Hurricane forecasts lighten up

Forecasters are saying that the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season should be slightly less active than earlier predicted.

The National Hurricane Center and other National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agencies said they now expect there to be 12 to 15 named storms and seven to nine hurricanes. Three or four could be major hurricanes with sustained winds of at least 111 mph, forecasters said.

In May, they said the season could produce 13 to 16 named storms, and eight to 10 hurricanes, four to six of which could become major.

There have been only three tropical storms and no hurricanes so far, but August through October are typically the most active months of the season.

Forecasters warned coastal residents not to let their guard down.

"Preventing the loss of life and minimizing property damage from hurricanes are responsibilities shared by all," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center. "Remember, one hurricane hitting your neighborhood is enough to make it a bad season."

Officials revised their forecast because of wetter than predicted conditions over the Pacific Ocean, which forced slightly stronger upper-level winds over the Caribbean, hurricane center meteorologist Christopher Landsea said. Those winds can rip apart storms and stop them from becoming hurricanes. Water temperatures in the Atlantic also are not as high as first expected, forecasters said.

Hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

Small is safer

Small workplaces that are a business' only location are among the safest places to work, according to a RAND Corporation study.

The finding provides an important exception to research that workers in small workplaces are at greater risk of fatal accidents than those in larger workplaces, according to an examination of federal workplace fatality reports from 1992 to 2001.

Researchers found that fatal accidents were most common at small worksites with fewer than 20 workers that were operated by middle-sized businesses -- defined as those with 20 to 999 employees. Fatality rates at these worksites were two to five times higher than similar worksites operated by either small or large businesses.

Researchers say the study's findings are important because businesses with fewer than 100 employees employ more than half of all American workers.

The report says that small, single-site businesses may be safer because they could have an owner on the premises who watches over the safety of employees.

"At a small workplace, one person can make more of a difference, and it seems plausible that an on-site owner might feel more responsibility to try to avoid injuring workers than a hired manager would," said John Mendeloff, the study's lead author and a professor of public policy at the University of Pittsburgh.

The study found that the smallest worksites operated by a business with multiple worksites are likely to be the riskiest. For example, among manufacturing businesses with 1,000 or more workers, the fatality rate at worksites with fewer than 20 workers was three times higher than worksites with 20 to 49 workers and eight times higher than locations with 1,000 or more workers.

It Figures

$593 million
The aggregate, policyholder surplus in 2005 of 25 risk retention groups rated by A.M. Best, compared to $545 million the prior year. Total assets were $1.69 billion, an increase over the prior year's $1.5 billion.

$50 billion
The yearly cost to American businesses and consumers of identity theft, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI says ID theft victimizes an estimated 10 million people in the U.S. a year.

125-150
The acres of land covered by a typical 18-hole golf course. The total landmass of golf courses in the U.S. equals about one-half the state of Connecticut, according to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

$77 million
The amount of the settlement entered into by St. Paul Travelers Companies Inc. with the attorneys general of New York, Connecticut and Illinois, as well as with the New York State Department of Insurance, resolving investigations into producer compensation, insurance placement practices and finite reinsurance products. St. Paul Travelers will pay $37 million into a fund for certain excess casualty policyholders and $40 million in fines.

3¢
The number of cents on the dollar that small investors receive from class action securities litigation settlements with after institutional investors, lawyers, and accountants are paid, according to research from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. Since 1995, settlements from these cases have totaled about $25.4 billion.

5891
Number of the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives -- H.R. 5891, the Catastrophic Disaster Risk and Insurance Commission Act -- that would establish a bipartisan national commission to recommend a federal disaster response policy.

271
The 17-under-par score shot by 17 year-old Cameron Edens in defending his title as champion of the Trusted Choice Big "I" Junior Classic. Edens, of Phoenix, Ariz., said he was happy to take home the title a second year in a row -- and hopes to make it a three-peat next year. The Classic, presented by The Tiger Woods Foundation, was held earlier this month at the Odessa Country Club in Odessa, Texas.

56,000
The estimated number of neighborhood electric vehicles in use. NEVs are a little faster than golf carts. They have been recognized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as a form of transportation since 1998. More than 45 states allow them to be driven on roads with posted speed limits of 35 miles per hour or lower, according to the Electric Drive Transportation Association.

