Figures

$76,000

A South Dakota judge ordered a man who set fire to a Rapid City home last fall to pay thousands of dollars in restitution to an insurance company. Dustin Bomford pleaded guilty to second-degree arson and was given a 10-year prison sentence with five years suspended. Circuit Judge A.P. Fuller ordered him to pay back the value of the mortgage, about $76,000, that De Smet Insurance Co. had paid to a bank following the fire. In court, Bomford said the homeowner had asked him to help burn down the home for the insurance money. The mortgage was in foreclosure at the time of the fire. The homeowner was not charged. AP

$2.175 Billion

U.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to pay homeowners and businesses an estimated $2.175 billion for second-quarter property losses resulting from a total of six catastrophes in 25 states — tying the record for the second-lowest number of catastrophes in a second quarter in the past 10 years, according to preliminary analysis by ISO’s Property Claim Services (PCS) unit. PCS estimates the six catastrophes of second-quarter 2007 generated 504,000 claims. Year to date, the estimated number of claims is 709,000. At $435 million, Texas topped the list of the five most severely affected states, followed by Minnesota at $322 million, Kansas at $210 million, New Jersey at $160 million, and New York at $130 million. AP

$7 million

The federal government approved more than $7 million in disaster assistance for Iowans who suffered damages from severe May storms. The money includes grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. More than $2 million is approved for individual assistance. Another $2.6 million will go to low-interest disaster loans to residents and businesses. AP

$15 million

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield withdrew its offer of a $15 million donation to the University of Iowa after school faculty rejected a proposal to rename its health college after Wellmark. Wellmark, Iowa’s largest health insurance company, wanted to stamp its name on the university’s College of Public Health. However, faculty members overwhelmingly rebuffed the idea, saying that naming the college after an insurance company could present a conflict of interest.