On May 21, 2008 President George W. Bush signed a law that prohibits discrimination against anyone whose genetic information shows a predisposition to illnesses such as cancer or heart disease.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed by overwhelming majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, bans health insurers and employers from discriminating on the basis of genetic information.

"In other words, it protects our citizens from having genetic information misused, and this bill does so without undermining the basic premise of the insurance industry," Bush said.

The law bars health insurers from rejecting coverage or raising premiums for healthy people based on personal or familial genetic predisposition to develop a particular disease such as cancer, diabetes, heart ailments or others.

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Interview with LegalZoom Part 2

This podcast is brought to you by AccuQuote, a leading provider of term life insurance quotes. In part two of this two-part series, AccuQuote will continue to discuss the various types of wills and living trusts and their uses with Chas Rampenthal, General Council for LegalZoom.

Length- 25:12
Size- 23.6MB

Click here to download

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Interview with LegalZoom Part 1

This podcast is brought to you by AccuQuote, a leading provider of term life insurance quotes. In part one of a two-part series, AccuQuote will talk about the various types of wills and living trusts and discuss their uses with Chas Rampenthal, General Council for LegalZoom.

Length- 13:11

Size- 9.27MB

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According to NBC30.com, a health insurance bill on the way to Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell would "prohibit insurance companies from raising rates on health care plans offered to state workers if the coverage is extended to municipalities, small businesses and nonprofit agencies."

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a written opinion that this year's newly approved General Assembly legislation would not affect contracts that are pending with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, United Healthcare and Health Net. New members would be covered by new contracts separate from the current state worker pool with current insurance contracts.

House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan is a proponent of the bill and hopes Governor Rell will sign it. Apparently, Donovan's mechanic asked him about the bill and upon hearing that its fate was unsure and awaiting the governor's decision, Donovan said: "And he said, look at that, nobody cares about the little guy. Nobody cares about him. I said, no, no, we did it. The Senate and House passed it. We did care. It's up to the governor to sign this bill and create this option."

We'll see what happens.

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It's murder and mayhem in the insurance industry again, folks. Who knew that this was such a dangerous profession? In North Carolina, it appears that being an insurance auditor can be very hazardous to your health.

A warrant was released on Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina for 40-year-old Michael Howell, owner of Dilworth Insurance Agency. He was charged with the murder in the first degree of the victim, 44-year-old Sallie Rohrbach, an auditor from the State Department of Insurance assigned to review the books at Howell's insurance agency.

At first, Howell allowed police to search his business in the course of their investigation into Rohrbach's disappearance two weeks ago. But when they found spots on the carpet and a computer cord that tested positive for blood, Howell told the police to leave and come back with a warrant. They did.

Along with Howell himself, the police also confiscated the carpet and computer cord, of course, as well as everything else in the insurance company, including a desk, computers, pornographic material, customer files, a vacuum and paneling.

The company's offices were first searched because Rohrbach was investigating Dilworth Insurance when she disappeared. Her body was discovered in a wooded area near Fort Mill, North Carolina, on May 21. She was buried on Sunday.

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It looks like the federal government is yet again picking up the insurance tab, though this time it isn't a whole country, but just a major city within the borders of the United States. Denver, to be exact. According to Daniel J. Chacon at Rocky Mountain News, "the federal government has agreed to reimburse the city of Denver for liability and workers compensation insurance policies for police during the Democratic National Convention in August, the mayor's office confirmed this morning."

Denver agreed to spend $1.85 million on various security expenses related to the Democratic National Convention and now that money will come from the $50 million federal grant. The confirmation of the grant is allowing council members a long sigh of relief as the mayor's office could give them no more than an expectation of reimbursement, but no 100 percent guarantee.

Another insurance expense that Denver expects to incur due to the Democratic National Convention is a hefty car insurance bill. Not to exceed $2 million, it's still quite a bill, and more contracts are under consideration and being approved as we speak to secure the conference in August.

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Here's a story about a woman who got approved for a life insurance policy and one year later she died of an aggressive form of breast cancer. The company tried to deny the claim even though she cleared the medical exam. They said she much have been sick before they agreed to insure her. This took place in Mass. and although the company settled, her husband is pushing for a law that would "force an insurer to prove a person misrepresented his well-being or should have known he was not in good health based on active symptoms of a serious change in health in order to deny a claim." According to the article, under current standards, the responsibility rests with the insured person to prove he didn't know he was ill.