Safer cars, not better drivers, behind fewer roadway deaths

The designs of passenger vehicles have been improving for years, becoming more protective of their occupants in crashes. Without those improvements, the motor vehicle death rate per registered vehicle would have stopped declining in 1994 and started going up, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

"Death rates per vehicle and per mile have been going down for decades, and they still are. This study shows why," said Institute President Adrian Lund.

"In recent years, it's the vehicles, not better drivers or improved roadways. The study reveals not only the importance of the vehicle design changes and the kinds of vehicles motorists are choosing to drive but, on the downside, the loss of momentum for effective traffic safety policies on belt use, alcohol-impaired driving and speeding."

The researchers separated vehicle effects from other effects on motor vehicle death rates during 1985-2004 by estimating what the death rate trend would have been if vehicle designs had not changed over the years -- that is, if people still were driving the kinds of vehicles they drove in 1985. The death rate trend given that hypothetical vehicle fleet started to go up in the 1990s, which is very different from the actual downward trend during the past 10 years.

"This suggests that an increasingly dangerous traffic environment has been offset since 1994 only because people are driving vehicles that are more protective," Lund said. "Of course the vehicle design changes are good, but people shouldn't have to buy new, more crashworthy vehicles to maintain their safety."

Lund said efforts in the 1980s to mandate belt use and toughen drunk driving laws diminished in the 1990s at the same time states were raising speed limits. "This produced an increasingly dangerous traffic environment," he said.

An estimated 5,200 additional lives would have been lost in 2004 without the vehicle design changes, he said.

The research report, "Trends over time in the risk of driver death: what if vehicle designs had not improved?" by C.M. Farmer and A.K. Lund will be published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention, later this year.

Shareholders lose out in class action securities settlements, study says

Since 1995, there have been 755 separate cases of class action securities litigation on allegations of companies inflating their stock prices due to fraud or untimely disclosure. Settlements in these cases have totaled about $25.4 billion.

On the surface, it appears that wronged shareholders have received just retribution for losses incurred from purchasing stocks at inflated prices. But a professor at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis says individual shareholders aren't receiving much benefit at all -- in fact, they're losing out.

"The majority of participants in securities class action suits are institutional investors who trade more than $100 million a year. They don't have to pay for any gains they made from selling the inflated stocks, and once they're compensated for their losses they actually come out ahead," said Anjan Thakor, PhD., finance professor at the Olin School of Business.

"Institutional investors are trading such a large volume. The net trading loss they suffer from buying inflated stocks is only 20 percent of their gross losses. Of the more than 2,300 firms we studied, 40 percent were shown to have realized a net benefit from the settlement proceeds," Thakor said.

The only way institutional investors might lose from buying inflated shares of stock is if they buy newly issued securities.

Thakor said that the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 causes an asymmetry in how much benefit investors receive when companies act fraudulently.

Groups suits
"What's worse is that the system is set up so that one group of shareholders ends up suing another group of shareholders," Thakor contends.

"If I'm a shareholder who bought stock before the period when stocks were inflated, I can't take part in the litigation, yet I will essentially be paying the settlement to those investors who did buy inflated shares."

Thakor said that the injustice of the system is made worse because the transfer of the payment is not a neutral process either. Huge resources are used to pay the lawyers and accountants who handled the litigation. After those expenses are paid, investors end up with maybe 3 cents on the dollar.

The inequities that Thakor discovered are part of an analysis he conducted for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. He said his findings are disheartening because the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 was an attempt to promote transparency in corporations and prevent fraud.

In Thakor's opinion, it is time to re-examine the act, incorporating ways to punish those who committed the wrongdoing. The focus ought to be on getting managers to comply because they're the ones making the decisions that prevents a transparent financial market, he said.

"I don't think you should get there by having system by which the only people who benefit are the lawyers, accountants and large institutional investors," he said. "The system ought to impose punishment on the people who committed the crime -- that ought to be the managers, not the shareholders."

Hawaii becomes the first state in the nation to order anti-viral flu drugs

Hawaii became the first state in the nation to order anti-viral flu medicine in preparation for any global influenza pandemic when it signed contracts with drug companies last month for Tamiflu and Relenza.

The state needed to move quickly because drug companies have said orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, said Dr. Sara Park, the deputy chief for disease outbreak with the Department of Health.

