TEXAS COURT BACKS ALLSTATE HOMEOWNER RATE REDUCTION ORDER

A state district court has affirmed an order by the Texas insurance commissioner to make Allstate Texas Lloyds reduce homeowners insurance rates by 5 percent and refund policyholders more than $56 million, the Texas Depart-ment of Insurance said March 13.

The order from last week said that Allstate must refund policyholders the amount overcharged, in-cluding interest, since December 2004 when Texas Insurance Commis-sioner Mike Geeslin disapproved a rate increase proposed by the company.

TDI said an actuarial analysis found Allstate's homeowners rates to be excessive, unreasonable and unfairly discriminatory.

In May, Geeslin signed an order requiring Allstate to reduce the rates.

Joe McCormick, a spokesman for Allstate in Texas, said that the company already reduced rates by 5 percent last year after the commissioner's order. He said that the company disagrees with the refund and takes issue with the way the state insurance department analyzed its rate.

"Our rates are reasonable and competitive," said McCormick, who added that the company wants to make sure it's in the best position to protect its customers.

He said that the company is considering its options, which could include an appeal.

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TEEN DRINKING -- SOUTH CENTRAL STATES

According to the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation costs to states generated by underage drinking include medical care, work loss, and pain and suffering associated with the multiple problems caused by the use of alcohol by youth. Following is a breakdown of how South Central states shape up in terms of the cost of underage drinking:

• Arkansas - Arkansas ranks 8th among the 50 states for the cost per youth as a result of underage drinking -- about $2,507 per year per underage individual in Arkansas; the total cost was $687 million in 2005. It is estimated that the direct cost of underage drinking due to medical care and loss of work alone in Arkansas totals $234 million each year. In 2005, underage drinkers consumed 20.1 percent of all alcohol sold in Arkansas, totaling $168 million in sales.


• Louisiana - Louisiana ranks 20th among the 50 states for the cost per youth as a result of underage drinking -- about $2,241 per year per underage individual in Louisiana; the total cost was $1.1 billion in 2005. It is estimated that the direct cost of underage drinking due to medical care and loss of work alone in Louisiana totals $400 million each year. In 2005, underage drinkers consumed 14.7 percent of all alcohol sold in Louisiana, totaling $305 million in sales.


• Oklahoma - Oklahoma ranks 27th among the 50 states for the cost per youth as a result of underage drinking, drinking -- about $2,146 per year per underage individual in Oklahoma; the total cost was $778 million in 2005. It is estimated that the direct cost of underage drinking due to medical care and loss of work alone in Oklahoma totals $272 million each year. In 2005, underage drinkers consumed 16.4 percent of all alcohol sold in Oklahoma, totaling $200 million in sales.


• Texas - Texas ranks 22nd among the 50 states for the cost per youth as a result of underage drinking -- about $2,209 per year per underage individual in Texas; the total cost was $5.2 billion in 2005. It is estimated that the direct cost of underage drinking due to medical care and loss of work alone in Texas total $1.7 billion each year. In 2005, underage drinkers consumed 20.3 percent of all alcohol sold in Texas, totaling $1.7 billion in sales.

STOLEN NORMAN ROCKWELL PAINTING FOUND IN SPIELBERG'S HOME

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Art Crime Team (ACT) reported that an original Norman Rockwell painting, "Russian Schoolroom," stolen during a late night burglary in Clayton, Mo., in 1973, was found in the home of movie mogul Steven Spielberg who was unaware it was stolen. At the time of theft, the painting was part of a Norman Rockwell Exhibit being sponsored by the Chicago's Circle Galleries, now known as Arts International Galleries. This painting is also referred to as "The Russian Classroom" or "Russian Schoolchildren."

The painting's location was unknown between 1973 and 1988, at which time it was sold at auction in New Orleans, La. In 2004, ACT agents determined the painting had been advertised for sale at a Norman Rockwell exhibit in New York in 1989.

A "cold case" investigation was initiated and the painting's description and photograph were posted on the FBI's Art Crime Team's Web site at www.fbi.gov. Members of Spielberg's staff learned the painting was stolen after they viewed the theft notice; they alerted the FBI to its existence in the director's collection. Spielberg purchased the painting in 1989 from a legitimate dealer and had not known that it was a stolen work of art. He is cooperating fully with the FBI and will retain possession of the painting until its disposition can be determined.
Source: FBI