Declarations

October 4, 2010

Everyone Makes Mistakes

“Everyone makes mistakes, even insurance companies. That’s why the Department of Insurance is here — we work every day to find these kinds of mistakes, make sure companies fix them, and protect consumers across North Carolina from future errors.”

—North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin announcing that 1,803 Allstate Insurance policyholders will receive refunds totaling $680,718.22 after an investigation revealed the company was overcharging. Allstate was inappropriately including the cost of the rental car policy holders needed to rent following an accident in the property damage claim totals. That led to higher damage costs, which in turn led to higher premiums for some drivers. Allstate’s miscalculations occurred in 1,803 policies from July 2005 to July 2008.

No Genuine Effort

“Today what you have is MSHAgate. You’ve got a situation where they won’t tell the truth about what they know. We’re not making a genuine effort at the government level to find out what happened.”

—Don Blankenship, chief executive of Massey Energy, accusing federal regulators in the Mine Safety and Health Administration of not making a genuine effort to investigate the explosion that killed 29 miners and injured two at the company’s Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. Instead, the MSHA is lying to the public in hopes of winning a publicity battle, he told an industry conference.

Revisit Reform

“The bill is so sweeping and such a game changer in many ways that it’s incumbent upon us to revisit it.”

—Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the top Republican on the powerful Senate Banking Committee, telling Reuters that lawmakers must revisit the Wall Street financial legislation enacted this summer, the broadest overhaul of financial rules since the Great Depression.

Commercial Service

“Our appointed agencies have the flexibility to choose what business goes into the service centers and what services are provided to customers.”

—Dwight Bowie, of Liberty Mutual Agency Markets, after the insurer announced it has set up two commercial lines service centers to help with a range of services for policyholders. The centers – located in Ohio and Washington – will work with roughly 1,000 agencies across the country, including agents writing for Montgomery Insurance in the Southeast states.

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Insurance Journal Magazine October 4, 2010
October 4, 2010
Insurance Journal Magazine

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