"Since we're alone in the middle of the ocean, we wanted to make sure that we have the necessary resources on hand to deal with a pandemic," Park said.

The state is moving to acquire enough medicine to treat 350,000 residents and visitors in the event of a worldwide flu outbreak -- or enough for about one-quarter of the population.

The federal government is donating a little more than half that total -- 186,000 treatment courses -- while the state is buying the rest.

The state's share of the cost to acquire 164,000 treatments will be about $2.8 million. The federal government is paying for the rest. Park said the drugs should be delivered early next year.

The drug is designed to treat the flu and help curb its spread. It is not the same as a vaccine against a pandemic virus, which is not yet available, state officials said.

In November, Hawaii became the first state in the nation to establish an airport surveillance program for flu viruses in arriving passengers when it set up a monitoring station at Honolulu International Airport.

The Department of Health this year finalized a plan for dealing with a pandemic flu in Hawaii. In addition to stockpiling the antiviral drug, the plan calls for development of an operations center that would go into action at the first signs of a pandemic-level virus, survey the spread of the disease and isolate and quarantine infected individuals. Hospitals, civil defense, police and firefighters are among the traditional sources called first in case of such an emergency. But health officials say effective reaction to pandemic flu would also require planning at all community levels.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

It Figures

175
Number of Americans who die from extreme heat in a normal year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Young children, elderly people and those who are sick or overweight are more likely to become victims.

160
Number of deaths blamed on July heat waves in California.

10 or more
Number of degrees above the average high temperature at which temperatures need to hover for several weeks before conditions are defined as "extreme heat," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

8%
Average premium rate reduction United Services Automobile Association (USAA) policyholders can expect to see after the company implements its rate filing and California Commissioner John Garamendi's "Good Driver Auto Insurance Reforms." USAA also is seeking approval from the Commissioner's office to reduce homeowner insurance rates by an average of 22 percent.

$200,000
Amount refunded to members of Associated Builders & Contractors' Sierra, Nev., chapter from Builders Insurance Co. as part of the workers' compensation insurer's "retro" plan that provides incentives for employers to improve worker safety.

9,110
The tally of motorcycle thefts that occurred in California in 2005, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Arizona had 2,464 motorcycle thefts that year.

New Mexico insurance official is formally fired

New Mexico's Public Regulation Commission has fired Deputy Insurance Superintendent Joe Ruiz, formalizing an action that was initiated last month.

Ron Morgan, an Albuquerque attorney representing Ruiz, said the PRC terminated his client "without offering to discuss the problem or give even one reason for the action."

Dan Mayfield, the PRC's chief of staff, declined comment when contacted by The Associated Press except to say Ruiz was "no longer an employee."

Ruiz had been on leave amid allegations he solicited charitable donations from a company that faced fines from regulators.

The Friday before the official firing notification, Mayfield issued a statement in which he said he had taken action "regarding a personnel matter." He didn't identify the individual involved.

Morgan said the action targeted Ruiz, and he sharply criticized the PRC for failing to provide an administrative hearing or detail the allegations against his client.

Ruiz has maintained he's done nothing wrong.

"This arbitrary use of government power leaves Mr. Ruiz with few choices to disprove any false statements made about him," Morgan said in a news release. "We have little hope that the PRC will reverse its decision to deny Mr. Ruiz, after years of service, a chance to prove it has made a big mistake."

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

California agents-brokers face new rule

The California Department of Insurance has issued new ethics regulation requiring all fire and casualty broker-agents and life agents to complete a four-hour "ethics approved" course each renewal period starting Jan. 1, 2007. The regulation also requires all personal lines broker-agents to complete a two-hour course every license term.

The new requirement does not increase the total continuing education hours required, but rather requires that at least four of those hours must be in an approved ethics course.

The new rule will apply to all agents and brokers whose license term expires on or after Jan. 31, 2007. According to the Department, if a producer already has renewed his or her license in 2006 and subsequently takes the ethics-approved class, the class will be counted as the "ethics approved" course for the 2008 license renewal.

Approved ethics continuing education courses are show on the Department's web site: www.insurance.ca.gov. To review the courses, drop down the "Quick Links" menu and click on "Producer Licensing," then click on "Current Licensee Information," then click on "Continuing Education - Individual Licensee Information." When that page opens, click on "Education Provider and Course Search" and fill in the requested information.

