http://www.reliableins.net/blog/View Reliable Insurance Managers, Inc.'s Website Blogen-uspostmaster@www.reliableins.netInsurance Website Builder - www.insurancewebsitebuilder.comurn:uuid:1c6195a4-94ab-4f03-b9ea-a69d874d5899urn:uuid:e6dad8fb-a821-4dfb-ad91-f6a2504553e7Investors busy assessing how the state of the global economy will affect their stock portfolios should start thinking about how the presidential race will weigh in. Health car...Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:59:14 -0600Investors busy assessing how the state of the global economy will affect their stock portfolios should start thinking about how the presidential race will weigh in. <div class="sidebar" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="28"></div> <table width="290" align="center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="25"> <tbody itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="67"> <tr itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="69"> <td itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="70"></td> </tr> <tr itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="68"> <td align="left" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="72"><strong itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="74"></strong></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="24">Health care remains a subject of divide between the two parties, with Republicans trying to repeal Obama's nationwide health care reform since 2010. And, while it is unlikely they can overturn the entire law, they can certainly chip away at parts of it. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="23">If Republicans take control, Citigroup estimates that large commercial providers of health insurance plans may see their earnings grow by 5% to 10%. That kind of growth would increase these companies' worth by 20%. The companies are currently estimated to see a 5% to 15% drop in earnings, according to a recent analyst report by the firm. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="22">Within the broader managed care sector, which includes commercials plans, and Medicaid and Medicare plans, Citigroup says that valuations on most stocks should tack on at least an additional 2 multiple points. If a Republican fails to win the presidential seat but the party gains control of the senate, the valuation of the group would add up to one point. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="21">This is all good if Republicans make a sweeping win, but what if President Obama takes office for second term? Even then, investors may benefit yet. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="20">"The market seems to be discounting maintenance of the political status quo," writes Citigroup, which estimates that managed care stocks are trading under the 9.5x 2012 earnings estimates. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="19">Investors may want to skew their picks toward companies providing commercial plans. Under a Republican victory, Citigroup says stocks that would benefit most in this category rank in the following order: <b itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="86">WellPoint</b>(WLP<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/WLP.html" class="arrow" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="87"><em itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="91">_</em></a>), <b itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="84">Coventry Health Care</b>(CVH<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/CVH.html" class="arrow" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="92"><em itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="96">_</em></a>), <b itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="82">UnitedHealth Group</b>(UNH<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/UNH.html" class="arrow" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="97"><em itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="101">_</em></a>), <b itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="80">Aetna</b>(AET<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/AET.html" class="arrow" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="102"><em itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="106">_</em></a>), <b itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="78">CIGNA</b>(CI<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/CI.html" class="arrow" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="107"><em itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="111">_</em></a>) and <b itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="76">Health Net</b>(HNT<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/HNT.html" class="arrow" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="112"><em itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="116">_</em></a>). </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="18">For Medicare plans, the firm picks <b itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="124">Humana</b>(HUM<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/HUM.html" class="arrow" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="125"><em itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="129">_</em></a>), <b itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="122">HealthSpring</b>(HS<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/HS.html" class="arrow" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="130"><em itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="134">_</em></a>), <b itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="120">Universal American</b>(UAM<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/UAM.html" class="arrow" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="135"><em itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="139">_</em></a>) and <b itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="118">WellCare</b>(WCG<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/WCG.html" class="arrow" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="140"><em itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="144">_</em></a>). All these companies provide elderly with Medicare through private health insurance plans called Medicare Advantage. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="17">The idea behind investing in the above Medicare plans is that Republicans have historically encouraged seniors to enroll in Medicare Advantage programs. In addition, Citigroup notes that Republicans have been willing to give the programs a fair reimbursement. By contrast, under Obama's reform, government subsidies to the Medicare Advantage program would be gradually eliminated altogether. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="16">On the Medicaid end of the spectrum, stocks are a tougher pick. Republicans might impact Medicaid in two ways: </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="15">The Medicaid market is expected to increase by around 30% in 2014, according to Citigroup. But, Republicans may try to do away with this expansion and cut back the money that states use to fund Medicaid programs. A company like <b itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="146">AMERIGROUP</b>(AGP<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/AGP.html" class="arrow" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="147"><em itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="151">_</em></a>), with a $3.3 billion market cap, for example would lose a whopping $2.5 billion in revenue, according to Citigroup. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="14">Even so, Citigroup say that Medicaid companies would still prefer a Republican administration to a Democratic one. "Republicans are much more philosophically aligned with moving the care of the dual eligibles into managed care organizations," writes the firm. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="13">What that means is that that those qualifying for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits maybe more inclined to find Medicaid programs under a Republican administration. According to analysts' estimates, that opportunity would deliver more than $320 billion in revenue per year for Medicaid managed care providers. By contrast, Medicaid revenue would only add over $40 billion without dual eligibility. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="12">The bottom line is: Keep an eye on opportunities within health insurance providers, particularly commercial providers, if you believe Republicans will win the election this year. But if you believe otherwise, the space is still worth your consideration. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:5b8d8d4a-9161-4d9c-87ad-d6a0e051d192Lexington Insurance Company, a Chartis company, today announced that its recent study, titled &ldquo;Frequency of Outbreak Investigations in U.S. Hospitals: Results of a National Survey of Infection Preventionists,&rdquo; has been published in the Am...Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:05:31 -0600Lexington Insurance Company, a Chartis company, today announced that its recent study, titled &ldquo;Frequency of Outbreak Investigations in U.S. Hospitals: Results of a National Survey of Infection Preventionists,&rdquo; has been published in the <i>American Journal of Infection Control</i>. <blockquote> <p>&ldquo;At this time, no other organization has published a study of this caliber. We sincerely appreciate the efforts of those involved in aiding Lexington&rsquo;s dedication to improving patient safety.&rdquo;</p> </blockquote> <p>In collaboration with Chartis Global Loss Prevention and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), Lexington conducted a survey of U.S. APIC members to determine the frequency of outbreak investigations as well as their causes and duration. The study also examined other aspects of outbreak investigations, including unit closures. The study appears in the February 2012 issue of the <i>American Journal of Infection Control</i>. </p> <p>&ldquo;This study demonstrates Lexington&rsquo;s investment in research to better understand the exposures healthcare organizations face today,&rdquo; said Bradley Cox, Executive Vice President and Healthcare and Casualty Division Executive of Lexington. &ldquo;At this time, no other organization has published a study of this caliber. We sincerely appreciate the efforts of those involved in aiding Lexington&rsquo;s dedication to improving patient safety.&rdquo; </p> <p>Authors of the study paper include: </p> <ul> <li class="bwlistitemmargb">Emily Rhinehart RN MPH CIC, Vice President, Global Loss Prevention, Chartis; </li> <li class="bwlistitemmargb">Scott Walker, Director of Data Analysis and Research, Global Loss Prevention, Chartis; </li> <li class="bwlistitemmargb">Denise Murphy RN MPH CIC, Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety, Main Line Health System; </li> <li class="bwlistitemmargb">Karen O&rsquo;Reilly, Senior Project Director, Americas Region, Chartis (previously Chief Innovation Officer for Lexington); and </li> <li class="bwlistitemmargb">Patty Leeman, Executive Director, APIC Consulting Services Inc. </li> </ul>urn:uuid:cb510783-f2fd-497a-bd02-10e5da10f33dThe federal government has rejected a request by Texas to be excluded from a new law that limits how much health insurance companies can spend on overhead. The law is part of the Affordable Care Act, changes made in federal health care law in 2010 th...Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:02:25 -0600<p>The federal government has rejected a request by Texas to be excluded from a new law that limits how much health insurance companies can spend on overhead.</p> <p>The law is part of the Affordable Care Act, changes made in federal health care law in 2010 that Texas officials say is unconstitutional. Part of the bill requires health insurers to spend at least 80 percent of their revenue on providing health care or health improvement programs. Those that spend more than 20 percent on overhead and executive salaries will be required to give rebates to customers starting this year.</p> <p>Federal officials at the Department of Health and Human Services said Texas did not prove that the state&rsquo;s insurance market would be destabilized by the new law. As a result, Texas health insurers will likely pay out $476 million in rebates over the next three years, said Gary Cohen, acting director of oversight at the agency.</p> <p>&ldquo;We have determined that no adjustment to the 80-20 rule in Texas is warranted,&rdquo; Cohen said. &ldquo;This means that consumers in Texas will get the full benefit of the Affordable Care Act.&rdquo;</p> <p>The Texas Department of Insurance issued a statement rejecting the federal agency&rsquo;s conclusions, saying it did not give insurance companies time to adjust their business models to new rule.</p> <p>&ldquo;A reasonable, responsible phased-in approach would still have afforded rebates to Texas consumers without risking disruption, dislocation and withdrawal of carriers,&rdquo; the department said in a statement.</p> <p>The Texas insurance commissioner applied for a waiver from the law in July and asked for permission to allow Texas companies to gradually lower the spending requirement for health services to 71 percent in 2011, 74 percent in 2012 and 77 percent in 2013.</p> <p>Seventeen states have applied for waivers, and after Friday&rsquo;s Texas decision, two are pending. Nine states, including Texas, have been denied. Six states have been granted a waiver, although in most cases the agency did not give the state as much as it wanted.</p> <p>The states granted a waiver include four with Republican governors: Maine, Nevada, Georgia and Iowa. The states denied include one with a Democratic governor, Delaware. Florida was denied a waiver. Gov. Rick Scott, like Gov. Rick Perry is a big opponent of Obama&rsquo;s health care law.</p> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:e5999366-c976-4345-96af-a8c2e88d2df6One of the first things potential employees ask Eric Michelson about is health insurance. Can they get it, how much will it cost and how good are the benefits. Michelson, owner of Michelson&rsquo;s Shoes in Lexington, offers it, but it hasn&rsquo;t b...Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:58:17 -0600<p>One of the first things potential employees ask Eric Michelson about is health insurance. Can they get it, how much will it cost and how good are the benefits.</p> <p>Michelson, owner of Michelson&rsquo;s Shoes in Lexington, offers it, but it hasn&rsquo;t been easy with annual double-digit rate hikes. He is among those hoping that business groups such as the Retailers Association of Massachusetts are going to come up with cheaper options.</p> <p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tremendous expense to treat our employees the way we want to treat them,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Our goal is to provide a competitive workplace.&rdquo;</p> <p>For years business groups have spent time and energy fighting for the right to band together to buy health insurance in hopes that they could get better rates. Now that they have the go-ahead from the state to form buying cooperatives, the pressure is on to deliver savings.</p> <p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re hoping that by bringing together a large group of people, a diverse group, that we&rsquo;ll be able to get insurance at a rate that&rsquo;s equivalent to what our large competitors are paying,&rdquo; Michelson said.</p> <p>So far, two organizations, the Retailers Association of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Association of Chambers of Commerce, have been approved to form buying cooperatives. Under the new state law, there could be four more.</p> <p>The two that have approval said they would like to have something in place by April 1, which is the most common renewal date, but that will be a push.</p> <p>There are a lot of conversations and negotiations with insurers and providers about the options. Initially, the retailer and chamber groups are just looking to get some basic plans on the table for members, but ultimately they want to offer some creative alternatives.</p> <p>&ldquo;You want to offer a variety of plans that can help all of your constituencies,&rdquo; said Jon Hurst, president of the retailers group.</p> <p>Some companies might want plans with low a deductible of under $500 while others would prefer cheaper plans with a large deductible of up to $2,000.</p> <p>&ldquo;The point is, we want more competition and choices for small businesses and their families,&rdquo; Hurst said.</p> <p>It&rsquo;s not clear yet how much savings the cooperatives will be able to offer. The organizations won&rsquo;t be able to offer self-insured plans such as those that large companies provide. But supporters say just being able to buy in bulk should help.</p> <p>&ldquo;I think we will see some meaningful relief,&rdquo; said Michael Widmer, head of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m hopeful that we&rsquo;ll see some innovation as well. Employers are increasingly beginning to say &lsquo;we need to be a part of the solution,&rsquo; and their employees as well.&rdquo;</p> <p>The retailers group, which offers other bulk buying programs, including one for workers compensation insurance, is using its infrastructure to set up the plans.</p> <p>The Massachusetts Association of Chambers of Commerce has hired a consultant to help with negotiations, according to Tom O&rsquo;Rourke, who is president of the all-volunteer organization and also of the Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce.</p> <p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t know yet what the savings will be,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but we know that any savings are better than one we have now.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:ba817b48-5e6c-4dc9-85f9-a0216e4f490eLong-term care insurance is subsidized, in effect, by Uncle Sam. "For many people, a large part of their premium cost is deductible on their federal tax return," says Denise Gott, National Sales Manager and Chairman of the Board of LTC Financial Part...Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:03:13 -0600Long-term care insurance is subsidized, in effect, by Uncle Sam. "For many people, a large part of their premium cost is deductible on their federal tax return," says Denise Gott, National Sales Manager and Chairman of the Board of LTC Financial Partners, LLC (LTCFP). "That doesn't make coverage free, but it makes it more affordable for millions." LTCFP is one of the nation's largest and most experienced agencies specializing in long-term care insurance. <p>If you don't have LTC insurance, the time to get it is now, when the tax advantage is fresh in your mind, Gott advises, "Then remember to make your claim at tax time next year, and remember to do that again and again, year after year for as long as you pay premiums." </p> <p>Deduction limits for the 2011 tax year range from $340 to $4,240, depending on age. For the 2012 tax year, the deduction limits range from $350 to $4,370; and they tend to increase every year. "Over the lifetime of many policies, cumulative deduction claims can really mount up, from a few thousand to more than $100,000 in some cases," Gott says.</p> <p>Many states offer additional incentives for owning long-term care insurance. These usually take the form of state tax deductions or rebates. "LTC protection becomes even more of bargain with this nice double dip," says Gott.</p> <p>LTCFP does not offer tax advice but teams with accountants and other tax experts to help their clients get all the deductions or other benefits available to them.</p> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:43ccd1a8-ab42-417b-822d-68013861d81f<img src='http://www.reliableins.net/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/iStock_000007193668XSmall.jpg' align='left' />The ultimate goal of anyone with a life insurance policy is to ensure that their loved ones are comfortable after they pass away. If you do not update your insurance coverage when changes occur in your life, you could leave your family without the be...Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:19:06 -0600<p><img src="/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/iStock_000007193668XSmall.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 200px; float: left; margin-right: 7px;" alt="life insurance" />The ultimate goal of anyone with a life insurance policy is to ensure that their loved ones are comfortable after they pass away. If you do not update your insurance coverage when changes occur in your life, you could leave your family without the benefits you intended. In order to determine what changes you should make to your life insurance coverage in 2012, consider the following. </p> <ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in; list-style-type: decimal;"> <li>Are there any new family additions? If you&rsquo;ve added people or pets to your family, then your cost of living increased. That means your family will need more in order to continue in the same standard of living after you&rsquo;re gone. </li> <li>Did you relocate? If you&rsquo;ve relocated then you have all new expenses, which may be more than those that you originally had when you took out your insurance policy and chose a death benefit.</li> <li>Have you been promoted? If you earn more money now than you did when taking out the policy, then your family will need a larger death benefit to replace that income after you pass away. </li> <li>How are your savings? If you have had trouble meeting your savings goals for emergencies, college tuition and retirement that may indicate that your heirs need even more financial assistance when they no longer have your income to rely on. </li> <li>Has your debt increased? If you&rsquo;ve purchased a new home, new car, or even new electronic gadgets, then you may have increased the amount of debt your family needs to pay off after you pass away. Increasing your death benefit will allow them to more easily meet these obligations. </li> <li>What is the new cost of living? Inflation can increase the standard cost of living for your family. Consider how much inflation has affected the effectiveness of your current death benefit and make the appropriate increases. </li> <li>Who&rsquo;s your beneficiary? Are the primary and contingent beneficiaries on your policy still the individuals who should be on your policy? Or, have you got a trust that should now be named on the policy?</li> <li>Will your heirs pay estate taxes? Estate taxes are back in effect. If your family will be expected to pay them based on the size of your estate, then it&rsquo;s a good idea to increase your policy death benefit. If you&rsquo;ve made your spouse the beneficiary, consider the fact that your death benefit, should you pass away prior to him or her, will be added to his or her estate later and may prompt estate taxes. </li> </ol> <p>Your death benefit may face several expansions over the course of your life. These may be handled with the issuance of separate term policies or through increases of your main policy death benefit. If you want to discuss your options for gaining complete coverage for your family, give us a call. </p> <p>Have more life insurance questions? Call <strong><a href="http://www.reliableins.net/contact.aspx">Reliable Insurance</a></strong> at 713-227-7283 or get a <strong><a href="http://www.reliableins.net/module.aspx?ref=600&amp;Life+Insurance%C2%A0Quote">Texas Life Insurance quote</a></strong> today!</p>urn:uuid:b12237af-8a6e-40c2-bf35-b428c5ce503b We have all read the news headlines about the Costa Concordia disaster over the past 10 days. The ship ran aground on Friday 13th January off the coast of Giglio in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the West Coast of Italy after a hitting a rock. It was carryi...Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:05:19 -0600<div id="body_container_left"> <div>We have all read the news headlines about the Costa Concordia disaster over the past 10 days. The ship ran aground on Friday 13th January off the coast of Giglio in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the West Coast of Italy after a hitting a rock. It was carrying over 4,000 passengers and crew. </div> </div> <div id="body_container_center_full"> <div id="body_content-center"> <div id="body_content_default"> <p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr">The media has been awash with theories as to how this terrible event occurred. It is to be hoped that the rescue operation can be completed soon and that subsequent investigations will reveal what happened and how steps can be taken to avoid any similar future occurrences. In the meantime the insurance industry is contemplating the issues raised by the disaster. </p> <p>In the maritime world insurance takes several forms. It is understood that The Carnival Group which owns The Costa Concordia has two different types of insurance cover. </p> <p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr">Hull insurance will cover damage to the ship. Typically such cover will be provided by several different insurers and will also mean a large insurance excess. Chicago based AON Corp brokered the hull insurance. According to Allianz Insurance "It is likely that the hull insurance claim will heavily depend on whether the ship can be salvaged and repaired and whether in the worst case the wreck will have to be disassembled on site".</p> <p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr">The second type of insurance cover purchased by Carnival will have been for liability cover. The company said in a statement last week that it has a $10 Million deductible on that policy. That coverage would include any payments related to injuries and death and the cost of any environmental clean up. </p> <p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr">Cruise liners and shipping companies typically join together in groups, known as Protection and Indemnity clubs (P &amp; I Clubs), to spread out the risk. Each member of the club pays in dues, and claims are paid out from collective funds. Carnival insured The Concordia through two clubs, the Standard Club and Steamship Mutual. After that, cover is provided by a larger collective called the International Group P &amp; I Clubs and a reinsurance policy. It is thought that Carnival did not take out insurance for loss of use of the ship. </p> <p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr">It is important for insured companies to bear in mind that insurance contracts are governed by the doctrine of utmost good faith. Breach of this duty can in certain circumstances invalidate insurance cover. In the circumstances it is to be hoped that the future investigation of this tragedy will be confined to official channels rather than via comments apparently made by Francesco Schettino, the cruise ship captain, being leaked to the press. </p> <p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr">It is also to be hoped that this event will not damage the cruise industry, particularly as this is traditionally its busiest time of year for bookings. According to Stewart Chiron, CEO of CruiseGuy.com "People understand this is an accident". To put matters in context it is estimated that roughly 19 million people took a cruise last year without incident.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> </div> </div> </div>urn:uuid:d668d4b8-31d5-4b43-8a01-a31588594783Before the end of January, the newly established Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the U.S. Department of Treasury is expected to release its highly anticipated report on how to modernize and improve insurance regulation in the United States. The...Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:52:49 -0600Before the end of January, the newly established Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the U.S. Department of Treasury is expected to release its highly anticipated report on how to modernize and improve insurance regulation in the United States. The report, as ordered by the Dodd-Frank Act, will guide public policy decision-making in the insurance industry. <p>Michael Nelson, chairman of national law firm Nelson Levine de Luca &amp; Horst, represents insurers and reinsurers in regulatory matters as well as in complex litigation in multiple jurisdictions throughout the country. His firm publishes a newsletter covering the latest developments at the FIO ( http://www.nldhlaw.com/CM/EmergingTopics/Federal-Insurance-Office.asp ), and below he answers the most pressing questions about the office and its much-anticipated report: </p> <p>Q1: The FIO is an unprecedented new office within the U.S. Department of Treasury that was created to establish needed insurance expertise at the federal level. But there has been debate about what the true role of the FIO should be. How will the FIO mature into its role? </p> <p>A1: The Federal Insurance Office is not entirely unprecedented. The federal government has long had a role in various aspects of the insurance industry. The federal government first became involved in crop insurance in the 1930s. In 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program. In more recent times, the federal government has played a role in providing a guarantee regarding terrorism insurance. The FIO now provides the federal government with a centralized structure to support its macro-level participation in the insurance industry. </p> <p>Congress may, at a later date, expand the role of the FIO. Public comments submitted to the FIO at Director Michael McRaith's request were laden with suggestions for lines of business and types of regulatory activities that could potentially be handled at the federal level. Still, for now, it is important to keep in mind what the FIO can and cannot do under its authorizing legislation. </p> <p>The Dodd-Frank Act explicitly states that the FIO does not have regulatory authority. Instead, the Act provides the FIO powers and tasks consistent with its role as an advisor, coordinator, and information repository for the federal government on insurance issues. </p> <p>What the FIO will advocate for in its role as an advisor and how it will impact the insurance industry is very much an open question. </p> <p>Q2: Many observers expect the FIO to advocate for an enhanced federal role in the industry. How would this enhanced role be viewed by different industry stakeholders? </p> <p>A2: The insurance industry's response depends on how this "enhanced federal role" presents itself. The views of the industry stakeholders will undoubtedly be very diverse and quite divergent. </p> <p>There is almost universal support for the FIO to act as a point of contact and representative on international issues. There is much less consensus regarding whether the FIO should become actively involved in regulatory issues in the domestic market. </p> <p>Some within the industry are strongly advocating for the FIO to institute an optional federal charter, while others are vehemently opposed to any movement away from the current state-based system. Additionally, concerns have been expressed that data and document requests made by the FIO pursuant to its limited subpoena power may be duplicative of requests from state regulators, which would result in an added burden on the industry. </p> <p>Actions taken by the FIO will be met with both criticism and support, regardless of how the office exercises its authority. </p> <p>Q3: Some consumer protection advocates claim there are gaps in insurance regulation and coverage. How will the FIO address these claims in a way that will be approved by the industry? </p> <p>A3: Insurance is heavily regulated. Consumer advocates, for the most part, support the current state-based regulatory system. Concerns have been raised by consumer advocates regarding the availability of insurance products to poor and minority populations, the transparency in underwriting processes and whether certain underwriting practices are unfairly discriminatory. </p> <p>Regarding consumer protection, the FIO is tasked under the Dodd-Frank Act with monitoring the extent to which underserved communities and consumers, minorities, and low-to-moderate income persons have access to affordable insurance products. How the FIO will carry out this task is far from certain. Insurers rarely collect information about an insured's ethnicity or minority status. In fact, some states even prohibit the collection of such information. </p> <p>Additionally, it is not clear how the FIO will define the term "affordable." Affordability is a relative concept--rates are usually determined by risk factors and insurer solvency considerations. </p> <p>Q4: The FIO's report will recommend changes to modernize and improve insurance regulation in the United States, but many industry representatives and consumer advocates alike have expressed the importance of the agency's role outside of the United States. How important is the FIO's leadership role on international matters? </p> <p>A4: The FIO's role as an advocate for the United States insurance industry internationally is arguably the office's most important task. Under Dodd Frank, the FIO is specifically tasked with coordinating federal efforts, developing federal policy, and consulting with states regarding the prudential aspects of international insurance matters. </p> <p>Prior to the FIO, there has never been a single, unified group or organization that could negotiate international agreements on behalf of the country. While the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has been active and involved internationally, it is not a government entity. The NAIC has members with diverse views and it cannot always speak for all members on international matters. Moreover, the NAIC has no authority to enter into binding agreements with foreign countries on behalf of member states. </p> <p>Both domestically and abroad, regulators are developing methods to monitor insurers beyond their national boundaries to ensure the financial stability of their domestic markets. The International Association of Insurance Supervisors, for example, is developing a framework for interactions and information sharing among regulators called ComFrame. Also, the European Commission is working to develop and implement Solvency II, which will include a group solvency component. </p> <p>There are some immediate concerns for the industry. For example, the EU will soon determine whether the American regulatory system is equivalent under Solvency II. During the Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum that took place on January 10, 2012, Director McRaith explained that a priority for the FIO will be to ensure that the regulatory systems in other countries do not disadvantage insurers in the United States. </p> <p>Q5: FIO Director Michael McRaith has received close to 150 letters from the industry with recommendations on how to improve the regulatory system. How will these various opinions regarding oversight affect the outcome of the report? </p> <p>A5: Director McRaith has already expressed his appreciation for the industry's recommendations on how to improve and modernize the national insurance regulatory system. In his statement before the Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum, he stated that he was struck by the diversity of views he received regarding the insurance industry. </p> <p>Director McRaith has also recognized that it was not possible for the modernization report to address every issue that warrants improvement or modernization. While the upcoming modernization report is currently receiving a significant amount of attention, the FIO will issue additional reports in the future. Specifically, the FIO is scheduled to release a report on the reinsurance industry later this year. The FIO is also tasked with reporting annually on the insurance industry. Director McRaith explained at the Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum that he expects the FIO will be "prolific." </p> <p>It seems likely that the comment letters that were submitted will continue to be important after the modernization report is released. The issues raised by the comments may very well form the basis of future discussions or reports. Also, the record will help members of Congress analyze the information in the modernization report. </p> <p>For more information about the Federal Insurance Office, please visit: http://www.nldhlaw.com/CM/EmergingTopics/Federal-Insurance-Office.asp . </p> <p>With offices in the United States and London, Nelson Levine de Luca &amp; Horst ( www.nldhlaw.com ) provides comprehensive legal services to the insurance industry in the areas of reinsurance, regulatory, complex litigation, class action, coverage, subrogation, bad faith consulting, and insurance fraud. </p>urn:uuid:871421aa-0391-40bf-a545-7af27fbdcce1I need people to Google Plus 1 us. You have to sign in to your Google account or sign up if you don't have one. Then search for Reliable Insurance Katy TX. Once you see our site www.reliableins.net, there will be a icon +1 next to our link. Please cl...Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:49:57 -0600<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:1}"><span style="font-size: 16px;">I need people to Google Plus 1 us. You have to sign in to your Google account or sign up if you don't have one. Then search for Reliable Insurance Katy TX. Once you see our site </span><a href="http://www.reliableins.net/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow nofollow"><span style="font-size: 16px;">www.reliableins.net</span></a><span style="font-size: 16px;">, there will be a icon +1 next to our link. Please click that. This will help our Gogle searches. I would greatly appreciate it. If you need help promoting your business, charity, blog, etc, I will do the same for you. Just let me know. You can also like us on Facebook if you like search Reliable Insurance Managers local business.</span></h6>urn:uuid:4e4fe557-e808-410c-b9c7-e9554cd94ee7The capsizing of the Costa Concordia could not have come at a worse time for the cruise industry &mdash; right at the start of the peak booking season. Even if passengers aren&rsquo;t scared away, the accident will cost hundreds of millions of dollar...Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:09:45 -0600The capsizing of the Costa Concordia could not have come at a worse time for the cruise industry &mdash; right at the start of the peak booking season. <p>Even if passengers aren&rsquo;t scared away, the accident will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.</p> <div class="article_body" sizset="6" sizcache="30"><article /> <p>It&rsquo;s too early to tell exactly how much insurance firms will have to pay out to cover the damage to the ship and loss of life, but analysts have estimated that claims could total at least $500 million. One went as far as to say the total bill for insurers could reach $1 billion</p> <p>&ldquo;We would be surprised if any single player had more than 5 percent-10 percent of the risk,&rdquo; Numis analyst Nicholas Johnson wrote in a note. He said the risk is similar to that of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, where no one company had more than 2 percent of the total insurance liability.</p> <p>Costa&rsquo;s parent company, Miami-based Carnival Corp., which operates 101 ships under several brands including Carnival, Cunard, Holland America, Princess and Seabourn, did not respond to requests for an interview about its insurance coverage. But the company is responsible for at least $40 million in insurance deductibles.</p> <p>At least 11 people died in the accident with nearly two dozen others still missing.</p> <p>The capsizing of the Concordia in the waters off Italy comes at the start of a three-month period that is the busiest time of year for bookings, known in the industry as wave season. Sales now set the tone for the rest of the year, which could be affected if passengers are frightened off by the chilling images of the stricken vessel.</p> <p>Although the industry has been slowly recovering from the Great Recession, this incident could further damage bookings.</p> <p>&ldquo;The publicity is just going to kill them,&rdquo; said Blake Fleetwood, president of Cook Travel. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ll stay quiet for a week or two. Then Carnival will have a blitz of sales. So for the consumer, it&rsquo;s going to be a great time to buy a cruise.&rdquo;</p> <p>Other cruise lines will follow, slashing prices, Fleetwood said.</p> <p>&ldquo;The baby boomer crowd, which the cruise lines are counting on to fill their cabins, is going to be especially spooked by this incident,&rdquo; he added.</p> <p>But some experts doubt the tragedy, which was extremely rare, will scare off travelers.</p> <p>Stewart Chiron, CEO of CruiseGuy.com, a cruise marketing company, thinks the only group turned off by the accident would be first-time cruisers who were already on the fence about booking. Roughly 19 million people took a cruise last year he said without incident.</p> <p>&ldquo;People understand that this is an accident,&rdquo; Chiron said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there will even be a hiccup.&rdquo;</p> <p>Gauging cruise demand is tricky. Unlike airplane tickets or hotel rooms which are mostly booked online by vacationers themselves, a large bulk of cruises are sold through travel agents who are paid a commission for each stateroom sold. Tour companies also book large blocks of rooms in advance from the lines and then resell them at a profit.</p> <p>Chiron notes that the only real way to judge demand is to see if cruise lines slash prices.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> </div>urn:uuid:f9c42eee-b32c-47c8-8881-09c5da6f2c96In Texas, some 690,000 consumers may receive approximately $160 million in insurance rebates in August. The money comes as part of the medical loss ratio provision of the Affordable Care Act, which dictates that insurers must pay at least 80% of the ...Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:35:35 -0600In Texas, some 690,000 consumers may receive approximately $160 million in insurance rebates in August. The money comes as part of the medical loss ratio provision of the Affordable Care Act, which dictates that insurers must pay at least 80% of the money they collect from premiums on medical care and if they cannot meet this standard they must return the money to policyholders. This may be good news for consumers, but state regulators are looking to cut the amount of rebates by three quarters. <p>The state&rsquo;s Insurance Department is looking for approval from the federal government to phase in the new requirement slowly over time. Initially, regulators had sought to be exempt from the medical loss ratio provision entirely. Their efforts were rejected by the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency overseeing the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, on grounds that insurers could meet the standard with no trouble. The state has been laboring for an alternative to the rule, claiming that the state&rsquo;s insurance industry would be destabilized if the insurers were to succumb to the law.</p> <div class="adsense adsense-midtext" style="margin: 12px; float: right;"><ins style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 180px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline-table; height: 90px; visibility: visible; padding-top: 0px;border: medium none;"><ins id="aswift_3_anchor" style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 180px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; height: 90px; visibility: visible; padding-top: 0px;border: medium none;"><iframe name="aswift_3" width="180" height="90" id="aswift_3" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px;" allowtransparency="allowtransparency"></iframe></ins></ins></div> <p>Several consumer advocacy groups have decried the efforts of the Department of Insurance. The money returned to consumers could have serious, beneficial implications for the state&rsquo;s economy and redeem some of the trust lost between policyholders and their insurance companies.</p> <p>The Department of Health and Human Services is expected to make a determination on the matter within the next two weeks.</p> <p>Check out more insurance news and updates for consumers and industry professionals.</p> <p>Related posts:</p> <ol> <li>New healthcare rule says no tax for consumers who obtain rebates from insurers</li> <li>Texas lawmakers look to rebuke application for medical loss ratio exemption</li> <li>American Medical Association suggests physicians and consumers play a governing role in state-run health insurance exchanges</li> <li>Louisiana insurance rebates remain unclaimed by policyholders eligible to claim the money</li> <li>Texas Consumer Health Assistance Program to come to an end after a short year of operations</li> </ol> <p><a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:0f44d2dc-5148-4f2d-ad59-1ad2a359b2d4Though its demise drew little attention because of the partisan year-end brawl over the payroll tax cut extension in Congress, a key mortgage financing benefit disappeared at the end of December: the ability of large numbers of home buyers and owners...Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:54:21 -0600<p>Though its demise drew little attention because of the partisan year-end brawl over the payroll tax cut extension in Congress, a key mortgage financing benefit disappeared at the end of December: the ability of large numbers of home buyers and owners to write off the premiums they pay for mortgage insurance.&nbsp;</p> <div class="ad_body" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&amp;ai=BE_ysfzkUT6ScFcvS2wX25vDxCZaqzfABtr3FlR-W9MjfXfDivAIQARgBIMeKngg4AFCP9o_Z-P____8BYMn2i43kpKwToAHGiLL-A7IBD3d3dy5sYXRpbWVzLmNvbboBCjIwMHgyMDBfanPIAQLaAVBodHRwOi8vd3d3LmxhdGltZXMuY29tL2J1c2luZXNzL3JlYWxlc3RhdGUvbGEtZmktaGFybmV5LTIwMTIwMTE1LDAsNjczNTMzOC5zdG9yeYACAcACBsgClsTRCKgDAegD0gPoA5YC6AMm9QMCAAAE9QMgAAAAiAYBoAYC&amp;num=1&amp;cid=5Gjcxbuz5sx9VdHoEBdObNZv&amp;sig=AOD64_1VTu938Smnn6PMyLB1lWn--TV3tg&amp;client=ca-pub-0227802054925200&amp;adurl=http://www.amerisave.com/%3Fsource%3D3979" target="_blank"></a></div> The loss of that tax deduction &mdash; plus mandatory new fees imposed by Congress on all new conventional and FHA loans &mdash; could effectively increase the costs of homeownership this year. <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The expiration of mortgage insurance deductibility will hit many low-down-payment conventional loans originated since 2007, plus virtually all new mortgages closed this year whose down payment is less than 20%. Though industry experts do not have precise numbers, their estimates range into the millions for existing owners and new buyers potentially touched by the deductibility termination. Borrowers using guaranteed veterans (VA) and rural housing loans, whose down payments can drop to zero, also are affected.</p> <p>The change in the law took effect Jan. 1 along with the expiration of 58 other tax code benefits that Congress failed to renew, such as credits for home energy improvements, credits for builders of energy-efficient houses and deductions for state and local sales tax payments. They were all components of what would have been an annual "tax extenders" bill authorizing continuation of relatively noncontroversial expiring benefits for another year or more. Congress could still reauthorize all or some of the write-offs retroactively this year, but the political atmosphere on Capitol Hill raises doubts about the timing of that scenario.</p> <p>The mortgage insurance premium deduction dates to legislation enacted in 2006. It allows buyers and refinancers who use either private mortgage insurance or federal insurance or guarantees, and who itemize on their federal tax returns, to write off their premiums. Borrowers who are single or married and filing jointly with adjusted gross incomes of $100,000 or less can write off 100% of their annual mortgage insurance premiums. Married homeowners filing singly can write off 50% of premiums. Borrowers with incomes above $100,000 may qualify for partial deductions on a sliding scale.</p> <p>In many cases, the post-tax savings for these borrowers are significant. New buyers with an income around $100,000 and a mortgage of $200,000 would save between $600 and $1,000 a year, depending on their credit score and loan-to-value ratio, according to MGIC, one of the largest private mortgage insurers in the country. For households with lower incomes, the effect would be less, depending on their marginal federal tax brackets.</p> <p>David Stevens, who served as Federal Housing Administration commissioner and is now chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Assn., says the loss of deductibility of mortgage insurance hits a segment of consumers &mdash; middle-income and first-time buyers &mdash; "where affordability is especially important."</p> <p>But mortgage insurance was not the only housing-related casualty of the pre-Christmas skirmishing. As part of the temporary extension of the payroll tax cut, negotiators tacked an unusual provision that raises fees on most conventional mortgages &mdash; those originated for sale to or guarantee by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.</p> <p>Starting in April, Fannie and Freddie will impose a surtax on the guarantee fees they charge private lenders equal to one-tenth of 1%. Lenders are virtually certain to pass those fees to consumers in the form of a higher note rate or loan charges upfront. Industry estimates suggest that the surtax could add an eighth of a percentage point to rates and raise costs to borrowers over the life of the loan by more than $4,000 on a $200,000 mortgage.</p> <p>Unlike standard guarantee fees, which are used by Fannie and Freddie to defray loan-default expenses, the new funds will be sent directly to the Treasury to help pay for the $36-billion cost of the temporary payroll tax cut. FHA loans also will be hit with a fee increase by the payroll bill, raising the annual premiums the FHA charges new borrowers by one-tenth of a point.</p> <p>At a time when the Federal Reserve is warning that there can be no broad economic improvement until housing recovers, it may strike the public as odd policy to raise costs for home buyers and refinancers to fund unrelated, temporary tax relief. But that's not the way they saw it on Capitol Hill in the rush to holiday recess.</p> <p>Bottom line: The mortgage insurance deductibility problem may disappear if mortgage insurance gets included in an election-year "extender" package. But the fee hikes on most new mortgages are here for the foreseeable future, so factor them into your housing budget.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:80cf7abd-afa1-471c-bac1-4f88ef09c6ccTexas insurance regulators expect a decision soon from the Obama Administration on whether they can delay forcing insurers to pay rebates to health plan members if the companies exceed new medical loss ratio requirements. The Texas Insurance Departme...Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:17:43 -0600<p>Texas insurance regulators expect a decision soon from the Obama Administration on whether they can delay forcing insurers to pay rebates to health plan members if the companies exceed new medical loss ratio requirements.</p> <p>The Texas Insurance Department wants to give insurers three years to meet the provisions contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, for it fears smaller carriers will either stop selling health insurance in the state or close, according to an NPR report.</p> <p>Six states have requested delays and received approval to phase-in the MLR requirement, while eight others had their requests denied. A decision on Texas&rsquo; request to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is expected soon.</p> <p>The medical loss ratio took effect Jan. 1, 2011, and has cost agents and brokers up to 50% of their commissions, according to a U.S Government Accounting Office evaluation last year.</p> <p>The rebates are mandated if carriers spend more than 20% of individual and small-group premiums, or 15% of large-group premiums on administrative costs, including agent and broker commissions. The rebates are part of the federal health reform law designed to ensure carriers contain profits.</p> <p>The landmark health reform law passed in March 2010 is subject to a U.S. Supreme Court review and nearly 20 other federal court challenges.</p> <p>A spokesman for America&rsquo;s Health Insurance Plans told NPR that the MLR requirement focuses cost containment effort on insurers, without dealing with the costs of doctors and hospitals, as well as drug and device companies.</p> <p>Maine, which has three individual health insurers, obtained a waiver from the MLR requirement.</p> <p>Texas has more than 30 individual health insurance providers.</p> <p>Texas&rsquo; Democratic members of Congress want federal officials to decline the delay request. Lloyd Doggett, an Austin, Texas, congressman who chairs the Texas Democratic delegation, told NPR the delay request is &ldquo;nothing more than an early Christmas gift from Gov. [Rick] Perry&rsquo;s allies to insurance companies.