It Figures

$11.5 Million

The amount the CFO Alex Sink says her office helped Floridians recover in the first six months of this year in claim payments and premium refunds, including one case that resulted in a $1.2 million payment on a consumer’s unpaid hospital claims.

304,995

The number of North Carolina consumers that Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin says may qualify for funds as a result of a settlement between Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and affiliated companies and homeowner policyholders who say they were not paid enough for claims submitted from 1996 to March 20, 2009. The lawsuit alleges Nationwide underpaid policyholders by not including general contractors’ overhead and profit when paying certain claims involving damage to a building or other structures. Those who think they are eligible should visit the settlement’s Web site at www.alexanderclassactionsettlement.com to submit a claim. All claims must be submitted by Aug. 26.

2

The improved ISO fire safety rating that Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine thinks Atlanta will earn as a result of its decision to end firefighter furloughs and re-open fire stations. Atlanta is now rated 3. A lower number on the 1-10 ISO scale means better fire protection. Due to furloughs and other factors, Atlanta’s rating had gone from a 2 to a 4.

$36,000

The amount in fines to be paid by an Alabama insurance agency because its employees were caught selling bogus homeowners policies to at least 118 customers. Owner Pamela Wynona Schoen of the Starfish Insurance Agency in Gulf Shores also must adopt multiple accounting controls within 18 months. If she fails to comply, she will lose her sales license and face an additional $236,000 in fines. Schoen provided evidence that two employees, not her, sold the policies, but a hearing officer still found there was “negligence in the operation of her office.”

$2.4 Million

The amount in bonuses that American International Group Inc., the insurer that has received billions of dollars in federal aid, recently withheld. They were due to be paid to dozens of senior managers on July 15.