For more information, contact the Producer Licensing Bureau Education Section at 916-492-3064

Judge denies California insurers' lawsuit to stop auto rate regs

A Sacramento Superior Court judge has rejected the insurance industry's request for an injunction against auto insurance rate regulation reforms in California, but the legal challenges will not end immediately.

Shortly after the ruling on August 10, Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi issued a statement praising the decision. "This is a great victory for California voters and good drivers wherever they live," said the Commissioner. "It means that Californians will finally realize the benefits of Proposition 103, which they approved more than 17 years ago ... Now the industry must follow the rules and the law, and they must do so immediately."

In the past several weeks, the state's insurance associations have been fighting the decision to implement the new regulations because they believe the new regulations will unfairly raise rates for the majority of drivers. They said giving more weight to a driver's safety record, number of years driven and annual miles driven than to other rating factors would create rates that are not based on actuarial data, and therefore would be against the law. To that end, the American Insurance Association (AIA) and the Personal Insurance Federation of California (PIFC) had filed a joint lawsuit asking the court to declare the regulations illegal and to grant a preliminary injunction. The California Farm Bureau Federation also filed a similar lawsuit.

However, the Commissioner said that insurers have not been following the intent of voter-enacted Proposition 103 due to a ruling by former Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush. The new Garamendi regulations are simply designed to fulfill what voters wanted, the Commissioner said.

Although the court denied the associations' request for an injunction, Jerry Davies, director of communications for PIFC, said the court extended the implementation of the regulations for two days, giving them time to take more legal action. The associations plan to file an appeal in the third appellate court in Sacramento. The insurance associations are represented by Steven Weinstein of Barger & Wolen.

"The judge did not base his decision on the merits of the rule. He only ruled on the injunction request," Davies maintained.

Poll reveals misconceptions about renter's insurance

Every year, residents end up with millions of dollars in uninsured losses that could be prevented. According to a poll commissioned by PEMCO Insurance based in Seattle, there is widespread misunderstanding about what is covered under a renter's insurance policy. Data also showed that only 45 percent of renters have a renter's insurance policy.

The poll, which surveyed about 600 Washington residents, indicates slightly more than half of the state's renters forgo renter's insurance despite statistics that show rented households are burglarized at rates 79 percent higher than residents who own property.

"Our poll revealed many renters don't have a complete picture of the coverage they have outside of a renter's policy," said Jon Osterberg, PEMCO spokesman. "One of the most troubling aspects is that many renters in Washington think they have coverage from other sources when, in fact, they don't."

In the poll, 6 percent of those who do not have renter's insurance thought their landlord's policy would cover their personal belongings. Thirty-three percent of respondents cited the reason they don't have renter's insurance is because it is too expensive, while 27 percent said they don't have enough property to warrant a policy.

"A landlord protects only his interest in the property -- that typically means structural damage to the property is covered, not the tenant's personal belongings," Osterberg said.

Renters with a policy might be surprised they have more coverage than they think. Only 28 percent of poll respondents with a renter's policy understood that most personal property in their car is also covered under a renter's policy. While an auto policy will only cover what is attached to the vehicle, items such as a laptop are protected under a renter's policy.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, theft from a motor vehicle occurs at almost twice the rate for renters than for those who own their home.

"Most people dramatically underestimate the value of their household belongings," Osterberg said. "The average renter has more than $20,000 in possessions, and in the case of a fire or other significant insurable event that can destroy an apartment, that can be a big blow without insurance."

Personal property protection under a renter's policy covers furniture, appliances, clothing, and household goods from fire, theft or vandalism.

Results of the PEMCO Northwest Insurance Poll are posted at www.pemco.com.

PEMCO Insurance commissioned the independent, statewide survey that asked Washingtonians several questions about home maintenance and other issues. Informa Research Services Inc. of Seattle conducted the poll that surveyed 606 renters.

It Figures

86%
The percent of Virginians opposed to increasing fees on car insurance to help pay for transportation improvements. The Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. survey also found that 10 percent supported insurance fees and 4 percent were undecided.

$4,393
The total amount in her deceased mother's workers' compensation checks cashed by a Suffolk County, New York woman who pleaded guilty to insurance fraud, according to the New York State Insurance Fund.