Please note...in most states, "good health" is clearly defined in insurance laws but in Mass. the courts have relied on precedent set in cases dating back to 1920 that put the burden on policyholders to demonstrate that they were in good health when the policies were issued.

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The short answer: in a way, yes. According to Karin Laub at the Associated Press, the United States government is apparently in the business of insuring whole countries now.

Well, not exactly, but close. She writes: "A U.S. government agency signed a political risk insurance deal with a Palestinian firm Thursday to help guarantee investments in the West Bank as part of an international effort to develop the beleaguered local economy."

Investors are a little concerned, it seems, with the prospect of plunging their money into the stormy deserts of Palestine thanks to the uncertain political climate at the moment. Right now, specifically, the outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks is questionable at best, so the United States has decided to step in and throw a few promises at the situation and back Palestine in the process.

A recent investors' conference that drew business people from around the world was the setting for the discussion of this proposal of insurance by the United States as well as more than 100 investment projects for Palestine.

We'll see what happens.

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This article was written by Elaine Silvestrini for The Tampa Tribune. What are you thoughts on this? If I were to buy life insurance policies for my employees, I'd have an obligation to give the death benefit to the deceased's family to help them in their time of need. What are your thoughts?

Here's one for the next episode of Law and Order: two elderly women have earned themselves multiple murder convictions with the goal of collecting insurance money.

Olga Rutterschmidt, 75 years old, was convicted of murdering Kenneth McDavid, 50, while her co-defendant, Helen Golay, 77 years old, was convicted of murdering McDavid and Paul Vados, 73, while both received convictions on counts of conspiracy in both killings as well.

What do these verdicts mean for the future of these two women? Life in prison without possibility for parole as prosecutors opted not to try for the death penalty.

Even though Rutterschmidt's lawyers are trying to portray Golay as the mastermind behind the murder for insurance killings, Deputy District Attorney Truc Do says they were equal partners.

According to the Texarcana Gazette, "Vados and McDavid were run over by cars in dark alleys, incidents that authorities said were staged to look like hit-and-run accidents. The women collected $2.8 million on insurance policies they bought for the men."

Though the killings happened in 1999, it wasn't until 2005 that the two women were arrested when the investigation in McDavid's death yielded a link to the Vados murder.

As long as these two women won't be free to do this again, lonesome men and the insurance industry can rest easy. Hopefully the harsh sentence levied by the justice system will deter any others who would consider such a grotesque scheme.

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Montana's Supreme Court recently supported two separate decisions of workers' compensation awards, even though injuries were not incurred on company property. Liberty Northwest Insurance Co. fought both claims, citing injuries did not take place within the scope of employment.

The first incident involved injuries from a car crash. At the time, Maril BeVan was on her break, running errands. The Court, however, said her employer had enough control and authority over her breaks to consider it time at work.

The second occurrence concerns more serious injuries when Curtis Michalak was put in charge of a personal watercraft provided by his employer at the company's picnic. Michalak was unable to return to work after fracturing several vertebrae during the accident. The Court in this case determined injuries were directly sustained "during the performance of his duties."

The moral of these stories is workers' compensation laws are complex and different in every state – there may even be a time limit on filing a claim, and legal advice is often helpful.

Insurers are committed to providing quality service for their clients – in this case, your boss who pays for the workers' comp policy. (In some states, employers are not even required to carry workers' comp insurance unless they employ a minimum number of workers.) To check up on your state laws, look for a doctor, find an attorney, reach out to other injured workers, or even send a get well card and check out this link for more details.

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Charges were filed in federal court against Horizon Blue cross Blue Shield of New Jersey in Newark, NJ when the plaintiff's minor children were denied health benefits for anorexia and bulimia. The social networks of Myspace and Facebook may have the key for Horizon's decision.

The cause of the eating disorder will conclude whether Horizon is responsible for payment. The minors' writing activity on Myspace and Facebook, may determine if the eating disorders can be declared an emotional disorder. Under New Jersey state law, mental illnesses are only required to be covered by health insurance if it is found to be biologically based.

Horizon's argument against the plaintiff is that the children's eating disorder is linked to an emotional disorder. The minors' journal and diary entries can attest to that claim.

