Filed under: Economy, Insurance
In 1932, Wisconsin enacted the first state unemployment insurance plan in response to the Great Depression. Three years later, President Franklin Roosevelt established a program on a national level as part of Social Security legislation. Today, unemployment insurance available in all states, providing money for out-of-work adults and is funded by both federal and state taxes. Yet for most people who have lost their jobs, those unemployment checks are hardly enough to cover all the family bills.
This month, a private company, Assura, unveiled IncomeAssure, supplemental unemployment insurance designed to partially fill the gap between what workers receive from state unemployment and what they need. The policies add to what the state provides, bringing a worker a total of 50% of their lost income for up to 24 weeks.
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Filed under: Insurance
With Hurricane Irene poised to hit U.S. shores this week, memories of Katrina, Ike, Hugo and Andrew are made fresh.
Nor is Irene likely to be our lone reason for weather worries. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently updated its outlook for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season (which runs through Nov. 30), raising the expected number of named storms to a range from 14 to 19, up from the 12 to 18 it earlier projected.
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Filed under: Insurance
Debbie Saathoff, 62, of Bowie, Md., says she heard a giant cracking sound first. Then the pictures flew off the walls and vases on shelves came tumbling down and smashed as her home moved back and forth. “It was the scariest thing I have been through,” she said hours after a rare earthquake rattled the Eastern Seaboard Tuesday. “I’ve never felt one before.”
Fairly strong earthquakes in two areas of the country where they rarely strike provided the nation with a seismic double whammy this week. Tuesday afternoon’s 5.8 magnitude temblor, based in Virginia, was felt in New York City and farther north, and on Monday night, a 5.3 magnitude quake struck southeast Colorado. The United States gets shaken by about 5,000 quakes strikes each year, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
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Filed under: Economy, Health Care, Insurance, Personal Finance
For those who don’t have the luxury of employer-paid health coverage, finding out what individual coverage costs can be a challenge.
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Filed under: Insurance
Mortgage insurer The PMI Group Inc. warned investors on Thursday that it may be unable to continue selling new policies and could shut down.
The news sent shares of the Walnut Creek, Calif.-based company plunging to their lowest point in more than two years.
On a day when the broader markets were battered by economic concerns, the stock closed down 47 cents, or 53.4 percent, at 41 cents. Shares were last that low in March 2009, and had changed hands as high as $4.68 in the past 52 weeks.
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Filed under: Company News, Technology, Investing, IBM, Microsoft, Insurance, Investment
Technology outsourcing and consulting giant Accenture (ACN) has seen its stock shoot up over 50% in the past year and now trades close to an all-time high of $63.66 per share. Accenture’s stock performance has been on par with that of IBM (IBM), which recently surpassed Microsoft (MSFT) to become the second largest tech firm by market cap. (See Big Blue Heads for $200 on Double Digit Revenue Growth) Below we take a look at the new additions to Accenture’s offerings in the insurance business.
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Filed under: Health Care, Insurance
CVS Caremark has been aggressively trying to grow its pharmacy-benefits-management business after suffering from some major setbacks in 2009-2010. High-profile contracts from CalPERS, Medco Health and Aetna in the past year are helping boost CVS’s outlook in this business, which processes and pays prescription-drug insurance claims.
CVS Caremark is a pharmacy and drugstore chain that competes with Walgreen, Wal-Mart and Rite-Aid in its prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs and general merchandise segments. It also competes with Medco Health Solutions and Express Scripts in its Pharmacy Benefits Management segment.
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Filed under: Columns, Health Care, Insurance, Family Money
We all know that women have some unique challenges related to the fact that our bodies are designed to incubate, and then deliver into the world, entirely new human beings. Our special talent comes with significantly higher healthcare needs, as we require a decent amount of upkeep.
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Filed under: Insurance, Credit, College Finance, Family Money, Personal Finance, Credit Cards
Forget the “freshman 15,” the dreaded additional pounds freshmen frequently pack on when they settle into life on their own. More important are the 15 smart financial moves you need to know to get through freshman year and beyond without racking up unnecessary debt.
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Filed under: Budgets, Debt, Insurance, Family Money, Saving Money
Spring is finally here, and there’s no better time to give your house — including your financial house — a good spring cleaning.
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