850

The number of Delaware coastal business and home policies being non-renewed by Westfield Insurance Company of Ohio. The company's move prompted Delaware Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn to issue a bulletin to property insurance companies telling them to better inform insureds of the option of coverage from the residual market, the FAIR Plan.

$500 million
The amount of the proposed initial public offering filed by OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd.

$117
The average private passenger auto insurance commission proposed by Attorney General Tom Reilly for Massachusetts agents in 2007. Agents have asked for $126.19. The current commission is $121.34.

10,000
The approximate number of Massachusetts individuals, households and businesses that have filed claims with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for this spring's flooding in the northeastern part of the state that was the worst in 70 years. A total of $17.5 million in grants, with more expected, have been approved for disaster areas in Essex, Middlesex and Suffolk counties, where more than a foot of rain in May drove more than 4,000 people from their homes.

30
The number of minutes a federal jury in Portland, Maine, deliberated before ruling in favor of Wendy's restaurant chain in a lawsuit filed by a Standish woman who claimed a Wendy's hamburger made her violently ill.

$2 billion
What it cost Allstate Insurance in claims as a consequence of not buying reinsurance for Louisiana before Katrina struck. Allstate bought reinsurance to cover policies in Texas, Florida, New York and all along the East Coast last year, but not for Louisiana, the company told Louisiana officials during a public hearing.

12.4%
The average rate increase for all homeowners forms sought by the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association (the Fair Plan) in its revised filing. The state had disapproved its previous request for a 12.5 percent hike. For dwelling policies, the Fair Plan is now seeking a 5.7 percent average increase; the original had requested a 6.4 percent hike. The proposed effective date is Oct. 1.

$9 million
The amount DuPont Co. agreed to donate to the nonprofit Children's Health Forum when the state of Rhode Island dropped the firm from its lawsuit against former makers of lead paint last year. It turns out that Children's Health Forum has extensive ties to the group. It was founded by a lawyer hired by DuPont to work on lead poisoning issues; it received most of its funding from the Wilmington, Del.-based company and most of its board members have ties to DuPont.

28
The number of states now belonging to an interstate compact to modernize state regulation of life insurance, annuity, disability and long term care products. Gov. Mitt Romney signed legislation into law making Massachusetts the 28th member of the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission.

Beacon Mutual search

The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company board of directors has retained the executive search firm Witt/Kieffer to conduct a nationwide search for a chief executive officer for the workers' compensation insurer.

"We would like to have a new CEO engaged by the end of the year but this process will not be driven by a deadline," said Carl Hayes, chairman of Beacon's board.

Hayes vowed that the search process would be objective and thorough. "The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company needs a CEO who can move the company forward. The search process will not be driven by favoritism and no particular candidate has the inside track on the post," he maintained.

Last April, the board fired its then-CEO, Joseph Solomon, and its vice president of underwriting, David Clark, following the release of a report that alleged that Beacon management participated in a scheme of favoritism in pricing for certain agents and accounts, some of them with ties to directors and management. Clifford Parent, the vice president of claims, was named interim president. The former chairman of the board, Sheldon Sollosy, also left the company late last year when an anonymous tipster raised questions about his company's own workers' compensation account.

Gov. Donald Carcieri has been waging a campaign to replace management and the board of the company but two board members he wants out have refused to resign.

Vermont captive industry celebrates 25th birthday in grateful state

More than 1,200 people showed up in South Burlington, Vt., early in August to celebrate the 25th anniversary of an idea cooked up in Al Moulton's kitchen that has grown into a multi-million-dollar industry and top employer for the state.

The captive insurance industry has become one of the state's leading employers and generates enough tax and fee revenue to support roughly 3 percent of all the state's general fund spending.

Although no one has a good estimate on the total payroll associated directly with the industry, a 2003 study found it supported 1,400 jobs with salaries paying 70 percent higher than the Vermont average and generating an estimated $100 million economic spinoff. It produced $23 million in premium taxes and licensing fees for the state treasury last year and draws thousands of annual visitors for conventions, annual meetings and other business.

"If that was a single employer, that would be a top 10 employer," said Daniel Towle, financial services director at the state Economic Development Department.

