Figures

2,700

The world’s largest kosher slaughterhouse is recalling about 2,700 pounds of potentially underprocessed frankfurters shipped to New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, company and federal officials said. Agriprocessors Inc., based in Postville in northeast Iowa, is ac-cepting returns on its one- pound package of “Supreme Kosher, Classic Frankfurters” made with beef and chicken, and its two-pound family packages of “Supreme Kosher, Classic Frankfurters” made with beef and chicken. The frankfurters were produced Nov. 15 and shipped to stores in the Northeast, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. No illnesses from these products have been reported.

17%

Allstate Corp., the second-biggest U.S. personal-lines insurer behind State Farm, said its fourth-quarter profit rose 17 percent as it continued to benefit from a benign year for hurricanes. The $1.21 billion (euro930 million) quarterly profit ran Allstate’s earnings for the year to a record $5 billion (euro3.85 billion), a number likely to be a flashpoint for
critics who say the insurance industry is gouging consumers as it runs away from increased storm risk along the U.S. coastline.

29

Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm has signed legislation permitting Michigan to join the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact Commission, making Michigan the 29th state to join the Commission. Created through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the Commission provides participating states with the ability to collectively use their expertise to develop uniform national product standards, affording a high level of protection to consumers of life insurance, annuities, disability income and long-term care insurance products.

$360 million

Damage from the crippling late-December snowstorm that blanketed western Kansas with snow and ice, downing power lines and killing thousands of head of cattle, will exceed $360 million. The Kansas Adjutant General’s Department released its damage estimate after a number of as-sessments in the 44 western Kansas counties that were declared a disaster area by President Bush. Not included in the estimate is damage to individual homes and businesses, which would not be eligible for the federal aid.

1%

National and state insurance trade groups provided supporting testimony in support of Indiana lowering its insurance premium tax to 1 percent. “The House Insurance Committee’s unanimous approval of HB 1250 is a tremendous start for the bill, but there is a long legislative road ahead,” said Tami Stanton, NAMIC Central Region State Affairs manager for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC). “By lowering the premium tax, Indiana will be more competitive with states such as Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina and Wyoming that, in general, have lower premium tax rates than Indiana’s current 1.3 percent.” The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) reports Indiana’s total revenue from the insurance industry in 2004 was $183,455,189.

5,665

Teen drivers are often behind the wheel when they are tired or being distracted by cell phone chatter or others’ behavior, according to a new national survey of high schoolers. In the survey, 5,665 high school students said they are driving under extremely dangerous conditions — fatigue, talking on cell phones, strong emotions, multiple passengers — and many are still not wearing seatbelts. The Na-tional Teen Driver Survey, released by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm, represents 10.6 million 9th, 10th and 11th grade students in all public high schools in the United States.