It Figures

$1.4 Million

The Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission recently adopted a $1.4 million 2008 budget by a vote of its full membership during a public teleconference. Following a comprehensive comment period, including a public hearing before its Management Committee last week, the Insurance Compact adopted a $1.4 million operating budget. The major expenditures detailed are for the continued start-up of the Insurance Compact’s product filing operations. Under the mandate of the compact statute adopted by each of its 30 member jurisdictions, the Insurance Compact provides the central point of product filing under national standards to promote speed-to-market, uniformity and efficiency in state-based insurance regulation. During 2007, the Insurance Compact initiated its streamlined, electronic filing platform and received initial life insurance filings by insurers. The Insurance Compact uses the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing (SERFF) application to process its product filings.

3,530

In 2006, deer were the cause of 3,530 traffic crashes in Missouri, resulting in 364 injuries and three deaths, according to the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration. According to Insurance Director Doug Ommen, almost 50 percent of deer-related crashes occur between October and December, with the largest portion occurring in mid-November. Drivers can avoid these types of accidents by being especially vigilant between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 a.m.. Deer-vehicle crashes cost an estimated $2,800 per insurance claim and that figure increases to $10,000 if someone in the car is injured, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

$6 Million

The families of six children who died in a 2006 apartment fire on the Chicago’s far North Side reached a $6 million settlement with the owners and managers of the building, attorneys said. A lawsuit filed last year by the victims’ parents alleged the building’s owners and managers failed to keep the building in a safe condition. A candle used for light in an apartment without electricity caused the September 2006 fire, according to the lawsuit. Officials have said the apartment did not have a working smoke detector. The settlement included $5 million for Augusta and Amado Ramirez, who lost five children in the fire. They were Vanessa Ramirez, 14; Eric Ramirez, 12; Suzette Ramirez, 10; Idaly Ramirez, 6; and Kevin Ramirez, 3. Cook County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Budzinski ruled on the settlement. There was a smoke detector in the hallway outside of the three-bedroom, third-floor apartment, but it did not work and the manufacturer had recalled it in 1992, according to the lawsuit.