SHOULD FLORIDA MANDATE EDUCATION FOR INS REGULATORS?... Florida regulators are blatantly injecting politics into rate making — as if they just don’t understand the process... More

• Crist's veto leaves Florida facing an insurance disaster...Because of the artificially low rates Citizens Property Insurance is mandated to offer, the state has taken on an enormous amount of risk. ...

• Don't bet the (State) Farm II...And Florida had come through three mild hurricane seasons after the nasty ones of 2004 and 2005. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty questioned the ...

• Property insurance: Florida Legislature should override Crist...The Florida Legislature should override the governor's veto and help revive the property insurance market in Florida. A bill that originated with Rep. ...

• State Sen. Ralph Hudgens announces run for Georgia insurance commissioner...... Senator Ralph Hudgens has announced he intends to run for the state's insurance commissioner position being vacated by Republican John Oxendine. ...

• Hurricane Charlie...The Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corporation provides below market-rate insurance policies directly to homeowners. Meanwhile, the Florida Hurricane ...

• Brooke Corp Bankruptcy Shifts to Chapter 7 from Chapter 11 ...Brooke Corp. Bankruptcy Cases Converted to Chapter 7. On Monday, Judge Dale Somers entered an order converting the chapter 11 bankruptcy cases of Brooke Corporation, Brooke Capital Corporation, and Brooke Investments, Inc. to chapter 7 ...

• Insurance professional's view of health care crisis...Currently there are 49 different plans in Tennessee. Consumer confusion is normal. Millions of dollars are paid in commissions to insurance agents for the ...

• 2 more Georgia banks go under change second newsjx Two more ...The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said the failure will cost its insurance fund $66.7 million. No buyer could be found for Community Bank of West Georgia. ...

• Insurance premiums on NC coastal properties may go up...The rock: North Carolina's current system for insuring coastal homes is driving insurers out of state, potentially making insurance more expensive and ...

• Injuries at theme parks go unreported...Malibu denied it was at fault and said the go-kart brakes had worked fine. It settled the lawsuit with Perry in a confidential agreement.

• Candidate Oxendine shuffles staff...By Jim Galloway Republican candidate for governor John Oxendine will name a new campaign manager —- Tim Echols, a conservative Christian organizer who ...

North Carolina Beach Plan losses could trip surcharge...A catastrophic storm that rakes across the North Carolina coast could trigger a 10 percent surcharge on homeowner insurance ...

• Tennessee ranks high in teen driving deaths...A study of teen fatality rates by the Allstate insurance company showed that Tennessee ranked sixth in the nation for driving deaths among teens. ...

• Workers Sue Insurer Over Pay, Overtime...One of the California plaintiffs and a plaintiff who had worked in Georgia and North Carolina are seeking another $100 million in unpaid wages and ...

• Property/casualty insurers post $1.31B quarterly loss...The property/casualty insurance industry posted a 102.2% combined ratio after dividends for the first quarter of 2009, compared with a 99.9% combined ratio for the comparable period a year ago, according to industry data.

• Calif. to seek Iran investment data from insurers...By DON THOMPSON AP Writer SACRAMENTO—California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is initiating a review of insurance companies doing business in ...

• Future of Florida's Insurance Market in Turmoil After Governor's ...Charlie Crist's veto of HB 1171 could force all major insurance carriers out of Florida within the next five years, according to Tampa property insurance ...

• Cancellation insurance coverage in place for part of Jackson tour...Contingency coverage for a portion of Michael Jackson's scheduled tour was placed by Robertson Taylor Insurance Brokers Ltd., with some coverage written in the Lloyd's of London market, sources in London said.

Thursday at the North Carolina General Assembly...... and shift remaining rebuilding costs to all North Carolina policyholders. The bill would allow every property insurance policy to rise by up to 10 ...

• Sound off: Who cheats more on insurance claims - policyholders or ...Almost 40 percent of the complaints that Florida insurance policyholders filed this year so far are for claims handling practices, including claims delays ...

• Inside Story: How Billy Mays Became a Star...Over the years he sold everything from fix-it home products – like Kaboom cleaner and Mighty Putty – to insurance. And thanks to frequent repetition of ...

AIG says it will be able to repay loans...American International Group Inc. got a new slate of government-backed directors at a subdued annual meeting on Tuesday, effectively revamping its board after the insurer's $180 billion taxpayer bailout.

• Tenn. Ranks 6th In US In Teen Driving Deaths...A study by insurance company Allstate, shows that Tennessee is one of the deadliest states for teen drivers. By Richard Harker A study of teen fatality ...

Law takes aim at NC ambulance fraud...But when a patient is insured by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, and the EMS agency isn't part of Blue Cross' network, the check — which can ...

• GALLUP: More Americans See Democratic Party as 'Too Liberal'... A Gallup Poll finds a statistically significant increase since last year in the percentage of Americans who describe the Democratic Party's views as being "too liberal," from 39% to 46%. This is the largest percentage saying so since November 1994, after the party's losses in that year's midterm elections.
 

• Connecticut Firefighters 'Vindicated' by Supreme Court Ruling...Ricci was among the 20 firefighters -- 19 white and one Hispanic -- who sued the city of New Haven, Conn., arguing that they were discriminated against when the city threw out the results of a promotion test after too few minority firefighters scored high. 

• Dear Mr. Obama: Deport illegal aliens, defend the border ...At one of North Carolina's Goshen Medical Centers, nursing assistant Jessica Roberts told USAToday in 2008, about an illegal alien who arrived more than ...

• Oldest' European Dies at 113...talian Lucia Lauria, believed to be the oldest person living in continental Europe, has died at the age of 113 in the village where she was born, news agency ANSA reports.

• Man trying to help another dies in bridge fall...Ryan died Sunday night trying to help the victim of a car accident when he fell into a gap between the lanes of Route 23 and plunged 50 feet to his death.

• VIDEO: Quacking duck ringtone interrupts Obama speech at White House...

• BLOWOUT: SIMON COWELL OFFERED $144 MILLION A YEAR TO STAY ON 'IDOL'... Cowell, who reportedly made $36 million last year for judging the hit competition show, has been offered three or four times that amount -- between $100 million and $144 million per year

• Man charged for spraying wife with garden hose for smoking... A man was charged with domestic battery after he drenched his wife with a garden hose and attacked her for smoking in the house, according to a police report

• Madoff Gets Max: Sentenced to 150 Years in Prison...Convicted Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison Monday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment.

Home prices post 18% annual drop... While the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 major cities tumbled by 18.1 percent, it marked the third straight month the decline was not a record. And yearly losses in 13 metros improved compared to March.