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:aba611bb-6dca-4d0f-ad93-5ce51c893475Last month, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services awarded 23 states&nbsp;approximately $296 million in bonuses for increasing the number of children enrolled in health insurance programs. The bonuses, funded by the Children&rsquo;s Health ...Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:43:28 -0600Last month, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services awarded 23 states&nbsp;approximately $296 million in bonuses for increasing the number of children enrolled in health insurance programs. <p>The bonuses, funded by the Children&rsquo;s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA), came a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report stating that about 1.2 million more children have health insurance in the United States than three years prior.</p> <p>According to the most recent estimates, approximately 93 percent of the nation&rsquo;s children now have some form of health insurance coverage, a 2 percent increase from federal levels around 2008. When the Children&rsquo;s Health Insurance Program was initially created in 1997, the national statistics hovered around 86 percent.</p> <p>In addition to providing performance bonuses for states that simplify and increase coverage for children, CHIRPA provisions allow states to enroll children using information culled from other public programs, as well as automatic eligibility for babies whose mothers are already covered by Medicaid or CHIP programs.</p> <p>Cindy Mann, deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, said that although the nation faces &ldquo;serious fiscal challenges,&rdquo; she still believes that children&rsquo;s health should remain &ldquo;a top priority&rdquo; for states. &ldquo;Not only have more states qualified for performance bonuses in the past,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;but many have continued to improve the efficiency of their programs.&rdquo;</p> <p>In 2010, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services awarded more than $217 million in CHIPRA Performance Bonuses to 16 states, all of which qualified for performance bonuses again in 2011.</p> <p>States qualifying for FY2011 CHIPRA Performance Bonuses include: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:ff210c88-9d86-45a3-abae-ea5c77febbc2Mitt Romney heads into Tuesday&rsquo;s New Hampshire primary taking a lot of heat for telling voters Monday, &ldquo;I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.&rdquo; But for health policy wonks, what&rsquo;s interesting about Romney...Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:20:16 -0600Mitt Romney heads into Tuesday&rsquo;s New Hampshire primary taking a lot of heat for telling voters Monday, &ldquo;I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.&rdquo; But for health policy wonks, what&rsquo;s interesting about Romney&rsquo;s remarks is the part right before that, where the Republican front-runner lays out a theory of how the health insurance marketplace should work. Via ThinkProgress, here&rsquo;s the full quote:<a name="excerpt"></a> <blockquote>ROMNEY: I want people to be able to own insurance if they wish to, and to buy it for themselves and perhaps keep it for the rest of their life and to choose among different policies offered from companies across the nation. I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep people healthy. It also means if you don&rsquo;t like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. If someone doesn&rsquo;t give me the good service I need, I&rsquo;m going to go get somebody else to provide that service to me.</blockquote> <p>Romney steers clear of discussing health care mandates, noting that he wants Americans to &ldquo;own insurance if they wish to.&rdquo; But the argument sounds like a defense of the health-care exchanges in both Romney&rsquo;s and Obama&rsquo;s health care laws&mdash;marketplaces where individuals can compare and purchase health care plans. The idea behind building an exchange is to organize the way Americans shop for insurance, all in one place, and have insurance companies compete for their business.</p> <p>Democrats are seizing on the &ldquo;firing&rdquo; line as a political liability and, policy-wise, insurance companies likely wouldn&rsquo;t be a fan of this approach either. If Americans could hire and fire insurance companies as we please - and also could buy insurance &ldquo;if they wish too&rdquo; - you would probably see a whole lot of people hoping onto an insurance plan when they&rsquo;re sick, and then cutting off enrollment when their medical needs subside. That would likely drive up the cost of health insurance. This is the reason why most health plans have open enrollment periods, specific points in the year where subscribers can opt to alter their health insurance policy.</p> <p>Another policy solution is the one that Romney enacted in 2006: require all citizens, healthy and sick, to purchase health insurance. In other words, the individual mandate. </p> <p>Massachusetts actually opted to do both under its health reforms: It requires the purchase of insurance and sets up an open enrollment period. That precludes Bay State residents from choosing a relatively bare-bones plan, but switching to a more comprehensive one if they were to require more intensive medical treatment. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:d99e9d77-902e-435d-ad8e-bb48ba5948ceThe Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts struck down a state law in effect since 2009 that barred some legal immigrants residing in the state from receiving subsidized health insurance coverage. The court ruled that the law violated the immigrants...Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:48:56 -0600The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts struck down a state law in effect since 2009 that barred some legal immigrants residing in the state from receiving subsidized health insurance coverage. <p>The court ruled that the law violated the immigrants&rsquo; right to equal protection under the Massachusetts Constitution. As such, nearly 30,000 legal immigrants who have lived in the state for less than five years will now have the same access to insurance subsidies under the state&rsquo;s Commonwealth Connector insurance program, as all other residents.</p> <p>But the ruling comes at a cost. The state estimates it will need to come up with as much as $150 million to pay for the insurance subsidies.</p> <p>&ldquo;We recognize that our decision will impose a significant financial burden on the commonwealth,&rdquo; wrote Justice Robert J. Cordy in the unanimous ruling, while noting that "the fiscal consequences of any ... judgment on the merits cannot be permitted to intrude on consideration of the case before us. If the plaintiffs' right to equal protection of the laws has been violated by the enactment of (the 2009 law), then it is our duty to say so.&rdquo;</p> <p>In making its ruling, the court rejected the states main defense of the law which was based on the federal government&rsquo;s policy of only providing full coverage to legal immigrants after they have resided in the country for five or more years.</p> <p>&ldquo;The Legislature may not lean on federal policy as a crutch to absolve it of examining whether its own invidious discrimination is truly necessary,&rdquo; Cordy concluded.</p> <p>The original law, concocted in 2009, came as the state was facing a $1.5 billion budgetary shortfall. Still faced with a tight budget, the state will be hard pressed to find the additional $150 million to pay for the additional subsidies.</p> <p>Jay Gonzalez, state administration and finance secretary, said in a press conference after the decision that the ruling will complicate what is already a very difficult budget process. &ldquo;However, we respect the Court&rsquo;s decision and we will work expeditiously to identify the resources required and the operational steps that need to be taken to integrate all eligible, legal immigrants into the Commonwealth Care program.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:e4b7e44d-ffb4-48d0-9424-b2d6664f39f2 When buying life insurance, don't choose a policy before you understand the financial needs of your beneficiaries. Damon Bates, a vice president at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., says most people's thinking is backwards when it comes to l...Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:00:43 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <div class="article-text KonaBody"> <p>When buying life insurance, don't choose a policy before you understand the financial needs of your beneficiaries.</p> <p>Damon Bates, a vice president at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., says most people's thinking is backwards when it comes to life insurance. They decide on the product they want -- whether it's basic term life insurance, permanent life insurance or a combination -- before they consider how much protection they need.</p> <p>"You really need to figure out how much life insurance you want and then think about which product, in that distinct order," Bates says.</p> <p>The best way to determine how much life insurance -- if any -- you should buy is with a needs analysis. A new study by the international insurance consulting group LIMRA finds that people are 1.5 times more likely to buy life insurance if they first do a needs analysis.</p> <p><b>Analyze current and future expenses</b></p> <p>A good needs analysis will look at immediate, ongoing and future expenses, says Curt Lundquist, a financial consultant with Allstate Financial.</p> <p>Immediate expenses include any outstanding medical bills and the cost of a funeral, he says. Ongoing expenses include your mortgage and any other outstanding debt you have.</p> <p>People typically want their families to be able to pay off their debts when they die. "Debts are a much bigger issue today than they have been in the past," Lundquist says.</p> <p>"The mortgage is another thing you'll want to pay off at death because it's such a big part of the budget," he notes.</p> <p>Ongoing and future expenses might include sending your children to college. Consider whether your children are likely to seek advanced degrees and spend more time in school. "The more detail you can provide about the cost of college, the better," he says.</p> <p><b>What you're worth to your family</b></p> <p>Bates says his company looks at your lifetime economic value to help you determine the amount of life insurance to buy. The formula is based on your answers to these questions:</p> <ul> <li>How old are you?</li> <li>How much do you earn before taxes?</li> <li>What's the annual value of the things you do for your family, such as chauffeuring kids, cutting the lawn, or whatever your survivors would have to pay else someone to do?</li> <li>How much do you pay in taxes?</li> <li>How much do you receive in employee benefits, such as health insurance and contributions to retirement savings?</li> <li>At what age do you plan to retire?</li> <li>How much do your beneficiaries need for personal necessities such as food, clothing and transportation?</li> </ul> <p>A good needs analysis also considers how much the death benefit from the life insurance policy is likely to earn if it's invested, says Larry Ginsburg of Ginsburg Financial Advisors in Oakland, Calif., a longtime board member of the United Policyholders consumer advocacy group.</p> <p>Be honest when doing a needs analysis, Ginsburg advises. The insurance company selling you a policy isn't likely to ask for tax returns to verify the information you've provided, but the final analysis will be only as good as your answers.</p> <p><b>Online life insurance calculators</b></p> <p>You can find calculators online to do your own needs analysis. For example, Insure.com offers a life insurance calculator.</p> <p>"Some folks are comfortable taking a pass at it themselves before they go and talk to an agent," Bates says. Others prefer to have an agent do it for them.</p> <p>Lundquist says that while online calculators are a good starting place, everyone's needs are different, "so one form can't work for all of us." A good agent or financial planner will start with a basic form, he says, but customize the questions "and go deeper" to come up with a more accurate figure.</p> <p>Ginsburg recommends asking several agents to do separate analyses. "You should get more than one proposal from more than one life insurance company so that you can compare life insurance quotes."</p> <p>He says you should review all your policies -- including auto, home and disability insurance coverage -- to be sure they're meeting your needs. "If your goals and objectives change, so could your insurance needs," he says.</p> </div> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a><br /> </div>urn:uuid:5e8bf382-09d6-4cdc-a0c0-68504ba0e2a2Seventy percent of smokers say they&rsquo;d like to quit, and now, just three days into the new year, many may already be struggling to stick to their resolution to make 2012 a smoke-free year. If quitting were easy, after all, chances are good that ...Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:32:55 -0600Seventy percent of smokers say they&rsquo;d like to quit, and now, just three days into the new year, many may already be struggling to stick to their resolution to make 2012 a smoke-free year. If quitting were easy, after all, chances are good that nearly one in five adults wouldn&rsquo;t still be smokers, a figure that hasn&rsquo;t budged much in several years. <p>Smoking is such a familiar health hazard that some experts say it doesn&rsquo;t get the attention it deserves; the focus is often on other lifestyle-related conditions, especially obesity. But smoking is still the No. 1 cause of preventable death in this country. Nearly half a million people die prematurely because of smoking-related illnesses, including lung cancer, heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p> <p>Most smokers need some sort of assistance to quit, whether it&rsquo;s counseling, support groups or medication to help reduce nicotine cravings. But getting that help can be difficult.</p> <p>Scrambling to address budget problems, states this year will spend less than 2 percent of their tobacco-tax and tobacco-settlement billions on programs to help people quit smoking or prevent them from starting , according to a recent report by a coalition of public-health organizations. In the past four years, state spending on tobacco prevention and cessation has declined by 36 percent, to $457 million.</p> <p>Tobacco-related health-care spending is nearly $100 billion annually, according to the CDC.</p> <p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a travesty,&rdquo; says Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. &ldquo;These programs more than pay for themselves.&rdquo;</p> <p><strong>Carrots And Sticks</strong></p> <p>While public funding falters, a growing number of companies offer smoking-cessation programs to their workers. Last year, two-thirds of companies with 200 or more workers offered such programs, while 31 percent of smaller companies did so, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation&rsquo;s annual survey of employer-sponsored health benefits. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)</p> <p>At the same time that they offer a helping hand to quit, more companies are also penalizing employees who don&rsquo;t kick the habit by hitting them with higher health insurance premiums.</p> <p>At firms with more than 20,000 employees, 24 percent vary premiums based on whether someone smokes, as do 12 percent of companies with 500 or more workers, according to the 2011 survey of employer-sponsored health plans by human resources consultant Mercer.</p> <p>Public-health advocates generally agree that this punitive approach isn&rsquo;t ideal. &ldquo;The issue isn&rsquo;t smokers, it&rsquo;s smoking,&rdquo; says McGoldrick. Charging people higher premiums may just make smokers drop their coverage, he says.</p> <p>But employers argue that charging smokers more is only fair. &ldquo;The cost of medical care for smokers is considerably higher,&rdquo; says Helen Darling, chief executive of the National Business Group on Health, an employer group. &ldquo;Employers are increasingly saying that if someone costs the pool more, they should pay more.&rdquo;</p> <p>Darling points out that companies that go this route typically offer free smoking-cessation services and give employees plenty of notice before implementing the change.</p> <p><strong>A Quitter&rsquo;s Story</strong></p> <p>For Tommy Piver, 59, the combination of pricier cigarettes and looming health insurance penalties finally motivated the two-pack-a-day smoker to give up the habit he&rsquo;d started at age 13. Increased taxes had caused the price of a pack of cigarettes at the gas station near his home in Naples, Fla., to double within a year, to $5. Then he got a notice that his insurance carrier was going to triple the health insurance premium and reduce the amount it covered for all sorts of care from 90 percent to 70 percent for smokers.</p> <p>&ldquo;Kicking and screaming,&rdquo; Piver quit on Jan. 1, 2010. About a week later, he saw a television ad for an online stop-smoking program developed by Legacy, a nonprofit created under the settlement between the states and the tobacco industry. Piver joined the free EX program and hasn&rsquo;t had a cigarette in two years.</p> <p>The EX campaign is an &ldquo;excellent, science-based tool&rdquo; for smokers who want to quit, says Thomas Glynn, director of cancer science and trends for the American Cancer Society. Another option is a national toll-free line, 1-800-QUIT-NOW, which routes callers to free support services, including free medication in the handful of states that provide it, says Glynn.</p> <p>The 2010 federal health law expanded coverage for smoking cessation, though not to the degree that advocates wanted. Under the law, states must provide tobacco-cessation coverage for all pregnant women in their Medicaid programs at no cost. But anti-smoking activists would like broader Medicaid coverage requirements: Although&rsquo; percent of adults smoke overall, 31 percent of adults living below the poverty line are smokers.</p> <p>The health law also requires that new health plans &ndash; those that have either just begun or have changed their benefits sufficiently to lose grandfathered status under the law &ndash; screen adults for tobacco use and provide free stop-smoking interventions.</p> <p>Exactly how much intervention is required isn&rsquo;t spelled out in the law; that will be up to federal rulemakers to decide. Smokers typically make several attempts to quit before they succeed. Advocates hope that federal guidelines will provide coverage for more than a single four-session counseling module, for example, or a standard 12-week round of medication. &ldquo;Data is accumulating that 12 weeks is not enough,&rdquo; says Glynn.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:070b58f1-e2a9-4bb8-adb2-897ac47770f5<img src='http://www.reliableins.net/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/iStock_000004333736XSmall.jpg' align='left' />The Value of Accidental Death Coverage Some deaths are expected. Following months or years of illness, an expected death may even come as a relief that ends the suffering of the now deceased and allows his or her survivors to come together and celebr...Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:11:26 -0600<p><strong><img src="/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/iStock_000004333736XSmall.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 200px; float: left; margin-right: 7px;" alt="Life Insurance" />The Value of Accidental Death Coverage</strong></p> <p>Some deaths are expected. Following months or years of illness, an expected death may even come as a relief that ends the suffering of the now deceased and allows his or her survivors to come together and celebrate the deceased&rsquo;s life. Other deaths are sudden; the result of an accident that no one could have prepared for. These deaths take life much too soon and leave the deceased person&rsquo;s family reeling. </p> <p>An accidental death and dismemberment rider increases your life insurance policy&rsquo;s death benefit in the event that your death is caused by an accident. This additional benefit can&rsquo;t stop the pain your family would feel if they lost you suddenly, but it could help them deal with the sudden an unexpected financial loss.</p> <p><strong>Accidental Death</strong></p> <p>You have built a life for your family based on the income that you presently make and that you expect to make in the future. Without the means to replace that income after your death, your family may be in deep financial trouble. While your existing life insurance policy can help clear up some of this strain, the additional benefit found in an accidental death rider could ensure that they are able to meet obligations that you did not anticipate when you initially took out the policy and set the death benefit. In addition, it can help them get the grievance counseling they need to move past the emotional strain of your death and the resulting anxiety. </p> <p>Accidental death riders do have exclusions that you should read. In order to qualify for the payment of benefits, the death must be the result of an accident. Some deaths caused by events such as acts of war, may be excluded.</p> <p><strong>Dismemberment</strong></p> <p>AD&amp;D riders provide a percentage of your death benefit to you, rather than your beneficiaries, should you suffer the loss of a limb, your sight, or your hearing (see your policy for exceptions and details). Having access to a portion of your death benefit can be extremely helpful in assisting your family to adjust to this loss and the medical costs it creates. It can also help fill the gap between the date you experience the loss and the waiting period of your disability policy. </p> <p>If you&rsquo;re interested in learning more about how an accidental death and dismemberment rider can help you and your family be protected against an early, unexpected loss, give us a call. </p> <p>At Reliable Insurance, we have been serving Texas since 1996. We specialize in <strong><a href="http://www.reliableins.net/life/default.aspx">Texas Life Insurance</a></strong> as well as home, business and car insurance in Houston, Katy and surrounding areas in Texas. Contact us today at (713) 227-7283 for questions or to get a free <strong><a href="http://www.reliableins.net/life/insurance_quote.aspx">Texas Life Insurance quote</a></strong>.</p>urn:uuid:6f09289c-e4bb-4056-83de-bdb5eecba6dfChild and teen obesity is a growing problem, and the latest trend in treatment methods is bariatric surgery. But, as NPR reports today, many insurance companies won&rsquo;t cover weight loss surgery for teens. But for all the outrageous exemptions th...Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:53:16 -0600Child and teen obesity is a growing problem, and the latest trend in treatment methods is bariatric surgery. But, as NPR reports today, many insurance companies won&rsquo;t cover weight loss surgery for teens. But for all the outrageous exemptions that insurance companies make, I have to say: I don&rsquo;t think this is one of them. Why should insurance companies cover a high-risk surgery that has questionable effectiveness for teens&hellip;many of whom probably haven&rsquo;t had adequate time to test whether nutrition and exercise could work? <p itxtNodeId="498" itxtHarvested="0">NPR reports that many private insurance companies frequently decline the $20,000 procedure because of risk and unproven effectiveness, but Medicaid and the Children&rsquo;s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is more likely to cover it:</p> <blockquote itxtNodeId="497" itxtHarvested="0"> <p itxtNodeId="502" itxtHarvested="0">If kids are covered by&nbsp;Medicaid or CHIP, the Children&rsquo;s Health Insurance Program, &ldquo;We know they&rsquo;re covered in Texas,&rdquo; says&nbsp;Trish Walters-Salas, a nurse case manager who handles insurance authorizations for the adolescent bariatric surgery program at Texas Children&rsquo;s Hospital in Houston. &ldquo;But if it&rsquo;s commercial insurance, it&rsquo;s employer-driven and it&rsquo;s based on what the employer has selected for employees.&rdquo;</p> </blockquote> <p itxtNodeId="496" itxtHarvested="0">But weight loss surgery champions will sometimes &ldquo;get around&rdquo; insurance policies or pressure companies into covering the surgery, according to NPR:</p> <blockquote itxtNodeId="495" itxtHarvested="0"> <p itxtNodeId="508" itxtHarvested="0">At some companies, bariatric surgery may be specifically excluded for anyone under age 18, says Walters-Salas, the Texas nurse. If that&rsquo;s the case, &ldquo;then forget it,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;But if it&rsquo;s simply not a covered benefit, there are ways to get around it.&rdquo;</p> <p itxtNodeId="507" itxtHarvested="0">Walters-Salas is quick to pick up the phone to call decision-makers, whether it&rsquo;s the medical director at an insurance company or a corporate executive, to persuade them to cover the surgery.</p> <p itxtNodeId="506" itxtHarvested="0">She called the president of a company once to lay out a case for covering the surgery in a 15-year-old. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;Here&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re up against,&rsquo; &rdquo; she remembers. &ldquo;This child is not going to make it to her 20<sup itxtNodeId="509" itxtHarvested="0">th</sup>&nbsp;birthday.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p> <p itxtNodeId="505" itxtHarvested="0">The hard sell worked. She tells parents who think their child needs surgical help to keep pushing. &ldquo;Sometimes people give up too soon,&rdquo; she says.</p> </blockquote> <p itxtNodeId="494" itxtHarvested="0">I know: Not all obesity is caused by overeating and lack of exercise. And for some, bariatric surgery could be a life-saving, last-ditch effort that insurance companies should cover. But teens aren&rsquo;t even finished growing, and researchers don&rsquo;t seem to be finished determining how effective&mdash;or safe&mdash;weight loss surgery is for kids under 18. And it seems to me that if child and teen obesity is getting to the point where insurance coverage on surgery is a common concern, then doctors and nurses should be pounding down the doors of executives at fast food companies, or the government officials who just declared pizza a vegetable in school cafeterias?</p> <p itxtNodeId="493" itxtHarvested="0">It&rsquo;s sad that we&rsquo;ll worry over who should pay for expensive surgeries, when it&rsquo;s hard to get anyone to give a damn about preventing child and teen obesity to begin with. If Medicaid, CHIP, and private insurance companies put the same money towards teaching kids the importance of a whole foods-based diet and exercise, I doubt they&rsquo;d be nearly as worried about who should pay for the new trend in teen weight loss surgery.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:0801235f-3053-49b3-a613-a3d2735bb4bdToday, the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data illustrating that the Affordable Care Act continues to significantly increase the number of young adults who have health insurance....Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:12:15 -0600<p>Today, the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data illustrating that the Affordable Care Act continues to significantly increase the number of young adults who have health insurance.</p> <div style="margin: 10px; float: right;"><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh%3Dv8/3bdd/3/0/%2a/j%3B235085763%3B0-0%3B1%3B45324742%3B2321-160/600%3B40302160/40319947/1%3B%3B~sscs%3D%3fhttp://www.lively-nation.com/ten/wctv/Capital-Discount-Bedding-115309534.html" target="_blank"></a>&nbsp;<noscript></noscript></div> <p>Because of the health care law, young adults can stay on their parents' insurance plans through age 26. This policy took effect in September 2010. Data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) shows that since September 2010, the percentage of adults aged 19-25 covered by a private health insurance plan increased significantly, with approximately 2.5 million more young adults with insurance coverage compared to the number of young adults who would have been insured without the law.</p> <p>In the South States (Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas), this equates to about 900,000 more young adults with insurance because of the law.</p> <p>What this means is that young adults like Danni McConnell can stay on her parents&rsquo; health insurance plan. Danni will be graduating from Bowling Green State University this May and does not currently have any job prospects that offer good pay and good benefits. While this is troubling her for a variety of financial reasons, one reason she is not concerned is that she has the option to stay on her parent's health insurance until she is 26. This option removes yet another hurdle from the already difficult task of getting started on her own and allows Danni to know that she is covered if anything bad happens to her.</p> <p>It is also a win for her parents. They have the peace of mind knowing that if Danni needs to go to a doctor or ER, she can without &ldquo;breaking the bank.&rdquo; After graduation, Danni plans to go out of state to pursue a graduate degree. While this is a lot of uncertainty for anyone to face, she at least knows that she will have medical coverage wherever she decides to go and can pursue her dreams without worrying about healthcare restraints.</p> <p>&ldquo;Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 2.5 million more young adults don&rsquo;t have to live with the fear and uncertainty of going without health insurance,&rdquo; said Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. &ldquo;Moms and dads around the country can breathe a little easier knowing their children are covered.&rdquo; </p> <p>Data from the first three months of 2011 showed that one million more young adults had insurance coverage compared to a year ago. The numbers announced today show a continuation of the coverage gains due to the health care law as students graduate from high school and college in May and June and otherwise would have lost coverage. </p> <p>The data released today are consistent with estimates from surveys released earlier in the year. Those surveys have shown an increase in the number and percentage of young adults 19 to 25 with health insurance coverage. Specifically, the Census Bureau and the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index Survey, as well as the NHIS release of data through March 2011, reported similar trends through early 2011. </p> <p>Today&rsquo;s results, highlighted in an HHS issue brief, show that the initial gains from the health care law have continued to grow. </p> <p>&ldquo;The data announced today show that, because of the health care law, there is a continued and consistent pattern of improved health coverage among young adults,&rdquo; said Sherry Glied, Ph.D., HHS assistant secretary for planning and evaluation. &ldquo;The Affordable Care Act has helped literally millions of young adults get the health insurance they need so they can begin their careers with the peace of mind that they&rsquo;re covered.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:e51e208b-d7a9-4b7d-80aa-c64122ee82d1 In today's economy, directors and officers of even private companies and nonprofits often become targets of claims for alleged wrongdoing or breach of a fiduciary duty to the organization. Disgruntled minority-share owners, employees, suppliers, cus...Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:51:56 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p _counted="undefined">In today's economy, directors and officers of even private companies and nonprofits often become targets of claims for alleged wrongdoing or breach of a fiduciary duty to the organization.</p> <p _counted="undefined">Disgruntled minority-share owners, employees, suppliers, customers and competitors can all bring a lawsuit against directors or officers of a private company or nonprofit. Being personally sued for actions taken in the course of performing corporate duties can financially cripple officers and directors -- even if the suit is completely groundless.</p> <p _counted="undefined">One of the tools for managing the risks of service as a director or officer is D&amp;O, or directors and officers, insurance. But organizations should beware: No two D&amp;O insurance policies are the same. A company must analyze the various D&amp;O policies carefully before selecting one.</p> <p _counted="undefined">A typical D&amp;O insurance policy promises to pay the loss incurred by a director or officer for any alleged "wrongful act" committed while acting for the company. Many D&amp;O policies also require that the insurance company advance defense costs.</p> <p _counted="undefined">Directors and officers should also understand what a D&amp;O policy doesn't cover.</p> <p _counted="undefined">For example, there is usually no coverage for claims brought by one officer or director against another officer or director, nor for personal misconduct, such as fraud, dishonesty or the willful violation of a statute or regulation. Other common exclusions are for claims arising from pollution, defamation and bodily injury and/or property damage (which are usually covered by general liability insurance), as well as claims brought outside North America.</p> <p _counted="undefined">One of the most difficult questions to answer when evaluating D&amp;O policies is how much insurance the organization should purchase. Having sufficient D&amp;O insurance is a selling point to potential board directors and officers, and having insufficient insurance may scare off talented individuals.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> <br /> </div>urn:uuid:973f2ab9-a413-48ba-8cfb-bcf8a95df6b2The TV show "Mythbusters" made news this week in a way they hadn't expected from an accident that was also unexpected: the "Mythbusters" Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman were doing an experiment using a cannon when a cannonball went awry and accidentall...Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:39:18 -0600<p>The TV show "Mythbusters" made news this week in a way they hadn't expected from an accident that was also unexpected: the "Mythbusters" Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman were doing an experiment using a cannon when a cannonball went awry and accidentally ended up going through a nearby Bay Area home and landing on a minivan. Both the home and the minivan were damaged.</p> <p>Even though it's not everyday that you hear about a cannonball damaging a home, unexpected crazy accidents do occur at home. Sometimes these accidents are so odd that they sound like something made for TV but they are real, and they happen to real people.</p> <p>Such as the time that insurance expert Kevin Alsup heard from a client whose home was filling with sewage. "His house was located at the bottom of hill, and you know that old saying that everything runs down hill," recalls Alsup, director of insurance for the Foundation Financial Group in Jacksonville, Florida. "The city was purging the sewer lines, and this guy had sewage shooting like a geyser out of all the commodes in his home."</p> <p>Luckily, Alsup's client had what's called a "water back up" endorsement on his homeowner's insurance. Alsup explains that water backup is a good idea to have on your insurance policy, if it isn't included already, because it covers water damage in a home involving a "pipe." "Many people don't carry it, because it happens very little, but when it does, it's bad," he says. The "it" is when a sewer line accident occurs, or a well pump fails and starts pumping water back into your home.</p> <p>Alsup said that if your homeowner's insurance doesn't cover water backup, adding it would cost between $15 and $20 per year.</p> <p>Besides sewage spewing into a house, other oddball accidents that might involve your homeowner's insurance include golf balls through your windows (if you happen to live near a golf course&mdash;a common occurrence in Florida where Alsup is based) or a vehicle driven into your house.</p> <p>Don't laugh. A person driving a car into a house happens more often than you might think. In these instances, Alsup says, the driver's insurance should cover any damage your home incurs, since most car insurance policies cover property damage.</p> <p>Regardless of what damages your home may incur, always document that damage with photographs and video. Of course, you should call your insurance agent as well as get an estimate on how much repairs will cost&mdash;just as I did when I was dealing with that ice dam last year. But be aware that oftentimes it doesn't make sense financially to file a claim. "If it costs $250 to repair the window the golf ball broke and your deductible is $1,000," Alsup explains, "you're not going to get a payout." Plus, the more claims you file over time, the more your insurance could cost in the long run.</p> <p>At least now you'll know what to do should a cannonball or car crash into your home!<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:77482c25-de5f-4d9f-874b-a4cd06b27fb1A new insurance commissioner has allowed State Farm to charge higher rates and deductibles in Texas. State Farm Insurance on Dec. 1 was authorized to switch many of its 1.2 million homeowner policies to a higher deductible. A word from our sponsor: ...Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:24:41 -0600<p>A new insurance commissioner has allowed State Farm to charge higher rates and deductibles in Texas.</p> <p>State Farm Insurance on Dec. 1 was authorized to switch many of its 1.2 million homeowner policies to a higher deductible.</p> <div class="clearfix" id="ad-in-text"> <p>A word from our sponsor:</p> <a href="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=2335__zoneid=79__cb=4b6d67941b__oadest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.catlinus.com%2F" target="_top"></a>Catlin is a specialty insurer and reinsurer working in partnership with businesses to provide creative risk management solutions and excellent financial security. With offices worldwide, Catlin is known for its disciplined underwriting, superior client service, diversified product offering and effective risk management solutions. Learn more at CatlinUS.com<a><span style="text-decoration: underline;">. </span> <div id="beacon_4b6d67941b" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; top: 0px; left: 0px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="" width="0" height="0" style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=2335&amp;campaignid=1294&amp;zoneid=79&amp;loc=1&amp;referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fnews%2Fsouthcentral%2F2011%2F12%2F02%2F225940.htm&amp;cb=4b6d67941b" /></span></div> </a></div> <p>The <em>Dallas Morning News</em> reports Commissioner Elanor Kitzman, who took office in August, found no reason to reject the increases. State Farm sought the changes in September.</p> <p>The new minimum deductible is 1 percent of a home&rsquo;s insured value, instead of a flat rate.</p> <p>Critics say a higher minimum deductible means less coverage.</p> <p>Kitzman also allowed an average 10 percent increase in homeowner rates. State Farm says higher discounts will reduce the actual increase to an average 1.4 percent.</p> <p>New customers have paid the rates since Oct. 15. Existing policyholders saw the changes Dec 1.</p> <p>State Farm has been embroiled in a long-running dispute with Texas insurance regulators, including former Commissioner Mike Geeslin, over alleged overcharges for homeowners insurance.</p> <p>The Texas Department of Insurance in November 2009 ordered State Farm Lloyd&lsquo;s (SFL) to refund a total of $310 million to policyholders after finding that the insurer had overcharged customers beginning in 2003. State Farm had been told in 2003 to cut its rates by 12 percent but the company sued the department and appealed. The case has been in limbo since then.</p> <p>In April 2011, State District Judge Tim Sulak in Austin ruled that State Farm must refund nearly $350 million to its policyholders. The $350 million includes interest payments and affects around 1.2 million policyholders. the company said at the time it would appeal that decision.</p> <p>Shortly after Judge Sulak&rsquo;s order, one state lawmaker canceled his policy with State Farm over its refusal to refund its policyholders. Texas State Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio announced he would terminate his policyholder relationship with State Farm Insurance Co. because of the company&rsquo;s persistent refusal to pay back customers that have been overcharged on their premiums. He had been a State Farm policyholder for than 10 years.<br /> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a></p>urn:uuid:7f65362b-a378-4c54-9f04-6ca243c622a1Many states have expanded eligibility for, and simplified access to, the children's Medicaid program. This has helped shrink the number of uninsured children from 6.9 million in 2008 to 5.9 million in 2010. Experts say the Affordable Care Act, the fe...Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:02:57 -0600<p class="inside-copy">Many states have expanded eligibility for, and simplified access to, the children's Medicaid program. This has helped shrink the number of uninsured children from 6.9 million in 2008 to 5.9 million in 2010. Experts say the Affordable Care Act, the federal health care overhaul that requires states to maintain income eligibility levels and discourages other barriers to coverage, has played a key role in the improvement.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Overall, 34 states had a significant decrease in the rate of uninsured children.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Florida made the most progress, dropping from 667,758 to 506,934 during that time period, although the state still has one of the highest rates of uninsured children in the nation.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Minnesota, Kansas and Wisconsin saw an increase in the number of uninsured children.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Nevada has the highest rate of uninsured children while Massachusetts has the lowest, according to the report.</p> <p class="inside-copy">The findings are based on an analysis of new health insurance data from the Census Bureau. It was done by the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute's Center for Children and Families.</p> <p class="inside-copy">The news comes as the number of uninsured adults has risen in the past few years.</p> <p class="inside-copy">High unemployment rates and the increasing cost of private insurance are driving more families to the federal-state Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Programs, also known as CHIP. Both programs provide health insurance for children, but come from different funding streams and allow states more flexibility in how they run their programs.</p> <p class="inside-copy">President Barack Obama signed an extension of CHIP and provided $87 billion to help states pay for Medicaid in the 2009 economic stimulus, and experts say a bipartisan national commitment aimed at covering children has given states new tools and incentives to follow through. For example, some states once required face-to-face interviews; now many states have online applications.</p> <p class="inside-copy">The Affordable Care Act should also help preserve these gains going forward, said Joan Alker, co-executive director of the Georgetown University research center.</p> <p class="inside-copy">"We will move to a culture of coverage. The presumption is everyone has insurance," she said. "Families will feel there's an option out there for them."</p> <p class="inside-copy">The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments challenging the constitutionality of the historic health care overhaul next year.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Florida led the nation in reducing the number of uninsured children, in part because the state's Medicaid rolls swelled as the economy soured. But legislation passed in 2009 has also simplified the process and reduced penalties for those who don't pay premiums.</p> <p class="inside-copy">South Carolina is trying to make it easier for low-income children who already qualify for health care coverage to enroll in Medicaid. The state's Medicaid director is requesting an additional $35 million from the state for next year's budget. Nearly $30 million of that would pay to add an estimated 70,000 children to Medicaid rolls by streamlining the application process.</p> <p class="inside-copy">While Tuesday's report is promising, experts worry that increased enrollment may be difficult to sustain as state lawmakers slash budgets, especially for big-ticket expenses such as health care.</p> <p class="inside-copy">"These gains are fragile and could quickly be reversed if state or federal support erodes," Alker said.</p> <p class="inside-copy">More than 128,000 children are on the waiting list in Arizona after officials froze their KidsCare program enrollment in 2010 to help balance the state budget. The program now has approximately 15,000 children &mdash; down from 45,820. The state recently submitted a two-year plan for federal approval that would allow enrollment of 19,000 children now on a waiting list.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Still, Arizona was able to drop from 258,339 uninsured children in 2008 to 207,967 in 2010, according to the report.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Wisconsin state officials are looking to move 215,000 Medicaid-eligible children into a stripped-down version of the program with reduced benefits.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Texas also decreased the number of uninsured children, but some health advocates fear major state cuts to address that state's massive budget crisis. In 2003, when the state was facing a smaller shortfall, more than 200,000 children were kicked off of the Children's Health Insurance Program.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Minnesota saw the largest increase in uninsured children, jumping from 72,493 in 2008 to 84,165 in 2010, according to the report.</p> <p class="inside-copy">For years, Minnesota has operated under a federal waiver that differed from other states. The waiver said that children eligible for the state's insurance program were not also eligible for the federal program, meaning the state lost out on enhanced matching funds. In the past several years, the state has made cuts. For example, the program used to allow children born on Medicaid to remain on the program until age 2 regardless of circumstances. Now a child can remain until age 1, Berglin said.</p> <p class="inside-copy">The state has attempted improvements such as creating gap coverage between Medicaid and Minnesota care, but the federal government didn't sign off, she said.</p> <p class="inside-copy">"Doing the things that other states have done is more costly for Minnesota," said former Minnesota Sen. Linda Berglin, a longtime champion of health care services. "It makes me sad. Obviously I believe having all children insured is a goal we should be striving for. If we are going to implement federal reform that will take care of a lot of the problem."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:7f109651-9949-4879-bb80-25d3bfcabd34The federal government has denied Indiana's request to waive new rules for the state's insurance providers, meaning their customers will get rebates if the company fails to comply. Hoosiers who buy health insurance on their own may receive rebates st...Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:00:42 -0600The federal government has denied Indiana's request to waive new rules for the state's insurance providers, meaning their customers will get rebates if the company fails to comply. <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="155">Hoosiers who buy health insurance on their own may receive rebates starting next year after the federal government refused to waive a requirement under the new health reform law that insurance companies use at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care. No more than 20 percent can be spent on profits, marketing and other administrative costs.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="154">The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday issued its ruling rejecting a request by state officials who said insurers were leaving the state because of the rule.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="153">The federal agency said the evidence does not support that.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="152">"We have found that market conditions do not necessitate any adjustment to the 80-20 rule and that it is in consumers' best interest that ... the law be met," said Gary Cohen, the acting director of oversight at the HHS Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="151">Cohen said Indiana's health insurers already comply, are sufficiently profitable to meet the new standard or are adapting their businesses models so they'll still make money if they end up owing rebates. Insurers can reduce premiums or lower their administrative costs to avoid rebates.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="150">Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a critic of the health reform law, said the federal government's decision is another reason why the law should be repealed.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="149">"Once again, the Obama administration took a position in favor of higher health care costs and against personal freedom," Daniels said in a statement. Indiana is among the states that are challenging the constitutionality of the health care law. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on those challenges in March.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="148">Dr. Rob Stone, a Bloomington emergency room doctor and health reform activist who had urged the federal government to rejrect the state's waiver request, applauded the decision.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="147">"I think that insurance companies need to figure out how to take care of people rather than taking care of their stockholders," said Stone, a regular critic at the annual meeting of Indianapolis-based insurance giant WellPoint.<br itxtNodeId="184" /> <br /> If the rule were in place last year, Hoosiers who buy plans on their own instead of getting it through an employer would have received almost $24 million in rebates, according to estimates the state included in its waiver application.</p> <div class="gel-pane gpagediv gel-hidden" id="GPage2" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="145"> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="182">Indiana wanted the rules to be phased in so companies would only have to spend 65 percent of premiums on medical care this year and not meet the full requirement until 2015.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="181">Indiana Commissioner of Insurance Stephen W. Robertson wrote in his waiver application that several companies have notified the state that they are withdrawing from the market.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="180">The federal government concluded that one of the carriers had never sold individual insurance in Indiana, one had no active business in Indiana, two were meeting the new rule at the time they withdrew, one was having serious financial trouble in many states where it operated, and another specifically said its withdrawal was not related to the health care law.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="179">"Although we looked at each one of those carefully, we concluded that they were not indicative of market destabilization that might be caused by the (new rule) and didn't provide a reason for us to be concerned that consumers were going to lose coverage," Cohen said.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="178">Those providers combined covered 2.6 percent of the state's individual insurance market in 2010. A total 187,526 Hoosiers bought insurance on the individual market last year. The majority of Hoosiers, like most Americans, get their insurance through an employer or through a public plan like Medicare or Medicaid.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="177">The state's largest provider of individual insurance, WellPoint/Anthem, which covers about 60 percent of Hoosiers who buy insurance on their own, spent about 77 percent of Indiana premiums on medical care last year. The company supported the state's waiver request but expects to meet the new 80 percent requirement and avoid the rebates.