Vermont's captive industry got its start around 1980, when H. Lincoln Miller, a Long Island, N.Y., broker, sat down at the kitchen table with Moulton, then the state's development secretary. Large corporations were trying to create wholly owned subsidiaries through which they could insure themselves against property loss, casualty and liability. The subsidiaries became known as captive because they provided insurance to only one company, their corporate parent. Most had to incorporate outside the country, such as in Bermuda, because there were few states with corporate law that permitted what they wanted to do.

So Miller, who had a vacation home in Quechee not far from Moulton's home, decided to see if Vermont would be interested.

"He sold the idea that we could develop a revenue stream for the state and bring people to the state and jobs and some things like that," Moulton said, seated next to a traditional chocolate birthday cake thick with butter icing marking the occasion.

Moulton became intrigued and got then-Insurance Commissioner George Chaffee involved. Moulton and Chaffee ultimately took the idea to then-Gov. Richard Snelling, who liked it and helped guide it through the Legislature in 1981.

Vermont now plays host to 542 captive insurance companies, owned by such corporate heavyweights as Exxon Mobile Corp., Microsoft Corp., The Walt Disney Cos. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The Vermont Captive Industry Association claims that 42 of the Fortune 100 companies have captive insurance subsidiaries organized and licensed in Vermont.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

It Figures

160
The number of demolition permits issued in Lake Charles, La., this year, almost twice the number issued in all of 2005. Officials believe that number will go even higher as hurricane-related insurance claims are resolved. The city traditionally averages around 80 to 85 demolitions per year; in 2005 it issued 90 demolition permits. Of the 160 permits issued this year, 151 were for structures damaged by Hurricane Rita. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, whose debris-cleanup efforts include razing storm-damaged structures, is filing for a number of demolition permits in Lake Charles. FEMA reimburses 90 percent of the demolition and debris-removal costs. (AP)

110
Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee's official race number for the New York City marathon; also the number of pounds Huckabee has lost since 2003 when he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. After his diagnosis, the governor began exercising and has served as an example to others about healthy living. As chairman of the National Governors Association, he promoted the importance of eating right, exercising and quitting smoking. Huckabee will join nearly 35,000 other runners -- including former University of Arkansas Lady Razorback, Olympic Marathon Bronze Medalist Deena Kastor and seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong -- in the 26.2-mile event on Nov 5, 2006. Race organizers presented the governor with number 110 on Aug. 2. This will be the governor's fourth marathon.

84
The number of job-related deaths recorded in Oklahoma in 2005, down 2 percent from 2004 and 9 percent from 2003. A report released by the Oklahoma Department of Labor showed that transportation-related deaths accounted for 60 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state last year. Falls and contact with objects or equipment each accounted for 10.5 percent of work-related deaths. Assaults and violent acts were responsible for 9 percent of on-the-job fatalities.

60%
The percentage by which Arkansas has reduced the number of children in that state without health care coverage. According to a study, "The State of Kids' Coverage," by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, from 1997 to 2004 Arkansas lowered the number of uninsured children more than any other state and the District of Columbia. Maine came in second with a 50 percent reduction; Alabama lowered its number by 47 percent; South Carolina ranked fourth with a 46 percent drop; and North Dakota reduced its number of uninsured children by 44 percent. The study found that overall the percentage of uninsured kids in America has decreased by 20 percent since the government-funded State Children's Health Insurance Program was approved by Congress in 1997.

16
Number of counties in North Texas at high risk for fire danger as of early August 2006. Hot, dry, windy weather prompted the National Weather Service to issue Red Flag Warnings for Montague, Cooke, Young, Jack, Wise, Stephens, Palo Pinto, Eastland, Hardeman, Foard, Wilbarger, Wichita, Knox, Baylor, Archer and Clay counties on Aug. 8. In the days before the warning was issued, nearly 10,000 acres burned in North and Central Texas as a result of 16 separate fires. The Texas Forest Service reported that dry conditions continued to plague much of the state with no end in sight. North Texas is suffering a more than 20-inch deficit of rainfall over the past 19 months, which puts it at 60 percent of normal. Denton and Collin counties have an even greater deficit. As if that wasn't enough to stress vegetation, DFW has already hit the triple digits 17 times this year. The 30-year average is 16 100-degree days for the entire year.

Oklahoma, Texas have most uninsured children

Arkansas led the nation in the reducing the number of uninsured children in that state between 1997 and 2004, but Texas and Oklahoma lagged behind the rest -- ranking last and next to last, respectively, in the percentage of children without health insurance.

