting a little too close and tearing two holes in its upper lip. The accident required surgery, and Abell submitted a $339 claim to Veterinary Pet Insurance, which paid $148.
It was one of more than 8,000 claims received in June by VPI, an arm of Nationwide Insurance. Get the full story »
Allstate Corp. is hiking its renters’ insurance by an average of 16.8 percent in the state of Illinois. Renters’ insurance typically costs around $15 a month, a spokeswoman for the Northbrook-based company said, adding that consumers might see monthly increases ranging from $1 to $5 a month.
Allstate said it’s the first time it has increased its renter’s insurance in the state in 10 years. Get the full story »
21st Century Centennial Insurance Co. has cut its car insurance rates for new customers in Illinois by an average of 9.5 percent. New customers can expect to save nearly $150 a year, the company said in a statement. Get the full story »
Commercial insurance writer CNA Financial Corp. said it has in place an agreement to transfer about $1.6 billion of net asbestos and pollution liabilities to Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s National Indemnity Co. unit. Get the full story »
For the fourth consecutive year, the state’s largest insurer of medical liability for doctors said it will not increase the base premium rates on policies.
ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co. credited its decision to a stable “lawsuit environment nurtured by Illinois’ 2005 medical litigation reform law, but cautioned that resulting market improvements could be at serious future jeopardy.” Get the full story »