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="176">The Obama administration says the requirement will make the insurance market more transparent and make it easier for consumers to buy plans that provide better value for their money</p> </div> <div class="gel-pane gpagediv gel-hidden" id="GPage3" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="144"> <div class="clear" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="207"></div> <br itxtNodeId="206" /> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="205">The federal government has denied waiver requests from three other states and has approved modified versions of six states' requests. The federal government is still reviewing requests from seven states.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="204">While the new law requires health insurers to spend at least 80 percent of the premiums they collect from individuals and small groups on medical services, the minimum is 85 percent for policies sold to large groups. The rebates from those who spend less would be sent out starting next year.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="203">Indiana had also asked the government for a permanent waiver of the new rule for high-deductible health plans sold to individuals and small groups. Almost 11 percent of Hoosiers under age 65 with private insurance use the high-deductible health plans, which combine high-deductible plans with tax-preferred savings accounts. That's one of the highest percentages among states.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="202">The federal government turned down that request because the law doesn't give the Health and Human Services Department authority to grant it.<br /> <br /> </p> </div> <div class="article-pagination pagination clearfix bottom" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="140"> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="183">If the rule were in place last year, Hoosiers who buy plans on their own instead of getting it through an employer would have received almost $24 million in rebates, according to estimates the state included in its waiver application.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="182">Indiana wanted the rules to be phased in so companies would only have to spend 65 percent of premiums on medical care this year and not meet the full requirement until 2015.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="181">Indiana Commissioner of Insurance Stephen W. Robertson wrote in his waiver application that several companies have notified the state that they are withdrawing from the market.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="180">The federal government concluded that one of the carriers had never sold individual insurance in Indiana, one had no active business in Indiana, two were meeting the new rule at the time they withdrew, one was having serious financial trouble in many states where it operated, and another specifically said its withdrawal was not related to the health care law.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="179">"Although we looked at each one of those carefully, we concluded that they were not indicative of market destabilization that might be caused by the (new rule) and didn't provide a reason for us to be concerned that consumers were going to lose coverage," Cohen said.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="178">Those providers combined covered 2.6 percent of the state's individual insurance market in 2010. A total 187,526 Hoosiers bought insurance on the individual market last year. The majority of Hoosiers, like most Americans, get their insurance through an employer or through a public plan like Medicare or Medicaid.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="177">The state's largest provider of individual insurance, WellPoint/Anthem, which covers about 60 percent of Hoosiers who buy insurance on their own, spent about 77 percent of Indiana premiums on medical care last year. The company supported the state's waiver request but expects to meet the new 80 percent requirement and avoid the rebates.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="176">The Obama administration says the requirement will make the insurance market more transparent and make it easier for consumers to buy plans that provide better value for their money</p> <div class="gel-pane gpagediv gel-hidden" id="GPage3" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="144"> <div class="page-number" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="208">(Page 3 of 3)</div> <div class="clear" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="207"></div> <br itxtNodeId="206" /> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="205">The federal government has denied waiver requests from three other states and has approved modified versions of six states' requests. The federal government is still reviewing requests from seven states.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="204">While the new law requires health insurers to spend at least 80 percent of the premiums they collect from individuals and small groups on medical services, the minimum is 85 percent for policies sold to large groups. The rebates from those who spend less would be sent out starting next year.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="203">Indiana had also asked the government for a permanent waiver of the new rule for high-deductible health plans sold to individuals and small groups. Almost 11 percent of Hoosiers under age 65 with private insurance use the high-deductible health plans, which combine high-deductible plans with tax-preferred savings accounts. That's one of the highest percentages among states.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="202">The federal government turned down that request because the law doesn't give the Health and Human Services Department authority to grant it.<br /> <br /> </p> </div> <div class="article-pagination pagination clearfix bottom" itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="140"> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="205">The federal government has denied waiver requests from three other states and has approved modified versions of six states' requests. The federal government is still reviewing requests from seven states.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="204">While the new law requires health insurers to spend at least 80 percent of the premiums they collect from individuals and small groups on medical services, the minimum is 85 percent for policies sold to large groups. The rebates from those who spend less would be sent out starting next year.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="203">Indiana had also asked the government for a permanent waiver of the new rule for high-deductible health plans sold to individuals and small groups. Almost 11 percent of Hoosiers under age 65 with private insurance use the high-deductible health plans, which combine high-deductible plans with tax-preferred savings accounts. That's one of the highest percentages among states.</p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="202">The federal government turned down that request because the law doesn't give the Health and Human Services Department authority to grant it.</p> </div> </div>urn:uuid:62daa86e-0943-4017-9729-c85ba4a8132dThe American Medical Association outlined recommended standards and safeguards to protect patients and physicians, as states develop marketplaces for purchasing health insurance under the national health system reform law. An AMA Council on Medical S...Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:41:46 -0600The American Medical Association outlined recommended standards and safeguards to protect patients and physicians, as states develop marketplaces for purchasing health insurance under the national health system reform law. <p>An AMA Council on Medical Service report advocating for strong patient and physician protections in state-run exchanges was adopted by the House of Delegates during its Interim Meeting in November. The report calls for the inclusion of physicians and patients in the governance structures for the exchanges.</p> <p>"If they are developed well, health insurance exchanges will provide a new way for millions of Americans to obtain health care coverage from private insurers," said AMA Board of Trustees Member Barbara McAneny, MD, an oncologist from Albuquerque, N.M. "Physicians and patients should be involved in setting up and governing these bodies to ensure they best meet the health care needs of residents in each state."</p> <p>The development of state-run exchanges is a key part of the health reform law, which will expand insurance coverage to an estimated 30 million individuals starting in 2014. Americans without insurance would use exchanges to select plans from a variety of coverage options.</p> <h3 class="Subhead">Medical association role</h3> <p>The AMA will advocate that state medical associations assist in the development of the insurance marketplaces, according to the report. Donna Sweet, MD, an internist in Wichita, Kan., who is chair-elect for the Council on Medical Service, noted that the Dept. of Health and Human Services will implement a federal exchange in states that don't have their own in place by 2014.</p> <p>"State exchanges need to be in place; if not, the feds will be much more involved," she said.</p> <p>Exchanges also must address patient churning among health plans, the report said. The AMA called for systems that allow for real-time patient eligibility checks for medical practices.</p> <p>Delegates reaffirmed AMA policy that strongly opposes the use of taxes or fees on physicians and other health professionals to fund exchange platforms. Insurance offered on exchanges also should not require physician participation or exclude patient access to specialty care, delegates agreed.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:30b53cc6-a361-4d22-a1f4-dd24ca18639bIt's just about over for a special deficit-reduction supercommittee, which appears set to admit failure on Monday in its quest to sop up at least $1.2 trillion in government red ink over the coming decade. The bipartisan 12-member panel is sputterin...Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:52:11 -0600It's just about over for a special deficit-reduction supercommittee, which appears set to admit failure on Monday in its quest to sop up at least $1.2 trillion in government red ink over the coming decade. <div class="articlePluckHidden" sizset="33" sizcache="7"> <p>The bipartisan 12-member panel is sputtering to a close after two months of talks in which key members and top congressional leaders never got close to bridging a fundamental divide over how much to raise taxes. The budget deficit has forced the government to borrow 36 cents of every dollar it spent last year.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>In a series of television interviews, not a single panelist seemed optimistic Sunday about any last-minute breakthrough, and aides said any remaining talks had broken off.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>The White House, however, continued to insist that lawmakers finish the task they were assigned.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>"Avoiding accountability and kicking the can down the road is how Washington got into this deficit problem in the first place, so Congress needs to do its job here and make the kind of tough choices to live within its means that American families make every day," White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>Monday is deadline day. The panel officially has until Wednesday to approve a deficit-slashing plan, but under its rules, any plan would have to be unveiled 48 hours in advance.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>Instead, it appeared co-chairs Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas would issue a statement declaring the panel's work at an end, aides said.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>The two sides had never gotten particularly close, at least in the official exchanges of offers that were leaked to the media.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>"There is one sticking divide. And that's the issue of what I call shared sacrifice," said panel co-chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., on CNN's "State of the Union."</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>"The wealthiest Americans who earn over a million a year have to share too. And that line in the sand, we haven't seen Republicans willing to cross yet," she said.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>Republicans said Democrats' demands on taxes were simply too great and weren't accompanied by large enough proposals to curb the explosive growth of so-called entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>"If you look at the Democrats' position it was `We have to raise taxes. We have to pass this jobs bill, which is another almost half-trillion dollars. And we're not excited about entitlement reform,' " countered Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona on NBC's "Meet the Press."</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>"Put a bow on it. It's done," said an aide to a supercommittee Republican.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>Failure by the panel would trigger about $1 trillion over nine years in automatic across-the-board spending cuts to a wide range of domestic programs and the Pentagon budget, starting in 2013, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This action, called a "sequester," would also generate $169 billion in savings from lower interest costs on the national debt.</p> </div> <div id="page2"> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the required cuts of up to $454 billion to the Pentagon would be "devastating" and leave a "hollow force." Defense hawks of Capitol Hill promise they won't allow them to be that deep. But that effort will be complicated by the insistence of other lawmakers that the overall amount of the budget cuts be left in place.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>The panel's failure also sets up a fight within a battle-weary, dysfunctional Congress over renewing a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, both of which are set to expire at the end of the year. Both proposals are part of President Barack Obama's $447 billion jobs plan.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>Extending the current 2 percentage point payroll tax cut isn't a popular idea with many Republicans, but allowing it to expire could harm the economy, economists say. So too would a cutoff of unemployment benefits averaging about $300 a week to millions of people who have been out of work for more than six months.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>Serious negotiations ended Friday after Democrats rejected a $644 billion offer comprised of $543 billion in spending cuts, fees and other non-tax revenue, as well as $3 billion in tax revenue from closing a special tax break for corporate purchases of private jets. It also assumed $98 billion in reduced interest costs.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>Earlier exchanges featured a more than $3 trillion plan from Democrats that would have increased tax revenues by $1.3 trillion in exchange for further cuts in agency budgets, a change in the measure used to calculate cost-of-living increases for Social Security beneficiaries, and curbs on the growth of Medicare and Medicaid.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>"We put on the table a proposal that required tough compromises on both sides, and they never did that," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the only House Democrat on the panel to participate in late-stage bipartisan talks.</p> </div> <div class="articlePluckHidden"> <p>Republicans countered with a $1.5 trillion plan that included a potential breakthrough -- $250 billion in higher taxes gleaned as Congress passes a future tax reform measure. The plan was trashed by Democrats, however, who said it would have lowered tax rates for the wealthy too far while eliminating tax breaks that chiefly benefit the middle class.<br /> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> </div> </div>urn:uuid:558bdcb0-28e6-4e91-b79d-25af89d2a968<img src='http://www.reliableins.net/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/Houston%20Insurance.jpg' align='left' />Insurance has a fairly simple purpose: help make policy holders financially whole, up to the limits of the policy, after losses experienced during an insurable event. While the goal of insurance is simple, its execution doesn&rsquo;t always follow t...Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:07:52 -0600<p><strong><img alt="Houston Insurance" style="float: right; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 7px; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/Houston%20Insurance.jpg" />Insurance</strong> has a fairly simple purpose: help make policy holders financially whole, up to the limits of the policy, after losses experienced during an insurable event. </p> <p>While the goal of insurance is simple, its execution doesn&rsquo;t always follow the same clean lines. After all, to control<strong> insurance costs</strong> you have a limit on your policy that spells out the maximum benefit you can receive. You will also have deductibles which are out-of-pocket requirements that you must meet, and finally, there is a process of examination that can follow a claim in order to ensure that everything works accurately and appropriately based on the loss you suffer. </p> <p>When you submit a claim to an insurance company, your insurer owes it to all of their clients to investigate each claim. They do this for several reasons. First, they want to verify the incidents behind the loss. This helps ensure that the incident was insurable under the policy contract. Next, they want to determine the extent of the damages. This assures your carrier that they&rsquo;ve awarded you the amount you deserve in order to be made whole after a qualifying insurable incident. </p> <p>An <strong>insurance claims</strong> adjuster is the individual who works in the role of investigator. He or she may interview witnesses, review records, and even come out to the location of the incident to explore the damages. This can be an especially helpful exercise as the adjuster may meet with you, at the incidents location, to go over details. This may prompt you to remember items you otherwise would have forgotten. </p> <p>In an instance of a liability claim, an insurance adjuster may protect you from unnecessary, fraudulent or exaggerated claims. Not only does this help you avoid <strong>insurance premium</strong> hikes in the future based on your claims history, it also helps to stem company-wide payment increases. &nbsp;</p> <p>Whether you need to file a claim, or you just want an overview of the claims process so you&rsquo;re prepared should you ever need to file one, give us a call. We&rsquo;d be happy to talk with you about your insurance and planning needs; as well as, discuss the claims process with you, before you need it. <br /> <br /> At Reliable Insurance<em></em>, we have been serving <strong>Texas</strong> since 1996. We specialize in <a title="Houston auto insurance" href="http://www.reliableins.net/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx"><strong>Houston auto insurance</strong></a> as well as <strong>home, business and car insurance in Houston, Katy and surrounding areas in Texas.</strong> Contact us today at <strong><strong>(713) 227-7283</strong> </strong>for questions or to get a free<strong> <a title="Houston Insurance Quote" href="http://www.reliableins.net/get_a_quote/default.aspx">Houston Insurance quote</a>.<br /> </strong></p>urn:uuid:2b557f1c-f406-4dd8-89fe-08711425ce97 The U.S. Secret Service has brought in the FBI for an investigation into a shooting that occurred near the White House Friday, as law enforcement discover multiple bullets at the scene and the primary suspect remains on the loose.&nbsp; According to...Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:41:25 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p style="font-size: 14px;">The U.S. Secret Service has brought in the FBI for an investigation into a shooting that occurred near the White House Friday, as law enforcement discover multiple bullets at the scene and the primary suspect remains on the loose.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;">According to a Secret Service statement Thursday, law enforcement found a bullet that smashed a window at the White House before being stopped by a second layer of "ballistic glass." Another round was found outside the White House. The Secret Service said the damage "has not been conclusively connected" to the shooting.&nbsp;</p> <div class="sect vert"> <div class="ad qu" id="qu_story_2">"An assessment of the exterior of the White House is ongoing," the Secret Service said.&nbsp;</div> </div> <p style="font-size: 14px;">Fox News has learned that the FBI joined the investigation on Wednesday at the request of the Secret Service and U.S. Park Police. The FBI has extensive expertise in evidence gathering, which could explain why the agency was called in to assist.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;">Law enforcement continue to search for the suspect, 21-year-old Oscar Ortega-Hernandez. The suspect has a record of arrests in Idaho, Utah and Texas, according to MyFoxDC, and reportedly is believed to be mentally ill.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;">Park Police originally obtained an arrest warrant for Ortega-Hernandez after discovering an AK-47-style rifle in an abandoned car Friday night. The car was found after Secret Service officers heard shots being fired between two vehicles about a half-mile from the White House.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;">U.S. Park Police spokesman Sgt. David Schlosser said Sunday that officers had obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect on a felony charge of carrying a dangerous weapon, in connection with the incident.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;">Ortega-Hernandez is thought to have remained in the Washington, D.C., area following Friday's drama.&nbsp;Secret Service describe him as a 21-year old, Hispanic male, 5'11", 160 pounds, with a medium build, brown eyes and black hair.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;">President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were in California at the time of the shooting, before traveling to Hawaii for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;">News of the bullets' discovery broke shortly after the president landed in Australia for a brief 27-hour visit.&nbsp;</p> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> <br /> </div>urn:uuid:0f965ea1-c411-4ff9-b9bd-ff17f2a2bd1c<img src='http://www.reliableins.net/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/iStock_000014949522XSmall.jpg' align='left' />When you&rsquo;re shopping for auto insurance to protect your car and your family, you want low cost car insurance rates backed by a financially stable insurer that&rsquo;s going to be there to come through for you when you have a claim. That&rsquo;s...Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:46:07 -0600<p><img src="/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/iStock_000014949522XSmall.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 133px; float: left; margin-right: 7px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" alt="Couple with Car" />When you&rsquo;re shopping for <a href="http://www.reliableins.net/automobile/default.aspx" title="Auto insurance">auto insurance</a> to protect your car and your family, you want <strong>low cost car insurance rates</strong> backed by a financially stable insurer that&rsquo;s going to be there to come through for you when you have a claim. That&rsquo;s why the knowledgeable professionals at Reliable Insurance Managers work with only the top rated insurance companies, making sure our clients get the same access to excellent service, reliable insurance, and affordable premiums. </p> <p>Our staff is dedicated to providing first-rate customer service to all of our clients, no matter what kind of policy or premium they have. We can&rsquo;t wait to work with you to devise a car insurance policy that doesn&rsquo;t just answer state requirements for insurance coverage, but has a legitimate value to your family and your financial well-being. </p> <p>Regardless of your driving history, we at Reliable Insurance Managers believe you deserve great customer service, affordable car insurance rates, and coverage by an insurance company that is highly rated and there for you when you really need it, like when you file a claim. <a href="/contact.aspx" title="Contact">Call or stop by</a> and let our insurance professionals start solving your car insurance dilemmas&mdash;today!</p> <h2><strong><span style="color: #1f497d;">Texas Auto Insurance Laws</span></strong></h2> <p>Texas law requires people who drive in Texas to pay for the accidents they cause. Most drivers do this by buying automobile liability insurance. Liability insurance pays to repair or replace the other driver&rsquo;s car and pays other people&rsquo;s medical expenses when you are at fault in an accident.&nbsp; </p> <p> </p> <p>If you buy insurance to meet the state&rsquo;s financial responsibility law, you must purchase at least the minimum amount. The current minimum liability limits are $30,000 for each injured person, up to a total of $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage per accident. This basic coverage is called 30/60/25 coverage. </p> <p> </p> <p>Because of car prices and the high cost of medical care, the minimum amounts might not be enough to pay all of the other driver&rsquo;s costs if you&rsquo;re in an accident. Other drivers could sue you to collect the difference. <strong>Consider purchasing more than the basic limits to protect yourself financially.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Liability insurance does not pay to repair or replace your car or to treat your injuries. Consider purchasing other types of coverage &ndash; such as medical payments, collision, and comprehensive &ndash; to pay for these expenses.<br /> <br /> (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tdi.texas.gov/pubs/consumer/cb020.html#" target="_blank" title="Texas Department of Insurance">tdi.texas.gov</a>) </p>urn:uuid:7c5d261d-84c3-4992-a9a9-a97d752f819bAttorney Gloria Allred is holding a news conference today with a woman who claims she was sexually harassed by GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain. In a news release sent out by Allred, the woman allegedly sought Cain's help on an employment issue...Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:01:41 -0600Attorney Gloria Allred is holding a news conference today with a woman who claims she was sexually harassed by GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain. <p>In a news release sent out by Allred, the woman allegedly sought Cain's help on an employment issue when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. Allred said her client is not one of the three women mentioned in news reports about the scandal, which has roiled Cain's campaign.</p> <p>Cain has repeatedly said he has been falsely accused of sexual harassment. He said this weekend that he's done talking about the issue and wants his campaign to get back on message.</p> <p>Allred is noted for representing women in high-profile incidents. <em>The New York Times</em> once described Allred as "a feminist avenging crusader or a deluxe ambulance chaser catching a ride on the latest tabloid scandal."</p> <p>The news conference, first reported by RadarOnline, is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET in New York City.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a></p>urn:uuid:32c03c48-4cf0-4517-afbe-88ed5f629601We are looking for a few customers that would like to do a commercial. We are looking for people to tell us what you like about Reliable Insurance, why you started a policy with us, etc. It will be posted to Youtube and our website. We greatly apprec...Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:49:00 -0500We are looking for a few customers that would like to do a commercial. We are looking for people to tell us what you like about Reliable Insurance, why you started a policy with us, etc. It will be posted to Youtube and our website. We greatly appreciate your help.<br /> <br /> If you are interested please call 713-227-7283 and ask for Ryan Nickels.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:e79fe198-4395-4930-bd99-ee1102851cc1We would greatly appreciate your help. We are a small, family owned business trying to compete with State Farm and Progressive. Anything you can do will help. If you like our price and/or service, please go to Google.com and sign in. Then you need t...Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:59:26 -0500We would greatly appreciate your help. We are a small, family owned business trying to compete with State Farm and Progressive. Anything you can do will help.<br /> <br /> If you like our price and/or service, please go to Google.com and sign in. Then you need to search <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>. When you see the site <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> there will be a +1 symbol. If you click that it lets Google know you like us.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Thank you for your time and effort.<br />urn:uuid:8491a9cb-133e-494b-babd-c5d862f40252President Obama will pitch a plan today to help ease the burden of loans on college students, as a new report shows that higher education is becoming more expensive for many young Americans. Starting next year, borrowers&rsquo; student loan payments ...Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:37:42 -0500<p>President Obama will pitch a plan today to help ease the burden of loans on college students, as a new report shows that higher education is becoming more expensive for many young Americans.</p> <p>Starting next year, borrowers&rsquo; student loan payments will be capped at 10 percent of their discretionary income, and they could be eligible for forgiveness on the balance of their debt in 20 years. Under the current plan, loan payments are limited to 15 percent of a borrower&rsquo;s discretionary income, and their balance is forgiven after 25 years.</p> <p>The plan will also help provide an opportunity for reduced interest payments. Students will be able to consolidate their loans under the same terms and conditions in a move that proponents say will simplify the payment process and help nearly 6 million borrowers. The Department of Education will send out a letter this year to borrowers who qualify, and those who consolidate their payments will receive a one-time, half percent reduction on their interest rate for some of their loans.</p> <p>The plan has the potential to cut hundreds of dollars from a borrower&rsquo;s loan payment, the administration says, and it will help about 1.6 million students and alumni.</p> <p>The administration says it is also taking steps to make it easier to participate in the program. Currently, students and alumni whose federal student loan debt is higher than their income and family size are eligible to participate in the program, but many are not aware of the aid plan. While more than 36 million Americans have federal student loan debt, less than 450,000 Americans participate in income-based repayment, according to the White House.</p> <p>The current Income-Based Repayment Plan also includes other helpful measures. For those who cannot pay the interest on their bill, the government can foot the interest payment for up to three consecutive years. Those who work in public service are also eligible for forgiveness after 10 years.</p> <p>Obama&rsquo;s executive order speeds up the implementation of the Pay as You Earn&nbsp;plan, which was passed by Congress last year and was initially set to start in 2014. The changes, however, will not come from the taxpayers&rsquo; dime, the White House says.</p> <p>&ldquo;In a global economy, putting a college education within reach for every American has never been more important,&rdquo; Obama said in a statement. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s also never been more expensive. &hellip; Steps like these won&rsquo;t take the place of the bold action we need from Congress to boost our economy and create jobs, but they will make a difference. And until Congress does act, I will continue to do everything in my power to act on behalf of the American people.&rdquo;</p> <p>Today&rsquo;s announcement, to be made in Colorado, is part of the president&rsquo;s push to implement measures to stimulate the weak economy. Obama&rsquo;s $447 billion jobs billed is stalled in Congress because of Republican opposition. But the economy continues to spiral downward even as Washington remains in a gridlock.</p> <p>The economy has taken a toll on young Americans, in particular. The cost of education overall has jumped 900 percent since 1978, while the total U.S. student-loan debt is nearly $1 trillion. The unemployment rate for people younger than 30 is 13 percent, higher than the national average. Many college students have taken their frustration to the streets as part of the &ldquo;Occupy&rdquo; protests and by organizing walkouts and demonstrations.</p> <p>A new report from the College Board finds a significant raise in college fees. Average in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges surged 8.3 percent this year and more than 4 percent at private colleges. The College Board said the tuition increases were caused by weak economy and a lag in state funding that has not kept pace with the growth in college enrollments. Most of that surge was driven by California, where college costs rose by 21 percent.</p> <p>The average in-state tuition at a public four-year institution for 2011-12 is $17,131, while at a private institution it is $38,589.</p> <p>The report also concluded that recent measures by the administration to provide educational tax credits and tuition deductions helped increase savings for students.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:a3dbd71b-c18b-4723-a072-9c35e1dbdf9fThe St. Louis Cardinals couldn't execute the key hit, let alone a simple phone call, and the Texas Rangers took full advantage Monday to move to the brink of their first World Series championship in franchise history. &nbsp; The Rangers confused th...Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:32:01 -0500The St. Louis Cardinals couldn't execute the key hit, let alone a simple phone call, and the Texas Rangers took full advantage Monday to move to the brink of their first World Series championship in franchise history. <div class="inset"> <div class="photo-block">&nbsp;</div> <div class="sponsoredlinks" id="topsponsoredLinks"> <div class="afs_ad_box">The Rangers confused the Cardinals, winning 4-2, and moved to within one victory of their long-coveted title. The Rangers lead the best-of-seven series, 3-2, and can clinch their first title in 51 years with Game 6 scheduled Wednesday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.</div> </div> </div> <p class="inside-copy">"I can't even explain (my emotions) right now,'' said Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, whose sixth-inning homer tied the game. "We've been waiting a long time for this. It's not going to be easy. We know that. But it's better going over there having to win one game rather than two.''</p> <p>The Rangers, who have not lost back-to-back games since Aug. 23-25, were led once again by Mike Napoli. He hit a one-out, two-run double in the eighth inning that broke the tie game off left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa confessed after the game that he actually wanted right-hander Jason Motte to pitch to Napoli, but the Cardinals' bullpen misheard La Russa, and had Lance Lynn warming up instead.</p> <p class="inside-copy">"In the bullpen, strange stuff happens,'' Rangers starter C.J. Wilson said. "We were sitting around saying, 'What's going on?'''</p> <p class="inside-copy">Said La Russa: "I said, "Get Motte up.' And they heard Lynn. &hellip;It's loud down there. It's hard to hear.''</p> <p class="inside-copy">Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler said: "That was brilliant (strategy) by our fans.''</p> <p class="inside-copy">The Cardinals were actually confused all evening. The Rangers walked eight batters -- including four intentionally, tying a World Series record -- and were able to sit back and boast about their strategy. The Cardinals came up 12 times with runners in scoring position, and produced just one hit.</p> <p class="inside-copy">The Rangers had no trouble showing their tremendous respect for Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols. They intentionally walked him three times, tying a World Series record. He even was intentionally walked in the seventh inning with two outs and nobody on, a first in Series history.</p> <p class="inside-copy">"They call it unorthodox,'' Rangers manager Ron Washington said, "but I always say it's your players that make you look good. I did what I had to do with my players, and that's all I'm worried about.''</p> <p class="inside-copy">The Cardinals, who are hitting .186 with runners in scoring position this series, are in trouble. They now will have to face Rangers postseason ace Colby Lewis in Game 6, the same guy who gave up just four hits and one run in 6.2 innings in Game 2.</p> <p class="inside-copy">They also have to figure out a way to stop Napoli, who has 14 RBI this postseason, and nine alone in the World Series. He also threw out Allen Craig trying to steal twice, the second time in the ninth inning as closer Neftali Feliz struck out Albert Pujols on the way to the save.</p> <p class="inside-copy">"I want to be a complete player,'' said Napoli, who set career highs with a .320 average, 30 homers and 75 RBI this season. "I'm not just here trying to be an offensive player. I'm trying hard on the defensive side. That's my main goal''</p> <p class="inside-copy">Chris Carpenter held the Rangers to two runs over seven innings -- homers by Mitch Moreland and Beltre -- when Michael Young greeted reliever Octavio Dotel&nbsp;with a leadoff double in the eighth. The Cardinals walked Nelson Cruz intentionally with one out and brought in Rzepczynski to pitch to David Murphy. He hit a ball right to Rzepczynski, but it caromed off his glove. The potential double-play ball turned into an infield single, loading the bases.</p> <p class="inside-copy">"That's a tough break,'' La Russa said. "He made a great pitch, but it happens. Sometimes it happens for us. Today, it happened against us.''</p> <p class="inside-copy">With the crowd chanting "NA-PO-LEE! NA-PO-LEE!'' the first-year Ranger crushed a drive to the right-center field fence for the game-winning runs.</p> <p class="inside-copy">"I was just trying to get something to the outfield, get a sac fly, stay short,'' Napoli said. "I got a pitch I could handle.''</p> <p class="inside-copy">Said Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland: "He's been great for us all year. I actually got him to sign one of my game hats. He's my favorite player.''</p> <p class="inside-copy">"Frustrating," La Russa said. "It was a very disappointing, frustrating loss.''<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:b584f0c6-6d5b-46b4-875f-43c95606b441Farmers Insurance indicated Friday that it will raise homeowner premiums by nearly 10 percent next year for about half of its customers in North Texas and across the state. The higher rates, to take effect March 16, would affect about 350,000 Farmers...Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:52:20 -0500Farmers Insurance indicated Friday that it will raise homeowner premiums by nearly 10 percent next year for about half of its customers in North Texas and across the state. <p>The higher rates, to take effect March 16, would affect about 350,000 Farmers customers who have either a Texas Family Home Policy or a Next Generation Home Policy. The Next Generation policy debuted in the state in early 2010.</p> <p>Farmers last raised home insurance rates in Texas in March of this year, an increase of 3.9 percent.<br /> <br /> A consumer group, Texas Watch, criticized the Farmers proposal as more of the same from big insurers in Texas. The group&rsquo;s Alex Winslow said consumers are counting on new Texas Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman to &ldquo;show that she isn&rsquo;t just an industry lap dog&rdquo; and use the authority she has to block unreasonable rate hikes.</p> <p>&ldquo;If she fails to act now, she is setting a dangerous precedent that will likely lead to even more rate hikes and coverage reductions,&rdquo; he said.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:cecaa4a8-9bc9-4ed4-9e47-4699e539f384A Nigerian man said Wednesday he tried to blow up an international flight for al Qaeda with a bomb in his underwear in retaliation for the killing of Muslims worldwide, taking a federal court in Detroit by surprise as he pleaded guilty on the second ...Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:39:59 -0500A Nigerian man said Wednesday he tried to blow up an international flight for al Qaeda with a bomb in his underwear in retaliation for the killing of Muslims worldwide, taking a federal court in Detroit by surprise as he pleaded guilty on the second day of his trial. <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab answered questions from U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds before pleading guilty to all eight charges he faced, including conspiracy to commit terrorism and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. He then told the courtroom that the bomb was a "blessed weapon to save the lives of innocent Muslims."</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>"I intended to wreck a U.S. aircraft for the U.S. wreckage of Muslim lands and property," Abdulmutallab said.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Abdulmutallab, who told the judge he is 25, said he carried a bomb onto Northwest Airlines Flight 253 in his underwear on Christmas 2009 with the intention of killing the nearly 300 people on board. The bomb didn't work, and passengers jumped on Abdulmutallab when they saw smoke and fire.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>CBS Radio News chief legal analyst Andrew Cohen said Abdulmutallab now joins another al Qaeda defendant, Zacarias Moussaoui, in entering a guilty plea in federal court.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>"This isn't a terrible surprise because he had no legitimate legal defense," Cohen said. "All those witnesses on the plane saw what he did, and there was a confession as well. And the judge clearly wasn't going to let him put on a political defense."</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Prosecutors' evidence was stacked high. The government said he told FBI agents he was working for al Qaeda and directed by Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical, American-born Muslim cleric recently killed by the U.S. in Yemen.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>There were also photos of his scorched shorts as well as video of Abdulmutallab explaining his suicide mission before departing for the U.S.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>On Tuesday, passengers on Flight 253 testified that Abdulmutallab took a long bathroom break in the plane, during which prosecutors say he was preparing for martyrdom.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>He took a small bag to the bathroom and was gone 10 to 15 minutes, according to passenger Mike Zantow, the first witness in Abdulmutallab's terrorism trial.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>"I thought he was freshening up for arrival in Detroit. ... We had less than an hour to go," Zantow said.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>A prosecutor said Abdulmutallab was performing a cleansing ritual to prepare for death before returning to his seat to try to detonate a bomb in his underwear on behalf of al Qaeda.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>In his opening remarks to jurors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Tukel said the son of a wealthy Nigerian banker believed his calling that day was martyrdom.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>"He was preparing to die and enter heaven," Tukel said. "He purified himself. He washed. He brushed his teeth. He put on perfume."</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Zantow said he helped move Abdulmutallab out of his burning seat and heard another passenger say: "Hey, dude, your pants are on fire."</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Tukel on Tuesday offered some new details from inside Flight 253, which had 290 people aboard from 26 countries. He described Abdulmutallab's long bathroom break and how the young man threw a blanket over himself and allegedly attempted to detonate a bomb shortly before the plane landed.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Abdulmutallab pushed a syringe plunger into the chemical bomb, an action that produced a loud "pop" sound, then flames and smoke, the prosecutor said.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>"Then all hell broke loose. While the fireball was on him, the defendant sat there," Tukel said. "He didn't move. He was expressionless. He was completely blank."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:3091ee51-2462-495f-9928-879f3f8403bc Six South Texas Residents Sentenced to Prison for Insurance Fraud Scheme U.S. Attorney's OfficeOctober 3, 2011 *Southern District of Texas (713) 567-9000 - filed under: Press Release, San Antonio Top Stories MCALLEN, TX-Six south Texas residents...Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:45:49 -0500<div class="article_test" id="ctl00_BodyContent_art"> <p>Six South Texas Residents Sentenced to Prison for Insurance Fraud Scheme </p> <p><org />U.S. Attorney's Office<chron />October 3, 2011 </p> <p>*<location />Southern District of <location value="LS/us.tx" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Texas (713) 567-9000 </p> <p>- filed under: Press Release, San Antonio Top Stories </p> <p><location value="LU/us.tx.mcalen" idsrc="xmltag.org" />MCALLEN, TX-Six south <location value="LS/us.tx" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Texas residents have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a scheme to defraud the <org />American Family Life Assurance Company (AFLAC) by filing false injury claims under <org value="NYSE:AFL" idsrc="xmltag.org" />AFLAC's Accident-Only Insurance Plan, <location value="LC/us" idsrc="xmltag.org" />United States Attorney <person />Kenneth Magidson announced today. </p> <p>A total of 36 persons were charged in <chron />mid-June 2011 in a number of indictments for their roles in a scheme designed to defraud <org value="NYSE:AFL" idsrc="xmltag.org" />AFLAC of millions of dollars by filing thousands of false injury claims. To date, 28 of the defendants have pleaded guilty to wire fraud. This morning, U.S. District Judge <person />Randy Crane sentenced six of these defendants to terms of imprisonment without parole each to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release and ordered that they make full restitution to <org value="NYSE:AFL" idsrc="xmltag.org" />AFLAC. The sentences imposed were as follows: </p> <p>* <person />Idaleen Sanchez, 43, of <location value="LU/us.tx.ediurg" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Edinburg Texas-12 months and one day in prison and <money />$48,852 in restitution </p> <p>* <person />Valerio Ramos, 55, of <location value="LU/us.tx.ediurg" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Edinburg, Texas-12 months and one day in prison and <money />$49,850 in restitution </p> <p>* <person />Rigoberto Ramirez, 30, of <location value="LU/us.tx.ediurg" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Edinburg, Texas-12 months and one day in prison and <money />$67,375 in restitution </p> <p>* <person />Eddie Guerra, 35, of <location value="LU/us.tx.alamo" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Alamo, Texas-eight months in prison and <money />$22,240 in restitution </p> <p>* <person />Jose Guerra, 47, of <location value="LU/us.tx.lajoya" idsrc="xmltag.org" />La Joya, Texas-six months in prison and <money />$19,597 in restitution </p> <p>* <person />Norma Sanchez, 40, of <location value="LU/us.tx.ediurg" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Edinburg, Texas-six months in prison and <money />$20,660 in restitution </p> <p>The six defendants above pleaded guilty in <chron />July 2011 to one count of wire fraud, admitting that they engaged in fraud as a policyholder under <org value="NYSE:AFL" idsrc="xmltag.org" />AFLAC's Accident-Only Insurance Plan. Specifically, from 2007 through 2009, the defendants routinely delivered lists of fake accidents and injuries to two physicians in <location value="LU/mx.ta.reynsa" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The physicians prepared an "accident report" for each fake injury in exchange for a cash kickback of approximately <money />$15 per accident report. In each report, the physicians falsely claimed they had provided treatment and prescribed medicine to the defendants for their purported injuries. Over time, the defendants faxed approximately 1,623 false injury claims and accident reports (purportedly certifying the fake injuries) to <org value="NYSE:AFL" idsrc="xmltag.org" />AFLAC in <location value="LU/us.ga.colbus" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Columbus, Ga. The six defendants received various amounts of money from <org value="NYSE:AFL" idsrc="xmltag.org" />AFLAC totaling <money />$192,864.&nbsp;</p> <p>All were allowed to continue on bond and voluntarily surrender to a <org />Bureau of Prisons facility to be designated in the near future. </p> <p>The 22 others who have pleaded guilty and are pending sentencing this fall for their roles in the scheme are: <person />Lucila Alcala, 40, <person />Lilly Perez, 32, <person />Desiree Rodriguez, 34, <person />Jose D. Rodriguez, 34, <person />Steven Betancourt, 39, <person />Rachel Betancourt, 42, <person />Maria C. Alaniz, 39, <person />Patricia Cerda-Flores, 44, <person />Dalia Cerda-Delgado, 39, <person />Leonor Salinas, 46, <person />Rebecca Castillo, 41, <person />Ninfa Reyes, 38, <person />Noemi Villareal, 60, <person />Norma Flores, 54, <person />Nora L. Palacios, 53, <person />Georgina Flores, 43, <person />Jessica Herrera, 30, <person />Nancy Rodriguez, 32, <person />Maria Cantu, 56, <person />Denise Rendon, 38, <person />Beatriz Carreon 44, and <person />Minerva Murguia, 43. </p> <p>The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by the <org />FBI. Assistant <location value="LC/us" idsrc="xmltag.org" />United States Attorney <person />Greg Saikin is prosecuting the case.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> </div>urn:uuid:2fd5949c-316a-448f-9ea3-e158e6680306Steve Jobs urged people to think different, and wowed them when his own different thinking put thousands of songs in their pockets, the power of the Internet at their fingertips and a whole world of possibilities in the palm of their hands. For many,...Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:39:10 -0500Steve Jobs urged people to think different, and wowed them when his own different thinking put thousands of songs in their pockets, the power of the Internet at their fingertips and a whole world of possibilities in the palm of their hands. <p>For many, his vision resulted in more than another gadget. The tools inspired careers, opened doors for communication and fueled a new economy.</p> <p>As Jobs admirers pay tribute to the computer wizard, the signs of his influence can be seen everywhere: A farmer in Arkansas monitors crops from the field on his iPhone. A North Carolina father develops an app that helps him communicate with his disabled son. A Silicon Valley technology worker uses an Apple program to disseminate lectures to people across the globe.</p> <p>Brent Izutsu, the manager of Stanford on iTunes U, fondly recalls Jobs' stirring 2005 commencement address to Stanford University graduates.</p> <p>"In his commencement address, which I've watched many times, Jobs mentioned you might as well do what you love because you have to do that for most of your life," Izutsu said. "Well, I guess that's what I'm doing every day. And that's thanks to him. It makes you feel good."</p> <p>The Associated Press interviewed people across the country to see how their lives were affected by Jobs, the answers reveal his vast influence as a technology pioneer, an employer and an innovator.</p> <p>___</p> <p>APPLE IN THE EARLY DAYS</p> <p>Jonathan Knowles describes the effect Jobs had on his life with one word: dominoes.</p> <p>"One thing touched off something else and that touched off something else," Knowles said.</p> <p>The first domino was the first Macintosh. Its ease of use and simple design hooked him, and that was when Knowles turned away from the biological sciences and to computer science.