A report, "The State of Kids' Coverage," released Aug. 9 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that about 17.5 percent of children ages 17 and under lack coverage in Oklahoma, 5.1 percent fewer than in 1997. In Texas the percentage of uninsured children is 20.7 percent. In Arkansas, the number of uninsured children dropped by 60 percent during the study period.

The foundation released the report to kick off its Covering Kids & Families' Back to School Campaign, a nationwide effort to enroll eligible children across the nation in public coverage programs during the back-to-school season.

The report shows that, nationally, fewer children are receiving private health insurance, which is supplied mostly through their parents' employer-sponsored health plans. The percentage of children who have private health insurance has fallen by 5 percent since 1997-'98; some 1.4 million fewer kids have private health insurance.

According to the study, the states with the biggest decline in percentage of children having private health insurance include New Mexico (-23 percent), Mississippi (-23 percent), Alaska, (-23 percent), Oklahoma (-19 percent) and Wyoming (-17 percent).

The Associated Press reported that during the study period, the numbers of Oklahoma children covered by the Medicaid-sponsored SoonerCare program grew by 81 percent.

Uninsured kids are twice as likely not to receive any medical care in a given year, compared to children with insurance (12.3 percent insured versus 25.6 percent uninsured), the study found. More than one in three (35 percent) uninsured children do not have a personal doctor or nurse -- which is significantly higher than children who have health coverage (13.5 percent).

Finding the 'Road Home' in Louisiana

Louisiana officials expect 123,000 homeowners with damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita are eligible to receive grants from the state's $7.5 billion "Road Home" housing aid program,
The Associated Press reported. Aid is capped at $150,000 per homeowner and can be used to repair a hurricane-damaged home; rebuild a hurricane-leveled home; buyout and relocate elsewhere in Louisiana; or buyout and move to another state.

Homeowners who choose the last option will only receive up to 60 percent of their homes' pre-storm value, up to the grant cap.

A pilot program has begun to determine the assistance available to 400 homeowners who pre-registered for the Road Home program. That will be expanded when housing assistance centers open in 10 locations around the state to process applications. The path to a grant is lengthy; it begins with pre-registration at 1-888-ROAD-2-LA or www. road2LA.org.

Decisions are pending about which neighborhoods can be rebuilt, and it is unclear what will be done with any property bought out through the program. The scores of hurricane damaged properties expected to be bought by the state will be received by a newly created nonprofit corporation that will decide what to do with them.

The properties will be packaged and redeveloped by working with local officials, said Andy Kopplin, executive director of the governor's Louisiana Recovery Authority, which developed the Road Home program. But local redevelopment plans aren't yet defined in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, two of the hardest hit areas, for example.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

More drought relief needed in Oklahoma

Oklahoma State Sen. Jeff Rabon recently asked the U.S. Congress to make available additional funding for emergency drought relief needed by Oklahoma farmers and ranchers after Gov. Brad Henry's request for disaster designation for all 77 counties was granted by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns.

The declaration makes Oklahoma farmers and producers eligible for low-interest loans through the USDA Farm Services Agency., Yet according to Rabon, additional relief is needed.

"In prior years, Livestock Assistance Payments have been made available to producers," said Rabon, D-Hugo, in a news release.

"Given that this drought is the worst Oklahoma has seen in many years, Congress needs to step forward to help secure the additional funding to assist farmers and ranchers, and authorize these payments," he said.

Rabon explained that drought conditions have an effect not only on crops produced, but they also limit grazing lands for livestock.

"Current estimates suggest the Oklahoma wheat crop could be the smallest in 50 years," Rabon said.

"Additionally, grazing lands have been diminished, forcing ranchers to purchase additional hay and feed in months they normally would not. Congress needs to be made aware of the severity of the conditions and provide the funding necessary to help our producers through this drought," he said.

Under the Agricultural Assistance Act of 2003, Livestock Assistance Payments may be made available to producers who have suffered grazing losses due to drought conditions.

Rabon urged members of Oklahoma's Congressional delegation to demand that Livestock Assistance Payments be made available to Oklahoma producers.

No reinsurance for Louisiana cost Allstate $2 billion

Allstate Insurance Co. failed to buy reinsurance last year to cover some of the cost of policies in Louisiana a gamble that cost the company $2 billion in claims, The Associated Press reported.

