Tag Archives: insurance

Tampa’s NBC affiliate reports: Florida has the highest property insurance premiums in the country, but the state’s insurance commissioner says he does not support capping rate increases. Over the last couple weeks, Commissioner Michael Yaworsky talked about the cost of insurance with lawmakers in Tallahassee. On average, Floridians pay $6,000 a year for property insurance, according to the Insurance Information …

The Washington Post reports: At least five large U.S. property insurers — including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway — have told regulators that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles. Major insurers say …

CBS News reports: AAA will not renew the auto and home insurance policies for some customers in Florida, joining a growing list of insurers dialing back their presence in the Sunshine State amid a growing risk of natural disasters. “Unfortunately, Florida’s insurance market has become challenging in recent years,” the company said in a statement emailed to CBS MoneyWatch. “Last …

The Associated Press reports: Even before Ian, Florida’s home insurance market was dealing with billions of dollars in losses from a string of natural disasters, rampant litigation and increasing fraud. The difficult environment has put many insurers out of business and caused others to raise their prices or tighten their restrictions, making it harder for Floridians to obtain insurance. The …

The Associated Press reports: Starting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover up to eight home COVID-19 tests per month for people on their plans. The Biden administration announced the change Monday as it looks to lower costs and make testing for the virus more convenient amid rising frustrations. Under the new policy, first detailed to the AP, …

Reuters reports: Launching one of the richest individuals on earth into orbit has proved a leap too far for insurers, who are not ready to price the risk of losing Jeff Bezos or his fellow space travelers. And while insurers are well known for offering cover for even the most outlandish of risks, at a price, potential accidents in space …

Axios reports: Some of the hospitals with the highest revenue in the country also have some of the highest prices, charging an average of 10 times more than the actual cost of the care they deliver, according to new research by Johns Hopkins University provided exclusively to Axios. Hospitals each determine their own charges, or list prices. While few patients …

Roll Call reports: The advent of self-driving cars is raising questions in the insurance sector about who should pay when the vehicles crash and how insurers will set equitable rates. When cars can operate themselves, the central question will be whether accidents are the manufacturer’s responsibility and therefore covered by product liability insurance or whether the fault would lie with …

Axios reports: Because of the pandemic, more people than ever are seeking out life insurance — just as insurers seek ways to identify people who have had COVID-19, and in some cases deny them coverage. If the coronavirus makes it harder for people to get life insurance — or to collect on existing policies — it could diminish access to …

Politico reports: Vice President Pence said Tuesday that a group of major health insurance companies have agreed not to charge patients copays when they get tested for coronavirus. Pence made the comments at a meeting at the White House with the CEOs of major health insurance companies aimed at encouraging people to get tested by removing cost barriers. Some insurance …

Axios reports: A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate is unconstitutional, but ordered a lower court to take a fresh look at how much of the rest of the law should fall along with it. This decision will likely keep the ACA’s protections for pre-existing conditions in legal limbo well past the 2020 …

Axios reports: Do a quick search for health insurance, and you’ll find plenty of ads for “Trumpcare” plans that cost $59 or less per month. But there’s a catch: Trumpcare doesn’t exist, and many of these advertised plans offer bare-bones coverage. Why it matters: For people who buy health insurance on their own instead of receiving it through an employer, …

The Associated Press reports: The proportion of Americans without health insurance edged up in 2018 — the first evidence from the government that coverage gains under President Barack Obama’s health care law might be eroding under President Donald Trump. The Census Bureau also said in an annual report Tuesday that household income rose last year at its slowest pace in …

USA Today reports: The Trump administration told a federal court late Monday that it would ask judges to toss out the entire Affordable Care Act, a decision that cast further uncertainty over the future of a federal law that has extended health insurance to millions of Americans. Justice Department attorneys said in a letter filed with the U.S. Court of …

CNBC reports: It’s been a year in the making, but CVS Health finally closed Wednesday on its acquisition of Aetna, creating a new health-care powerhouse. The merger combines CVS’ pharmacies with Aetna’s insurance business, blurring traditionally distinct lines in hopes of lowering costs. CVS also has one of largest pharmacy benefits managers through CVS Caremark and a major Medicare Part …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Amid a flurry of national proposals to bring exorbitant U.S. drug prices in line with other countries’ charges, one Utah insurer has a different option for patients: Pay them to go to Mexico. PEHP, which covers 160,000 public employees and family members, is offering plane tickets to San Diego, transportation to Tijuana, and a $500 …

The Washington Post reports: Senate Democrats fell one vote short Wednesday in a bid to overturn the Trump administration’s expansion of short-term health insurance plans that do not have to cover preexisting conditions and certain kinds of health care that the Affordable Care Act requires. By forcing a vote on what they term “junk” plans, however, Democrats managed to put …

Reuters reports: Lloyd’s of London said on Wednesday it would direct underwriters to terminate all insurance offered, marketed, endorsed or otherwise made available through the National Rifle Association of America. The move comes after insurer Chubb was fined $1.3 million over its role in an NRA insurance program after an investigation found the NRA’s “Carry Guard” insurance program unlawfully provided …

STAT News reports: Health insurer Aetna has agreed to pay $17 million to settle claims that it breached the privacy of thousands of customers who take HIV medications. Attorneys for the plaintiffs announced the settlement Wednesday in Philadelphia. Court documents say the Hartford, Conn.-based company sent a mailing in envelopes with large, clear display windows that revealed confidential HIV information. …

Talking Points Memo reports: The Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that despite the Trump administration’s many attempts to undermine and weaken the Affordable Care Act, enrollment in the federal health care marketplace nearly reached last year’s total of 9.2 million, clocking in at 8.8 million. Considering that the Trump administration cut the length of the open enrollment …