</p> <p>Knowles was on the faculty at the Claremont Colleges when Apple Inc. recruited him 20 years ago. He moved to the San Francisco Bay area and more dominoes kept falling. He met his wife, and is now deeply involved in his community.</p> <p>He worked for Apple for eight years in project management and consulting and ultimately worked closely with Jobs for about two years. He said while the technology drew him in, it was Jobs' passion that kept him engaged.</p> <p>"I can't be the only one, of course, who credits Jobs with so much," Knowles said.</p> <p>"It was his drive that made it happen and inspired me," Knowles added. "I'm just some guy out there in the world who sees this computer that he forced through with a Henry Ford-type attitude. He knew what people wanted even if they didn't. He knew what was possible."</p> <p>___</p> <p>INSPIRING CREATIVITY</p> <p>Rene Lee says if not for Jobs, he might well be in engineering school now. The 26-year-old, who is studying at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, says while he was choosing his course of study in the early 2000s, Apple was just coming back after a slump.</p> <p>"If it hadn't been for their success, it would have been a lot harder to convince my parents that art and design is a viable career choice," Lee said.</p> <p>Lee was fortunate to work for Jobs during an internship last summer. He never met the man whom he says had a "huge impact" on his life, but his vision and presence were felt in everything that was worked on.</p> <p>"Apple is a great example of how creativity can set you apart," Lee said. "Technology is not enough. It's all in how you humanize the technology."</p> <p>___</p> <p>A VITAL CONNECTION TO DISABLED SON</p> <p>For Paul Pauca, admiration for Apple innovations goes beyond technology. They enabled him to help his disabled son.</p> <p>Pauca, a computer science professor at Wake Forest University, and some of his students developed a $10 app for the iPad and iPhone last year called VerbalVictor. It helps his young son, Victor, and others with severe disabilities communicate.</p> <p>The program was designed after the Paucas had a series of disappointments with specialized devices intended for people with disabilities.</p> <p>Pauca's son, Victor, was born with a rare genetic disease shared only by about 50 other people in the U.S. It delays speech, among other skills.</p> <p>The app allows his parents to snap pictures and record phrases to go with them, which in turn become "buttons" on the touch screen. An example would be a picture of a playground paired with the phrase "I want to go out and play,"</p> <p>"If it wasn't for Steve Jobs, this wouldn't be possible," Pauca said. "For people with disabilities, the iPad, the iPhone, the App Store &mdash; it was really a revolution."</p> <p>His son now brings an iPod Touch and iPad to school every day so he can communicate with the teachers and fellow students at his school.</p> <p>___</p> <p>APPLES IN COTTON FIELDS</p> <p>Nathan Reed and his friends who farm in eastern Arkansas consider two brands golden: John Deere and Apple.</p> <p>Reed, 31, grows cotton and soybeans on about 6,000 acres in Marianna, Ark., in the Mississippi River Delta. He purchased his first iPhone more than two years ago, and almost all the farmers he knows also have iPhones.</p> <p>Reed uses the phone to check storage bins to see if his soybeans are too wet or too dry. He can watch the temperature whether he's in Marianna or out of the country. "The old method was to guess and turn your fans on and off when you thought you needed to," Reed said.</p> <p>Reed uses the Field Notes app to monitor how much pesticide is used on each crop. And he reads farm news and market reports while standing in his fields. That's where he saw an alert about Jobs' death.</p> <p>Reed said he and other farmers trust Jobs' creations in the same way most trust John Deere for combines and tractors.</p> <p>"His products touch a very large majority of people in the world on a daily basis," Reed said. "It's pretty amazing that one guy was able to do all that."</p> <p>___</p> <p>APPLE ALL AROUND</p> <p>On Wednesday night, as much of the world was learning about Jobs' death, Katy Culver was sitting in an emergency room with her son, who had a severely broken arm. She looked at the technology around her and was struck by the degree to which Jobs had impacted her life.</p> <p>A hospital specialist was lifting her son's spirits by helping him play Angry Birds on an iPad with his good arm. Doctors appeared to be reviewing X-rays on a MacBook. And Culver used her iPhone to alert friends and family.</p> <p>"It just hit me in that moment, how much his visionary technologies have changed my life &mdash; the way I communicate with family and friends, the way I work with my students, the way I relate to my kids," said Culver, a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.</p> <p>Culver recalled being impressed after her introduction to a Macintosh computer in 1991 when she became a teaching assistant at UW-Madison. She was especially fascinated by the computer mouse.</p> <p>"I remember remarking, 'Wow, this is a much better way to use a computer,'" she said. "Apple technologies have touched every part of my life. As a parent, my work life, everything from humor to surgery, my world is so different because of Apple."</p> <p>___</p> <p>PROTEST AND REMEMBRANCE</p> <p>Some of Jobs' products are among the tools that help Wall Street generate billions of dollars. But protesters in lower Manhattan saw no irony in mourning, or celebrating, the billionaire while opposing many others who are just as wealthy.</p> <p>The cluster of computerized protesters has been camped out for weeks in a park near Wall Street, telling the world how they believe greed destroyed the economy.</p> <p>"I dislike billionaires with a complete disregard for the future of the human race, to make money," said Thorin Caristo, taking a deep puff from his cigarette as he sat on a stone wall.</p> <p>There are billionaires &mdash; and then there was "this different, quiet billionaire," Caristo said. "He was a beneficial member of the human community."</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:8a3abec5-e6d6-4d80-b8e8-513fe3fccc71German lawmakers voted Thursday to approve expanded powers for a European bailout fund that Chancellor Angela Merkel has said is critical to ensuring economic stability on the continent. The overwhelming approval &mdash; by a vote of 523 to 85 &mdash...Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:28:10 -0500German lawmakers voted Thursday to approve expanded powers for a European bailout fund that Chancellor Angela Merkel has said is critical to ensuring economic stability on the continent. <p>The overwhelming approval &mdash; by a vote of 523 to 85 &mdash; marked a major step in addressing the sovereign debt crisis that has afflicted euro-zone countries, allowing officials to move on to additional steps. The move also helped boost European stocks Thursday, and Wall Street appeared headed for gains at its opening bell. </p> <div class="module article-side-rail left clearfix padding-right margin-top-7 margin-right-15" id="article-side-rail" sizset="2" sizcache="27"> <div class="article-video border-top border-top padding-top padding-bottom margin-bottom photo-wrapper" sizset="6" sizcache="27"> <p class="caption">Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Global investors anticipate Europe's debt crisis leading to an economic slump, a financial meltdown and social unrest in the next year with 72 percent predicting a country abandoning the euro as a shared currency within five years, a Bloomberg survey found. About three-quarters of those questioned this week said the euro-area economy will fall into recession during the next 12 months and 53 percent said turmoil will worsen in a banking sector laden with government bonds, according to the quarterly Global Poll of 1,031 investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers.</p> </div> <div class="article-video border-top padding-top padding-bottom margin-bottom photo-wrapper" sizset="8" sizcache="27"> <div class="relative "><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/europes-financial-contagion/2011/07/18/gIQAbT3zLI_graphic.html"></a>&nbsp; <div class="mmc_overlay"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/europes-financial-contagion/2011/07/18/gIQAbT3zLI_graphic.html"></a>&nbsp;<strong>Most important story for American economy, political system is mess in Europe</strong></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="article_body" sizset="14" sizcache="27"><article /> <p>In winning the approval, Merkel was able to round up 315 votes from lawmakers in her governing coalition, reinforcing her political standing in Germany. She also received substantial support from opposition parties.</p> <p>The expansion of powers for the bailout fund will go forward if six other euro area countries approve it over the coming weeks. But Merkel may have little room to maneuver in pushing for further measures that would increase Germany&rsquo;s commitments to helping its troubled fellow euro-users.</p> <p>Merkel said this week that a July agreement with Greece on a second bailout may have to be renegotiated based on the findings of an inspection team from the International Monetary Fund and other creditors that arrived in Athens on Thursday. Her flexibility may be limited by the parliamentary vote.</p> <p>&ldquo;We are in an exceptionally difficult situation, because the financial markets remain extremely uncertain,&rdquo; German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in parliament ahead of the vote, in a bid to win support for the measures.</p> <p>Germany became the latest country to approve expanded powers and a larger size for the European bailout fund, which is known as the European Financial Stability Facility. Six countries still need to approve the changes, which were accepted by euro area leaders in July and would bring the lending capacity of the fund up to $600 billion.</p> <p>European leaders had been concerned that the original fund would not have enough money to cover the costs of extending assistance to a large economy such as Spain&rsquo;s.</p> <p>But events have outstripped the slow pace of the approvals. Greece now appears as though it will need far more assistance than leaders had hoped in the summer when the plan was approved. And should a series of large economies need help, the money that they have committed would presumably be imperiled, meaning that the fund would not be enough to assist them anyway.</p> <p>The inspection team, consisting of delegates from the IMF, the European Central Bank and the European Commission, had abruptly left Greece at the beginning of the month when it seemed to them that the country had fallen far short of targets that were a condition of the 2010 bailout. In recent weeks, Greece has proposed additional measures to raise revenues, including a property tax that will be charged on electricity bills to make it more difficult to evade.</p> <p>Protests crisscrossed Athens on Thursday, and several ministry buildings were occupied by unhappy civil servants.</p> <p>Germany, Europe&rsquo;s powerhouse economy, has been reluctant to commit to helping Greece. The reluctance has been fueled by a perception among German voters that they have made tough sacrifices over the last decade to get their economy in order as Greece borrowed to raise wages beyond what made sense for its economy.</p> <p>Merkel herself was a reluctant convert to the Greek cause, concentrating for months on preserving her coalition&rsquo;s power in a series of state elections this year. It racked up defeats that were historic in size. In recent weeks she has become more willing to speak passionately about the need to help Greece, and more articulate about the benefits that Germany, an export economy, has drawn from being able to sell its goods cheaply to the rest of Europe.</p> <p>But many in her own coalition have become convinced that committing more money to Greece is a hopeless cause and that the country should be left to default on its debts and suffer the consequences. Some in Merkel&rsquo;s junior coalition partner, the Free Democrats, have even suggested that Greece should leave the euro, a step that Merkel has said could doom the European Union.</p> <p>Before the vote, Merkel had said that she was confident she would receive a majority from within her own coalition, rather than a simple majority vote of parliament.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> </div>urn:uuid:e085443b-be63-4587-9fe9-a19c4b197a63In a blunt rejoinder to congressional Republicans, President Barack Obama called for $1.5 trillion in new taxes Monday, part of a total 10-year deficit reduction package totaling more than $3 trillion. He vowed to veto any deficit reduction package t...Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:32:45 -0500<p>In a blunt rejoinder to congressional Republicans, President Barack Obama called for $1.5 trillion in new taxes Monday, part of a total 10-year deficit reduction package totaling more than $3 trillion. He vowed to veto any deficit reduction package that cuts benefits to Medicare recipients but does not raise new revenues.</p> <p>"We can't just cut our way out of this hole," the president said.</p> <p>The president's proposal would predominantly hit upper income taxpayers but would also reduce spending in mandatory benefit programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, by $580 billion. It also counts savings of $1 trillion over 10 years from the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.</p> <p>The deficit reduction plan represents an economic bookend to the $447 billion in tax cuts and new public works spending that Obama has proposed as a short-term measure to stimulate the economy and create jobs. And it gives the president a voice in a process that will be dominated by a joint congressional committee charged with recommending deficit reductions of up to $1.5 trillion.</p> <p>His plan served as a sharp counterpoint to Republican lawmakers, who have insisted that tax increases should play no part in taming the nation's escalating national debt. Obama's plan would end Bush-era tax cuts for top earners and would limit their deductions.</p> <p>"It's only right we ask everyone to pay their fair share," Obama said from the Rose Garden at the White House.</p> <p>In issuing his threat to veto any Medicare benefits that aren't paired with tax increases on upper-income people, Obama said: "I will not support any plan that puts all the burden for closing our deficit on ordinary Americans."</p> <p>Responding to a complaint from Republicans about his proposed tax on the wealthy, Obama added: "This is not class warfare. It's math."</p> <p>The Republican reaction was swift and derisive.</p> <p>"Veto threats, a massive tax hike, phantom savings, and punting on entitlement reform is not a recipe for economic or job growth--or even meaningful deficit reduction," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement issued minutes after the president's announcement. "The good news is that the Joint Committee is taking this issue far more seriously than the White House."</p> <p>Obama's proposal comes amid Democratic demands that Obama take a tougher stance against Republicans. And while the plan stands little chance of passing Congress, its populist pitch is one that the White House believes the public can support.</p> <p>The core of the president's plan totals just over $2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years. It would let Bush-era tax cuts for upper income earners expire, limit deductions for wealthier filers and close loopholes and end some corporate tax breaks. It also would cut $580 billion from mandatory programs, including $248 billion from Medicare. It also targets subsidies to farmers and benefits programs for federal employees.</p> <p>Officials cast Obama's plan as his vision for deficit reduction, and distinguished it from the negotiations he had with House Speaker John Boehner in July as Obama sought to avoid a government default.</p> <p>As a result, Obama's proposal includes no changes in Social Security and no increase in the Medicare eligibility age, which the president had been willing to accept this summer.</p> <p>Administration officials also said that Obama's $1.5 trillion in new taxes is a goal that Congress could achieve through a broad overhaul of the tax code. They said the president's specific proposals represent one way to get to that goal under the existing tax code.</p> <p>Coupled with about $1 trillion in cuts already approved by Congress and signed by the president, overall deficit reduction would total more than $4 trillion, a number many economists cite as a minimum threshold to bring the nation's debt under control.</p> <p>Key features of Obama's plan:</p> <p>--$1.5 trillion in new revenue, which would include about $800 billion realized over 10 years from repealing the Bush-era tax rates for couples making more than $250,000. It also would place limits on deductions for wealthy filers and end certain corporate loopholes and subsidies for oil and gas companies.</p> <p>--$580 billion in cuts in mandatory benefit programs, including $248 billion in Medicare and $72 billion in Medicaid and other health programs. Other mandatory benefit programs include farm subsidies and federal employee benefits. Administration officials said 90 percent of the $248 billion in 10-year Medicare cuts would be squeezed from service providers. The plan does shift some additional costs to beneficiaries, but those changes would not start until 2017.</p> <p>--$430 billion in savings from lower interest payment on the national debt.</p> <p>-- $1 trillion in savings from drawing down military forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.</p> <p>Republicans have ridiculed the war savings as gimmicky, but House Republicans included them in their budget proposal this year and Boehner had agreed to count them as savings during debt ceiling negotiations with the president this summer.</p> <p>Illustrating Obama's populist pitch on tax revenue, he suggested that Congress establish a minimum tax on taxpayers making $1 million or more in income. The measure -- the White House calls it the "Buffett Rule" for billionaire investor Warren Buffett -- is designed to prevent millionaires from taking advantage of lower tax rates on investment earnings than what middle-income taxpayers pay on their wages.</p> <p>That minimum rate, however, is not included in the White House revenue projections. Officials said it was a suggestion for Congress if it were to undertake an overhaul of the tax code.</p> <p>.At issue is the difference between a taxpayer's tax bracket and the effective tax rate that taxpayer pays. Millionaires face a 35 percent tax bracket, while middle income filers fall in the 15 or 25 percent bracket. But investment income is taxed at 15 percent and Buffett has complained that he and other wealthy people have been "coddled long enough" and shouldn't be paying a smaller share of their income in federal taxes than middle-class taxpayers.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:b2a13522-15f5-4275-88a3-46f53b0977e7 State Farm is proposing changes to home insurance deductibles that consumer advocates warn would reduce the amount consumers could collect on&nbsp;claims. As part of a notice to Texas insurance regulators that it plans to increase homeowner rates an...Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:45:04 -0500<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p jQuery1315924945468="2">State Farm is proposing changes to home insurance deductibles that consumer advocates warn would reduce the amount consumers could collect on&nbsp;claims.</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="3">As part of a notice to Texas insurance regulators that it plans to increase homeowner rates an average 9.6 percent in October, the state's largest insurer said it plans to move all current customers to a minimum 1 percent deductible starting in&nbsp;December.</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="4">That means deductibles would be charged as a percentage of the home's insured value rather than a flat dollar&nbsp;amount.</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="5">For example, the owner of a house insured for $200,000 with a flat $1,000 deductible and a $10,000 claim would collect $9,000 from an insurer. But with a 1 percent deductible, the homeowner would recover only $8,000 because the 1 percent deductible would be $2,000.</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="6">With a 5 percent deductible, the same homeowner would collect nothing from the insurance&nbsp;company.</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="7">State Farm is making the changes because of higher claims volumes and costs, spokesman Kevin Davis said. Shifting more costs to the homeowner allows the company to limit increases on premiums, he&nbsp;said.</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="8">The company has paid more than $350 million in catastrophe claims in 2011, mainly &ldquo;due to spring hailstorms and wildfires,&rdquo; he&nbsp;said.</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="9">Insurers historically have required percentage deductibles in wind and hail policies and have offered them as a lower-cost option for other types of&nbsp;coverage.</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="10">Allstate, Texas' second-largest insurer, offers fixed-dollar deductibles, although many policyholders have a 1 percent deductible, spokesman Joe McCormick&nbsp;said.</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="11">If approved by regulators, State Farm will require customers to have a minimum 1 percent deductible for all claims, and the company is eliminating the options for flat-dollar deductibles that ranged from $500 to $4,000.</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="12">Using percentage-based deductibles means higher out-of-pocket costs for consumers who file claims, said Alex Winslow, head of consumer group Texas Watch. It also would mean policyholders would collect only for the most extreme&nbsp;losses.</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="13">&ldquo;With higher costs and less coverage, insurance will become a virtual illusion for most middle-class homeowners,&rdquo; Winslow said, noting that other insurers are likely to follow if State Farm is allowed to move everyone to percentage deductibles. &ldquo;This will mean higher costs for consumers,&nbsp;period.&rdquo;</p> <p jQuery1315924945468="14">As for the planned rate increase, the premium change for any customer will vary based on the home's age, coverage and other&nbsp;factors.</p> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a><br /> </div>urn:uuid:aa38dc40-206d-44bc-b500-594d5d50455bThe first meeting of the super committee on deficit reduction opened in outwardly bipartisan fashion Thursday as it begins the daunting task of cutting federal deficits by $1.5 trillion by Thanksgiving. The Democratic and Republican co-chairs, Sen. ...Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:33:17 -0500The first meeting of the super committee on deficit reduction opened in outwardly bipartisan fashion Thursday as it begins the daunting task of cutting federal deficits by $1.5 trillion by Thanksgiving.<br /> <br /> The Democratic and Republican co-chairs, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), entered the hearing room together. Hensarling chaired the meeting, but the co-chairs will alternate the responsibility, with Murray scheduled to lead the next one.<br /> <br /> Several pink-outfitted protesters greeted the committee with signs reading "Tax the rich!" before being admonished to show decorum. Outside, protesters shouted "Jobs now!" and brought the meeting to a momentary standstill.<br /> <br /> Hensarling said he approached the job with "urgency, high hopes and realistic expectations," noting it "will not be easy."<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Murray said she was heartened that the 12 members, an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, had not publicly drawn lines in the sand.<br /> <br /> "We must all be open to compromise," Murray said.<br /> <br /> Thursday's meeting is largely an organizational one, as the committee sets rules and procedures. Every step in its formation over the last month has been a partisan dance, fraught with potential disagreement.<br /> <br /> The panel was created from the deal Congress struck last month to raise the nation's debt ceiling. It has less than three months to reach its goal of $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade or mandatory spending cuts to defense and domestic programs will be made in 2013.<br /> <br /> Both sides want to avoid that outcome. But past efforts have stalemated as Republicans refuse new taxes and Democrats resist cuts to Medicare and other entitlements without new revenue.<br /> <br /> In a nod to emerging leaders on the panel, Republicans allowed Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to follow the chairs with the first opening statement. Portman is a former director of the White House Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush, and widely seen as a budget pro who understands the severity of the nation's budget problems and the need for both tax and spending reforms.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> <br /> <br />urn:uuid:1b8d0142-b064-4ff3-84b4-e16a461cb4e3The first meeting of the super committee on deficit reduction opened in outwardly bipartisan fashion Thursday as it begins the daunting task of cutting federal deficits by $1.5 trillion by Thanksgiving. The Democratic and Republican co-chairs, Sen. ...Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:32:52 -0500The first meeting of the super committee on deficit reduction opened in outwardly bipartisan fashion Thursday as it begins the daunting task of cutting federal deficits by $1.5 trillion by Thanksgiving.<br /> <br /> The Democratic and Republican co-chairs, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), entered the hearing room together. Hensarling chaired the meeting, but the co-chairs will alternate the responsibility, with Murray scheduled to lead the next one.<br /> <br /> Several pink-outfitted protesters greeted the committee with signs reading "Tax the rich!" before being admonished to show decorum. Outside, protesters shouted "Jobs now!" and brought the meeting to a momentary standstill.<br /> <br /> Hensarling said he approached the job with "urgency, high hopes and realistic expectations," noting it "will not be easy."<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Murray said she was heartened that the 12 members, an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, had not publicly drawn lines in the sand.<br /> <br /> "We must all be open to compromise," Murray said.<br /> <br /> Thursday's meeting is largely an organizational one, as the committee sets rules and procedures. Every step in its formation over the last month has been a partisan dance, fraught with potential disagreement.<br /> <br /> The panel was created from the deal Congress struck last month to raise the nation's debt ceiling. It has less than three months to reach its goal of $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade or mandatory spending cuts to defense and domestic programs will be made in 2013.<br /> <br /> Both sides want to avoid that outcome. But past efforts have stalemated as Republicans refuse new taxes and Democrats resist cuts to Medicare and other entitlements without new revenue.<br /> <br /> In a nod to emerging leaders on the panel, Republicans allowed Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to follow the chairs with the first opening statement. Portman is a former director of the White House Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush, and widely seen as a budget pro who understands the severity of the nation's budget problems and the need for both tax and spending reforms.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> <br /> <br />urn:uuid:75bf8a36-65cf-4205-b6df-2d05cbb3f066It's official -- almost. An anticipated rubber-stamp vote by Southeastern Conference presidents to accept Texas A&amp;M as a member turned into conditional approval late Tuesday night when word surfaced of possible legal action by a Big 12 school. &n...Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:22:59 -0500<p>It's official -- almost. An anticipated rubber-stamp vote by Southeastern Conference presidents to accept Texas A&amp;M as a member turned into conditional approval late Tuesday night when word surfaced of possible legal action by a Big 12 school.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="off" style="line-height: 12px; margin: auto auto auto 5px; width: 232px; float: right; font-size: 12px;" jQuery1315408897609="2"> <div class="blog-captioned-photo0" jQuery1315408897609="4"> <div class="photo-container" style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; height: 213px; clear: both; padding-top: 0px;" jQuery1315408897609="6"><a href="http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/campus-rivalry/2011/09/07/shermanx-large.jpg" target="_blank" s_oc="null"></a>&nbsp;</div> <div class="controls" jQuery1315408897609="14"></div> </div> </div> In a statement released Wednesday morning, the league said it unanimously approved A&amp;M's application but under the condition that the remaining Big 12 schools offer no roadblocks to the Aggies departure. <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The SEC release said it was assured in a Sept. 2 letter that all Big 12 schools condoned the A&amp;M move. But then on Tuesday, the SEC said it found out one Big 12 school had withdrawn its approval, leaving the SEC to say the Aggies would be approved "upon receiving acceptable reconfirmation that the Big 12 and its members have reaffirmed the letter dated September 2, 2011."</p> <p>The SEC did not name the school. <em>The Dallas Morning News</em> reported that Big 12 member Baylor was considering some sort of legal action. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY that Baylor was the school. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.</p> <p>The statement from Florida president Dr. Bernie Machen, chair of the SEC's presidents and chancellors:</p> <blockquote> <p>"After receiving unanimous written assurance from the Big 12 on September 2 that the Southeastern Conference was free to accept Texas A&amp;M to join as a new member, the presidents and chancellors of the SEC met last night with the intention of accepting the application of Texas A&amp;M to be the newest member of the SEC. We were notified yesterday afternoon that at least one Big 12 institution had withdrawn its previous consent and was considering legal action. The SEC has stated that to consider an institution for membership, there must be no contractual hindrances to its departure. The SEC voted unanimously to accept Texas A&amp;M University as a member upon receiving acceptable reconfirmation that the Big 12 and its members have reaffirmed the letter dated September 2, 2011."</p> </blockquote> <p>The announcement keeps a three-month chapter alive in the ongoing drama of major conference realignment. And there could be more to come. Assuming the A&amp;M situation is settled, it would give the SEC 13 teams and an unbalance in its two-division format. It would seem the league would add a 14th at some point. So far, the league has said it is in no hurry on further expansion. Schools in the region who would seem attractive choices, like Clemson and Virginia Tech, have insisted they are staying in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Florida State, another ACC member, has only said it is happy in the league and has had no talks with the SEC.</p> <p>Missouri has been mentioned as a possible addition. It would give Arkansas a relatively close opponent and allow the SEC to expand into the Kansas City and St. Louis markets, much like A&amp;M takes the league into the talent-rich state of Texas. But so far Missouri has said it would remain in the Big 12. The other question, though, is whether the Big 12 will survive. Oklahoma president David Boren said last week the school will soon decide if it will leave, likely for the Pac-12, and Oklahoma State would be expected to follow.</p> <p>A&amp;M has been a member of the Big 12 since it combined members of the Southwest and Big Eight conferences in the mid-1990s. Last year, Nebraska and Colorado left. A&amp;M's departure leaves the league with nine teams.<em><a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2011/09/brigham-young-discussions-big-12-indpendent-byu-/1" s_oc="null">The Salt Lake Tribune</a></em>&nbsp; reported last week that Big 12 officials have talked with Brigham Young, which is playing this year as an independent in football with other sports in the West Coast Conference.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:030266f4-80d6-43fa-be32-b7697556585c If you were one of the lucky, or smart, ones who bought or had flood insurance before Irene struck and you now have flood damage, the Connecticut Insurance Department and National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) offer the following tips for filing cl...Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:20:50 -0500<div class="main_text"> <p>If you were one of the lucky, or smart, ones who bought or had flood insurance before Irene struck and you now have flood damage, the Connecticut Insurance Department and National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) offer the following tips for filing claims in the wake of the storm. Claims must be filed within 60 days of the flood.</p> <p>STEP ONE</p> <p>After experiencing a flood, contact your agent or insurance company to file a claim. An adjuster should contact you within a few days. If you don&rsquo;t hear from an adjuster, contact your insurance company or the Connecticut Insurance Department. Have the following information ready: The name of your insurance company, your policy number and a telephone and/or email address where you can be reached at all times. You can find contact information for your insurance company on the department&rsquo;s Irene Resource page.</p> <p>STEP TWO</p> <p>Separate damaged from undamaged property. Your adjuster will need evidence of the damage to your home and possessions to prepare your repair estimate. Take photographs of all of the damaged property, including discarded objects, structural damage and standing floodwater levels.</p> <p>Make a list of damaged or lost items and include their date of purchase, value, and receipts, if possible. Officials may require disposal of damaged items so, if possible, place flooded items outside of the home.</p> <p>&nbsp;STEP THREE</p> <p>Your adjuster will provide you a Proof of Loss form for your official claim for damages. You'll need to file this claim with your insurance company within 60 days of the flood. This document substantiates the insurance claim and is required before the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or insurance company can make payment.</p> <p>You'll receive your claim payment after you and the insurer agree on the amount of damages and the insurer has your complete, accurate, and signed Proof of Loss form. If major catastrophic flooding occurs, it may take longer to process claims and make payments because of the sheer number of claims submitted.</p> </div> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:28636bbc-f522-45c4-9e30-cd858b10a0b4Republicans hoping to defeat President Obama meet tonight in the first of several debates over the next few weeks that could help shape the 2012 race. If wildfires in Texas don't cause a change in his plans, Rick Perry will meet his GOP rivals in a f...Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:18:35 -0500Republicans hoping to defeat President Obama meet tonight in the first of several debates over the next few weeks that could help shape the 2012 race. <p>If wildfires in Texas don't cause a change in his plans, Rick Perry will meet his GOP rivals in a face-to-face matchup for the first time since he joined -- and shook up -- the race on Aug. 13.</p> <p>Perry, the Texas governor, sits atop Gallup and other national polls for the GOP nomination. He's been followed in those polls by Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor making his second White House bid, and Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee who has not yet declared her intentions.</p> <p>Palin won't be on the stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library tonight, but in all eight candidates will debate at 8 p.m. ET on MSNBC. The debate is sponsored by <em>Politico</em> and NBC News.</p> <p>Here are five things to watch and some questions posed by USA TODAY readers:</p> <p><strong>1) How will Rick Perry perform in his national debut?</strong></p> <p>This is a chance for the Texas governor to introduce himself to a national audience, and he's sure to get attacked by his opponents. Texas Rep. Ron Paul and a group supporting Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann already have gone after Perry.</p> <p>Perry, the longest-serving Texas governor, is sure to bring up his record of creating jobs in the Lone Star state. Two ex-governors in the debate, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, have recently outlined their economic and have been eager to claim the mantle as the top jobs creator.</p> <p>"This is Perry's coming out as a presidential candidate," says Mark Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. "It's his first opportunity to present himself in a substantive way. Right now, very few Americans have any real understanding of his positions on issues."</p> <a id="readmore"></a> <p><strong>2) Can Mitt Romney make his case and reclaim ground lost to Perry?</strong></p> <p>In the two previous debates, Romney was at the top of the national polls for the nomination and was largely untouched by his rivals during those face offs. Perry has eclipsed Romney in eight national polls since joining the race.</p> <p>"He has to do something to enthuse the core Republican base voter," Rozell says. "One new candidate jumps into the race and it knocks him out. That shows a real weakness to his candidacy."</p> <p><strong>3) Will Michele Bachmann get back her momentum?</strong></p> <p>Bachmann's momentum after her victory in the Iowa straw poll was short lived because of Perry's entrance into the race. Her first debate performance in New Hampshire helped Bachmann establish herself in the campaign, and vaulted her to the top of public opinion polls in Iowa, home to the first presidential caucuses.</p> <p>The founder of the House Tea Party Caucus, Bachmann now finds herself battling with Perry and Romney for supporters of the small-government, anti-tax movement. A recent Gallup Poll showed Perry leads Bachmann and Romney by 21 percentage points among Tea Party supporters.</p> <p>"Michele Bachmann needs to prove that she's more than Rick Perry's warmup act. She has to stand out in some way, which is tough because their positions are so similar," says John Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College near Los Angeles.</p> <p><strong>4) Can Jon Huntsman go on the attack and gain ground?</strong></p> <p>Huntsman, most recently U.S. ambassador to China, has increasingly sharpened his attacks against Romney and Perry. He criticized Romney's jobs plan as "sadly similar to that of Obama's" and made an issue of Perry's beliefs on evolution and climate change.</p> <p>This is Huntsman's chance to define himself by contrast to his rivals, and make his case to a national audience. He's averaging 1.3% in national polls on the race, according to RealClearPolitics.</p> <p><strong>5) What will Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Rick Santorum do? </strong></p> <p>Paul, the Texas congressman with libertarian views, has a strong following and finished a close second to Bachmann in the Iowa straw poll. In a new ad, he notes his 1980 support of Reagan and takes on Perry.</p> <p>Paul has done better than Gingrich, Cain and Santorum in Gallup and other national polls, but is well behind Perry in those surveys. Jesse Benton, Paul's campaign manager, was disappointed by the lack of media coverage of the Texas congressman after the Iowa straw poll.</p> <p>Gingrich, the former House speaker; Cain, ex-CEO of Godfather's Pizza; and Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, have had trouble breaking through in the campaign.</p> <p>Some USA TODAY readers have weighed in with questions they'd like to hear answered in the debate:</p> <p><strong>Jorma Larton</strong> wants to know about the candidates' religious beliefs and how they would affect the Republicans if they're elected to the White House.</p> <p>"What would you specifically do to reduce the size of the federal government and the deficit?" asks reader <strong>Dick Edmunds</strong>.</p> <p>"What would you do to reign in the federal government and return it to the principle activities outlined in the Constitution? asks <strong>Frank Rice</strong>.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:de91200f-a5cc-40a0-b8d3-0afca1627816For residents whose homes and/or vehicles have received fire damage, the Insurance Council of Texas offers the following advice: &nbsp; Assess your Damage &nbsp; Carefully check your vehicles and home for damage. If you think you have damage, contact...Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:20:26 -0500For residents whose homes and/or vehicles have received fire damage, the Insurance Council of Texas offers the following advice: <p>&nbsp;</p> <b>Assess your Damage</b> <p>&nbsp;</p> Carefully check your vehicles and home for damage. If you think you have damage, contact your insurance agent or company as quickly as possible. Take photographs or videotape the damage for your records. Make temporary repairs that are necessary to prevent any further damage to your home or property and keep receipts for reimbursement. <p>&nbsp;</p> <b>Repairing the Damage</b> <p>&nbsp;</p> Prepare a list of personal property that was damaged or destroyed. Do not make any permanent repairs until an adjuster arrives. An adjuster will work with your list of records and assess the damage in reaching a total dollar figure for compensation. <p>&nbsp;</p> <b>Total Destruction</b> <p>&nbsp;</p> Contact your agent or company representative immediately to discuss possible reimbursement of temporary living expenses. Before leaving your damaged home, make sure your address is visible and that your agent, family, neighbors and company representatives know where you can be reached. <p>&nbsp;</p> <b>Time Frame</b> <p>&nbsp;</p> Once an insurance company has received your claim, the company has 15 days to notify you that they have either accepted or rejected your claim. Insurance companies may be granted additional time by the Texas Department of Insurance to notify you because of an abundance of weather-related claims. <p>&nbsp;</p> <b>Claim Dispute</b> <p>&nbsp;</p> Most homeowner&rsquo;s insurance policies allow for an appraisal process to settle claim disputes. Carefully read your policy or inquire with your agent on how the process works. Once all differences have been settled, the insurance company has five business days to mail you a check. <p>&nbsp;</p> <b>Settlement</b> <p>&nbsp;</p> The goal of every insurance company is to put the disrupted life of their policyholders back together. In any catastrophe, insurance companies do their best to fairly and accurately assess damage and bring relief to their policyholders as quickly as possible.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:78c929a1-0e93-46c2-b2ba-628edc5e7bf4The wildfires in Texas continue to roar out of control, destroying more than 1,000 homes. With seemingly no end to the flames in sight, more than 5,000 residents were evacuated from the most-threatened areas. Gov. Rick Perry told CBS that he hopes th...Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:13:32 -0500The wildfires in Texas continue to roar out of control, destroying more than 1,000 homes. With seemingly no end to the flames in sight, more than 5,000 residents were evacuated from the most-threatened areas. <p>Gov. Rick Perry told CBS that he hopes that&nbsp;today's forecast calling for cooler temperatures and slowing winds would help firefighters make headway. But he stressed: "It's still a very critical and very fluid situation."</p> <p>The fires are being fueled by unforgiving weather conditions -- the region's relentless drought conditions and high winds attributed to former Tropical Storm Lee.</p> <p>The disaster continued to unfold overnight: 22 new fires cropped up, at least 10 of which were labeled "large" by the Texas Forest Service. Combined, they have already consumed more than 7,544 acres.&nbsp;In all, there are an estimated 85 fires burning in the state.</p> <p>Some of the newest fires were triggered by power lines that were torn down in the winds, or by residents barbecuing or getting in some chores -- such as welding -- over the long Labor Day weekend. Such seemingly innocent activities offered just enough spark to fuel a fire.&nbsp;</p> <p>"It's hot, dry and windy," Melanie Stradling, a spokeswoman for the Texas Forest Service, told The Times. "It's extremely hot on a regular basis, and you've got high winds and heat and lack of rain."</p> <p>The wildfires are particularly serious in Bastrop County, east of Austin, where more than 5,000 residents were evacuated. At least 476 homes were destroyed there, the highest number of homes ever lost in a single fire&nbsp;in Texas history.</p> <p>In the town of Bastrop itself, helicopters and planes loaded with water could be seen overhead as firefighters converged around homes catching fire along a state highway outside the city.</p> <p>"Waiting is the most frustrating thing," said Gina Thurman, 47, choking back tears as she sat by herself on a curb outside Ascension Catholic Church, one of several shelters in the area. "You're sitting there and you don't know anything but your house is probably burning."</p> <div>Perry, considered by many to be the Republican front-runner in the race for the White House,&nbsp;canceled&nbsp;plans to appear at a candidate forum in South Carolina on Monday so he could deal with the unfolding disaster. It was unclear whether he would make Wednesday's debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library &amp; Museum in Simi Valley.</div> <div>&nbsp;<br /> <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0153915df4b0970b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img title="TEXAS-WILDFIRES_Burn" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c630a53ef0153915df4b0970b image-full" style="border: 0px solid;" alt="TEXAS-WILDFIRES_Burn" src="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0153915df4b0970b-800wi" /></a> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a></div>urn:uuid:db5c6b37-2192-4cbc-9595-1a03f7bfce05More than 1 in 5 Texas driverslack the auto insurance required by state law. The Texas Department of Insurance recently reported that 21.6% of all drivers statewide were driving without insurance. Bexar County registered a mark of 22.9% of drivers wi...Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:21:09 -0500<p>More than 1 in 5 Texas driverslack the auto insurance required by state law. The Texas Department of Insurance recently reported that 21.6% of all drivers statewide were driving without insurance. Bexar County registered a mark of 22.9% of drivers without insurance, trailing only Dallas County (24.1%) for the lead in the most populated counties in the state. South Texas had the highest percentage of uninsured drivers, with Cameron County leading the state with 30.4%. This equates to about 4.2 million drivers statewide who are driving without car insurance.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>This report is particularly discouraging in light of the recent efforts by State officials to increase the number of insured drivers. The state started TexasSure in 2008, designed to notify drivers that they lacked insurance and publicize the need for insurance. The program was initially effective, reducing the number of uninsured from 24.3% in 2008 to 21.6% in 2010. But it appears that the numbers of stagnated.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Some in the insurance industry have cited the down economy for the lack of insured drivers. This argument may be specious because of the extended economic downturn in the country since 2008. Another factor could be the continued increase in insurance premiums across the board for Texans. Possibly this biggest factor is that Texas does not fine uninsured drivers until they are pulled over for another traffic violation; other states primitively issue citations to uninsured drivers based on comparisons of registered car and the insurance rolls.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>It is against the law to drive without auto insurance in Texas. Violators are subject to a $350 fine for a first offense and up to a $1000 fine and suspension of a drivers license for a second violation.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Texas drivers can protect themselves from the wave of uninsured drivers by caring Uninsured Motorist protection on their own policy. For a small increase in premiums, drivers can be insured if they suffer injury or property loss at the hands of an uninsured motorist.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:ef63af33-c937-49c6-9780-d842169e9335Health insurers will have to start publicly justifying big rate hikes, according to a new requirement of the healthcare law implemented Thursday to get insurance companies to hold down skyrocketing premiums. The new rules will mandate that insurers ...Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:15:59 -0500Health insurers will have to start publicly justifying big rate hikes, according to a new requirement of the healthcare law implemented Thursday to get insurance companies to hold down skyrocketing premiums.<br /> <br /> The new rules will mandate that insurers post explanations of premium increases&nbsp;exceeding 10%&nbsp;on their websites and submit them to state and federal regulators, who will also post them, starting later this year.<br /> <br /> <div class="articlerail"> <div class="googleAd"></div> </div> &ldquo;For far too long, families and small employers have been at the mercy of insurance rate increases that often put coverage out of their reach,&rdquo; Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. &ldquo;Rate review will shed a bright light on the industry&rsquo;s behavior and drive market competition to lower costs.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> The new rules do not give state and federal regulators new authority to block rate hikes, however, even if government officials find the increases are unjustified.<br /> <br /> Some states already have this power, and several particularly aggressive states, such as Oregon and Rhode Island, routinely make insurers lower their rate increases after determining proposed rate hikes are unjustified.<br /> <br /> At the same time, state regulators have been beefing up oversight of insurance companies with the help of federal grant money made available by the healthcare law President Obama signed last year.<br /> <br /> But to the chagrin of consumer advocates, 30 states still do not have authority to block rate hikes in the individual and small-group markets, according to a 2010 survey by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;&ldquo;Disclosure alone will never be enough to prevent health insurers from charging unreasonable insurance premiums. To protect consumers, regulators must have the power to review and reject excessive rates,&rdquo; said Carmen Balber, Washington director for California-based Consumer Watchdog.<br /> <br /> The insurance industry, long a powerhouse in state capitols nationwide, has vigorously fought efforts to give regulators this enhanced authority, saying it is unnecessary.<br /> <br /> This week , an effort in California to give the state&rsquo;s insurance commissioner greater authority collapsed in the statehouse.<br /> <br /> Thursday, America&rsquo;s Health Insurance Plans, the industry&rsquo;s Washington-based lobbying arm, reiterated it opposition to enhanced oversight, suggesting that premium hikes are &ldquo;a reflection of the underlying cost of medical care in a local market.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> The Obama administration plans to rely on state insurance regulators to scrutinize insurance rates.<br /> <br /> But federal regulators will conduct insurance oversight in several states where the administration has determined that state oversight is inadequate.<br /> <br /> In the future, the Obama administration plans to work with states to set individual state-by-state threshholds for rate hikes that will require public explanation from insurance companies.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:9c637f56-fb3d-4345-b729-8f3efea66e28Much as the risk of tornadoes, hurricanes, wild fires and other destructive weather forces vary from state to state, so does property insurance for homeowners. With costs and coverage levels as inconsistent as the weather itself, consumers must navig...Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:38:56 -0500<p class="textBodyBlack">Much as the risk of tornadoes, hurricanes, wild fires and other destructive weather forces vary from state to state, so does property insurance for homeowners. With costs and coverage levels as inconsistent as the weather itself, consumers must navigate a complex market to pick the right policies. </p> <a name="StoryImage"></a> <p class="textBodyBlack">&nbsp;</p> Given the variability, it is worthwhile to do comparison shopping from time to time to make sure the premium you are paying and the coverages provided are appropriate,&rdquo; says Don Griffin, vice president of <b><strong>Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, </strong></b>or PCI. <p>&nbsp;</p> <p class="textBodyBlack">Indeed, average homeowner insurance premiums range anywhere from $400 to $1,400 a year, according to the PCI. For instance, homeowners in Idaho pay an average of $401&nbsp; per year, whereas those in Florida pay $1,399.<br /> <br /> <br /> A state-regulated industry, there is no national &ldquo;norm,&rdquo; and the top-ten most expensive states for homeowners insurance are literally all over the map.</p> <p class="textBodyBlack">Note that these rates do not include separate charges for states susceptible to hurricanes and earthquakes. Hurricane or "windstorm" coverage averages $2,769 per year, whereas separate earthquake insurance (offered only in California), ranges from $800 to $1600, depending on location. <br /> <br /> <b><strong>Insurers Inherit the Wind <br /> <br /> </strong></b>If you are in a hurricane-prone state, additional insurance is a must. What's more, insurers&rsquo; decision to drop storm-related coverage, most commonly hurricane-related, has created an entire secondary insurance pool. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack">&nbsp;</p> <div class="boxCNBC_TSFB_POLL_3" id="polltable"> <div class="pollQuestion">Should insurers be allowed to charge homeowners special rates for hurricane coverage?</div> <div></div> <div id="resultsDiv"> <p>&nbsp;</p> This market called &ldquo;windstorm insurance&rdquo; exists to supplement &ldquo;normal&rdquo; homeowner insurance, and is currently offered in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. (See slideshow.)</div> </div> <p class="textBodyBlack">&ldquo;We call it the market of last resort because it&rsquo;s for property losses that the insurance industry is not willing to absorb themselves,&rdquo; says Griffin of PCI. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack">Considered &ldquo;high-risk,&rdquo; homeowners in these states often cannot secure hurricane, hail, tornado, or flood insurance for their property. Hence their only option is to buy windstorm, with its own separate premium and deductible. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack">&ldquo;<b><strong>Allstate</strong></b>, <b><strong>State farm</strong></b>, and <b><strong>Travelers Insurance</strong></b> all exclude wind. So homeowners in a wind zone pay for two separate policies &mdash; one for standard risks like fire, theft, and explosions, and a separate policy for wind damage,&rdquo; says Jeff Schulze, principal agent of <b><strong>Owens Insurance </strong></b>in South Carolina. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"><b><strong>Earthquakes are Extra </strong></b></p> <p class="textBodyBlack">Also separate from standard insurance, are earthquake policies. Due to their high cost, 90 percent of homes in California do not have earthquake insurance, according to the <b><strong><strong>California Earthquake Authority, or CEA</strong></strong></b>. A non-profit insurance company, the CEA insures only 821,000 homes in the entire state. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack">CEA Chief Executive Glenn Pomeroy explains: &ldquo;We struggle to make our coverage as affordable as possible. Our rates are adjusted for high-severity, low-frequency risk. But it all depends on where the home is located. If we take an average $400,000 home with an average risk profile, that&rsquo;s an $800 per year premium. But place that same home near a seismic area and you could double that to $1,600.&rdquo; </p> <p class="textBodyBlack">Looking to cover more Californians, Pomeroy filed with the state for an overall 12 percent reduction in rates. While he waits for an outcome, the solution is less clear for other &ldquo;high-risk&rdquo; states, where no such rate regulation is being considered. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:30b45c28-6ce1-48cb-a3ac-d536126a8b9aCongressional leaders scrambled for enough votes on Monday to push through an 11th-hour White House-backed deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avert an unprecedented debt default. Just one day before the deadline to lift the government's borro...Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:32:52 -0500Congressional leaders scrambled for enough votes on Monday to push through an 11th-hour White House-backed deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avert an unprecedented debt default. <p>Just one day before the deadline to lift the government's borrowing authority, the Democratic-led Senate was expected to pass the $2.1 trillion deficit-cutting plan later on Monday but lingering uncertainty about its fate in the more fractious Republican-controlled House of Representatives rattled financial markets worldwide.</p> <p>Leaders of both parties worked furiously to sell their rank-and-file on a deal reached with President Barack Obama on Sunday in a bid to end an acrimonious impasse that has undermined America's stature at home and abroad.</p> <p>Global markets at first showed signs of relief that the United States appeared to be dodging default, but fears that the country might still lose its triple-A credit rating even with a debt deal contributed to a fizzle in a brief stocks rally.</p> <p>"We avoided the possibility of a default, but now concerns are turning to a possible downgrade," said Phil Streible, senior market strategist with futures broker Lind-Waldock in Chicago.</p> <p>Votes were expected later in the day in the House of Representatives and Senate on a plan to cut spending over 10 years, form a powerful new congressional committee to recommend a deficit-reduction package by late November, and raise the U.S. borrowing limit through 2013.</p> <p>U.S. lawmakers split into Democratic and Republicans camps to hear appeals from their party leaders to approve the deal which emerged from feverish negotiations as the clock ticked toward a Tuesday deadline to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. Party leaders are hoping for sizable majorities in order to give the deal credibility.</p> <p>If Congress fails to approve the deal by Tuesday, the United States will no longer be able to borrow money to pay all of its bills, a prospect that could have global financial consequences.</p> <p>It is expected to pass the Senate, but could face a harder path in the House where both conservative Tea Party supporters and liberal lawmakers have expressed dissatisfaction.</p> <p>House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, a leading liberal, said she was still undecided. "We are very concerned that a bill that makes these big cuts and has not one red cent from the wealthiest people in our country, no revenue, is very disconcerting," Pelosi told reporters.</p> <p>Raul Grijalva, who heads a group of liberal House Democrats in the House of Representatives, said he expects most members of his progressive caucus to vote against the deal.</p> <p>Representative Tom Cole, a vote counter for the Republican party, said he expected the Republicans House to pass the plan with a "strong vote."</p> <p>U.S. stocks rose more than 1 percent at the open on Monday, but quickly fell back in late morning trading, continuing a sag that gathered steam last week. The U.S. dollar rose modestly against the yen and the Swiss franc, a favored safe haven for nervous investors in recent weeks.</p> <p>Defense and healthcare stocks lagged the overall market because of concerns raised in the deal.</p> <p>Eric Hugel, an analyst with Stephens Inc, said the U.S. debt deal presents another "large uncertainty" for defense companies, especially because some cuts would be automatic if a 12-member congressional committee cannot agree on further budget savings.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:a236b592-e493-4648-ae3c-2f8ef36478eaThe federal government claims the southwest border is more secure than it's ever been. There are more agents and barriers, more choppers, drones, sensors and hi-tech cameras than ever before. Yet, state officials in Texas maintain the illegal flow of...Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:19:50 -0500<p>The federal government claims the southwest border is more secure than it's ever been. There are more agents and barriers, more choppers, drones, sensors and hi-tech cameras than ever before.</p> <p>Yet, state officials in Texas maintain the illegal flow of people and drugs is worse than ever &mdash; proof, they say, the border is out of control. To back up his rhetoric, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has declared his own war on the traffickers.</p> <p><strong>The Border Threat: Real Or Rhetorical?<br /> </strong></p> <p>President Obama came to El Paso, Texas, in May to praise his homeland security directors for the good job they're doing on the southwest border.</p> <div class="bucketwrap photo300" id="res137459216">&nbsp;Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks at a fundraising event for the New York GOP earlier this month. Some think he may be highlighting border security in anticipation of a run for the White House. <div class="enlarge_measure">&nbsp;<br /> Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks at a fundraising event for the New York GOP earlier this month. Some think he may be highlighting border security in anticipation of a run for the White House.</div> </div> <p>"Under their leadership, we have strengthened border security beyond what many believed was possible. They wanted more agents at the border. Well, we now have more boots on the ground on the southwest border than at any time in our history," he said.</p> <p>But not everyone thinks that's true, including Gov. Perry.</p> <p>"This president either does not know or does not care what is going on on the border of Texas," he said on Fox News for a special report about the Texas border. The on-screen graphic read "Under Attack."</p> <p>"I don't want the people of the state of Texas to have to be the catalyst that finally gets the administration to understand that there is great terror on our southern border," Perry said.</p> <p>So, is South Texas being terrorized by Mexican drug gangs, or is Perry trying to score political points against a president he may face in a run for the White House?</p> <p>The governor's scheduler said he was unavailable to comment for this report.</p> <p><strong>Public Safety Officers Part Of Border 'Air Force'<br /> </strong></p> <p>What's certain is that Perry has deployed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) on the border in unprecedented numbers &mdash; including an air force of more than 20 helicopters and airplanes. They act as an uninvited, but appreciated, adjunct to the U.S. Border Patrol.</p> <p>One of the captains of the department's aircraft section is Stacy Holland. Based out of McAllen, Texas, Holland is a lean former highway patrolman in an olive-drab flight suit with a .357 pistol strapped to his tactical vest.</p> <div class="bucketwrap photo300" id="res137454238">&nbsp;When a group of suspected illegal crossers spots DPS helicopters hovering over the Rio Grande, they run and hop back into this truck which speeds away from the river near Reynosa, Mexico. <div class="enlarge_measure">&nbsp;<br /> When a group of suspected illegal crossers spots DPS helicopters hovering over the Rio Grande, they run and hop back into this truck which speeds away from the river near Reynosa, Mexico.</div> </div> <p>Before taking to the sky, Holland plays some video of recent pursuits in his office. Thermal night images show frustrated drug traffickers high-tailing it back across the river into Mexico.</p> <p>"I have miles and miles and miles of these type of videotape," he says. "So to suggest that the Southwestern border is secure is absolutely ridiculous."</p> <p>A half-hour later, we're strapped into a Eurocopter A-star helicopter, hovering 600 feet over the Rio Grande. The river makes up 1,254 miles of the nearly 2,000-mile border. But it's not arrow-straight like the land border &mdash; it curls and loops like a serpent, offering countless crossings for <em>contrabandistas</em>.</p> <p>Holland rides co-pilot as the helicopters moves over Los Ebanos, Texas. On the ground, a group of people on the Mexican side, about to swim the Rio Grande, spots the chopper. They clamber back into a pickup truck and it speeds away.</p> <p><strong>Border Holes Remain Large</strong></p> <p>Holland says things are getting wilder in the area. Twice already in June, drug traffickers have fired across the river at U.S. law enforcement agents, who shot back. And in the past year and a half, drug-laden trucks trying to evade U.S. agents and recover their loads have splashed-down into the river 55 times.</p> <p><strong>"</strong>We're talking no border fence, a very open border. Does it look secure to you?" Holland asks as the helicopter follows the people on the ground. "There's nothing to deter a smuggler from getting a load across, getting on the highway and going into the U.S."</p> <div class="container con2col" id="con137455801"> <h3 class="conheader">Video Of DPS 'Splashdown' Pursuits</h3> <p class="conintrotext">Texas Governor Rick Perry has deployed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to the border, including an air force of more than 20 helicopters and airplanes. They patrol hundreds of miles of the Rio Grande River where some immigrants drive, or "splashdown," while fleeing. <br /> <br /> Credit: Texas Department of Public Safety</p> </div> <p>More than 8,000 Border Patrol agents work on the Texas-Mexico border. Yet that's still not enough to "seal the border," which is what critics seem to want. Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office issued a report that the Border Patrol has achieved operational control of 44 percent of the southern border. Of that, only 15 percent is under full control.</p> <p>Rosendo Hinojosa is Chief Border Patrol Agent for the Rio Grande Valley, which has the busiest smuggling corridors in Texas.</p> <p>"I don't know if you can seal anything. You flew over the river, you saw how many times that river turns and winds and everything else. So, what's it gonna take to seal that border?" Hinojosa asks. "We're here to provide the best protection that we can to mitigate the threats that are coming to our border. And I think we are doing a very good job of that."</p> <p><strong>Officials Don't Agree On Threat Level</strong></p> <p>Texas state officials do not agree, and they're pushing back. Even the normally sleepy state agriculture department has created a website called "Protect Your Texas Border." Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples is part of the campaign.</p> <p>"Let me be clear, the sovereignty of America is being undermined at this very moment by violent drug cartel members that are invading Texas farms and ranches," Staples says.</p> <p>Some lawmen down on the border agree with his description. McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez testified before a congressional hearing on border violence in Washington, D.C., this spring.</p> <p>"We have incursions everyday. We have people that are afraid to go out on their property," Rodriguez says. "That's not American."</p> <p>Other city officials on the border bridle at the notion they're being invaded, or &mdash; as the governor says &mdash; they live in terror. El Paso Mayor John Cook stands on the U.S. side of a bridge that connects his city to Mexico's most dangerous city. He says he wants Governor Perry to get his facts straight.</p> <p>"The governor has twice said that there's been car bombs going off in El Paso, not clarifying that it actually happened in Juarez, Mexico, state of Chihuahua," Cook says. "That's their country, that's their side of the border. This is my country, this is my side of the border."</p> <p>Cook says he doesn't know the governor's motivation but thinks it might just be an attempt to attack the Obama administration "to make it look like they're not doing their part to secure the border," he says.</p> <p>The rhetoric has, to an extent, followed party loyalty &mdash; with more Republicans saying the border is not safe, and more Democrats saying it is.</p> <p>Street cops, on the other hand, are generally apolitical. Joe Baeza, longtime investigator with the Laredo Police Department, says the overheated language from border hawks, amplified on the Internet, has gotten tiresome.</p> <p>"The Laredo Police Department has known what homeland security was before the term was coined post 9/11," Baeza says.</p> <p>"Is it safe to be on the U.S. side of the Texas/Mexican border? Absolutely. We get calls from people from big cities from like Houston and Dallas. All have the same questions: 'Is it safe? Is it as bad as we hear? Are there kidnappings in the middle of the streets and people just being blown away?' And it's not, it's nothing like that at all."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:927ac4de-0241-4792-a0e0-80c962bd89fc<img src='http://i.usatoday.net/_common/_notches/87266d87-f065-44d2-9880-5d9046ea416c-jobless-benefits.jpg' align='left' />State and federal regulators are cracking down on waste and fraud in the unemployment insurance system, abuses that have hit record levels as jobless claims surge in a weak economy. In the 12 months through March, the overpayment rate was 11.6% &m...Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:13:54 -0500<p class="firstParagraph">State and federal regulators are cracking down on waste and fraud in the unemployment insurance system, abuses that have hit record levels as jobless claims surge in a weak economy.</p> <div class="inset"> <div id="columnistmug"></div> <div class="sponsoredlinks" id="topsponsoredLinks"> <div class="afs_ad_box">In the 12 months through March, the overpayment rate was 11.6% &mdash; more than $1 for every $9 paid out, Labor Department figures show.</div> </div> </div> <p class="inside-copy">That's up from the 12 months ending in June 2010, when a record $16.5 billion, or 10.6% of the $156 billion in jobless benefits disbursed to Americans, should not have been paid, according to the department. The overpayment rate was 9.6% in fiscal 2009 and 9.2% in 2008.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Officials partly blame soaring unemployment, which forced state officials to use fraud-prevention workers to help handle an unprecedented wave of claims. "They were using every person they could find," says Gay Gilbert, Labor's unemployment insurance administrator. </p> <p class="inside-copy">Lawmakers say excess payments could go to legitimate jobless claims and help keep state unemployment trust funds solvent. About 9.3 million Americans receive benefits.</p> <div class="inset __NOTFORSYNDICATION"> <div class="singlePhotoNotch"><img alt="" src="http://i.usatoday.net/_common/_notches/87266d87-f065-44d2-9880-5d9046ea416c-jobless-benefits.jpg" /> </div> </div> <p class="inside-copy">"These dollars lost to overpayment and fraud could instead help individuals and families confront these tough economic times," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said at a recent congressional hearing.</p> <p class="inside-copy">The main reason for overpayments is that some workers continue to receive unemployment checks even after they land a new job. Another problem is that many employers fail to adequately provide state officials the reason an employee left the company so the worker's eligibility can be determined. Also, some workers receive benefits even when they don't comply with state job search requirements.</p> <p class="inside-copy">How state and federal officials are trying to reduce overpayments:</p> <p class="inside-copy">&bull;A national directory of new hires lets states identify workers still receiving benefits even after they get a new job. By the end of the year, all states must use the directory. Labor officials also plan to provide funds so overtaxed states can more frequently follow up and collect overpayments from scofflaws.</p> <p class="inside-copy">&bull;A new computer system makes it easier for employers to report why workers left their jobs. Only a few states use it but the Labor Department is providing funds to encourage wider adoption.</p> <p class="inside-copy">&bull;New rules let states recover improperly paid benefits from U.S. income tax refunds.</p> <p class="inside-copy">The department also has proposed legislation that would require states to impose penalties of at least 15% of excess payments on workers. In addition, software from On Point Technology automatically notifies employers and workers when overpayments are detected and even contacts prosecutors if workers don't pay it back.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:0780f339-f3f9-4bf7-9e82-73739062ec5aThere's no hiding the success of the "robots in disguise" franchise: "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" enjoyed the highest-grossing Fourth of July film debut ever over the weekend. Summer sequel mania was in full swing over the Independence Day holida...Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:02:49 -0500<p>There's no hiding the success of the "robots in disguise" franchise: "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" enjoyed the highest-grossing Fourth of July film debut <i>ever</i> over the weekend. Summer sequel mania was in full swing over the Independence Day holiday as the latest "Transformers" movie took in an estimated $97.5 million. "Transformers" beat the 2011 opening-weekend record previously set by "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," which just crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Director Michael Bay's third installment in the "Transformers" series took in more than $180 million during its six-day opening, which started with Tuesday night previews. While it beat the Independence Day record held by "Spider-Man 2" thanks to inflation and 3-D screenings, it fell short of the superhero sequel in terms of overall attendance and far behind the last "Transformers" opening as well. Only 38 percent of major critics found the film favorable, according to Rotten Tomatoes. </p> <p>Last weekend's big sequel, "Cars 2," suffered from the largest second-week drop in Pixar's history. The talking-car-centered animated kid flick fell 60 percent to #2 with an estimated $26.2 million, with an 11-day total of $123 million. Cameron Diaz's "Bad Teacher" was #3 on the box-office chart with $14.5 million for an 11-day total of $59.9 million. </p> <p>Critics have not been kind to "Larry Crowne," which opened at #4 with just $13.1 million. " 'Larry Crowne' has Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and a good premise and a colorful supporting cast," wrote Roger Ebert. "But what it doesn't have is a reason for existing." </p> <p>The weekend's other new romantic comedy, Selena Gomez's "Monte Carlo," failed to even crack the top five with its $7.4 million debut. </p> <p>"Super 8" was #5 with $7.8 million. JJ Abrams' homage to co-producer Steven Spielberg's thrill-filled coming-of-age stories has earned more than $108 million in four weeks of release. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:8e7e9e5d-81bc-4976-93ab-35fcb978eccdWith the stock market in an uptrend, Lululemon Athletica has risen 11.17% in the last 5 days. Volume is increasing daily. They are also splitting 2:1 July 11, 2011. Their earning report have consistantly beat analist expectation. This is my stock tha...Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:54:53 -0500With the stock market in an uptrend, <span style="font-size: 13px;">Lululemon Athletica has risen 11.17% in the last 5 days. Volume is increasing daily. They are also splitting 2:1 July 11, 2011. Their earning report have consistantly beat analist expectation. This is my stock that I would highly suggest watching. </span>urn:uuid:852cab76-158f-46af-a7d0-9c913d4744a5 The Senate has abandoned plans for a July 4 break and instead will work next week as lawmakers race the clock in an attempt to strike a compromise on avoiding a government default and reducing mammoth federal&nbsp;deficits. Senate Majority Leader Ha...Thu, 30 Jun 2011 10:26:42 -0500<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="8" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">The Senate has abandoned plans for a July 4 break and instead will work next week as lawmakers race the clock in an attempt to strike a compromise on avoiding a government default and reducing mammoth federal&nbsp;deficits.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" sizset="49" sizcache="0" jQuery1309446886935="9" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced the scheduling change Thursday, a day after President Barack Obama prodded lawmakers to act swiftly to extend the government's ability to borrow money. The Senate had been scheduled to take a week's break but instead will meet beginning&nbsp;Tuesday.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="10" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">"We'll do that because we have work to do," Reid said on the Senate&nbsp;floor.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="11" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">The House had already been scheduled to work next&nbsp;week.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="12" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">Obama had insisted there is no more time to add. And he beseeched and badgered lawmakers to complete a deal to cut long-term deficits and lift the nation's debt ceiling before Aug. 2 to avoid what his administration says would be a calamitous government&nbsp;default.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="13" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">"There's no point in putting it off," he said Wednesday. "We've got to get this&nbsp;done."</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="14" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">But neither Obama nor the divided Congress is making it easier. The White House has identified at least $1.3 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years and is proposing up to $400 billion in new tax revenue. Republicans want more spending cuts and no tax&nbsp;increases.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="15" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">Such brinkmanship relies on the clock; it is both a friend and an adversary. The problem with Aug. 2 is not that it's too soon, but that it's still four week&nbsp;away.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="16" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">At a news conference, the president sought to upend the Republican argument that deficit-cutting negotiations had come to a standstill over the White House desire to increase&nbsp;taxes.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="17" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">"The tax cuts I'm proposing we get rid of are tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, tax breaks for oil companies and hedge fund managers, and corporate jet owners," Obama&nbsp;countered.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" sizset="51" sizcache="0" jQuery1309446886935="18" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">Ever since bipartisan debt negotiations led by Vice President Joe Biden broke down last week, the White House has gradually become more aggressive, culminating with Obama's spirited news&nbsp;conference.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="19" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">He called on lawmakers to work through their July Fourth recess. He argued that his 12- and 10-year-old daughters show more discipline getting their work done. "They're not pulling all-nighters," he&nbsp;said.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="20" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">"Call me naive," he said at another point, "but my expectation is that leaders are going to&nbsp;lead."</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="21" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">Obama is tilting at an institutional dysfunction &mdash; one that he himself once seemed to recognize: "If you don't set deadlines in this town, things don't happen. The default position is inertia," he said in 2009 during the health care debate. As it turned out, his deadline came and went, and it wasn't until 2010 that the health care overhaul legislation&nbsp;passed.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="22" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">Some deadlines are too stark to avoid, but they get pushed to the brink. The government shutdown talks earlier this year came down to the final two hours. When asked what ultimately led to a deal to avoid halting government operations, one top Obama adviser said, "the&nbsp;clock."</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" sizset="52" sizcache="0" jQuery1309446886935="23" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">Senior presidential adviser David Plouffe was asked in a nationally broadcast interview Thursday if the deadline was&nbsp;real.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="24" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">"There's very little debate that that's going to change," he told NBC's "Today" show. Plouffe added, "We're in a danger zone&nbsp;now."</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" sizset="53" sizcache="0" jQuery1309446886935="25" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">Plouffe, who was Obama's campaign manager when he ran for president in 2008, said he believes Democrats and Republicans alike are going to have to "get out of their comfort zone" to reach an agreement that would increase the government's borrowing authority and avert a default on the federal&nbsp;debt.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="26" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">The White House and a lame-duck Congress in late December cut an economic deal mainly for one reason: Without action, tax increases were to kick in on Jan.&nbsp;1.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1309446886935="27" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">The Obama administration is warning that if the debt ceiling is not raised by Aug. 2, the U.S. would face its first default in history, potentially throwing world financial markets into turmoil. Many congressional Republicans aren't convinced, and some administration officials worry that it could take a financial plunge before Congress&nbsp;acts.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">It happened before, when the Bush administration tried to persuade Congress to intervene at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. The $700 billion plan to rescue banks was defeated initially in the House in late September 2008, freezing credit markets and sending stock markets into a dive. The measure passed in the ensuing&nbsp;days.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">The pending debt ceiling vote would have to raise the current borrowing limit of $14.3 trillion by about $2.4 trillion to last until the end of&nbsp;2012.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">At his news conference, Obama took issue with criticism that he has not pushed for an agreement. He argued that he has spent an hour to an hour-and-a-half each with Republican senators, Democratic senators and House members from both&nbsp;parties.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">"I've met with the leaders multiple times," he continued. "At a certain point, they need to do their&nbsp;job."</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" sizset="54" sizcache="0" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, replied that an increase in the debt ceiling will pass only if the White House agrees to spending cuts in excess of the debt limit increase, holds down future spending and raises no&nbsp;taxes.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">"The longer the president denies these realities," Boehner said, "the more difficult he makes this&nbsp;process."</p> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> </div>urn:uuid:75bc7602-0a31-4064-a6d1-a1c700c8eee2 &nbsp; Craving salty? 5 olives (any kind) (45 calories) 1 small Martin's pretzel (50 calories) 2 oz Applegate Honey and Maple Turkey Breast wrapped around 2 bread-and-butter pickles (80 calories) 1/4 cup hummus, 3 carrot sticks (80 ...Sat, 25 Jun 2011 14:24:05 -0500<div class="article-text" sizset="0" sizcache="1132"> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Craving salty?</h3> <ul sizset="0" sizcache="1132"> <li nodeIndex="1">5 olives (any kind) (45 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="2">1 small Martin's pretzel (50 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="3">2 oz Applegate Honey and Maple Turkey Breast wrapped around 2 bread-and-butter pickles (80 calories)</li> <li sizset="0" sizcache="1132" nodeIndex="4">1/4 cup hummus, 3 carrot sticks (80 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="5">1 Laughing Cow Light Swiss Original wedge, 3 pieces Kavli Crispy Thin (85 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="6">One 1-oz package tuna jerky (90 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="7">1 oz buffalo mozzarella, 1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (94 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="8">1 bag Baked! Cheetos 100 Calorie Mini Bites (100 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="9">15 Eden's Nori Maki Crackers rice crackers (110 calories)</li> <li sizset="80" sizcache="6" nodeIndex="10">1 cup unshelled edamame (120 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="11">50 Eden's Vegetable Chips (130 calories)</li> <li sizset="81" sizcache="6" nodeIndex="12">One 1-oz package of Planters NUT-trition almonds (130 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="13">1/4 cup Trader Joe's Chili con Queso, 18 baked tortilla chips (140 calories)</li> <li sizset="82" sizcache="6" nodeIndex="14">1/2 cup pumpkin seeds in shell (143 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="15">2 pieces (30 grams) prosciutto, 4 dried figs (154 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="16">1 Subway Turkey Breast Wrap (190 calories)</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Craving sweet? </h3> <ul sizset="83" sizcache="6"> <li nodeIndex="1">1 package Original Apple Nature Valley Fruit Crisps (50 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="2">1 packet O'Coco's Mocha cookies (90 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="3">1 Jelly Belly 100-calorie pack (100 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="4">One 100-calorie pack Trader Joe's Chocolate Graham Toucan Cookies (100 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="5">One 100-calorie Balance Bar (100 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="6">1 Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino bar (120 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="7">1 package Back to Nature Honey Graham Sticks (120 calories)</li> <li sizset="83" sizcache="6" nodeIndex="8">1/2 banana rolled in 1 tbsp frozen semisweet chocolate chips (123 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="9">2 tbsp Better 'n Peanut Butter, 4 stalks celery (124 calories)</li> <li sizset="84" sizcache="6" nodeIndex="10">1 bag Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop Butter Mini Bags topped with a spritz of butter spray and 1 tsp sugar (126 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="11">24 Annie's Chocolate Chip Bunny Graham cookies (140 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="12">Half of a 1.08-oz container of M&amp;M's Minis mixed with 1/3 cup lowfat granola (145 calories)</li> <li nodeIndex="13">1 McDonald's Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait (160 calories)</li> <li sizset="85" sizcache="6" nodeIndex="14">1 container Fage Greek Total 2% fat yogurt, 2 tsp honey (173 calories)</li> </ul> <p><a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> </div>urn:uuid:22893d1d-53e0-4d78-948e-b42051662415Crude oil prices tumbled Thursday on fresh news of U.S. economic weakness and a pledge by 28 countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude for August delivery fell a...Thu, 23 Jun 2011 09:52:50 -0500Crude oil prices tumbled Thursday on fresh news of U.S. economic weakness and a pledge by 28 countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves. <div class="inset"> <div id="columnistmug"></div> <div class="photo-block"><br /> On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude for August delivery fell almost $5 a barrel to around $90.51 a barrel. Oil's most recent high was $113.93 a barrel in April.</div> </div> <p class="inside-copy">The International Energy Agency, based in Paris, warned that the tight oil market "threatens to undermine the fragile global economic recovery" by forcing individuals and businesses to spend more on energy and less on other goods and services.</p> <p class="inside-copy">It said it made the move because normal increase in demand over the summer "will exacerbate the shortfall further" and pledges by some oil producers to boost ouput will take a while to have an effect.</p> <p class="inside-copy">The 28 members of the IEA &mdash; mainly oil-importing countries in Europe &mdash; will make 2 million barrels a day available from their emergency stocks over an initial period of 30 days.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Months of fighting in Libya have removed 132 million barrels of light, sweet crude oil from the market by the end of last month, the agency estimated.</p> <p class="inside-copy">Prices have been high in recent months. They eased this week, to below $93 a barrel on Thursday, due to concerns that U.S. economic growth and crude demand will weaken. Demand growth in China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, has also slipped slightly but remains robust.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:d1ce7e0e-e482-4eeb-bc8a-4d0a53506925You can now make comments on our blog! You just click View/Post Comments. Stay up to date on world and insurance news with our blog. www.reliableins.netWed, 22 Jun 2011 18:06:19 -0500You can now make comments on our blog! You just click View/Post Comments. Stay up to date on world and insurance news with our blog.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:9cf9f671-e50b-4a07-be01-f51b17de1d89Mobile devices are here to stay!&nbsp; With more of our customers using smart devices like cell phones and tables we need to stay ahead of the curve.&nbsp; With this in mind,&nbsp;our site&nbsp;system comes with a complete mobile version just for the...Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:02:47 -0500<p>Mobile devices are here to stay!&nbsp; With more of our customers using smart devices like cell phones and tables we need to stay ahead of the curve.&nbsp; With this in mind,&nbsp;our site&nbsp;system comes with a complete mobile version just for these visitors.&nbsp; All of the features found on the full site can be found on the mobile presence.</p> <p>With our automatic mobile device detection and complete mobile presence you do not need to do anything to insure that you are using the best experience possible.&nbsp; In addition to the features below, these beautifully designed mobile websites have been tested on the major devices such as iPhone, Android and Windows Phone.&nbsp; Visit our site at <a href="http://www.reliableins.net/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.reliableins.net</a>&nbsp;and save as your favorites.<br /> <br /> So go ahead and get started today to enjoy the biggest features, on the littlest of devices.</p> <ul style="color: #000000;"> <li><a href="http://turborater.com/products/websites/feature.aspx?id=107#Automatic+Mobile+Device+Detection" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Automatic Mobile Device Detection</a> </li> <li><a href="http://turborater.com/products/websites/feature.aspx?id=107#Built-In+Forms" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Built-In Forms</a> </li> <li><a href="http://turborater.com/products/websites/feature.aspx?id=107#Line+of+Business+Information" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Line of Business Information</a> </li> <li><a href="http://turborater.com/products/websites/feature.aspx?id=107#Contact+and+About+Us+Pages" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Contact and About Us Pages</a> </li> <li><a href="http://turborater.com/products/websites/feature.aspx?id=107#Click+to+Map+Locations" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Click to Map Locations</a> </li> <li><a href="http://turborater.com/products/websites/feature.aspx?id=107#Click+to+Call" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Click to Call</a> </li> <li><a href="http://turborater.com/products/websites/feature.aspx?id=107#Employee+Directory" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Employee Directory</a> </li> <li><a href="http://turborater.com/products/websites/feature.aspx?id=107#Mobile+Blog" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Mobile Blog</a> </li> <li><a href="http://turborater.com/products/websites/feature.aspx?id=107#Mobile+FAQ" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Mobile FAQ</a> </li> <li><a href="http://turborater.com/products/websites/feature.aspx?id=107#Mobile+Links" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Mobile Links</a> </li> </ul> <blockquote><a rel="nofollow">Automatic Mobile Device Detection <br /> Automatically detect mobile devices to show the most appropriate site for the visitor's needs. <br /> <br /> </a><a rel="nofollow">Built-In Forms <br /> Complete built in forms for all of our customer needs including; quotes, policy management, claims and payments. With these mobile optimized forms, you will quickly be able to contact us while out and about. <br /> <br /> </a><a rel="nofollow">Line of Business Information <br /> Gives you something to read when you visit our site from a mobile device.&nbsp; The same information you provide on our main site will be carried over to the mobile platform. <br /> <br /> </a><a rel="nofollow">Contact and About Us Pages <br /> These standard pages are also available on the mobile site. <br /> <br /> </a><a rel="nofollow">Click to Map Locations <br /> With one click access you can view our locations from their mobile device.&nbsp; With one tap, you will be automatically directed to the built in mapping application found on their device.&nbsp; From there you can easily get turn by turn driving directions using the smart devices built in navigation software. <br /> <br /> </a><a rel="nofollow">Click to Call <br /> Whenever a you are viewing a phone number on your mobile site you can easily tap the number and the phone will automatically dial your number.&nbsp; This feature makes it easy for you to contact us on the run. <br /> <br /> </a><a rel="nofollow">Employee Directory <br /> Easily access our employee directory directly from their smart phone.&nbsp; From there you can click to call, click to e-mail or download a vCard.&nbsp; This feature makes it easy for people on the go to find your information. <br /> <br /> </a><a rel="nofollow">Mobile Blog <br /> Commentary on your mobile website through the use of our built in blog feature.&nbsp; </a><br /> <br /> <a rel="nofollow">Mobile FAQ <br /> Use the Frequently Asked Questions feature to inform you of information that is commonly asked - saving time and money. <br /> <br /> </a></blockquote>urn:uuid:3157be44-e24e-40bd-8a8f-261e3159ddb3Is an updated iPhone from Apple around the corner? Bloomberg reports the tech giant will unveil a new version of the smartphone in September that will feature a faster processor and better camera. Citing "two people familiar with the plans," the repo...Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:50:06 -0500Is an updated iPhone from Apple around the corner? <p>Bloomberg reports the tech giant will unveil a new version of the smartphone in September that will feature a faster processor and better camera.</p> <p>Citing "two people familiar with the plans," the report says the upgraded iPhone will feature the same processor as the iPad 2 and an 8-megapixel camera.</p> <p>Speaking of the iPad, Bloomberg also says Apple is testing a new version of the tablet featuring a higher resolution screen.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:37189eb5-c122-414a-9fe4-af9ad838d11eIn 8:00 pm ET speech on Afghanistan, expect Obama -- in some form or fashion -- to declare success in defeating al Qaeda in the region&hellip; While the U.S. military might not like the surge withdrawal, Obama has more political leeway than ever befo...Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:46:56 -0500<p><em>In 8:00 pm ET speech on Afghanistan, expect Obama -- in some form or fashion -- to declare success in defeating al Qaeda in the region&hellip; While the U.S. military might not like the surge withdrawal, Obama has more political leeway than ever before&hellip; Huntsman&rsquo;s sluggish start yesterday and his stronger appearance on &ldquo;TODAY&rdquo; this morning&hellip; Yet he was unable to answer why his family&rsquo;s Huntsman Corporation employs more in China and India than it does in the U.S&hellip; Pawlenty goes on the air in Iowa, meaning he&rsquo;s all-in for the Ames Straw Poll&hellip; Our anti-CW on Iowa and New Hampshire&hellip; More rough news for Newt&hellip; And Huntsman stumps in South Carolina on Day 2 of his official launch.</em></p> <p>*** <b>Declaring success</b>: When President Obama announced his troop surge in Afghanistan back in Dec. 2009, he said that the &ldquo;overarching goal&rdquo; was to &ldquo;disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.&rdquo; The president went on to say, &ldquo;To meet that goal, we will pursue the following objectives&hellip; We must deny al Qaeda a safe haven. We must reverse the Taliban&rsquo;s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan&rsquo;s security forces and government, so they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan&rsquo;s future.&rdquo; In his 8:00 pm ET speech tonight on Afghanistan, Obama is expected to essentially respond to that paragraph from 2009 and say that progress has been achieved on all three fronts. And he might even say publicly what officials have been privately touting: that al Qaeda has been operationally defeated and essentially destroyed in the Af-Pak region, with the bin Laden kill being the symbolic exclamation point.</p> <p>*** <b>Obama&rsquo;s political cover</b>: The troop withdrawal that the president will announce concerns the 30,000 surge troops, not the total force in Afghanistan. There is no doubt that high-ranking officials in the U.S. military, including Gen. David Petraeus, want those surge troops to stay a bit longer there. But politically, Obama has more leeway than he&rsquo;s ever had before. Just listen to what Mitt Romney said about Afghanistan in last week&rsquo;s GOP debate. And listen to what Jon Huntsman said on &ldquo;TODAY&rdquo; this morning: &ldquo;We can probably be a little more aggressive [on withdrawal] over the next year&hellip; What we need now is a healthy dose of nation-building at home.&rdquo; One additional point: Tonight&rsquo;s speech probably buys Obama a little more space on Libya. Why? Because, for another day or two, it puts THAT conflict on A4, and that's all the U.S. wants now is time as they continue to believe they are thisclose to forcing Khadaffy out.</p> <p>*** <b>But still a challenge for the president</b>: Yet even though Obama can declare success regarding al Qaeda, and even though he has more GOP political cover on withdrawal, Afghanistan remains a challenge for him. As the Washington Post notes, &ldquo;His prime-time address must remind a skeptical electorate and a concerned Congress that the country&rsquo;s longest war remains worth fighting &mdash; and funding &mdash; for several more years.&rdquo; The New York Times adds, &ldquo;[B]ehind his words will be an acute awareness of what $1.3 trillion in spending on two wars in the past decade has meant at home: a ballooning budget deficit and a soaring national debt at a time when the economy is still struggling to get back on its feet.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:8364dffe-4753-4ff1-820a-10522bcf9054 Governor Rick Perry recently signed a number of bills affecting Texas employers, including House Bill (HB) 274, which establishes a &ldquo;loser pays&rdquo; system to discourage frivolous lawsuits. At the signing, Governor Perry said the legislation...Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:14:11 -0500<div id="displayBody"> <p>Governor Rick Perry recently signed a number of bills affecting Texas employers, including House Bill (HB) 274, which establishes a &ldquo;loser pays&rdquo; system to discourage frivolous lawsuits. At the signing, Governor Perry said the legislation &ldquo;will help make Texas that much more attractive to employers seeking to expand or relocate from countries all over the world by allowing them to spend less time in court and more time creating jobs.&rdquo; The legislation takes effect September 1, 2011. </p> <p><strong>UI bills. </strong>Governor Perry also signed several bills regarding unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. HB 2831 authorizes the Texas Workforce Commission to adjust the eligibility period for extended UI benefits as needed to take advantage of any available fully federally funded benefits. The legislation, which took effect upon signing May 28, will allow Texas to benefit from the federal government&rsquo;s recent extension of 100 percent funding of extended UI benefits through January 2012. </p> <p>In addition, Governor Perry signed Senate Bill (SB) 439, which stipulates that UI benefits will not be charged back to an employer who terminates a worker in order to reinstate a soldier upon return from military service, in compliance with the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994. The law takes effect September 1, 2011. </p> <p>The Governor also signed SB 458, which amends the state labor code to clarify the definition of last employer of a person filing an initial unemployment claim. The bill attempts to close a loophole in prior law that allowed individuals who were terminated for misconduct or who left a job without good cause to avoid being disqualified for UI benefits by accepting brief temporary employment from which they were then laid off. </p> <p>SB 458 defines &ldquo;last work&rdquo; and &ldquo;person for whom the claimant last worked&rdquo; as &ldquo;the last person for whom the claimant actually worked, if the claimant worked for that person for at least 30 hours during a week; or the employer, as defined by Subchapter C, Chapter 201, or by the unemployment law of any other state, for whom the claimant last worked.&rdquo; The law takes effect September 1, 2011. </p> <p><strong>Other bills.</strong> In response to reports that existing laws prohibiting the corporate practice of medicine made it difficult for smaller communities to attract and retain physicians, state lawmakers recently passed SB 894, which allows counties with populations of less than 50,000 to directly hire physicians. The law also authorizes designated critical access hospitals to employ physicians, as well as a hospital that is the sole medical facility in a community. The law took effect upon signing May 12. </p> <p>Finally, the legislature passed SB 265 imposing more stringent training requirements on operators and employees of childcare facilities. The law will take effect January 1, 2012. </p> <p>Further developments are on the horizon, as Governor Perry called a special legislative session May 31 to consider the state&rsquo;s budget, including &ldquo;measures that will allow school districts to operate more efficiently,&rdquo; and legislation to contain healthcare costs. </p> </div> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:e1038a01-fb21-4f14-bd73-6a552706bcfc Texas Gov. Rick Perry pledged that "we will take America back"--but did not follow it with "by running for president"--in a speech to Manhattan Republicans Tuesday night. Interestingly, Perry was speaking as a replacement for Donald Trump, who cance...Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:51:34 -0500<div class="content"> <p>Texas Gov. Rick Perry pledged that "we will take America back"--but did not follow it with "by running for president"--in a speech to Manhattan Republicans Tuesday night. Interestingly, Perry was speaking as a replacement for Donald Trump, who canceled after abandoning his own GOP 2012 ambitions. Perry took the opportunity to offer "an anti-Obama, anti-Democrat stemwinder," <em>The New York Times</em>' Jim Rutenberg reports, touting the booming economy in Texas as evidence that there should be less federal regulation of&nbsp; the states.