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Seven insurance companies have sued Toyota Motor Corp. in an attempt to recover money paid to cover crashes they blame on sudden acceleration.
The insurers cite data that blames 725 crashes on the problem and fault the Japanese automaker for failing to equip its cars with an override system that would cause a car to idle if the brake and gas were deployed simultaneously. They are seeking damages in excess of $230,000 from 14 crashes throughout the United States.
American International Group Inc. didn’t report $18.7 billion of policyholder guarantees at two property-casualty subsidiaries in 2008, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing a Pennsylvania regulator. Get the full story »
When plugged into a car's computer, the Allstate Drive Wise device can monitor driving habits and reward the good ones.
Allstate has launched a voluntary program that uses a device installed in a car to reward safe and low-mileage Illinois drivers with savings of up to 30 percent.
The Northbrook-based auto insurer plans to expand the program, called Drive Wise, to other states as early as the second quarter of 2011.
Allstate Drive Wise participants get a small, wireless gadget that plugs into their vehicle’s onboard computer through the diagnostic port, usually under the dashboard.
For consumers concerned about Big Brother, Allstate said the device tracks only factors used to calculate a driving score, including mileage; driving time of day; hard or extreme braking; and maximum speed.
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Bailed-out insurer American International Group will pay $100 million in fines in a settlement with all 50 states over reporting errors for premiums on workers’ compensation insurance. Get the full story »
Everyone knows it would be prohibitively expensive to actually gift someone the treasures from the “12 Days of Christmas,” but it turns out to be even more pricey to insure — nearly 20 times the cost of buying the presents from the famed holiday carol in the first place.
A recipient of turtle doves, partridges and leaping lords would end up paying nearly half a million dollars in insurance premiums, according to a study from insurance brokerage Lockton and trade magazine Insurance Journal released on Wednesday. Get the full story »
Fast growing Korean manufacturer Hyundai Motor and its Kia Motors affiliate shared the top spot for crash safety in a broad review of 2011 models. (See the full list)
Volkswagen and its luxury Audi brand also were among the 66 passenger cars and sport utilities garnering the highest ratings published by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Get the full story »
Bailed-out insurer American International Group took another step in its restructuring this week, but it is only noticeable to those looking closely: it put the company’s logo back on employee identification cards. Get the full story »
Aon Corp. will bid as much as $86 million to buy South African insurance firm Glenrand MIB Ltd., giving the world’s largest insurance broker a bigger presence in Africa’s top economy. Get the full story »
Huron Consulting Group said it agreed to settle a securities lawsuit for $38 million and expects to take a related non-cash charge of about $11 million in the fourth quarter. Get the full story »
Senate Democrats accused McDonald’s Corp. of offering hourly workers a bad deal on health insurance, prompting a strong defense from a top McDonald’s executive who disclosed fresh details about the chain’s benefits. The exchanges came at a hearing Wednesday that was part of a Senate committee investigation into “mini-med” insurance policies, a type of limited health plan favored by retailers and restaurant chains. Get the full story »
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein testifies before a Senate investigative committee on Capitol Hill, April 27, 2010. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and other big U.S. banks repeatedly sought help from the Federal Reserve during the financial crisis, according to data on Wednesday that showed just how precarious their situation was at the time.
Many of the firms now boasting solid profits had to rely on funding from the U.S. central bank, which essentially acted as the glue holding the financial system together in the tumultuous months that followed the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, now part of Bank of America, were the three biggest recipients of the Fed’s key emergency lending programs, according to a Reuters analysis of Fed data. Goldman Sachs was sixth on the list, contradicting claims from its top executives that the firm always had plenty of cash on hand. Get the full story »
A congressional committee is widening its investigation of bare-bones health-insurance policies to encompass potentially hundreds of plans offered by low-wage employers.
What started as a probe into McDonald’s Corp.’s insurance plan for store workers is expanding into broad scrutiny of “mini-med” policies that could ensnare large mini-med carriers including Aetna Inc. and Cigna Corp. Get the full story »
Allstate Corp. has hired a high-level Willis Group executive to head its emerging business unit.
The Northbrook-based auto and home insurer confirmed Monday that it has hired Don Bailey as senior vice president of emerging businesses, the unit that was set up in 2007 and includes a motor club and coverage for jet skis, motorcycles, boats and commercial vehicles.
Bailey was previously chairman and chief executive of Willis North America, part of the worldwide insurance brokerage Willis Group Holdings. Get the full story »
New U.S. health insurance spending rules aimed at ensuring more customer dollars go toward medical care were finalized on Monday, ending a source of uncertainty for investors in the sector.
Though the limits are mandated in the new health care law, insurers such as Aetna Inc. and WellPoint Inc. did win some concessions from the U.S. government surrounding implementation of the rules and shares of health insurers mostly rose. Get the full story »
Insurance Business Review | Insurance brokerage and risk management services firm Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Behnke & Co., an Illlinois-based retail insurance broker.