The company's models did not predict a hurricane hitting Louisiana, attorney Edward Collins told a joint state legislative insurance committee. Allstate bought reinsurance for Texas, Florida, New York and other eastern states for 2005, but this year, the company announced its intention to lower its concentration of policies in coastal areas nationwide.

"You didn't take care of your business, so the citizens of Louisiana have to pay for your mistake?" asked Sen. Don Cravins, D-Opelousas. "Now that you've had a loss, you put the burden on the backs of Louisiana citizens to pay for your shortcomings."

The company maintained that even if it had purchased reinsurance for Louisiana, it would still be revoking wind and hail policies in 18 coastal parishes. "Even if we had $2 billion in reinsurance, we would still be pursuing the actions we're pursuing," Spokeswoman Kate Hollcraft said. "We were trying to do the responsible thing."

Allstate plans to drop wind and hail coverage on 30,000 homeowner's policies. Buyers with both homeowner's and auto policies -- about 110,000 customers -- won't be affected.

Senators and representatives pushed Collins for commitments that the company would not pull out of the state if it does not get to cancel wind and hail coverage in coastal parishes, as it plans to do starting Jan. 1.

Collins said that was always an option but not one the company plans to use, especially when Allstate believes it can withdraw wind and hail coverage.

Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon has pledged to fight that as a violation of state law. Under state law, companies cannot cancel or significantly change policies after three years of service unless they are financially unstable, the policyholder has filed three or more claims, there is a change in peril because of a change in the property, or the company is withdrawing from all coverage in the state.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Lawyers group pulls surfing contest sponsorship for fear of being sued

The nation's lawyers apparently have no fear of sharks -- unless they're the kind that file lawsuits.

About 40 lawyers signed up for the National Lawyers on Longboards Surfing Contest scheduled during the Aug. 3-8 American Bar Association convention in Honolulu. However, the ABA pulled out of sponsoring the surfing competition. The event organizer said the lawyers were afraid of being sued.

"It's really funny -- the ABA won't officially sponsor it for liability reasons," said Lea Hong, a Honolulu environmental lawyer and surfer, shortly before the event.

Hong was planning to go ahead with the contest and a luau on the convention's last day.

She said the ABA overreacted.

"They were freaked out about the liability issue related to a surf contest, even though we had liability insurance and everything," Hong said.

Hong hoped to register 60 surfing lawyers. About 10,700 lawyers were in Honolulu for the ABA conference.

Organizers of the surfing event required that all participants sign a liability waiver, and lifeguards were on duty in case anyone got in trouble, Hong said.

"Lawyers have a reputation for going out and having fun and staying active, but you don't think about lawyers going out there and surfing very often," said Richard Hamar, a Beverly Hills litigator who helped found the 250-member Association of Surfing Lawyers, which had about eight of its members participate in the Honolulu event.

ABA Spokesman Dave Jaffe said he couldn't immediately comment.

Knowing lawyers, Hong said she made sure the rules of the contest are loophole-free, and the judges will be unassailable.

"Lawyers are always going to complain about the rules -- I've thought a lot about this," said Hong, a partner with Alston Hunt Floyd and Ing.

In place of the ABA, the Hawaii State Bar Association and legal publisher LexisNexis stepped up to sponsor the event.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Every W. Va. employer targeted for workers' comp audit

West Virginia's workers' compensation insurance provider has a lofty goal: to audit every one of West Virginia's 38,000 employers this year.

That would require an unprecedented 200 audits a day, and may be a little optimistic, said Greg Burton, president and chief executive officer of BrickStreet, which took over the now-privatized system in January.

"We expect, for some reasons, there will be some stragglers," he said.

In the past, the Workers' Compensation Commission typically audited 3,000 to 4,000 employers each year.

Harry Mahler, BrickStreet Mutual's vice president of underwriting, said most employers -- about 21,000 smaller companies -- will be audited by mail this year. Another 11,000 larger, more complex businesses will be audited by phone. The rest will be audited in person.

The audits will examine the period from Jan. 1 to July 1 to verify that payrolls were as reported and job classifications were accurate.

All three audit methods are already under way with help from five auditing firms that BrickStreet hired.

Those who don't respond to audit requests risk cancellation, Burton said.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.