It Figures

480

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., based in Columbus, Ohio, on April 3, 2009, laid off 480 employees and contractors across the country, the latest round of job cuts from the insurance giant, a spokesman said. Nationwide has eliminated about 3,000 jobs nationally over the past two years. The company lost $342 million last year as the industry dealt with claims from an unusually high number of hurricanes and a sharp drop in investment returns. The cuts came in Nationwide’s information technology group and included 230 employees, with about 150 of those in central Ohio. About 250 of the 480 people laid off were third-party contractors. AP

$25 Million

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, City Council has voted to buy $25 million of flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. Casey Drew, the city’s finance director, says the estimated cost of the coverage is $280,000. Councilman Chuck Wieneke noted that the city was in no rush to buy additional coverage that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will require as it pays to fix flood-damaged city buildings. Drew says FEMA may spend $132 million to repair 21 buildings, and that the agency requires that the city insure for that amount. None of the buildings has been fixed. AP

$20.31

Michigan motorists will pay $20.31 more through June 2010 to a fund that helps support seriously injured accident victims. The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association is raising the annual assessment to $124.89 per vehicle. The MCCA reduced the charge by about $18 to $104.58 last year after getting more from investments than expected and seeing medical costs not rise as fast as projected. The fee will rise beginning July 1, 2009, until June 30, 2010. Michigan is the only state to offer unlimited lifetime medical benefits for people seriously injured in car accidents. AP

Topics Michigan