It Figures

$400 million

The amount it would cost to replace a key weather satellite that is already beyond its expected life span if it fails, according to National Hur-ricane Center Director Bill Proenza. He said the satellite, designed to last five years, is in its seventh year of operation, and it is only a matter of time until it fails. He said he did not know of any plans to replace it. Without its data, two-day forecasts could become 10 percent less accurate, and the three-day predictions could lose 16 percent accuracy, Proenza said.

82%

State Farm Insurance’s chairman and CEO received an 82 percent increase in pay after the company posted a record profit last year. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Rust Jr. got a $5.26 million raise. He earned $11.66 million in 2006 with a base salary of $1.77 million and results-based bonus of $9.89 million, the company’s statement said. Rust made $6.4 million in 2005 and $5.5 million in 2004.

30%

The amount on average that directors and officers coverage premiums have declined since the fourth quarter of 2003, according to a report by Advisen Ltd., which tracks pricing data.

1.8%

The Insurance Information Institute predicts net written premiums will go up by 1.8 percent in 2007. That increase in premium growth would be the third slowest rate of growth for property/casualty insurers since 1998, I.I.I. analysts said.

207,492

The FBI’s 2006 annual report issued by its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) shows how criminals have used the Internet to launch nine different varieties of fraud. Among the highlights from the report: During 2006, consumers filed 207,492 complaints; complainants said they lost $198.4 million, the highest total ever; nearly 45 percent of the complaints involved online auction fraud — such as getting a different product than expected — making it the largest category; more than 19 percent concerned undelivered merchandise or payments.

6.4 %

Insurance fraud convictions in the U.S. rose by 6.4 percent between 2004 and 2005, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. In its recent study of 47 state agencies, CAIF said state fraud bureaus are delivering record results in combating swindles, but the positive figures may mask deeper weaknesses in some areas. The group said 18 fraud bureaus reported declines in convictions between 2004 and 2005, even though overall fraud convictions rose. However, there were more than 29,000 investigations opened in 2005, a 6.5 percent increase over the previous year. California recorded the highest number of fraud convictions —1,546 — or one of every three convictions in the nation. It also has the biggest fraud fighting budget.