</p> <p>"I find it ironic to be filling in for Donald Trump tonight," Perry said. "He's known for saying 'You're fired.' We're known for saying 'You're hired.' That's what we do in Texas." Buzz about a potential Perry campaign has been building in the past month, and intensified when candidate Newt Gingrich's campaign top staff quit--including two aides who've worked for Perry. One of them, David Carney, was at Perry's side in New York, Rutenberg reports.</p> <p>But Perry is still coy about whether he'll get in the race. He told the <em>Texas Tribune</em>'s Jay Root that "it's pretty interesting" that he's been the subject of so much presidential speculation recently. "People would like to have some other options in the race, obviously," Perry said. The Texan then told Fox News he was "giving it some serious thought."</p> <p>Politico's Maggie Haberman says Perry "sounded like a candidate in waiting," his address like "a draft of a stump speech." And he urged the crowd to text "leadership" to a phone number "to receive updates on his efforts to battle federal incursion into state activities," The Associated Press' Beth Fouhy notes. Haberman says that's "an organizing tool often used by campaigns."</p> <p>Reactions to Perry's speech are pretty positive. The <em>Spectator</em>'s Alex Massie writes that Perry has the advantage of a simple story and theme: that "Texas is working" and that "what's worked for Texas can work for the rest of America too." And the <em>National Review</em>'s Rich Lowry is impressed by Perry, writing:</p> <blockquote>There are three things a presidential candidate generally needs: 1) presence (does he fill the room?); 2) a narrative (does his biography and/or record add up to something?); 3) a theme (does he have a point in running?). Based on tonight, I&rsquo;d say Perry could well have all three.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </blockquote></div>urn:uuid:f5b688bf-0796-4e7c-8610-91c054609f07In a media event in San Francisco, Google announced new features including Voice Search, Search by Image, and Instant Pages. Interestingly, these features will only be available through the Chrome or Firefox browsers by using the appropriate plugin. ...Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:49:17 -0500In a media event in San Francisco, <em>Google</em> announced new features including <em>Voice Search, Search by Image</em>, and <em>Instant Pages</em>. Interestingly, these features will only be available through the <em>Chrome</em> or <em>Firefox</em> browsers by using the appropriate plugin.<br /> <br /> <strong>Voice Search</strong><br /> This feature, quite popular on mobile phones, has finally hit the desktop version. Currently, it is only supported by <em>Google Chrome 11</em> or higher for obvious reason. Initially, it will only support the English language. Oh yes, it does require a mic.<br /> <br /> Apart from the endless fun of throwing any weird question at your computer, this feature can actually be useful. Not just useful, but very useful - if you are not comfortable with hard-to-spell words (like me). It will also come handy when you can't type a query because your hands are full, say while having lunch. All this hinges on the assumption that it will actually understand what you're trying to say.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> &nbsp; <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MQnZe_Iggx0" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <br /> <br /> <strong>Search by Image</strong><br /> Google has been providing image results on text queries, but now it also supports the converse. If you are curious about an image you happen to have on the computer, just drag it into the search box on (http://images.google.com Alt text: Search by Image) images.google.com. Google's computer vision techniques will then match your image to other images in the index and provide a "best guess" text description of the query, as well as similar images. This can also be done by pasting the image URL in the search box. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> &nbsp; <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/t99BfDnBZcI" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <br /> <br /> <strong>Instant Pages</strong><br /> This feature will help users get to their desired search results faster. According to Google, when you perform a search, it will pre-render certain web pages in the search result that are most likely to be visited by you. The company is currently building this feature into Chrome. Instant Pages is expected to go beta later this week. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> &nbsp; <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/t99BfDnBZcI" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <br /> <br /> These added features are promising and look likely to be embraced by users in short order. However, Google has turned a blind eye to other popular browsers. Is it possible that these features have more to do with Chrome's market share than to providing more convenience to users?<br /> <br />urn:uuid:76d0cb93-98ce-44eb-9f82-0359110c418dPakistan has arrested about 30 to 40 civilians since it began investigating the killing of Osama bin Laden last month, a military spokesman said, denying a report that an army major was among those detained. Some of those arrested have already been r...Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:35:35 -0500Pakistan has arrested about 30 to 40 civilians since it began investigating the killing of Osama bin Laden last month, a military spokesman said, denying a report that an army major was among those detained. <p class="indent">Some of those arrested have already been released, Brigadier Azmat Ali, director of public relations at the army&rsquo;s media unit in Rawalpindi, said by phone today. Ali declined to give further details of the detentions.</p> <p class="indent">A report in the New York Times today that an army officer is being held for aiding the CIA search for the al-Qaeda leader is &ldquo;totally wrong,&rdquo; Ali said. &ldquo;I can say with authority that all arrests were non-military.&rdquo;</p> <p class="indent">Within 24 hours of the U.S. commando raid that killed bin Laden, Pakistani security officials began arresting people from the neighborhood where the al-Qaeda leader had sheltered, residents there said in interviews May 3. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said May 9 that the government would investigate how officials had failed to detect both bin Laden&rsquo;s presence and the U.S. commando raid that killed him.</p> <p class="indent">The Times report said that Pakistan&rsquo;s top military spy agency had detained five Pakistani informants who fed information to the Central Intelligence Agency in the months leading up to the raid that killed bin Laden on May 2.</p> <p class="center">Pakistan Aid</p> <p class="indent">Those arrested include a Pakistani army major who officials said copied the license plates of cars visiting bin Laden&rsquo;s compound in Abbottabad, the report said, citing American officials it didn&rsquo;t name.</p> <p class="indent">Tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan have risen since the raid on bin Laden&rsquo;s compound in Abbottabad, a town about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Islamabad and that is home to the nation&rsquo;s most prestigious military academy and many retired military officers.</p> <p class="indent">U.S. lawmakers have questioned Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to fighting militants and have said that further aid should be tied to actions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Pakistan&rsquo;s army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on June 10 said he will not allow the U.S. to conduct independent espionage operations on the country&rsquo;s soil.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:434eab71-6460-469a-b328-fca3db192bb11 Google google.com Enables users to search the world's information, including webpages, images, and videos. Offers... More unique features and search technology. 2 Facebook facebook.com A social utility that connects people, to keep up with friend...Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:50:26 -0500<div class="count">1 <a href="/siteinfo/google.com">Google</a></div> <div class="desc-container">google.com <div class="description">Enables users to search the world's information, including webpages, images, and videos. Offers... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="56">More</a> unique features and search technology.</div> </div> <p>2 <a href="/siteinfo/facebook.com">Facebook</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">facebook.com <div class="description">A social utility that connects people, to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and ... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="57">More</a>videos.</div> </div> </li> <p>3 <a href="/siteinfo/yahoo.com">Yahoo!</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">yahoo.com <div class="description">A major internet portal and service provider offering search results, customizable content, cha... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="58">More</a>trooms, free e-mail, clubs, and pager.</div> </div> </li> <p>4 <a href="/siteinfo/youtube.com">YouTube - Broadcast yourself</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">youtube.com <div class="description">YouTube is a way to get your videos to the people who matter to you. Upload, tag and share your... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="59">More</a> videos worldwide!</div> </div> </li> <p>5 <a href="/siteinfo/amazon.com">Amazon.com</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">amazon.com <div class="description">Amazon.com seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and disc... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="60">More</a>over anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Site has numerous personalization features and services including one-click buying, extensive customer and editorial product reviews, gift registries, gift certificates, wish lists, restaurant and movie listings, travel, and photo processing.</div> </div> </li> <p>6<a href="/siteinfo/wikipedia.org">Wikipedia</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">wikipedia.org <div class="description">A free encyclopedia built collaboratively using wiki software. (Creative Commons Attribution-Sh... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="61">More</a>areAlike License).</div> </div> </li> <p>7 <a href="/siteinfo/blogspot.com">Blogger.com</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">blogspot.com <div class="description">Free, automated weblog publishing tool that sends updates to a site via FTP.</div> </div> </li> <p>8 <a href="/siteinfo/twitter.com">Twitter</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">twitter.com <div class="description">Social networking and microblogging service utilising instant messaging, SMS or a web interface..</div> </div> </li> <p>9 <a href="/siteinfo/craigslist.org">Craigslist.org</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">craigslist.org <div class="description">&nbsp;</div> </div> </li> <p>10 <a href="/siteinfo/ebay.com">eBay</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">ebay.com <div class="description">International person to person auction site, with products sorted into categories.</div> </div> </li> <p>11 <a href="/siteinfo/linkedin.com">LinkedIn</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">linkedin.com <div class="description">A networking tool to find connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts and busin... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="62">More</a>ess partners. Allows registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business.</div> </div> </li> <p>12 <a href="/siteinfo/live.com">Windows Live</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">live.com <div class="description">Search engine from Microsoft.</div> </div> </li> <p>13 <a href="/siteinfo/msn.com">MSN</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">msn.com <div class="description">Portal for shopping, news and money, e-mail, search, and chat.</div> </div> </li> <p>14 <a href="/siteinfo/bing.com">Bing</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">bing.com <div class="description">Search engine developed by Microsoft. Features web, image, video, local, news, and product search.ch.</div> </div> </li> <p>15 <a href="/siteinfo/go.com">Go</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">go.com <div class="description">A searchable directory, news, stocks, sports and free e-mail.</div> </div> </li> <p>16 <a href="/siteinfo/cnn.com">CNN Interactive</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">cnn.com <div class="description">News, weather, sports, and services including e-mail news alerts and downloadable audio/video r... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="63">More</a>eports.</div> </div> </li> <p>17 <a href="/siteinfo/aol.com">AOL</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">aol.com <div class="description">America Online's official site.</div> </div> </li> <p>18 <a href="/siteinfo/paypal.com">PayPal</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">paypal.com <div class="description">Online payment service for individuals and merchants. Allows users to send money and bills to a... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="64">More</a>nyone with e-mail.</div> </div> </li> <p>19 <a href="/siteinfo/wordpress.com">WordPress.com</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">wordpress.com <div class="description">Free blogs managed by the developers of the WordPress software. Includes custom design template... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="65">More</a>s, integrated statistics, automatic spam protection and other features.</div> </div> </li> <p>20 <a href="/siteinfo/netflix.com">Netflix</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">netflix.com <div class="description">Flat monthly fee by mail service.</div> </div> </li> <p>21 <a href="/siteinfo/espn.go.com">ESPN</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">espn.go.com <div class="description">Sports news network. Includes broadcast schedule, game scores and results, and articles on coll... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="66">More</a>ege and professional sports.</div> </div> </li> <p>22 <a href="/siteinfo/weather.com">The Weather Channel</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">weather.com <div class="description">Forecasts worldwide, Doppler radar and satellite maps, weather news, and flight and events info... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="67">More</a>rmation.</div> </div> </li> <p>23 <a href="/siteinfo/flickr.com">Flickr</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">flickr.com <div class="description">Picture galleries available with chat, groups, and photo ratings.</div> </div> </li> <p>24 <a href="/siteinfo/tumblr.com">Tumblr</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">tumblr.com <div class="description">A feature rich and free blog hosting platform offering professional and fully customizable temp... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817839731="68">More</a>lates, bookmarklets, photos, mobile apps, and social network integration.</div> </div> </li> <p>25 <a href="/siteinfo/imdb.com">The Internet Movie Database</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">imdb.com <div class="description">Features plot summaries, reviews, cast lists, and theatre schedules.</div> </div> </li> <p><a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> <br clear="all" /> </p>urn:uuid:d38e8e1c-a143-498d-8d6f-86f31eb6598a1 Google google.com Enables users to search the world's information, including webpages, images, and videos. Offers... More unique features and search technology. 2 Facebook facebook.com A social utility that connects people, to keep up with friend...Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:43:49 -0500<div class="count">1 <a href="/siteinfo/google.com">Google</a></div> <div class="desc-container">google.com <div class="description">Enables users to search the world's information, including webpages, images, and videos. Offers... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="56">More</a> unique features and search technology.</div> </div> <p>2 <a href="/siteinfo/facebook.com">Facebook</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">facebook.com <div class="description">A social utility that connects people, to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and ... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="57">More</a>videos.</div> </div> </li> <p>3 <a href="/siteinfo/youtube.com">YouTube - Broadcast yourself</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">youtube.com <div class="description">YouTube is a way to get your videos to the people who matter to you. Upload, tag and share your... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="58">More</a> videos worldwide!</div> </div> </li> <p>4 <a href="/siteinfo/yahoo.com">Yahoo!</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">yahoo.com <div class="description">A major internet portal and service provider offering search results, customizable content, cha... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="59">More</a>trooms, free e-mail, clubs, and pager.</div> </div> </li> <p>5 <a href="/siteinfo/blogspot.com">Blogger.com</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">blogspot.com <div class="description">Free, automated weblog publishing tool that sends updates to a site via FTP.</div> </div> </li> <p>6 <a href="/siteinfo/baidu.com">Baidu.com</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">baidu.com <div class="description">The leading Chinese language search engine, provides "simple and reliable" search exp... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="60">More</a>erience, strong in Chinese language and multi-media content including MP3 music and movies, the first to offer WAP and PDA-based mobile search in China.</div> </div> </li> <p>7 <a href="/siteinfo/wikipedia.org">Wikipedia</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">wikipedia.org <div class="description">A free encyclopedia built collaboratively using wiki software. (Creative Commons Attribution-Sh... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="61">More</a>areAlike License).</div> </div> </li> <p>8 <a href="/siteinfo/live.com">Windows Live</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">live.com <div class="description">Search engine from Microsoft.</div> </div> </li> <p>9 <a href="/siteinfo/twitter.com">Twitter</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">twitter.com <div class="description">Social networking and microblogging service utilising instant messaging, SMS or a web interface..</div> </div> </li> <p>10 <a href="/siteinfo/qq.com">QQ.COM</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">qq.com <div class="description">China's largest and most used Internet service portal owned by Tencent, Inc founded in Nov... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="62">More</a>ember, 1998. Presently, Tencent is aiming its operations at the strategic goal of providing users with a "one-stop online life service". Tencent's Internet platforms QQ, QQ.com, QQ Games, and PaiPai.com have brought together China's largest Internet community. Tencent's communications and information-sharing services include QQ.com, QQ Instant Messenger, QQ Mail, and search engine SOSO. Linked up with heavily used features such as forums, chat rooms, and QQ Groups, Tencent's Qzone has grown into China's largest personal Internet space. These services foster group interaction and resource sharing. Virtual products such as QQ Show, QQ Pet, QQ Game, and QQ Music/Radio/Live have been successful in providing entertainment and customization options to users. Mobile phone users can take advantage of a number of value-added wireless services. Tencent's PaiPai.com is a C2C on-line shopping platform that seamlessly integrates into Tencent's other community platforms.As of June 30th, 2009, the number of registered QQ Instant Messenger users has reached 990.0 million. Active users numbered at 448.0 million. Peak concurrent users have reached 61.30 million. QQ Games platform counted about 6.2 million users simultaneously on-line. QQ.com has become China's most visited Internet portal website. PaiPai.com has also become China's second largest Internet shopping platform.</div> </div> </li> <p>11 <a href="/siteinfo/msn.com">MSN</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">msn.com <div class="description">Portal for shopping, news and money, e-mail, search, and chat.</div> </div> </li> <p>12 <a href="/siteinfo/yahoo.co.jp">Yahoo! Japan</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">yahoo.co.jp <div class="description">Japanese version of popular portal site.</div> </div> </li> <p>13 <a href="/siteinfo/linkedin.com">LinkedIn</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">linkedin.com <div class="description">A networking tool to find connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts and busin... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="63">More</a>ess partners. Allows registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business.</div> </div> </li> <p>14 <a href="/siteinfo/taobao.com">???</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">taobao.com <div class="description">?????????????????????????????????????????????,?????????,??????????????????... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="64">More</a>??????????????,?????????,??????????????????</div> </div> </li> <p>15 <a href="/siteinfo/google.co.in">Google India</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">google.co.in <div class="description">Indian version of this popular search engine. Search the whole web or only webpages from India.... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="65">More</a> Interfaces offered in English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi and Tamil.</div> </div> </li> <p>16 <a href="/siteinfo/sina.com.cn">??????</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">sina.com.cn <div class="description">??????????????????,????,???</div> </div> </li> <p>17 <a href="/siteinfo/amazon.com">Amazon.com</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">amazon.com <div class="description">Amazon.com seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and disc... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="66">More</a>over anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Site has numerous personalization features and services including one-click buying, extensive customer and editorial product reviews, gift registries, gift certificates, wish lists, restaurant and movie listings, travel, and photo processing.</div> </div> </li> <p>18 <a href="/siteinfo/wordpress.com">WordPress.com</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">wordpress.com <div class="description">Free blogs managed by the developers of the WordPress software. Includes custom design template... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="67">More</a>s, integrated statistics, automatic spam protection and other features.</div> </div> </li> <p>19 <a href="/siteinfo/google.com.hk">Google??</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">google.com.hk <div class="description">?????????????</div> </div> </li> <p>20 <a href="/siteinfo/google.de">Google</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">google.de <div class="description">Suche im gesamten Web, in deutschsprachigen sowie in deutschen Seiten. Zus&auml;tzlich ist eine Bild... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="68">More</a>dersuche, eine Newsarchiv-Suche (ehemals dejanews) sowie ein Katalog vorhanden.</div> </div> </li> <p>21 <a href="/siteinfo/bing.com">Bing</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">bing.com <div class="description">Search engine developed by Microsoft. Features web, image, video, local, news, and product search.ch.</div> </div> </li> <p>22 <a href="/siteinfo/google.co.uk">Google UK</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">google.co.uk <div class="description">The local version of this pre-eminent search engine, offering UK-specific pages as well as worl... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="69">More</a>d results.</div> </div> </li> <p>23 <a href="/siteinfo/ebay.com">eBay</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">ebay.com <div class="description">International person to person auction site, with products sorted into categories.</div> </div> </li> <p>24 <a href="/siteinfo/yandex.ru">??????</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">yandex.ru <div class="description">????? ?????????? ? ????????? ? ?????? ??????? ??????????, ??????????? ????????????? ?????????. ... <a class="moreDesc" jQuery1307817201206="70">More</a>?????, ??????????? ????????????? ?????????. ???????????? ????? ?? ????????, ?????????, ???????, ??????, ??????? ???????????.</div> </div> </li> <p>25 <a href="/siteinfo/163.com">??</a></p> <li class="site-listing"> <div class="desc-container">163.com <div class="description">??????????????</div> </div> </li> <p><a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:9e31987f-1325-4e5f-a0bb-bb08d7448853During a telephone interview, Gopi Kallayil, senior product marketing manager for Google, lists which of the company's much-publicized employee benefits he takes advantage of. "Let me pull this up because there are so many," he says. When his compute...Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:32:00 -0500<p>During a telephone interview, Gopi Kallayil, senior product marketing manager for Google, lists which of the company's much-publicized employee benefits he takes advantage of.</p> <p>"Let me pull this up because there are so many," he says. When his computer produces a list a moment later, Kallayil makes his way down the screen and continues: "The free gourmet food, because that's a daily necessity. Breakfast, lunch and dinner I eat at Google. The next one is the fitness center, the 24-hour gym with weights. And there are yoga classes."</p> <p>There is a pause before he adds that he also enjoys the speaker series, the in-house doctor, the nutritionist, the dry cleaners and the massage service. He has not used the personal trainer, the swimming pool and the spa -- at least not yet, anyway. Nor has he commuted to and from the office on the high-tech, wi-fi equipped, bio-diesel shuttle bus that Google provides for employees, but that is only because he lives nearby and can drive without worrying about a long commute.</p> <p>Is Google's generosity purely altruistic? Of course not, which is not to say that any nefarious motives are at work, either. To be sure, Google is a funky company that calls its offices a "campus" and has created a "collegiate" atmosphere where employees dress casually and can have fun. But make no mistake: All these perks -- some quirky, some traditional -- show that Google means business, according to management experts from Wharton and elsewhere. The company wants to achieve several goals: Attract the best knowledge-workers it can in the intensely competitive environment for high achievers; help them work long hours by feeding them gourmet meals on-site and handling other time-consuming personal chores; show that they are valued; and have them remain Googlers, as employees are known, for many years.</p> <p>There may be a potential downside to all this largesse: Some employees may come to feel uncomfortable at the company if they see the perks as an impingement by their work lives on their personal lives, according to one Wharton researcher. For the most part, however, what Google and other firms are doing makes eminent sense for both the companies and the people they employ.</p> <p>Peter Cappelli, management professor and director of the Center for Human Resources at Wharton, says simply: "These benefits help companies recruit people who are willing to spend most all of their time at work."</p> <p>Steven E. Gross, global leader of the broad-based rewards consulting business at Mercer Human Resource Consulting, says that Google, with its vast array of benefits, is trying to differentiate itself from other companies that want to hire people with the same talents. These companies, too, have been expanding their employee benefits in recent years. "It's all about the employment brand," Gross says.</p> <p>"There's a great demand for technical-professional types -- the folks Google is going after," Gross adds. "What you see happening with knowledge-workers is the creation of a different type of employment experience. Google and others are saying, 'Come to work for us, work very hard, and we'll try to help you with your daily activities.' Transportation is one. And having services available on campus is another. There's also an integration of work and non-work activities. Family life and work are blurring for many professionals."</p> <p>Wharton management professor Nancy Rothbard agrees. She says companies want to create both an appealing environment to attract and retain employees and make people feel they belong, but they also want to increase productivity. Worries like childcare, cooking, going to the dry cleaners and visiting the doctor off-site during the week, says Rothbard, "distract employees at the workplace."</p> <p>Google -- which has close to 10,700 full-time employees, although not all are based in its Mountain View, Calif.-headquarters -- is the best place to work in America, according to a recent issue of <em>Fortune</em> magazine. A big reason for that No. 1 status is the broad array of amenities it offers employees. It has a reputation for doing the unusual. In the prospectus accompanying its initial public offering of stock in 2004, the company declared that its philosophy was: "Don't Be Evil." One section of its IPO filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission was headed "Making the World a Better Place." <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.google.com">www.google.com</a> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> <br /> <br /> </p>urn:uuid:2e904dc8-f748-4585-9044-f9b61d6b7377Coverage providers who write home and auto insurance in Texas and most other states routinely look at the credit information of prospective policyholders in order to help evaluate the amount of risk they pose and, consequently, how much to charge for...Sat, 04 Jun 2011 10:24:52 -0500Coverage providers who write home and auto insurance in Texas and most other states routinely look at the credit information of prospective policyholders in order to help evaluate the amount of risk they pose and, consequently, how much to charge for coverage. Most states allow the practice, but there are many who oppose it, saying that it effectively leads to higher premiums for drivers in certain racial and socio-economic demographics. <br /> <br /> While this may be the case, a decision handed down earlier this week from the Texas Supreme Court says that it could not bar insurers from using credit history in rate calculations in response to their effects on certain groups.<br /> <br /> There has been much controversy over the practice, which is known as credit-based insurance scoring. <br /> <br /> Not long after the Texas Legislature authorized the use of credit information in underwriting and rating, the state&rsquo;s department of insurance released a report quantifying its effects. The data analyzed by the department indicated that &ldquo;as insurers started using or expanding their use of credit, the vast majority of policyholders (approximately 90 percent) experienced rate swings ranging from a 40 percent decrease to a 40 percent increase in the rates paid for personal auto insurance.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> Further, the report showed that certain racial groups may experience a &ldquo;disproportionate impact&rdquo; as a result of credit-based scores. An analysis of the data showed that &ldquo;The average credit scores for Whites and Asians are better than those for Blacks and Hispanics. In addition, Blacks and Hispanics tend to be over-represented in the worse credit score categories and under-represented in the better credit score categories.&rdquo; <br /> <br /> The commissioner in office at the time of the report, in a follow-up letter to the legislature, noted that, even though credit-scoring may leave a &ldquo;disproportionate impact,&rdquo; it is the result of the use of race-neutral factors and is not in itself discriminatory. <br /> <br /> The Texas Supreme Court expressed a similar feeling toward the matter in its decision. The Court said that it was not its place to rule against a practice that has a disproportionate impact, and that it should be up to the legislature.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> <br /> <br />urn:uuid:842a5184-f0c3-4fb8-921d-7f52f71dd1ff NFL players urged a federal appeals court Friday to declare the lockout illegal, saying the league had no right to impose a work stoppage that approaches three months with no sign of a deal that will save the 2011 season. In a courtroom packed by ...Sat, 04 Jun 2011 10:20:03 -0500<div class="content-wrap" style="float: none;"> <div class="gel-content"> <div class="gel-pane gpagediv"> <p>NFL players urged a federal appeals court Friday to declare the lockout illegal, saying the league had no right to impose a work stoppage that approaches three months with no sign of a deal that will save the 2011 season.</p> <p>In a courtroom packed by some 200 people, including out-of-work players and retirees on folding chairs, attorneys on both sides of the bitter labor fight got about 30 minutes each to make their cases.</p> <p>The appeal centers on the lockout that began hours after months of labor talks fell apart March 11, the players&rsquo; union dissolved and the fight ended up in federal court. The NFL says the union decertification was a sham meant to gain leverage in the talks and the conflict remains subject to labor law.</p> <p>The players argue that antitrust laws apply and the lockout put in place under labor law needs to be put on hold, as it was in April by U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson in Minnesota.</p> <p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re asking for a preliminary injunction for a short period of time,&rdquo; the players&rsquo; counsel, Theodore Olson, said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re simply asking that the laws of the U.S. be respected.&rdquo;</p> <p>Arguments came before a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals whose two earlier 2-1 decisions have sided with the league and upheld the lockout. The panel took the arguments under advisement with one judge, Kermit Bye, saying only that a ruling would come in &ldquo;due course&rdquo; and he suggested the two sides figure things out.</p> <p>&ldquo;We wouldn&rsquo;t be all that hurt if you go out and settle that case,&rdquo; Bye said. &ldquo;We will keep with our business, and if that ends up with a decision, it&rsquo;s probably something both sides aren&rsquo;t going to like, but at least it will be a decision.&rdquo;</p> <p>Training camps traditionally start in late July, and the first preseason game is little more than two months away.</p> <p>The hearing has been seen as pivotal in the dispute over how to share the NFL&rsquo;s $9 billion in annual revenue, and the turnout included NFL Players Association leader DeMaurice Smith and two dozen players, including Green Bay&rsquo;s Cullen Jenkins, the Jets&rsquo; Tony Richardson and Giants standout Osi Umenyiora.</p> <p>While speaking to troops at a U.S. Army base in North Carolina, Commissioner Roger Goodell said he believes the owners and players are committed to continue talks until a labor deal is reached and said he will spend the weekend getting ready for the next set of negotiations.</p> <p>Goodell declined to say if he&rsquo;d be helping prepare a new offer from the owners.</p> </div> </div> </div> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:12bf5895-89de-44d0-acfe-a51537fc7feb U.S. retail giant Walmart said it would test a smaller-store format with the launch of Walmart Express -- stores that will often include gas stations. The average Walmart superstore is about 184,000 square feet. The Walmart Express stores will avera...Sat, 04 Jun 2011 10:13:46 -0500<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>U.S. retail giant Walmart said it would test a smaller-store format with the launch of Walmart Express -- stores that will often include gas stations.</p> <p>The average Walmart superstore is about 184,000 square feet. The Walmart Express stores will average 15,000 square feet, MarketWatch reported.</p> <p>Most Walmart Express stores will include a pharmacy and carry up to 13,000 items. The superstores sell about 100,000 items.</p> <p>"Small stores are going to be a very good growth opportunity for us. They allow us to get access to places we aren't in. We have a pretty aggressive plan to build those," said Walmart U.S. chief executive Bill Simon.</p> <p>Smaller stores allow Walmart to open outlets in smaller towns, such as Gentry, Ark., population 3,000, where one of the first two Walmart Express stores will be built.</p> <p>While sales at Walmart's large stores have declined for eight consecutive quarters, stores at the 40,000-square-feet outlets called Walmart Market saw sales increase 4 percent in the first quarter of 2011.</p> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> <br /> </div>urn:uuid:e7108c61-a037-4e06-a48b-bf975b691794Make Extra Money By: 1. Freelance writing. Have a unique ability to pen the written word? Have a solid grasp of grammar, spelling, and communicating? You could become a freelance writer for newspapers, magazines, or other local periodicals. THAT cou...Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:49:34 -0500<h3>Make Extra Money By:</h3> <p><a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-2864384-10780926" target="_blank"></a><br /> <strong>1. Freelance writing. </strong>Have a unique ability to pen the written word? Have a solid grasp of grammar, spelling, and communicating? You could become a freelance writer for newspapers, magazines, or other local periodicals. THAT could help you make extra cash! Don&rsquo;t be afraid to endure a lot of &ldquo;No&rsquo;s&rdquo; and you&rsquo;ll eventually get that &ldquo;Yes&rdquo; that can give you some instant credibility. You can always build a portfolio by guest posting on blogs or by submitting articles to your local newspaper.</p> <p><strong>2. Plant maintenance.</strong> Just like people need help taking care of pets, they also need help with plants. Make some extra cash by taking care of house plants and even outdoor gardens while people are on vacation. You could also offer to take care of the plants kept in local offices on a long term basis. Don&rsquo;t forget your mileage tax deduction if you drive your car for your new business!</p> <p><strong>3. Offer to clean homes</strong> during the day or offices at night (depending on your schedule). Add in the houseplant maintenance and you could get a double whammy for your profits! Don&rsquo;t forget the mileage deduction.</p> <p><strong>4. Tutor.</strong> If you have a college degree, use your downtime to tutor kids in the summer or even over the Internet to make additional income. Drop by the local school system and offer your services to the summer school folks after making sure it&rsquo;s okay with the school staff, of course.</p> <p><strong>5. Teach a language.</strong> Do you speak another language? Do you speak English? Either way, your skills are in demand and will help you make extra money. People need to learn other languages and non-English speakers need to learn English. Most people prefer to learn a conversational style rather than just conjugate verbs around the dinner table. Who knew just talking and having a conversation could result in earning additional income? Try learning Spanish or step on out there and pick up Mandarin Chinese!</p> <p><strong>6. Internet research. </strong>Really know your way around the Internet? Offer your skills in research to local businesses. You may have to do a few freebies to get your foot in the door, but this could be a tax deduction as a startup cost in your quest to generate extra money.</p> <p><strong>7. Iron clothes.</strong> People are busy and if you offer to iron their clothes and pick up/drop off at their office, you would set yourself apart from the cleaners. Make even more money by offering the service mentioned in #24.</p> <p><strong>8. Run errands.</strong> The last time I checked, the IRS rate for mileage was 50 cents per mile. By offering to run errands for people (dry cleaning, drugstore, grocery store, post office, etc), you could earn extra money for your time while reducing your taxable income from mileage.</p> <p><strong>9. Substitute teach</strong> at your kid&rsquo;s school. My wife does this quite often. Teachers have doctors and dentist appointments just like everyone else. Their children get sick and they have to take care of them. When these events happen, the school needs a substitute teacher. Check with several schools (don&rsquo;t forget the private schools)&nbsp;to see what requirements they place on subs and how much extra income you could earn.</p> <p><strong>10. If you liked #9, could you offer to teach at your local community college?</strong> One or two courses at night or on the weekends could make you a little extra cash.</p> <p><strong>11. Do you have a unique skill or ability?</strong> Have you EVER heard someone say to you, &ldquo;I wish I knew how to do that.&rdquo; The &ldquo;that&rdquo; could be building decks, arranging flowers, baking pies, playing the piano, canning food, making jewelry, framing pictures, or raising roses. People will pay to be taught. They will pay even more if you offer to teach their children. Offer to teach them or their children in their homes and you could earn even more.</p> <p><strong>12. Become a life coach. </strong>Encouraging others to strive for success and live up to their potential is what being a life coach is all about. You can squeeze in appointments on weekends, during your lunch break and in the evenings after work, making it easy to earn extra income while keeping that day job.</p> <p><strong>13. Become a &ldquo;green&rdquo; consultant.</strong> Do you know how to make those little lifestyle changes that result in a home using less energy? Offer to evaluate someone&rsquo;s home and make recommendations to help it become more green. You could offer to change their light bulbs to CFL&rsquo;s or LED&rsquo;s, install a programmable thermostat, install ceiling fans, or make other recommendations. You could also sell your services to businesses. I bet this will become a very large industry in the next few years. Some people will make a LOT of extra money!</p> <p><strong>14. Do you love to garden</strong> and use organic methods? Depending on how large your harvest may be, you could offer &ldquo;in season&rdquo; locally grown, organic vegetables and fresh herbs for sale to a restaurant. Take a basket of your most beautiful vegetables and visit several restaurants. Chefs are always interested in getting the best, the freshest food for their patrons. You could pick them, wash them, and deliver them within the hour. You can&rsquo;t get much more fresh than that!<br /> <strong><br /> 15. Know your antiques? </strong>Spend your weekends scouting those garage sales, thrift stores, estate auctions, and flea markets to score old treasures on the cheap. Do some research to discover the real value of your finds and spend your next lunch hour auctioning it on eBay.<br /> <strong><br /> 16. Set up computers,</strong> home theater systems, or wireless networking systems for the technologically challenged. Even though technology is a constant presence in our everyday lives, some people just can&rsquo;t seem to get the hang of it. You can offer to come in and help those with new gadgets get them set up, install new programs, organize the spaghetti mess of cables, and make sure everything is plugged in correctly.<br /> <strong><br /> 17. A year or so after you&rsquo;ve set up those computers, offer to help clean and speed up computers </strong>that may have been infected with viruses, malware and spyware. You know it&rsquo;s going to happen and <em>someone</em> will get paid to clean those systems.<br /> <strong><br /> 18. If you&rsquo;re really on the technology band wagon, you could offer to help people change the formats of their media.</strong> Changing VHS videos to DVDs, scanning old photos, moving CDs to MP3s, or other format changes can make you some additional income.<br /> <strong><br /> 19. Get paid to shop.</strong> There are several companies that hire people to perform a mystery shop and report their experiences. Make sure you&rsquo;re fair and that you understand the way each company goes to market.<br /> <strong><br /> 20. Are you a genealogy buff?</strong> People love to know their family histories, but don&rsquo;t have time to do the research. You can offer your services as a &ldquo;family researcher&rdquo; and help clients learn about their roots, learn about your own in the process, and generate extra income.</p> <p><strong>21. Can you bake?</strong> Making and decorating cakes can allow you to show off our artistic side. You could also offer to bake pastries and other goodies for local coffee shops, a local deli, or even sell them in local office breakrooms.<br /> <strong><br /> 22. Make jams and jellies.</strong> If you listened to your grandma and learned to can and preserve food the old fashioned way, a quick trip to the farmer&rsquo;s market could result in you making a big batch of peach preserves, blackberry jelly, or strawberry jam. Then you could sell it for a profit at a local market or over the Internet.</p> <p><strong>23. Babysit.</strong> There are actually several ways to go here. You don&rsquo;t have to only offer to babysit for young parents looking to get a few hours break and attend a business function, though that is a possibility. What if you offered to keep kids all night long for parents who worked third shift? What if you offered to keep kids who were feeling a little sick (nothing major)? Most day care centers won&rsquo;t accept a child who has a fever or a runny nose, but if you contacted several day care centers for referrals of mildly sick children, you could carve out a profitable market niche for yourself. Make certain you follow all local laws when keeping children.</p> <p><strong>24. Got a sewing machine?</strong> Many local clothing stores, particularly upscale stores, men&rsquo;s suit stores, and even dry cleaners need people with sewing skills. Here&rsquo;s your chance to show off your skills and make a little extra income.<br /> <strong><br /> 25. Pet sitter.</strong> Right now I&rsquo;m looking for a pet sitter for my miniature dachshund. The kennels charge at least $20/day. Could you undercut the kennels, charge $15/day and keep a few pets in your home? If you&rsquo;re wary, you could always set a weight limit and only keep those little guys (like mine). People need help with hamsters, guinea pigs, cats, dogs, and even exotic pets. If you live in an apartment, you could offer to feed, water, and check on pets kept in <em>their</em> homes. Then you could deduct the mileage from your taxes for an additional bonus.</p> <p><strong>26. Photography. </strong>Do you have one of those fancy cameras? Know how to use it? You could potentially start photographing people&rsquo;s children, their weddings, their anniversaries, or their parties. You could take interesting photographs, post them on the appropriate sites, and then make money every time someone uses your photograph.</p> <h3>Here are a few tips to follow in your quest for extra income.</h3> <ul> <li>Always get everything in writing. </li> <li>Always consult with a qualified tax adviser for mileage and other potential deductions. </li> <li>Always try to get payment up front. </li> <li>Always ask for referrals from your existing clients. </li> <li>Always follow all local, state, and federal laws, especially when dealing with children. </li> </ul> <p><a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-2864384-10664847" target="_blank"><br /> </a></p>urn:uuid:7d62798c-048a-4dc5-a55f-adec1823bc49A new proposed immigration law is being called racist and "hate-mongering" by Latino lawmakers in the Texas senate who are bracing for a bitter fight over the so called sanctuary cities bill.&nbsp; The bill would give most police officers the right t...Wed, 18 May 2011 09:25:15 -0500<p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="27">A new proposed immigration law is being called racist and "hate-mongering" by Latino lawmakers in the Texas senate who are bracing for a bitter fight over the so called sanctuary cities bill.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="28">The bill would give most police officers the right to question detained people about their immigration status, and prohibit cities from adopting policies that ban the practice. None of Texas' major cities claim to be sanctuary cities, but many police departments discourage their officers from asking about immigration status.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="29" sizset="6" sizcache="17">Supporters, including Republican Gov. Rick Perry, say the bill is needed to stop crime committed by illegal immigrants. Critics say it would lead to racial profiling and allow police to harass Latinos.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="30" sizset="7" sizcache="17">A Senate hearing on the bill is scheduled Wednesday in the Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="31">Hispanic lawmakers in the Senate, all of them Democrats, predict that a floor vote sometime in the next few days could be one of the chamber's most divisive and emotional in recent memory.</p> <div class="sect vert" sizset="8" sizcache="17"> <dl class="related-mod" id="related-media" sizset="8" sizcache="17"> <dt>"Why don't they just have a law to bring out the German Shepherds, bring out the fire hose," said Sen. Mario Gallegos of Houston. "Let's go back to the Jim Crow days. Why don't they just put that in there? Let's go. Let's get it on. That sanctuary cities bill is the most hate-mongering, racial bill that I've ever seen out there."</dt> </dl> </div> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="33">Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said the bill only gives police the option to ask about immigration status.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="34">"Without that discretion, they don't have the tools to do their jobs effectively and to keep our communities safe from those who would do us harm," Cesinger said.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="35">Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, leader of the Senate Democrats, says several Hispanic lawmakers have family histories that stir up strong emotions about the bill:</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="36">Van de Putte's grandmother fled a revolution in Mexico as a child and never became a U.S. citizen.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="37">U.S.-born Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa was 5 when he and his mother, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, were picked up by the border patrol in a tomato field, driven across the border and left there. They lived in a small room off the back of a bar for a year in Reynosa, Mexico.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="38">"It's something I'll never forget, being placed in the paddy wagon," Hinojosa said.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="39">Sen. Jose Rodr&iacute;guez of El Paso, worked alongside illegal immigrant farm workers while growing up and used to shout warnings when border patrol agents were spotted.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="40">Rep. Ana Hern&aacute;ndez Luna of Houston gave an emotional speech on the House floor this month about how she and her family lived in fear they would be found out and deported before she became a U.S. citizen at age 18.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="41">Hinojosa said he could be a target for an immigration check if stopped by police.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="42" sizset="17" sizcache="17">"I was born and raised in this country. I pledge allegiance to this country. I graduated from school, law school, volunteered for the Marine Corps and fought in Vietnam," Hinojosa said. "This is such an insult to Hispanics, not only in this state but this country."