The plaintiffs' were both commanded by Judge Shwartz in December to deliver all writings, including entries on Web sites such as 'Facebook' or 'MySpace'" by January 15.

A joint letter from all counsels' to Judge Shwartz on January 24. stated the lack of documents. Horizon argued that no new documents were declared by either plaintiff. Requests were made by Horizon that all the plaintiffs' personal e-mails were to be provided. Both the plaintiffs' counsel assured Shwartz that their clients have no Myspace or Facebook pages to declare.

Judge Shwartz, only required the certifications of diligence, and denied the sanctions requested by Horizon.

On Tuesday, Horizon moved to dismiss the Beye and Foley cases on the grounds that future state legislation would determine the dispute. On January 24. a measure was accepted, that discloses that eating disorders be treated as any other illness.

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This isn't related to insurance, but being a small business owner myself I found it interesting and wanted to share it.

According to HireRight Inc., a leading provider of online employment background screening solutions, here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Be Consistent

2. Get Consent

3. Get Complete Information

4. Conduct a Quality Criminal Check

5. Confirm Employment and Education

6. Check Driving History

7. Follow Adverse Action Rules www.ftc.gov.

8. Find a Reputable Background Checking Partner

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Governor Charlie Crist wants to reconsider homeowner's insurance rates just one year after creating the promised changes that made him victorious in Florida's last election. Lawmakers are realizing the net effects of their actions could be more costly if another monster hurricane like Andrew or Katrina were to bum rush the state.

Rep. Bill Posey, Chairman of the Senate Banking and Insurance committee, counters that the legislation has been a success because "it has lowered rates, and hasn't cost the policyholders a penny. Could that all change if the big one comes in June? Yes, it could."

The devil, it seems, is in the details. Under Crist's current law, if a storm causes more that $22 billion in losses, insurers must accept just 10% of the risk themselves before drawing from the taxpayer-funded Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. If this happens, the state would be forced to collect surcharges from homeowners averaging $966 a year – for the next 30 years! And that's just from one storm. A second in the same year would bankrupt the state outright.

"Many of our leaders have been guilty of running their mouths before using their brains," criticizes Rep. Don Brown, Chairman of the House Insurance Committee.

While lawmakers pound out the lumps in the current law, it's a good time to go over your own hurricane deductibles and make sure you're prepared. Hurricane deductibles are calculated differently from any other type of claim, usually 2 percent to 4 percent of your home's value. Do you have enough available credit or cash on hand to cover this amount? Have you installed storm shutters, removed trees, or made any other permanent modifications to your home for hurricane readiness? A quick call to your agent can get your policy up to date and provide peace of mind before hurricane season even gets here on June 1st.

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Delaware's Insurance Commissioner, Matthew Denn, is on a mission to protect homeowners from grossly unfair insurance dealings.

Imagine for a moment that the last Nor'easter to blow through your yard took part of your roof with it. You would have immediately called your insurance agent to get the ball rolling on replacing or repairing the damage. But when the time came time to renew your policy, you instead get a letter in the mail explaining that your policy will expire in 30 days and you will have to find another insurer.

If you think that's outrageous, here's another example: You were one of the lucky few who didn't experience any damage to your home during the last storm, but the neighborhood grapevine has you worried about your deductible amount now that home values have risen. If you called your agent to check up on your policy limits and exclusions, you'd be getting that same letter in the mail come time for renewal.

Delaware's Senate addressed this problem in June 2005 by passing a bill that that would have forbid insurers from dropping policy-holders for weather-related claims, minor claims, inquiries, or even unpaid claims. The House, however, never even voted because the measure didn't get past the Economic Development, Banking and Insurance Committee.

Commissioner Denn decided to take matters into his own hands and issued new regulations for the industry establishing the current practices as "predicate unfair trade."

He was promptly sued by the American Insurance Association and the Property Casualty Insurers of America, citing the move was beyond the scope of his authority as set forth in statutory provisions. (Member companies for the groups write roughly 45% of the homeowner policies in the state.)

Though he did loose in Delaware's Superior Court, an appeal is underway with the Delaware Supreme Court to reverse the decision. As a noteworthy addition, Senator David Sokola and Representative Valerie Longhurst are now official sponsors of the new legislation up for consideration.

Comm. Denn declares, "We will fight on every available front to protect homeowners from abusive practices by the insurance industry."

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