</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="43">An estimated 1.6 million illegal immigrants are in Texas, according to the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington. Nationwide, their numbers declined between 2007 and 2009, from 12 million to 11.1 million, the first significant drop after two decades of growth. But their combined population in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana went up by a statistically significant 240,000.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="44">In an early sign of just how heated the debate in the Senate could get, an amendment was introduced last week to prevent students who are illegal immigrants and who graduate from Texas high schools from paying cheaper in-state tuition rates to public universities.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="45">Van de Putte and Sen. Eddie Lucio of Brownsville angrily argued against the measure. It was pulled down without a vote when it became clear it did not have the support of several key Republicans.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="46">Gallegos and Van de Putte acknowledge they may not be able to stop the sanctuary cities bill, with Republicans holding a 19-11 Senate majority.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="47">In the House, the bill passed after the Republican majority used a parliamentary maneuver to cut off racially charged debate.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="48">Senate Democrats have a couple of rules working in their favor. Although outnumbered, they effectively have the votes to prevent the bill from coming to the floor for a vote under normal procedures.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="49">But two weeks ago, Senate Republicans used a little-known rule to pass a House budget bill without getting the two-thirds support they normally need. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a Republican, has said the rule could be used again.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="50">Such a move on the sanctuary cities bill "will damage lifelong friendships" in the Senate, Van de Putte said.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="51">With legislative deadlines looming before the May 30 end of the session, Democrats could try to filibuster the sanctuary cities bill, but that could take down hundreds of other bills as well. Van de Putte said Democrats haven't talked about a filibuster. And she said Democrats aren't considering leaving the state to break a quorum like they did in 2003 to stop a congressional redistricting bill.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="52">But any debate on the sanctuary cities bill in the coming days is likely to be divisive.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1305728510307="53">"What you're going to see is that with Hispanics, it's personal," Van de Putte said.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:637e24a0-bf4f-4f08-9765-844ca8bd89a5Three weeks ago -- well before an alleged attempted rape in New York City -- International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn discussed the possibility of a woman falsely claiming he attacked her. In an interview April 28 with the French daily...Wed, 18 May 2011 09:17:05 -0500Three weeks ago -- well before an alleged attempted rape in New York City -- International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn discussed the possibility of a woman falsely claiming he attacked her. <p>In an interview April 28 with the French daily newspaper Liberation, Strauss-Kahn imagined "a woman who would be raped in a parking lot and who would then be promised 500,000 or a million euros to invent such a story," the paper reported in an article published Monday, two days after a hotel housekeeping employee said he sexually assaulted her.</p> <p>Speaking to the paper about suggestions he could become France's Socialist party candidate for president, Strauss-Kahn discussed "the long -- too long from his point of view -- campaign to come and the difficulties he will have to overcome," the paper reported.</p> <p>"He sees three in the following order: 'Money, women and my Jewishness.'" He added, "Yes, I love women... so what? For years they have been talking about photos of massive orgies, but I have not seen anything... Why don't they show them!"</p> <p>Prosecutors allege that on Saturday, the 62-year-old IMF chief sexually assaulted and tried to rape a housekeeping employee after chasing her naked through his posh Manhattan hotel suite. <div class="cnn_strylceclbtn" style="display: none;"></div> <div class="parentMediaContainer" id="videoContainerexpand35" style="display: none;"></div> <cite class="expCaption">French anger over IMF chief in handcuffs</cite> </p> <p>Strauss-Kahn faces an array of charges, including two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, one count of first-degree attempted rape, one count of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of second-degree unlawful imprisonment, one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual abuse.</p> <p>"He grabbed the victim's chest without consent, attempted to remove her pantyhose" and forcibly grabbed her between her legs, the complaint against Strauss-Kahn says. He also forced her to perform oral sex on him, Assistant District Attorney John McConnell said at Strauss-Kahn's arraignment Monday.</p> <p>The 32-year-old hotel employee said Strauss-Kahn pulled her into a bedroom and started attacking her, police said. She fought him off, she told investigators, but he then dragged her into the bathroom and forced himself on her.</p> <p>Afterward, the employee ran to the front desk, New York Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said. Hotel staff alerted authorities.</p> <p>Strauss-Kahn's defense attorneys are painting a different picture of the incident.</p> <p>"The forensic evidence, we believe, will not be consistent with a forcible account, and we believe there is a very, very defensible case," attorney Benjamin Brafman said during the arraignment.</p> <p>By the time police arrived at the Sofitel hotel on Saturday, Strauss-Kahn had left in the hotel limousine, according to a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation.</p> <p>The IMF chief later called the hotel to say he had left his cell phone behind and asked if it could be brought to him, the source said. Investigators told the hotel staff to advise him the phone would be taken to him, and police went to the airport where Strauss-Kahn was boarding a flight to Paris.</p> <p>Two plain-clothes Port Authority police detectives led him off the plane, the source said.</p> <p>Defense attorneys dispute suggestions that Strauss-Kahn left the hotel quickly. They argue that he had a lunch appointment and that his flight to Paris had been booked far in advance.</p> <p>The law enforcement source said Strauss-Kahn was examined for scratches and DNA samples were taken. Strauss-Kahn consented to the testing after investigators were prepared to execute a search warrant, the source said.</p> <p>As one of the most powerful men in global economics, Dominique Strauss-Kahn was supposed to give the keynote speech at the Brussels Economic Forum in Belgium on Wednesday. </p> <p>Instead, he sits in a New York jail cell. A Manhattan Criminal Court judge denied him bail Monday.</p> <p>At New York's Rikers Island jail complex, Strauss-Kahn was placed on suicide watch -- a common procedure in high-profile cases, two sources with direct knowledge of the case told CNN.</p> <p>At this point, his career and political future are in jeopardy. <div class="cnn_strylceclbtn" style="display: none;"></div> <div class="parentMediaContainer" id="videoContainerexpand120" style="display: none;"></div> <div class="parentMediaContainer" id="videoContainerexpand420" style="display: none;"></div> "I do not see how he can perform his duties as director of the IMF. So by definition, this issue should be resolved in the coming days," Jean-Francois Cope, secretary-general of France's ruling UMP party, told reporters Wednesday. </p> <p>The comments came a day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Strauss-Kahn is "obviously not in a position to run the IMF," and Austria's finance minister Maria Fekter said "he should think about whether he is damaging the institution," and consider stepping down.</p> <p>Strauss-Kahn was widely viewed as a front-runner to unseat French President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's elections, and the charges against him have left some French citizens thinking he is the victim of a conspiracy. </p> <p>According to a poll released Wednesday by the Conseil Sondage Analyses (Council of Polling Analysis), 57% of French people think Strauss-Kahn was victimized. </p> <p>Still, 54% said they think Strauss-Kahn's Socialist Party can win in the 2012 presidential race without him. </p> <p>Strauss-Kahn's next court appearance is scheduled for Friday. His diplomatic immunity does not apply to the charges before him, IMF spokesman William Murray said.</p> <p>The case has shaken the IMF, an organization of 187 countries working to improve world economies by providing loans and guidance. </p> <p>First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky has been named acting managing director, and the fund is continuing its work, IMF officials said.</p> <p>A former French finance minister, national legislator and economics professor in Paris, Strauss-Kahn became the IMF's 10th managing director in November 2007. He is also chairman of the IMF executive board.</p> <p>The alleged victim is a 32-year-old single mother living in the New York borough of the Bronx who moved to the United States from the West African country of Guinea. She had been working at the hotel for about three years, according to her attorney, Jeffrey Shapiro.</p> <p>"Her world has been turned upside down," he said. "She is very scared about her future."</p> <p>Shapiro said his client is cooperating with police and prosecutors, and would be willing to testify against Strauss-Kahn.</p> <p class="cnnInline">The accuser picked the IMF chief out of a lineup Sunday at a New York police station, saying he was the man who had sexually assaulted her, according to a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:997fd2d6-506a-4cb7-af97-06d28e2f9b26 Texas, which may balance its budget by firing thousands of teachers, plans to commit $25 million in state funds to Formula One auto racing each year for a decade. Four years after motorsports' most popular series left the U.S., Texas investors inclu...Wed, 11 May 2011 14:07:17 -0500<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Texas, which may balance its budget by firing thousands of teachers, plans to commit $25 million in state funds to Formula One auto racing each year for a decade.</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Four years after motorsports' most popular series left the U.S., Texas investors including Clear Channel Communications Inc. co-founder B.J. "Red" McCombs are building a 3.4-mile (5.5-kilometer) track to bring the event to Austin. Comptroller Susan Combs has agreed to pay $25 million for races through 2022, a subsidy questioned by critics and lawmakers as the state cuts costs to close an estimated $15 billion two-year deficit.</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">"I don't understand why 25 people in Austin could not put up $1 million each if they thought this was a good opportunity instead of the state making a $25 million commitment," said Senator Dan Patrick, a Houston Republican. "The developers should find the money through private sources."</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">As many as 100,000 teachers in Texas may be fired because of spending cuts to cope with the state's budget crisis, according to Moak Casey &amp; Associates, an Austin-based education consultant. For $25 million a year, the state could pay more than 500 teachers an average salary of $48,000.</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">"I have to wonder why the state of Texas is all over funding for this racetrack and not the school-funding crisis," said Ewa Siwak, 44, who teaches German in the Austin Independent School District and whose job at Bowie High School is being cut. "Tax dollars for education should be a higher priority."</p> <p class="center" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">No Traction</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Formula One races have failed to gain traction previously in the U.S. Since the 1970s, the series has been hosted by Long Beach, California, as well as Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix and, most recently, Indianapolis. The races there ended in 2007 on declining attendance.</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">With 20 million Texans within 250 miles of Austin and a growing Formula One fan base in Mexico, the city's annual race will be successful, Steve Sexton, president of track developer Circuit of the Americas LLC, said in a telephone interview.</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">By building the Circuit of the Americas track, backers aim to attract automakers such as Fiat SpA's Ferrari Group, Renault SA and Daimler AG's Mercedes that compete in Catalonia, Shanghai and Istanbul. Racing-team owners include U.K. billionaire Richard Branson and Indian liquor magnate Vijay Mallya. Races from Montreal to Sao Paulo draw thousands of fans, including those paying $1,200 apiece for a seat in Monaco's grandstands.</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Each race in Austin is projected to generate enough tax revenue to recoup the $25 million from a state Event Trust Fund pool, according to Allen Spelce, a spokesman for Combs, a Republican. He said the plan calls for putting the $25 million into a revolving account for paying annual event-related costs.</p> <p class="center" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">$250 Million Subsidy</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">If the financing works as projected, the decision will use $250 million in state tax revenue for the races over 10 years.</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">"With places struggling, spending that much money on an essentially one-off event is tough to do," said Michael Cramer, a former president of baseball's Texas Rangers and hockey's Dallas Stars who runs the sports and media program at the University of Texas at Austin. "It's a very high cost of entry."</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Texas, like other states cutting budgets for schools, nursing homes and basic services, uses economic-development spending to bring in jobs and seed growth. That often involves giving up tax revenue generated by a project to pay part of the cost. New Jersey is providing $200 million of tax-increment financing to help develop the American Dream in the Meadowlands, which will be the biggest mall in the U.S. when it opens.</p> <p class="indent" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">"I'm not sure of the wisdom of using tax dollars to fund a racetrack," said Siwak, the Austin teacher. "They're giving so much tax dollars away I don't think they could make it up with the racetrack."<br /> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> <br /> </div>urn:uuid:baaf7d42-9763-4a37-83a4-d279404db45c State Farm and the Texas Department of Insurance resume their long-running legal battle in state district court in Austin Monday over alleged overcharges by the state's largest home insurer dating back to 2003. The insurance department will try to p...Thu, 05 May 2011 10:38:44 -0500<div class="hot-entry"> <p>State Farm and the Texas Department of Insurance resume their long-running legal battle in state district court in Austin Monday over alleged overcharges by the state's largest home insurer dating back to 2003. The insurance department will try to persuade a judge that the company owes its policyholders at least $350 million - including penalty interest - for several years of excessive premiums. The state's public insurance counsel argued in the past that the figure is closer to $1 billion.</p> <p>State Farm insists it owes nothing and has always charged fair and competitive rates to its 1.2 million customers in Texas. State Farm has claimed that payment of hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds will wipe out a third of the capital of its homeowners insurance subsidiary in Texas and also make it impossible for the company to pay back a $1 billion loan incurred because of big losses in the early 2000s.</p> <p>The case has been delayed twice in the last eight months because judges assigned to hear it were found to have had insurance coverage with State Farm and therefore had a conflict of interest in deciding on refunds. Judge Tim Sulak will now hear the case and both sides have been informed that he is not a State Farm policyholder and thus has no conflict. Sulak will hear arguments and rely on extensive court documents that have been filed by the parties over the last several years. Meanwhile, state lawmakers are considering a bill this year that would assess bigger interest penalties on insurers that continue to fight rate reduction orders in court.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> </div>urn:uuid:30b8671a-f42a-4720-8ed0-c09de8cd0f26 Now that it&rsquo;s done with its nearly eight-year, multi-million-dollar pursuit of the infamous perjurer Barry Bonds, the Justice Department has moved on to a bigger target: College sports. Which, in all seriousness, is a great thing and tragical...Thu, 05 May 2011 10:29:16 -0500<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="135">Now that it&rsquo;s done with its nearly eight-year, multi-million-dollar pursuit of the infamous perjurer Barry Bonds, the Justice Department has moved on to a bigger target: College sports. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="134">Which, in all seriousness, is a great thing and tragically long overdue. The players who generate billions of dollars in revenue for the member schools and the NCAA are treated like indentured servants, rendered largely powerless, unpaid except for a one-sided scholarship that is pitched as fair compensation for their work. </p> <div itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="133">Utah football being shut out of the BCS has raised concerns about the fairness of the system. (AP Photo)</div> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="132">They&rsquo;re also routinely punished through a Byzantine network of rules specifically designed to keep them from ever profiting from anything they&rsquo;ve ever done as athletes. No selling their own game-worn jerseys, or their awards or trophies or knick-knacks earned by their play, for money or goods. Even to get residuals for their likenesses being used after they leave school, they have to do as Ed O&rsquo;Bannon did and sue in federal court. (Just recently, a judge tossed the portion of the class-action suit against EA Sports, but the portion against the NCAA continues.) </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="131">Meanwhile, coaches who break the rules even more capriciously barely get punished at all. (Jim Calhoun&rsquo;s wrist is still stinging from last spring&rsquo;s slap, while Jim Tressel is still recovering from fearlessly falling on his stickpin.) </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="130">And let&rsquo;s not get into the patently-discriminatory imbalance suffered by women, brought to light by a New York Times investigation that revealed that in order to bypass Title IX requirements, some schools go as far as listing male students as female scholarship athletes. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="129">Too bad the Justice Department isn&rsquo;t going anywhere near that. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="128">Nope, it&rsquo;s going after the Bowl Championship Series. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="127">Can&rsquo;t you just hear the peals of delight from the young student-athletes on campuses all over America? Our government in action, to assure that the billions earned on the backs of football players are distributed among all the schools instead of just a few &ndash; while bypassing, once again, all the athletes regardless of sport or school. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="126">&ldquo;This is tremendous!&rsquo;&rsquo; the football players likely are saying. &ldquo;What a relief that my coach at my non-BCS program gets a shot at doubling his salary thanks to potentially greater bowl revenue. And my family that&rsquo;s still living in the projects will be thrilled, too, because they need me to experience the benefits of a free education, rather than me getting their water and electricity turned back on.&rsquo;&rsquo; </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="125">The women must especially be thrilled: &ldquo;Yes, that&rsquo;s exactly what the intercollegiate athletic system needs &ndash; more attention to football! That means more blame for us when some school cuts the men&rsquo;s wrestling program in order to avoid federal sanctions! And nobody prevents us from being listed on the rosters of teams we don&rsquo;t even compete for.&rsquo;&rsquo; </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="124">Nah. No need for the government to look into any of that. The NCAA, after all, is a not-for-profit educational institution formed to govern college athletics. The last thing the feds want to spend time worrying about is aiding and assisting college students. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="123">The Justice Department is not alone in taking this very narrow, specific look at one segment of one college sport. It became public Wednesday that Justice had sent a letter to NCAA president Mark Emmert saying it had &ldquo;serious questions&rsquo;&rsquo; about whether the BCS system violated federal antitrust law. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="122">Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch has openly criticized the fairness of the BCS &ndash; no surprise, since two programs in his state, Utah and BYU, were posited on the outside looking in for years until both left their smaller conferences to join the cash grab. Meanwhile, state attorney general Mark Shurtleff has talked about filing an antitrust suit against the BCS. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="121">U.S. attorney general Eric Holder acknowledged much of this at a Senate hearing, unveiling that Justice official Christine Varney had sent the NCAA the letter, and added that the government &ldquo;will be following up.&rsquo;&rsquo; </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="120">Yes, feel free to soak luxuriously in the political wrangling by the state and national level on an issue everybody except the top bowl officials and the NCAA agrees on: the BCS stinks, and is likely pretty crooked. It&rsquo;s the very definition of low-hanging fruit. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="119">A far more courageous move by the politicians and investigators at all levels would be to put the very structure of intercollegiate sports under a microscope. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="118">For instance: very revealing, isn&rsquo;t it, that these institutions of higher education, individually and collectively, are being probed for violations of laws enacted to monitor businesses? Businesses usually pay the people who bring in the money for them with, you know, money. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="117">Unless they decide, on their own, without the players having many, if any, options, to give them only scholarships. That so-coveted &ldquo;free education,&rsquo;&rsquo; which has strings attached to every appendage (including the ones that say, in essence, that their possessions, such as jerseys, don&rsquo;t actually belong to them). </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="116">And, by the way, which doesn&rsquo;t result in actual degrees often enough. That&rsquo;s partly because the best athletes realize that the moment they have a chance to make money above the table (and thus take care of themselves, their families and their future educations), they jump to the pros without a glance back. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="115">It&rsquo;s also partly because for all their talk about the education value of their compensation package, the schools care way more about keeping those students eligible than actually educating them. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="114">Untangle that web for us, devoted spenders of our tax dollars. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="113">It&rsquo;s a shame, actually, that attempts to reform big-time college sports keep aiming at the wrong target. First, Ralph Nader recommends earlier this year that athletic scholarships be eliminated. Now, the Senate, the state of Utah and the Justice Department question who deserves more slices of the college football pie. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="112">In doing so, they all tell the athletes to take the crumbs, and like it. </p> <p itxtHarvested="0" itxtNodeId="111">And you thought the term &ldquo;student-athlete&rsquo;&rsquo; was an oxymoron. It&rsquo;s not nearly as big of one as &ldquo;Department of Justice.&rsquo;&rsquo; <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> </div>urn:uuid:be3775f2-69bd-49e8-9cfd-25f7eafbff72 Issued online, it denies credit card fraud, but does not specifically deny involvement in the security breach or theft of personal data. In a lengthy statement dominated by anti-corporate rhetoric, Anonymous said: &ldquo;Whoever broke into Sony's...Thu, 05 May 2011 10:21:40 -0500<div class="firstPar"> <p>Issued online, it denies credit card fraud, but does not specifically deny involvement in the security breach or theft of personal data. </p> </div> <div class="secondPar"> <p>In a <strong>lengthy statement dominated by anti-corporate rhetoric</strong>, Anonymous said: &ldquo;Whoever broke into Sony's servers to steal the credit card info and left a document blaming Anonymous clearly wanted Anonymous to be blamed for the most significant digital theft in history.&rdquo; </p> </div> <div class="thirdPar"> <p>Sony has said it does not believe credit card details was stolen, apart from a small "outdated database" of around 23,400, but the Anonymous statement denies "the credit card theft" and says "our 'leadership' does not condone credit card theft". The collective claims to have no formal leadershi and says anyone is welcome to claim membership. </p> </div> <div class="fourthPar"> <p>It follows a letter from the firm's chairman Kazuo Hirai to a US Congressional committee yesterday in which he revealed that investigators had found a file left behind by the hackers. It was named &ldquo;Anonymous&rdquo; and included the words &ldquo;We Are Legion&rdquo;, part of the collective&rsquo;s motto. </p> </div> <div class="fifthPar"> <p>&ldquo;A group of standard online thieves would have every reason to frame Anonymous in order to put law enforcement off the track,&rdquo; Anonymous said. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> </div>urn:uuid:9161cf99-c7c2-4e39-8c33-ba20a7833d63Pope Benedict XVI beatified Pope John Paul II before more than a million faithful in St. Peter's Square and surrounding streets Sunday, moving the beloved former pontiff one step closer to possible sainthood. The crowd in Rome and in capitals around ...Mon, 02 May 2011 07:56:45 -0500<p>Pope Benedict XVI beatified Pope John Paul II before more than a million faithful in St. Peter's Square and surrounding streets Sunday, moving the beloved former pontiff one step closer to possible sainthood.</p> <p>The crowd in Rome and in capitals around the world erupted in cheers, tears and applause as an enormous photo of a young, smiling John Paul was unveiled over the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica and a choir launched into hymn long associated with the Polish-born pope.</p> <p>"He restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope," Benedict said in his homily, which was dotted with personal recollections of a man Benedict said he came to "revere" during their near-quarter century working together.</p> <p>NPR's Sylvia Poggioli told <em>Weekend Edition </em>host Liane Hansen that in some ways the ceremony contrasted sharply with John Paul's style.</p> <div class="container con2col" id="con135894862"> <h3 class="conheader">Becoming A Saint</h3> <p class="conintrotext">A look at the steps the Catholic Church follows to recognize someone as a saint:</p> <div class="bucketwrap listtext" id="res135894828"> <div class="bucket"> <p><strong>Stage 1: Investigation</strong><br /> Usually, five years must pass after a person's death before he or she can be considered for sainthood. However, the pope can waive this requirement, as Pope Benedict XVI did in the case of the late John Paul II, who died in 2005. To begin the process, a bishop opens a "cause" and, if there's no objection from the Holy See, assembles a tribunal to examine the potential saint's life. The investigation looks for evidence that the person exercised "heroic virtue."<br /> <br /> Once the local investigation is done, it is passed on to Rome, where additional inquiries are made. If church officials there sign off, the cause is presented to the pope, who can then declare the person "venerable." Pope Benedict did this for John Paul II in December 2009.<br /> <br /> <strong>Stage 2: Beatification</strong><br /> The next step to sainthood is to have a miracle attributed to the person's intercession with God after death. Often, these are medical miracles. The miracle attributed to John Paul is the cure of a French nun who had Parkinson's disease, the same disease the former pope had. Once a miracle is confirmed by the church, the current pope can declare the person "blessed." (If a person is judged to have died a martyr, no miracle is required for beatification.)<br /> <br /> <strong>Stage 3: Canonization</strong><br /> For the pope to declare the "blessed" a saint, another miracle must be confirmed. (NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty recently examined how the church investigates miracles.) The entire process can take decades to complete. </p> <p>During John Paul II's own time as pope, he made the entire process easier and declared 482 saints &mdash; more than all the popes in the previous 500 years. Under Benedict, the process has become more rigorous. </p> </div> </div> </div> <p>"Whatever you think about his dogma, he was open to local traditions and modern music in his big open-air masses," she said. "But today's liturgy reflected more the style of his successor: it was full of somber Gregorian chants and much of it was in Latin; a ritual less suited, I think, to outdoor ceremonies not in tune with the age of most of the pilgrims who came here today."</p> <p>Beatification is the first major milestone on the path to possible sainthood, one of the Catholic Church's highest honors. A second miracle attributed to John Paul's intercession is needed for him to be canonized.</p> <p>The beatification, the fastest in modern times, is a morale boost for a church scarred by the sex abuse crisis, but it has also triggered a new wave of anger from victims because the scandal occurred under John Paul's 27-year watch.</p> <p>But, said John Allen, senior correspondent for the <em>National Catholic Reporter</em>, "the overwhelming sentiment in the Catholic grassroots would appear to be that John Paul II was indeed a holy man who was worthy of being declared a saint."</p> <p>Police placed wide swaths of Rome even miles from the Vatican off-limits to private cars to ensure security for the estimated 16 heads of state, seven prime ministers and five members of European royal houses attending.</p> <p>Spain's Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia, wearing a black lace mantilla, mingled with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, Poland's historic Solidarity leader and former President Lech Walesa and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who sidestepped an EU travel ban to attend.</p> <p>"He went all over the world," said Bishop Jean Zerbo of Bamako, Mali, who came to Rome for the ceremony. "Today, we're coming to him."</p> <p>Veteran Vatican analyst Marco Politi listed what he said were John Paul's three greatest achievements.</p> <p>"He has transformed the papacy into the spokesman of human rights. He has opened a dialogue between Jews, Muslims and Christians. And third point, a great act of repentment of Catholic Church for errors and horrors committed through centuries."</p> <p>Benedict put John Paul on the fast-track for possible sainthood when he dispensed with the traditional five-year waiting period and allowed the beatification process to begin weeks after his April 2, 2005, death. Benedict was responding to chants of "Santo Subito!" or "Sainthood Immediately" which erupted during John Paul's funeral.</p> <div class="container con2col" id="con135894866"> <h3 class="conheader">Gallery</h3> <div class="bucketwrap inset2col internallink" id="res135894868"> <div class="bucket img"><a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/04/27/135774054/will-they-become-saints-itll-take-a-miracle" id="featuredStackSquareImage135774054"></a>&nbsp; <div class="bucketblock"> <h3 class="slug">Religion</h3> <h3>Will They Become Saints? It'll Take A Miracle</h3> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p>"I think that whenever you have a pope declared a saint, there is always some confusion as to whether what's being beatified or canonized is a person or a papacy," Allen told NPR's Hansen. "And I think there are some inside and outside the church who believe that the Vatican is in a rush to declare John Paul a saint in part because they liked his policies as pope and want to see those policies continue."</p> <p>But on Sunday, a group of pilgrims from Krakow affixed a banner to a fence outside the square that says "Santo Subito," evidence that for many of the faithful, John Paul already is a saint.</p> <p>"John Paul was a wonderful man and it's a privilege to be here. It's wonderful to see people from all across the world," said Anne Honiball, 48, a nursing home administrator from Worthing, England who carried a small Union Jack flag.</p> <p>"We missed the royal wedding but we are Catholics and this was a bit more important, I suppose," said Honibal, a former Protestant who converted to Catholicism 10 years ago.</p> <div class="container con2col" id="con135894864"> <h3 class="conheader">More On The Miracle </h3> <div class="bucketwrap listtext" id="res135894830"> <div class="bucket"> <p>After John Paul II's death in April 2005, nuns belonging to the Little Sisters of Catholic Motherhood in France and Senegal began praying for him to intervene with God to heal one of their sisters. French Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, saw her condition worsen until June 2, according to Catholic News Service. </p> <p>That day, she wrote John Paul II's name on a piece of paper with a trembling hand, according to the Catholic News Agency. By that night, she had improved &mdash; and by the next morning, she felt completely cured, she says. (You can watch a video of Sister Marie Simon-Pierre describing her experience.) </p> <p>Three separate Vatican panels &mdash; including medical and theological experts &mdash; signed off on the miracle before Pope Benedict XVI approved the official decree, CNS reports. </p> <p>Questions have been raised about the accuracy of the diagnosis and whether it can be certain her symptoms won't return. But "Vatican sources said that, in the end, the experts were satisfied that it was Parkinson's, and that there was no scientific explanation for the cure," CNS writes. </p> </div> </div> </div> <p>Around the world, Catholics celebrated the beatification, jamming churches from Mexico to Australia to pray and watch broadcasts of the Rome Mass on television.</p> <p>"He was a model and an inspiration who united the world with his extraordinary charisma," said John Paul Bustillo, a 16-year-old medical student named after the pontiff who turned out Sunday along with more than 3,000 for a six-mile race followed by a Mass near Manila Bay in the Philippines.</p> <p>In John Paul's native Poland, tens of thousands of people gathered in rain in a major sanctuary in Krakow and in Wadowice, where the pontiff was born in 1920 as Karol Wojtyla. Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his wife Malgorzata watched the ceremony together with Wadowice residents.</p> <p>"I wonder what we would have been like and what would not have happened if we had not had our pope," the PAP agency quoted Tusk as saying. "All that good that we all have received is still working."</p> <p>Speaking in Latin, Benedict pronounced John Paul "Blessed" shortly after the start of the Mass, held under bright blue skies and amid a sea of Poland's red and white flags &mdash; a scene reminiscent of John Paul's 2005 funeral, when some 3 million people paid homage to the pope.</p> <p>Benedict recalled that day six years ago, saying the grief the world felt then was tempered by immense gratitude for his life and pontificate.</p> <p>"Even then, we perceived the fragrance of his sanctity," Benedict said, explaining the "reasonable haste" with which John Paul was being honored.</p> <p>Benedict said that through John Paul's faith, courage and strength &mdash; "the strength of a titan, a strength which came to him from God" &mdash; John Paul had turned back the seemingly "irreversible" tide of Marxism.</p> <p>"He rightly reclaimed for Christianity that impulse of hope which had in some sense faltered before Marxism and the ideology of progress," Benedict said.</p> <p>Police, government officials and the Vatican all put the figure of those attending the Mass at over a million; only a few hundred thousand could fit into St. Peter's Square and the surrounding streets but others watched it on some of the 14 huge TV screens set up around town or listened to it on radios in Polish or Italian.</p> <p>"I am disappointed but also happy to be here for the atmosphere," said Boleslaw Wisniewski, 83, who came with five members of his family by bus from Warsaw. He stood listening to the music drifting over the packed crowd, but could see nothing.</p> <p>"He's our holy father &mdash; a Pole &mdash; and we are proud," he said.</p> <p>During the Mass, Benedict received a silver reliquary holding a vial of blood taken from John Paul during his final hosptalization. The relic, a key feature of beatification ceremonies, will be available for the faithful to venerate.</p> <p>It was presented to him by Sister Tobiana, the Polish nun who tended to John Paul throughout his pontificate, and Sister Marie Simone-Pierre of France, whose inexplicable recovery from Parkinson's disease was decreed to be the miracle necessary for John Paul to be beatified.</p> <p>Helicopters flew overhead, police boats patrolled the nearby Tiber River and some 5,000 uniformed troops patrolled police barricades to ensure priests, official delegations and those with coveted VIP passes could get to their places.</p> <p>Thousands of pilgrims, many of them from John Paul's native Poland, spent the night in sleeping bags on bridges and in piazzas around town, and then packed St. Peter's as soon as the barricades opened over an hour in advance because the crowds were too great.</p> <p>They stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the main boulevard leading to the Vatican, Via della Conciliazione, as well as on side streets around it and the bridges crossing the Tiber leading to St. Peter's.</p> <p>It's the fastest beatification on record, coming just six years after John Paul died and beating out the beatification of Mother Teresa by a few days.</p> <p>The beatification ceremonies kicked off officially with a all-night prayer vigil that began on Rome's ancient Circus Maximus field and continued as pilgrims spent the night moving around eight churches that stayed open all night, a "white night" of prayer in honor of the late pope.</p> <p>"The weather is mild and so it will not be a problem to pass the night here, and there is also a very nice atmosphere," said Pauline Rosenfeld, a 20-year-old pilgrim from Paris sitting with friends in her sleeping bag gearing up for a night spent outdoors.</p> <p>The beatification is taking place despite a drumbeat of criticism about the record speed with which John Paul is being honored, and continued outrage about clerical abuse: Many of the crimes and cover-ups of priests who raped children occurred on John Paul's 27-year watch.</p> <p>Jason Berry, author of a landmark investigation of the church sex abuse crisis, says the many unpunished clerical crimes and cover-ups that occurred on his watch were John Paul's greatest failure.</p> <p>"Someone who was so fearless in his confrontation with the Communist empire, I for one do not understand how he could not have engaged in the same fearless introspection about the church internally, he says.</p> <p>Vatican officials have insisted that John Paul deserves beatification despite the fallout from the abuse scandal, saying the saint-making process isn't a judgment of how he administered the church but rather whether he lived a life of Christian virtue.</p> <p>But victims' groups such as the U.S. Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests have said the speedy beatification was just "rubbing more salt in these wounds" of victims.</p> <p>Rome itself seemed invaded by Poles overjoyed that their native son was being honored. Special trains, planes and buses shuttled Poles in for the beatification.</p> <p>Anna Fotyga, a former Polish foreign minister and member of Poland's parliament, arrived on a special train Sunday morning carrying the Polish parliamentary delegation. She reminisced about John Paul's impact on communist Poland in the late 1970s and 80s.</p> <p>"I was a student at that time, and actually seeing him, listening to him started transformation in Poland, I am sure," she said.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:8d0002ec-2f8f-41fa-b924-70d6b69ea1ffOsama bin Laden, the face of global terrorism and architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was killed in a firefight with elite American forces Monday, then quickly buried at sea in a stunning finale to a furtive decade on the run. Long believed to ...Mon, 02 May 2011 06:48:42 -0500Osama bin Laden, the face of global terrorism and architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was killed in a firefight with elite American forces Monday, then quickly buried at sea in a stunning finale to a furtive decade on the run. <p>Long believed to be hiding in caves, bin Laden was tracked down in a costly, custom-built hideout not far from a Pakistani military academy.</p> <p>"Justice has been done," President Barack Obama said in a dramatic announcement at the White House while a crowd cheered outside and hundreds more gathered at ground zero in Manhattan to celebrate the news.</p> <p>The military operation took mere minutes.</p> <p>U.S. helicopters ferrying elite counter-terrorism troops into the compound identified by the CIA as bin Laden's hideout &mdash; and back out again in less than 40 minutes. Bin Laden was shot in the head, officials said, after he and his bodyguards resisted the assault.</p> <p>Three adult males were also killed in the raid, including one of bin Laden's sons, whom officials did not name. One of bin Laden's sons, Hamza, is a senior member of al-Qaida. U.S. officials also said one woman was killed when she was used as a shield by a male combatant, and two other women were injured.</p> <p>The U.S. official who disclosed the burial at sea said it would have been difficult to find a country willing to accept the remains. Obama said the remains had been handled in accordance with Islamic custom, which requires speedy burial.</p> <p>"I heard a thundering sound, followed by heavy firing. Then firing suddenly stopped. Then more thundering, then a big blast," said Mohammad Haroon Rasheed, a resident of Abbottobad, Pakistan, after the choppers had swooped in and then out again.</p> <p style="width: 400px; text-align: right;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Americans-mark-Osama-bin-Laden-death/ss/events/us/050211whcrowdscheer"></a></p> <p>Bin Laden's death marks a psychological triumph in a long struggle that began with the Sept. 11 attacks, and seems certain to give Obama a political lift. But its ultimate impact on al-Qaida is less clear.</p> <p>The greatest terrorist threat to the U.S. is now considered to be the al-Qaida franchise in Yemen, far from al-Qaida's core in Pakistan. The Yemen branch almost took down a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas 2009 and nearly detonated explosives aboard two U.S. cargo planes last fall. Those operations were carried out without any direct involvement from bin Laden.</p> <p>The few fiery minutes in Abbottobad followed years in which U.S. officials struggled to piece together clues that ultimately led to bin Laden, according to an account provided by senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operation.</p> <p>Based on statements given by U.S. detainees since the 9/11 attacks, they said, intelligence officials have long known that bin Laden trusted one al-Qaida courier in particular, and they believed he might be living with him in hiding.</p> <p>Four years ago, the United States learned the man's identity, which officials did not disclose, and then about two years later, they identified areas of Pakistan where he operated. Last August, the man's residence was found, officials said.</p> <p>"Intelligence analysis concluded that this compound was custom built in 2005 to hide someone of significance," with walls as high as 18 feet and topped by barbed wire, according to one official. Despite the compound's estimated $1 million cost and two security gates, it had no phone or Internet running into the house.</p> <p>By mid-February, intelligence from multiple sources was clear enough that Obama wanted to "pursue an aggressive course of action," a senior administration official said. Over the next two and a half months, the president led five meetings of the National Security Council focused solely on whether bin Laden was in that compound and, if so, how to get him, the official said.</p> <p>Obama made a decision to launch the operation on Friday, shortly before flying to Alabama to inspect tornado damage, and aides set to work on the details.</p> <p>The president spent part of his Sunday on the golf course, but cut his round short to return to the White House for a meeting where he and top national security aides reviewed final preparations for the raid.</p> <p>Two hours later, Obama was told that bin Laden had been tentatively identified.</p> <p>CIA director Leon Panetta was directly in charge of the military team during the operation, according to one official, and when he and his aides received word at agency headquarters that bin Laden had been killed, cheers broke out around the conference room table.</p> <p>Administration aides said the operation was so secretive that no foreign officials were informed in advance, and only a small circle inside the U.S. government was aware of what was unfolding half a world away.</p> <p>In his announcement, Obama said he had called Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari after the raid, and said it was "important to note that our counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding."</p> <p>One senior administration told reporters, though, "we were very concerned ... that he was inside Pakistan, but this is something we're going to continue to work with the Pakistani government on."</p> <p>The compound is about a half-mile from a Pakistani military academy, in a city that is home to three army regiments and thousands of military personnel. Abbottabad is surrounded by hills and with mountains in the distance.</p> <p>Critics have long accused elements of Pakistan's security establishment of protecting bin Laden, though Islamabad has always denied it, and in a statement the foreign ministry said his death showed the country's resolve in the battle against terrorism.</p> <p>Whatever the global repercussions, bin Laden's death marked the end to a manhunt that consumed most of a decade that began in the grim hours after bin Laden's hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center twin towers in Manhattan and the Pentagon across the Potomac River from Washington. A fourth plane was commandeered by passengers who overcame the hijackers and forced the plane to crash in the Pennsylvania countryside.</p> <p>In all, nearly 3,000 were killed in the worst terror attacks on American soil.</p> <p>Former President George W. Bush, who was in office on the day of the attacks, issued a written statement hailing bin Laden's death as a momentous achievement. "The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done," he said.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:fe974403-d78a-47ee-a99f-e68d6fe7ca5aEfforts by Texas lawmakers to increase the speed limit to 85 on the state's future highways is meeting with opposition from those who say the move will lead to more highway deaths. &nbsp; Insurance industry officials say any increase in speed, whethe...Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:16:46 -0500<p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1303938887635="44">Efforts by Texas lawmakers to increase the speed limit to 85 on the state's future highways is meeting with opposition from those who say the move will lead to more highway deaths. &nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1303938887635="45">Insurance industry officials say any increase in speed, whether on an existing freeway or new one, could cause more accidents, resulting in more injuries and fatalities.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1303938887635="46">The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that from 2009 to 2010, traffic deaths fell 3 percent, to the lowest rate since 1949. In the region that includes Texas, deaths are down almost 7 percent. &nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1303938887635="47">Jerry Johns, president of Southwestern Insurance Information Service, says that people already tend to drive over any posted speed limit.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1303938887635="48">&ldquo;So does [it] translate to people driving 90? 95?&rdquo; asks Johns. &ldquo;That certainly does pose a hazard to the other drivers.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1303938887635="49">Despite the concerns, the Texas House of Representatives last week unanimously passed the legislation. &nbsp;It will go to the Senate for approval.</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1303938887635="50">Texas already has about 500 miles of rural interstate that allow 80 mph. None of these or any other existing roads would change.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1303938887635="51">The 85 mph limit, which would be the highest in the nation, would only apply to newly constructed roads that are engineered for that speed and those approved by the Texas Transportation Commission.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1303938887635="52">"We&rsquo;re a big, big state," says Rep. Lori Kolkhorst, the lawmaker who introduced the bill. &nbsp;"And so as we try to move goods and services -- and more importantly people -- from destination to destination, it could be an option for the future.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-size: 14px;" jQuery1303938887635="53">State senators could vote on the bill in the next few weeks.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:2917ef5f-044c-444a-aef2-737c967e9620As firefighters in Texas continue to battle raging wildfires, fueled by drought conditions, parched vegetation, low humidity and strong winds, insured losses from one of the fires are estimated at $150 million, according to the Insurance Council of T...Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:13:34 -0500<p>As firefighters in <location value="LS/us.tx" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Texas continue to battle raging wildfires, fueled by drought conditions, parched vegetation, low humidity and strong winds, insured losses from one of the fires are estimated at <money />$150 million, according to the <org />Insurance Council of Texas. </p> <p>The Possum Kingdom fire, in <location value="LU/us.tx.steens" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Stephens and <location value="LU/us.tx.palnto" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Palo Pinto Counties, about 90 miles west of <location value="LU/us.tx.ftwort" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Fort Worth, has destroyed 167 homes and two churches, according to the <org />Texas Forest Service. The area has many new, very expensive homes, some of the most expensive of homes threatened by any other fires, said <person />Mark Hanna, spokesman for the <org />Insurance Council of Texas. </p> <p>The Possum Kingdom fire, which has consumed more than 126,000 acres, was 80% contained as of <chron />April 26, said <person />Doug Adolph, spokesman with the <org />Texas Forest Service. Other huge wildfires include Wildcat, in <location value="LU/us.tx.coke" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Coke County, which has consumed some 160,000 acres, and, as of <chron />April 25 was 80% contained; the Rockhouse fire in <location value="LU/us.tx.predio" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Presidio and <location value="LU/us.tx.jefvis" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Jeff Davis Counties, which destroyed 23 homes and two commercial structures and was 75% contained; and the Pipeline fire in <location value="LU/us.tx.tyler" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Tyler County, which burned 7,100 acres and threatened 40 homes and was 90% contained, according to the <org />Texas Forest Service. </p> <p>From January through <chron />April 24, more than 800 wildfires charred almost 1.5 million acres, destroyed 322 homes and 224 structures. Firefighting efforts have saved 5,779 homes, Adolph said. The fires started in mostly rural and isolated areas, but officials had concerns they would spread (BestWire, <chron />April 14, 2011). </p> <p>Most of the counties in <location value="LS/us.tx" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Texas -- 211 out of a total of 254 -- have instituted burn bans, Adolph said. The <org />National Weather Service on <chron />April 26 issued a red flag warning, meaning conditions are ripe for fires, throughout all of western <location value="LS/us.tx" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Texas and southeast <location value="LS/us.nm" idsrc="xmltag.org" />New Mexico. </p> <p>The companies with the largest market share in the <location value="LS/us.tx" idsrc="xmltag.org" />Texas homeowners multiperil market in 2009 were <org />State Farm Group, with a 28.77% share; <org />Farmers Insurance Group, 13.47%; <org />Allstate Insurance Group, 12.98%; <org />USAA Group, 7.94%; and <org />Travelers Group, 4.89%, according to BestLink, which provides online access to A.M. Best&rsquo;s database of insurance information.<br /> <br /> </p> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:064e9774-cfd5-4e43-89ac-eb21d41e68a6The Texas Senate yesterday passed SB 518, this session's big middle school bill by GOP State Sen. Florence Shapiro. The bill would require that teachers in grades seven and above be certified in math, science, social studies or English language arts,...Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:11:13 -0500The Texas Senate yesterday passed SB 518, this session's big middle school bill by <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/U.S._Republican_Party" class="DL-topic-highlighted DL-analyze">GOP</a> State Sen. <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Florence_Shapiro" class="DL-topic-highlighted DL-analyze">Florence Shapiro</a>. <p>The bill would require that teachers in grades seven and above be certified in math, science, social studies or English language arts, if they want to teach those core subjects in middle school.</p> <p>It also would require middle schools to identify struggling students and come up with an intervention plan for them. And it would allow middle schools that want to participate in a pilot program to offer courses in what is required for their students -- and parents -- in high school.</p> <p>As we have been discussing here, these reforms are very important. </p> <p>For example, some generalists may teach well, but there's a growing body of thought that suggests students are better served by teachers who really know the material in core courses. </p> <p>Also, middle schools are where too many kids are lost. By requiring schools to identify their strugglers and come up with a way to help them, schools hopefully will reduce the number of dropouts in high school.</p> <p>I still think this bill needs to be amended to create another pilot program, one that would allow participating school districts to access both local and state money so they can "flood" their struggling middle schools with strong principals, better teachers and quality interventionists. </p> <p>Democratic Rep. Eric Johnson of Dallas had an idea like this earlier in the session, so this bill would be the perfect place for him to propose his concept of "flooding the zone" once the House takes up SB 518.</p> <p>Meanwhile, yesterday was a big step forward for Texas middle schoolers.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:7bd33a0e-25ac-48e6-901d-fb79fecd09c3 Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, said the US central bank would remain vigilant over inflation, as he declared in a historic first press conference that a strong dollar was in the best interests of the US and the global economy. Mr Bernanke&r...Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:59:18 -0500<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, said the US central bank would remain vigilant over inflation, as he declared in a historic first press conference that a strong dollar was in the best interests of the US and the global economy.</p> <p>Mr Bernanke&rsquo;s comments came after the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rates, confirmed that the US will complete its $600bn &lsquo;QE2&rsquo; programme of asset purchases in June as planned and revised its economic outlook to reflect slower growth, higher inflation, and lower joblessness in 2011.</p> <div id="floating-con"> <div class="nav-collection clearfix">Facing questions from reporters at the first-ever regularly scheduled Fed press briefing, Mr Bernanke sought to explain and defend the FOMC&rsquo;s monetary policy decisions amid criticism from the right that easy money is stoking inflation and from the left that it is not aggressive enough in tackling the high US unemployment rate.</div> </div> <p>On inflation, Mr Bernanke said the current increase driven by higher petrol prices was likely to be temporary but that &ldquo;there was no substitute for action and we would have to respond&rdquo; in the event of a spike in inflation expectations.</p> <p>He also sought to reassure that the Fed was not deliberately keeping the value of the dollar low.</p> <p>&ldquo;The Fed believes that a strong and stable dollar is in America&rsquo;s best interests and in the interests of the global economy,&rdquo; he said.</p> <p>US stocks rose to a new post-crisis high, while the dollar was close to a three-year low as he spoke. By mid-afternoon in New York, the S&amp;P 500 was up 0.3 per cent at 1,351.23, its highest level since June of 2008. </p> <p>The dollar index was down 0.4 per cent, its lowest level since August 2008.</p> <p>Mr Bernanke&rsquo;s remarks came after Fed officials made significant revisions to their economic forecasts for 2011. US gross domestic product is now expected to grow at a pace of 3.1-3.3 per cent this year, compared with the earlier projection of 3.4-3.9 per cent. Headline inflation will be up 2.1-2.8 per cent in 2011, compared with the much lower earlier estimate of 1.3 to 1.7 per cent.</p> <p>Excluding food and energy prices, inflation will be up 1.3-1.6 per cent compared with the 1-1.3 per cent predicted earlier this year by Fed officials. The unemployment rate will be lower than expected, at 8.4-8.7 per cent this year compared to 8.8 to 9 per cent in the earlier estimates. </p> <p>The Fed statement did not make any major changes compared with the March meeting, signalling that the central bank is keen to head off any expectation that it will move to tighten policy soon. </p> <p>The Fed continued to say that rates are likely to remain &ldquo;exceptionally low&rdquo; for an &ldquo;extended period&rdquo; and that it will continue to reinvest any repayments it receives from its portfolio of assets. The vote was unanimous.</p> <p>The Fed faces a policy dilemma because the economy is showing renewed signs of weakness even as inflation picks up a little. Many analysts now expect that data due for release on Thursday will show first-quarter growth of less than 2 per cent.</p> <p>At the same time, the overall consumer price index rose by 2.7 per cent over the previous year in March, and CPI excluding volatile food and energy prices rose by 1.2 per cent.</p> <p>The FOMC said that &ldquo;the economic recovery is proceeding at a moderate pace and overall conditions in the labour market are improving gradually&rdquo;.</p> <p>The Fed noted the rise in inflation but signalled that it is not yet concerned. &rdquo;Inflation has picked up in recent months, but longer term inflation expectations have remained stable and measures of underlying inflation are still subdued,&rdquo; the statement said.</p> <p>The FOMC said that it expects higher commodity prices to have a &ldquo;transitory&rdquo; effect on inflation but said &ldquo;it will pay close attention to the evolution of inflation and inflationary expectations&rdquo;.</p> <p>Whether or not to respond to higher commodity prices is one of the biggest internal dividing lines within the Fed. &ldquo;On the one hand, the hawks are asking if this will filter through to higher prices throughout the economy,&rdquo; said Steve Blitz, senior economist at ITG Investment Research in New York, before the FOMC statement was released.</p> <p>&ldquo;On the other hand, the doves just say this is a tax on [profit] margins and a tax on consumption,&rdquo; Mr Blitz said.</p> <p>Vincent Reinhart, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and former director of the Fed&rsquo;s monetary affairs division, said that press conferences were an obvious Washington response to allegations of a lack of transparency and would let Mr Bernanke pre-empt the comments of regional Fed presidents, who are sometimes more hawkish than the consensus.</p> <p>&ldquo;But a couple of years from now, this is just going to be another Washington press conference where media-trained people try to influence the news,&rdquo; he said<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> </div>urn:uuid:77247806-967c-4cfb-bd6c-cc34e60f40c0Now that President Obama has released his long-form birth certificate, the birthers can all rest easy that the president of the United States is in fact a &ldquo;natural born citizen&rdquo; and thus qualified for his job. Right? Wrong. Basically, the...Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:50:51 -0500<p>Now that President Obama has released his long-form birth certificate, the birthers can all rest easy that the president of the United States is in fact a &ldquo;natural born citizen&rdquo; and thus qualified for his job. Right?</p> <div class="podStoryRel"><a name="nextParagraph"></a>Wrong. Basically, they&rsquo;re still not completely convinced.</div> <p>The questions keep coming. Like this: &ldquo;Why did Obama spend millions of dollars to keep this document secret?&rdquo; writes Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation, on his group&rsquo;s website.</p> <p>Or this: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure someone will investigate this BC and prove it to be a fraud, like what they have tried to pass off in the past,&rdquo; writes Worried Grammie on the Tea Party Nation site.</p> <div class="promotion-tag">Orly Taitz, an original champion of birtherism, told New York Magazine after Wednesday&rsquo;s big &ldquo;reveal&rdquo; that she&rsquo;s willing to let the birth certificate issue go. Really?! Well, sort of. She called the newly released long-form document &ldquo;a step in the right direction.&rdquo; </div> <p>Then Ms. Taitz elaborates: &ldquo;As long as the experts are saying, &lsquo;Yes, this is a genuine document that was created at the time [of Obama's birth],&rsquo; I would say that that would put this issue to rest.&rdquo;</p> <p>But wait, there&rsquo;s more. Turns out when she says &ldquo;this issue&rdquo; she&rsquo;s referring to place of birth, not eligibility to be president. According to New York Magazine, Taitz still questions whether Mr. Obama is a "natural-born citizen," as required by the Constitution &ndash; despite his Hawaiian birth and American mother &ndash; because his father was a British subject.</p> <p>"Nobody knows, because the courts never took it upon themselves to provide a determination on this issue," Taitz says.</p> <p>Another theory floating around is that Obama lost his citizenship, because he was adopted by his mother&rsquo;s second husband, an Indonesian named Lolo Soetoro, and then moved to Indonesia. There is no evidence that Obama was legally adopted by Mr. Soetoro, now deceased, but we do know that Obama lived in Indonesia with his mother and Soetoro for a few years as a child. Though living abroad does not necessarily mean losing one&rsquo;s citizenship.</p> <p>As for the $2 million in legal fees spent fighting the birthers in court, Donald Trump and Sarah Palin have wondered the same thing. On Wednesday, however, when Mr. Trump held a press conference to gloat about Obama&rsquo;s document release, he did not bring up legal fees.</p> <p>Why not? Perhaps because various news outlets have shot down the $2 million assertion. According to an article in the newspaper Roll Call last month, Obama has spent about $2.8 million on all post-election legal fees, not just fighting &ldquo;eligibility&rdquo; lawsuits.</p> <p>Democratic National Committee spokesman Hari Sevugan told the paper: "The campaign has incurred ordinary legal expenses related to the wind-down of its operations and other legal services which all campaigns incur and which are proportional to the unprecedented size of this campaign."</p> <p>Mr. Sevugan said some legal fees were used to defend the campaign against "unmeritorious" suits, including one challenging Obama&rsquo;s citizenship.</p> <p>But, as Trump has suggested in recent days, there are so many areas ripe for questioning about Obama&rsquo;s past, starting with his college records. Trump is now asking how Obama got into such prestigious schools as Columbia University and Harvard Law School, telling the Associated Press, &ldquo;I heard he was a terrible student, terrible.&rdquo;</p> <p>Gaye Haehnel, writing on the Tea Party Nation website, takes the questions much further, and lists 23 areas ripe for inquiry, including his parents&rsquo; marriage license; his high school, college, and law school records; even his Illinois state Senate schedule.</p> <p>As for college, one piece of &ldquo;evidence&rdquo; that Obama had been born aboard was that he attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he began his college career, as a &ldquo;foreign student.&rdquo; Now the Obama skeptics want all the schools the president ever attended to throw open the books and show us everything they&rsquo;ve got.</p> <p>In his memoir, &ldquo;Dreams From My Father,&rdquo; Obama did acknowledge that he wasn&rsquo;t always the best of students. But here&rsquo;s a fact: Obama graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude in 1991 and was elected by his peers to be president of the Harvard Law Review, the first African-American to be so honored.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:2b19e204-b177-4bd7-a5b9-3b4f1800e48bWeather during the last couple of days has helped firefighters battle several massive wildfires in Texas that have destroyed hundreds of homes and more than a million acres of land.&nbsp;&nbsp; Mark Hanna, spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas...Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:55:09 -0500<p>Weather during the last couple of days has helped firefighters battle several massive wildfires in Texas that have destroyed hundreds of homes and more than a million acres of land.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Mark Hanna, spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas, said the state has received some rain and a favorable shift in winds. The Texas Forest Service list of wildfires indicates many fires are nearly 100 percent contained, but hundreds of homes remain threatened and new fires continuously spring up.</p> <p>The shift in wind got the McDonald Observatory, a research unit of The University of Texas at Austin, out of harm&rsquo;s way. At one time the Rock House Fire was within&nbsp;eight miles of the observatory, home to three multimillion-dollar telescopes.&nbsp;People using the structure as an evacuation center had to be evacuated. Observatory spokeswoman Rebecca Johnson says the observatory is now open to the public.</p> <p>While it is true that the fires burned hundreds of thousands of undeveloped acres, they have also found some clusters of homes such as Possum Kingdom Lake, a resort area with expensive homes, Hanna says. More than 100 homes were destroyed there.</p> <p>Claims are adding up each day for losses of&nbsp;homes, barns, sheds, fences, tractors, automobiles and boats, reports Hanna.</p> <p>Texas has been suffering from drought-like conditions for some time, Hanna says, and burn ban remains in 202 of the state&rsquo;s 254 counties.</p> <p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tinder box out there,&rdquo; Hanna says.</p> <p>Fires are not the state&rsquo;s only worry. Yet another significant hailstorm hit the Dallas/Fort Worth area on April 18, Hanna says. A line of storms 100 miles long produced hail up to the size of tennis balls, he adds.</p> <p>Insurers can expect more auto and home claims to add to insured losses. Large hail and strong winds on April 10 is estimated to have already caused $100 million in insured losses, Hanna says.</p> <p>But even as the hail stopped, the wildfires burn on. Below and on the following pages are stunning&nbsp;nighttime images of the burn in progress at or near the McDonald Observatory, which is located at the University of Texas at Austin.</p> <p>The Southwest Incident Management Team undertook controlled burns on Sunday, April 17, 2011 to get rid of fuel on the mountains around McDonald Observatory. This would starve the Rock House wildfire of fuel should it head back in observatory's direction. Here, Black Mountain is burning. The Hobby-Eberly Telescope dome is at right. Above it, the bright line on the right is the wildfire that broke through a burn-out line on Sunday afternoon. The bright line on the left is the front of a back-fire set to stop that portion of the wildfire. Silhouetted by the back-fires on Black and Spring (to the left) Mountains is Guide Peak now with only small pockets of active fires. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:8e4d6112-cfc5-4e84-8af8-f3a6d4b7e0ce A Texas Senate committee on Wednesday approved the use of $3 billion from the state's Rainy Day Fund to help bring into balance the $176 billion state budget proposal for the next two&nbsp;years. In all funds, the Senate plan would still make abou...Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:49:58 -0500<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <div id="text-pages"> <div class="page" style="display: block;" jQuery1303404372558="24"> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="2" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">A Texas Senate committee on Wednesday approved the use of $3 billion from the state's Rainy Day Fund to help bring into balance the $176 billion state budget proposal for the next two&nbsp;years.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="3" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">In all funds, the Senate plan would still make about $11 billion in cuts, compared to the current budget. But the cuts are much less severe than those in the bare-bones House&nbsp;version.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="4" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">Bracing for a fight, Republican Sen. Steve Ogden said he's prepared to defend the legislation to get it to the governor's&nbsp;desk.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="5" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">"This bill keeps Texas government functioning and essential services available to Texans without doing harm to the private sector," he said, shortly after the bill was approved. "It doesn't generously meet the essential needs of Texas, but I think it's adequate and I think in these circumstances adequate is a pretty big&nbsp;deal."</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="6" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">The state is facing a revenue shortfall of at least $15 billion. The hole is partially because of the economic downturn, but a structural deficit in the state's taxing system also has contributed to the&nbsp;gap.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="7" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">Despite resistance from conservatives, including many in the House and Gov. Rick Perry, Ogden said he couldn't have gotten the bill out of committee without tapping the Rainy Day Fund, the state's reserve fund. The contingency language only allows money from the reserves to be used as a last resort and requires the money be spent on public school&nbsp;operations.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="8" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">The 11-4 vote sends the 2012-2013 budget to the full chamber for consideration, which Ogden said it will likely do late next week. Three Democrats and one conservative Republican, Houston Sen. Dan Patrick, voted against the&nbsp;budget.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="9" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">The plan would still underfund public schools by about $4 billion. But the cuts aren't as severe as those approved by the&nbsp;House.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="10" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">"While this causes pain, it is pain that's bearable compared to House Bill 1 that is unbearable," said Rep. Chuy Hinojosa, a Democrat who served as vice-chair of the Senate Finance Committee.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="11" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">"We don't have to close out nursing homes. We don't have to move 60,000 elderly out of nursing homes, ... we don't have to lay off hundreds of thousands of&nbsp;teachers."</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="12" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">The Senate plan would cut reimbursement rates to Medicaid providers by 6 percent, compared to more than 10 percent proposed in the House. Nursing home advocates warned that cuts in the House plan would force the closure of hundreds of nursing homes that cater to elderly and disabled residents who depend on&nbsp;Medicaid.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="13" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">The two chambers will work out their differences after the full Senate has&nbsp;voted.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" jQuery1303404372558="14" xmlns:apcm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apcm" xmlns:apnm="http://ap.org/schemas/03/2005/apnm">Three Democrats and one conservative Republican voted against the&nbsp;proposal.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p> </div> </div> </div>urn:uuid:0a166da8-2d5a-45e5-82be-0e09397483b9A state judge in Austin ruled on Monday that State Farm Insurance owes nearly $350 million to customers overcharged on premiums from 2003 to 2008. 1.2 million customers are expected to be paid on average $200 to $300 each. State Farm has indicated it...Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:21:29 -0500<p>A state judge in Austin ruled on Monday that State Farm Insurance owes nearly $350 million to customers overcharged on premiums from 2003 to 2008. 1.2 million customers are expected to be paid on average $200 to $300 each. State Farm has indicated it will appeal the decision. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The court order stems from an investigation by the Texas Department of Insurance, which found that State Farm overcharged customers on homeowners&rsquo; coverage. State Farm&rsquo;s counsel argued that the $350 million refund would wipe out a third of their capital and threaten its ability to continue to insure. But contrary to this claim, the Insurance Department showed that State Farm collected more than $1.7 billion in homeowners&rsquo; premiums from Texans in 2010, and only paid out 52% of the premiums. This leaves a profit, excluding overhead, of $816 million for 2010 alone. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>While Monday&rsquo;s order may help those taken advantage of by State Farm, it does little to curb the fundamental problem faced by Texas consumers. Tort reform has been trumpeted by its supporters as a way to lower the cost of insurance rates, medical care and create jobs. However, insurance rates have not gone down in Texas. In 2005, Forbes Magazine reported that Texas was the most expensive State in the nation to insure a home. This report closely followed the first significant round of tort reform laws passed in 2003. Texas surpassed Florida and Louisiana, home of tropical storms and hurricanes, as well as California, where earthquakes and mudslides threaten homes. Clearly, tort reform has not saved Texas consumers any money, but it has allowed insurance companies to avoid lawsuits. But now we find out that in addition to the benefits of tort reform, State Farm is charging the highest rates in the nation, as well as overcharging customers for even more profit. A contemplative Texan should recognize the charade of tort reform for what it is &ndash; a power grab by the state&rsquo;s biggest businesses to increase profits. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:d92156f4-de8f-4d0e-8fab-2b986371591fPresident Barack Obama vowed to cut $4 trillion in cumulative deficits within 12 years through a combination spending cuts and tax increases, setting the stage for a fight with congressional Republicans over the nation&rsquo;s priorities. In present...Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:19:32 -0500<p>President Barack Obama vowed to cut $4 trillion in cumulative deficits within 12 years through a combination spending cuts and tax increases, setting the stage for a fight with congressional Republicans over the nation&rsquo;s priorities. </p> <p>In presenting his long-term plan for closing the budget shortfall, Obama set a target of reducing the annual U.S. deficit to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2015, compared with 10.9 percent of GDP projected for this year. He reiterated his support for overhauling the tax code to lower rates while closing loopholes and ending some breaks to increase revenue. </p> <p>&ldquo;We have to live within our means, reduce our deficit, and get back on a path that will allow us to pay down our debt,&rdquo; Obama said in prepared remarks for a speech today at George Washington University in the capital. &ldquo;And we have to do it in a way that protects the recovery.&rdquo; </p> <p>Over the next five years, the administration forecasts the government will pile up a cumulative deficit of $3.8 trillion; over the decade, the cumulative deficits would rise to $7.2 trillion. With today&rsquo;s proposal, Obama is going beyond the fiscal 2012 budget he presented on Feb. 14, which forecast cutting the deficit by $1.1 trillion over a decade. </p> <p>As with his budget, Obama in his latest plan calls for ending the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, which are set to expire in 2012. </p> <h2>&lsquo;Debt Failsafe&rsquo; </h2> <p>To achieve his new goals, the president is urging Congress to pass a &ldquo;debt failsafe&rdquo; that would trigger across-the-board spending cuts and tax changes if the debt-to-GDP ratio hasn&rsquo;t stabilized by 2014, according to an administration fact sheet. The automatic cuts wouldn&rsquo;t apply to entitlements, including Social Security, Medicare, and programs intended for low-income Americans. </p> <p>The plan would target government spending, from the Pentagon to the Department of Agriculture. Obama proposes saving $400 billion in current and future defense spending. </p> <p>U.S. stocks fell, sending the Standard &amp; Poor&rsquo;s 500 Index to its longest slump since July. Defense contractors were among the biggest decliners. Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) fell 2.5 percent at 1 p.m., the third-biggest percentage drop in the S&amp;P 500. Raytheon Co. (RTN), down 2.3 percent, followed with the fourth- biggest decline. General Dynamics Corp. (GD) fell 2.2 percent and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) dropped 2.1 percent. Boeing Co. (BA), down 1.8 percent, had the biggest percentage drop among 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. </p> <h2>Republican Opposition </h2> <p>Signaling the political fight his plan faces, Republican congressional leaders said after getting briefed by the president that they won&rsquo;t accept tax increases as part of a deficit-cutting plan. </p> <p>The president &ldquo;heard us loud and clear&rdquo; on the tax issue, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio told reporters after the White House meeting. &ldquo;If we are going resolve our differences and do something meaningful, raising taxes will not be part of that.&rdquo; </p> <p>Most of the reductions proposed by Obama will be phased in to the second half of the 12-year timeframe, to avoid hurting the economic recovery, according to the White House. </p> <h2>Borrowing Ideas </h2> <p>The president borrowed some ideas from the Simpson-Bowles debt commission he created last year, drawing on the co- chairmen&rsquo;s recommendation for a simpler, fairer tax code that lowers rates and increases revenue. He also adopted the recommendations on non-security discretionary spending, saving $770 billion by 2023. </p> <p>&ldquo;If our creditors start worrying that we may be unable to pay back our debts, it could drive up interest rates for everyone who borrows money, making it harder for businesses to expand and hire,&rdquo; Obama said in his prepared remarks. </p> <p>The administration is aiming to provide a counterpoint to the budget plan released last week by Representative Paul Ryan, which relies on deep cuts in federal spending to trim the deficit. Obama will specifically reject the Wisconsin Republican&rsquo;s idea of a voucher-like system for future Medicare recipients, a person said. </p> <h2>Spending Cuts, Taxes </h2> <p>The recommendations from the debt commission&rsquo;s co- chairmen, former Senator Alan Simpson, a Republican from Wyoming, and former Clinton administration official Erskine Bowles, a Democrat, both of whom were at the speech, would cut almost $4 trillion over the period. Both used a combination of spending cuts and higher revenue. </p> <p>Ryan&rsquo;s plan would cut the deficit by $4.4 trillion over 10 years, primarily through reductions in federal spending. He proposes to reduce top income and corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 25 percent. </p> <p>A broad group of Senate Republicans and Democrats has been pressing Obama to endorse a goal of cutting the deficit by at least $4 trillion, in line with the plans by the debt panel and Ryan. </p> <p>Some lawmakers were urging Obama before he spoke to match the reductions proposed by the debt commission. </p> <p>&ldquo;You need a package that&rsquo;s in that range -- roughly $4 trillion -- to get the debt back on track and to secure a strong future for the United States,&rdquo; Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota, head of his chamber&rsquo;s Budget Committee, said in an interview yesterday. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:fb120a6d-8423-45a1-a47a-a04199facf45Gary Blair&rsquo;s coaching career began when women were still playing six-on-six basketball, their opportunities across gender barriers as restricted as their movements across midcourt. At South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, Blair won three Texa...Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:00:02 -0500<p>Gary Blair&rsquo;s coaching career began when women were still playing six-on-six basketball, their opportunities across gender barriers as restricted as their movements across midcourt. </p> <p>At South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, Blair won three Texas state championships, coaching Debra and Kim Rodman when their brother Dennis &ldquo;used to play Ping-Pong with me because he was only 5-11 and couldn&rsquo;t play a lick&rdquo; of basketball. </p> <p>Three decades later, Dennis Rodman has just been voted into the Hall of Fame and Blair, 65 and gray, has won an N.C.A.A. championship at Texas A&amp;M, guiding its women&rsquo;s team to a gripping 76-70 victory over Notre Dame on Tuesday. Funny how lives crisscross likes strands of a net. </p> <p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s come full circle; to start where he started and have the stops he&rsquo;s had along the way, I venture to say there&rsquo;s not anybody else in the game that&rsquo;s made that trip,&rdquo; Vic Schaefer, the associate head coach at Texas A&amp;M and mastermind of the Aggies&rsquo; relentless defense, said of Blair. </p> <p>The arc of Blair&rsquo;s career is the arc of women&rsquo;s basketball, from grudging tolerance to defiant outsider resolve to belated acceptance by the N.C.A.A. And the evolution of women&rsquo;s basketball at Texas A&amp;M is the remarkable transformation of a university that once prohibited women as students, much less athletes. </p> <p>No one immersed himself more in the women&rsquo;s Final Four or had more fun or told more stories than Blair. He is a Rotarian and former Marine for whom sentences are mere tributaries for paragraphs that run on like great rivers, meandering and eddying, and finally depositing luxuriant and unhurried tales.. </p> <p>&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t say anything quickly,&rdquo; Notre Dame Coach Muffet McGraw said with amusement. &ldquo;I think he really has to have a little bit of time if you&rsquo;re going to run into him.&rdquo; </p> <p>After confetti had rained in star shapes Tuesday night and the nets had been scissored at Conseco Fieldhouse, Blair shouted, &ldquo;Howdy!&rdquo; at his postgame news conference and playfully demanded that reporters shout &ldquo;Howdy!&rdquo; in reply. </p> <p>Among other things, he studied journalism at Texas Tech in an undergraduate career as protracted as some of his stories. (&ldquo;I had a couple of junior years,&rdquo; he said.) He reads five newspapers a day and deconstructs sports columns and articles as if he were an editor instead of a coach. </p> <p>He promised not to ramble on Tuesday night, but he did anyway. And who could blame him? </p> <p>Asked what this title meant, Blair recounted his entire career: His high school days in Dallas. His days as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech, which won a national title in the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women in 1981 and the first N.C.A.A. title for women in 1982. His days as a head coach at Stephen F. Austin in Texas, before big-time football schools decided they could succeed in women&rsquo;s basketball. His days at Arkansas, which he coached to the Final Four in 1998. And finally his days at Texas A&amp;M, which was founded as an all-male military school in 1876 and did not admit women as full students until 1963 or band members until 1985. </p> <p>He talked about how much this championship meant to his family, to the families of his assistant coaches, to the pets of another assistant who has no family but does have dogs. </p> <p>He promised to take his wife, Nan Smith-Blair, the director of nursing at Arkansas, on a vacation. They live apart much of the year, their careers rooted in different states. He has been promising this vacation for 11 years. This time he means it. </p> <p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the life of a coach, because you do not get those little things,&rdquo; Blair said. </p> <p>When he arrived at Texas A&amp;M eight seasons ago, the Aggies drew about 300 fans a game. (&ldquo;Usually family members,&rdquo; he said.) So Blair has done whatever he can to attract crowds. He calls in to radio talk shows and offers tickets. He tosses candy into the stands before home games. He speaks annually to sales reps at The Eagle newspaper in Bryan-College Station, Tex., exhorting them to sell ads for the preview section on women&rsquo;s basketball as if they were headed to the Final Four. </p> <p>&ldquo;Not only does he have my cellphone number, he has my wife&rsquo;s cellphone number,&rdquo; said Robert Cessna, who has covered sports at The Eagle for 35 years. &ldquo;If Blair needs to get ahold of me, he will.&rdquo; </p> <p>So much has changed for women, and women&rsquo;s sports, at Texas A&amp;M. The basketball team once dressed in a men&rsquo;s locker room where artificial flowers were brought in to camouflage the urinal. Now the practice facility has a hair salon and each player has a computer in her locker. </p> <p>Blair makes $800,000 a year. On Tuesday night the university president cheered in the stands and linked his arms with the players in swaying celebration. This university, which built its athletic reputation on football, now has national women&rsquo;s titles in basketball and track and field. Soccer and softball are powers. Equestrian is ranked No. 1. </p> <p>&ldquo;Those are big sports, but a lot of people have been waiting for women&rsquo;s basketball to do something big,&rdquo; said Sydney Colson, a rapacious senior guard. </p> <p>Forward Danielle Adams, who scored 30 points Tuesday, is departing along with Colson, but the Aggies will have the 6-foot-4 center Kelsey Bone, a transfer from South Carolina, eligible next season. Another championship run is possible. Blair is not going anywhere. </p> <p>Before each game, he will scrawl a plus sign on his hand, reminding himself to be as positive with his players as he is with the public. </p> <p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not looking to retire,&rdquo; Blair said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not looking to be as old as Joe Paterno and keep coaching, but I&rsquo;ll give it a hell of a ride until then.&rdquo; <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:a22da393-2b6b-40e7-a243-280aacaec15eThe Texas House tentatively agreed to use more than $3.1 billion from the Rainy Day Fund Thursday as part of a package of legislation intended to help pay the state's bills for the remaining five months of the 2011 budget. Both Democrats and Republic...Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:43:11 -0500<p>The Texas House tentatively agreed to use more than $3.1 billion from the Rainy Day Fund Thursday as part of a package of legislation intended to help pay the state's bills for the remaining five months of the 2011 budget.</p> <p>Both Democrats and Republicans agreed to tap the fund in the 142-2 vote, though Democrats made repeated pleas to use more.</p> <p>Democrats did not support a bill that was approved earlier in the day, which made spending cuts to help balance the 2011 budget. They urged using more of the reserve fund to pay for education, nursing homes and other programs that are expected to get slashed.</p> <p>"What we are using from the Rainy Day Fund right now will not keep the nursing homes open. They will close," said Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, estimating five out of six nursing homes in Harris County will close because of cuts to state funding. "More than 50,000 elderly and disabled people will either return home or go someplace else.</p> <p>"Teachers will be laid off. There will not be new textbooks," he said.</p> <p>But Republicans used their supermajority to hold firm, not allowing any more of the rainy-day money to be tapped.</p> <p>The fund, made up of revenue from oil and gas taxes, is expected to have a balance of at least $9.4 billion.</p> <p>The next budget, which covers state spending for 2012-113, is set to come up for debate Friday.</p> <p>The package approved Thursday makes about $1.5 billion in agency cuts, including those requested last year by state leaders. They include a reduction in a needy families program and a $463 million decrease for universities and community colleges.</p> <p>"I don't believe there is a greater investment than to invest in our students," Turner said, arguing for an amendment that would have taken money away from the governor's discretionary accounts to fund the B-On-Time student financial aid program. "This choice is between criminal justice grants in the governor's trustee program versus financial aid grants to students who are trying to go to university."</p> <p>The amendment was rejected on a 97-48 party line vote, illustrating the supermajority strength Republicans now wield in the 101-49 GOP-led chamber.</p> <p>"I understand these are painful cuts," said Killeen Republican Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, arguing against the amendment.</p> <p>Numerous other amendments, including efforts to spend more on various colleges and take money away from Perry's housing funds, also were rejected on party-line votes. One amendment, by Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, would have taken $35,000 from the governor's office and moved the money -- enough to pay one teacher's salary for a year -- to the Texas Education Agency.</p> <p>Tapping the Rainy Day Fund has run into resistance from fiscal conservatives in the chamber. But an agreement between House leaders and Perry cleared the way to use about a third of the reserves to help balance the budget that ends Aug. 31.</p> <p>The legislation requires three-fifths approval, or 90 votes, to pass.</p> <p>The supplemental budget and Rainy Day Fund measures "are paying our current obligation," said Rep. Jim Pitts, the lead House budget writer</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:6c272b87-6f02-478e-b2f0-2163e65a3214The House Ways and Means Committee heard testimony Monday on a bill that would require Internet retailers to collect state sales tax if the company has a connection to Texas. Supporters say the bill could bring in millions of dollars in new sales tax...Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:18:37 -0500<p>The House Ways and Means Committee heard testimony Monday on a bill that would require Internet retailers to collect state sales tax if the company has a connection to Texas.</p> <p>Supporters say the bill could bring in millions of dollars in new sales taxes at a time when the state is facing a $23 billion budget shortfall. State Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, introduced one version of the bill, explaining that local retailers complain that customers frequently try out a product in their stores but then buy it online to avoid the sales tax. The state sales tax in Texas is 6.25 percent, and many local governments add more.</p> <p>"This bill is about fairness, it is about leveling the playing field," Naishtat said. "The bills are about removing the unfair competitive advantage that out-of-state e-retailers have over Texas retailers who comply with the law."</p> <p>A U.S. Supreme Court ruling requires that for a state to require a company to collect and pay sales tax, the state must prove that the company in some way has a physical presence in Texas. Naishtat's bill, which is based on a New York law, would clarify that if the company uses a Texas-based web site to market products, then that would qualify as having a physical presence in Texas.</p> <p>Several business people, whose web sites market products for Internet businesses, said the bill would drive them out of business. Scott Hazard, who owns the Mineola-based online marketing firm BrightSide Media, said his customers would hire other marketing companies to avoid being required to collect Texas sales tax.</p> <p>"Ten companies make up about 60 percent of my income, and I've confirmed with six of those that if this bill passes, I'm gone," Hazard said. "That's a hard one for me to swallow."</p> <p>Amazon recently announced it was shutting down a warehouse in Texas to avoid having to pay sales tax levied by the state comptroller. New York, Illinois, North Carolina and Rhode Island have similar laws.</p> <p>The Ways and Means Committee heard hours of testimony on Naishtat's bill, and a similar one introduced by Republican state Rep. John Otto of Dayton, which had less stringent language about what constituted a physical presence in Texas. Lawmakers left the bills pending in committee, where they will likely be revised before coming up for a vote.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:47cf11f1-325b-42ae-b8d2-b8745119d290With all the new apps being developed today, it;s hard to keep up. If you could name your favorite apps, which one's would they be? Just a general survey. www.reliableins.netSat, 26 Mar 2011 18:42:49 -0500With all the new apps being developed today, it;s hard to keep up. If you could name your favorite apps, which one's would they be? Just a general survey.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:e3d3ff76-aaf1-4408-8432-bf1961fc1a13Many of the serious safety or security lapses at U.S. nuclear power plants in 2010 happened because plant owners -- and often the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) -- failed to address known safety problems, according to a report released today by ...Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:58:49 -0500<p>Many of the serious safety or security lapses at U.S. nuclear power plants in 2010 happened because plant owners -- and often the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) -- failed to address known safety problems, according to a report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).</p> <p>In 2010, the NRC reported on 14 special inspections it launched in response to troubling events, safety equipment problems, and security shortcomings at nuclear power plants. The UCS says that many of these significant events occurred because reactor owners, and often the NRC, tolerated known safety problems.</p> <p>"While none of the safety problems in 2010 caused harm to plant employees or the public, their frequency -- more than one per month -- is high for a mature industry," the UCS says.</p> <p>For example, the owner of the Calvert Cliffs plant in Maryland ended a program to routinely replace safety components before launching a new program to monitor degradation of those components. As a result, an electrical device that had been in use for longer than its service lifetime failed, disabling critical safety components.</p> <p>In another example, after declaring an emergency at its Brunswick nuclear plant in North Carolina, the owner failed to staff its emergency response teams within the required amount of time. That lapse occurred because workers did not know how to activate the automated system that summons emergency workers to the site.</p> <p>The UCS report also provides three examples where onsite NRC inspectors made "outstanding catches" of safety problems at the Oconee, Browns Ferry, and Kewaunee nuclear plants&mdash; "before these impairments could lead to events requiring special inspections, or to major accidents."</p> <p>However, the report says that the NRC did not always serve the public well in 2010. It analyzes serious safety problems at Peach Bottom, Indian Point, and Vermont Yankee that the NRC overlooked or dismissed.</p> <p>The NRC audits only about five percent of activities at nuclear plants each year, according to the UCS, which says the NCR can learn lessons from the 14 near-misses and how it should apply its limited resources to reap the greatest returns to public safety.</p> <p>The report says the three positive and three negative examples do not represent the agency's best and worst performances in 2010.</p> <p>"Instead, the examples highlight patterns of NRC behavior that contributed to these outcomes. The positive examples clearly show that the NRC can be an effective regulator. The negative examples attest that the agency still has work to do to become the regulator of nuclear power that the public deserves," the report says.</p> <p>The scientists say that the chances of a disaster at a nuclear plant are low. But "[t]he more owners sweep safety problems under the rug and the longer safety problems remain uncorrected, the higher the risk climbs," the report says.</p> <p>The Union of Concerned Scientists is a U.S. science-based nonprofit organization headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. It also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:7b9f57de-0b4e-4d92-8d4d-47cf5db5d076A Republican draft of legislation to reform the federal flood insurance program would renew the program for five years, phase out most rate subsidies, tie coverage limits to the rate of inflation, vary the deductible by how subsidized the premium is,...Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:57:12 -0500<p>A Republican draft of legislation to reform the federal flood insurance program would renew the program for five years, phase out most rate subsidies, tie coverage limits to the rate of inflation, vary the deductible by how subsidized the premium is, and allow the program to sell optional additional living expense and business interruption coverages.</p> <p>Insurance agents and a coalition of taxpayer and conservation groups praised the draft as a good starting point for final reform.</p> <p>The proposal does not address the current $18.3 billion debt facing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) largely as a result of the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. But the proposal does attempt to put the program on sounder financial footing by insisting that current subsidized prices to most policyholders be raised so they eventually cover the actual cost of risk as determined by actuaries.</p> <p>The draft bill was released by Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., chair of the Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. Her subcommittee is to begin hearings last Friday.</p> <p>The NFIP is currently scheduled to expire Sept. 30. This bill would extend the program for five years until Sept. 30, 2016.</p> <p>The plan pushes the program to reduce subsidies in flood insurance rates in several ways. It requires that rates for most properties be raised by 20 percent a year until they reach actuarially sound levels. These include commercial properties, vacation homes, repetitive loss properties, homes that have had damage exceeding 50 percent of their value, homes that have had improvements exceeding 30 percent of their value, and homes sold to new owners.</p> <p>Also, rates for property owners in communities newly designated as in flood hazard zones would be set at 50 percent of the actuarial indications the first year, then followed by 20 percent hikes each year thereafter until they are brought in line with what actuaries say they should be.</p> <p>The bill would not mandate that rates for all other existing policyholders reach actuarial rates. But it allows NFIP to raise their rates within a flex-band of between 10 percent and 20 percent a year. Current law does not allow increases above 10 percent a year.</p> <p>The bill does not add wind coverage to the NFIP offerings as some lawmakers from coastal states have urged in the past, but it does add two new coverage options: additional living expenses (ALE) up to $5,000 aggregate and business interruption (BI) coverage up to $20,000 per property.</p> <p>Independent insurance agents have sought many of the reforms in the Republican draft, including the optional coverages, for years.</p> <p>"We're very encouraged," said Charles Symington, senior vice president of government affairs for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (the Big "I"), whose group will have Connecticut agent Spencer Houldin testify at Friday's hearing. "It's an excellent draft. It tackles many of the issues."</p> <p>Symington said he thinks the draft will attract support from some Democrats as well as Republicans.</p> <p>He said the five-year extension of NFIP after several years of short-term lapses and last-minute renewals is critical because it "gives the marketplace certainty."</p> <p>Symington said agents appreciate that the bill attempts to "modernize" the program and move it closer to "real world insurance" by phasing out subsidies, indexing coverage limits to inflation, and adding optional additional living expense and business interruption coverages&mdash; which he says makes the program more attractive to consumers.</p> <p>The Big "I" lobbyist said he does not think adding coverages to a program in so much debt should be a problem because of the way the bill restricts the offering. NFIP would be able to sell ALE and BI only if no private market for them exists and only if NFIP doesn't have to borrow money from the Treasury to do so.</p> <p>The Big "I" was not alone in its praise of the Republican measure.</p> <p>The bill was called a "very good start" by Eli Lehrer, the Heartland Institute, a free market think tank. Lehrer said the bill is "not perfect," but it "has a lot of good aspects." Lehrer said that while the bill does not directly address or forgive the massive NFIP debt, it does promise to put the program on sounder financial footing so that it may be able to pay off the debt eventually.</p> <p>Lehrer criticized the bill's inclusion of the additional living expenses and business interruption coverages as "problematic" given the flood program is already deeply in debt.</p> <p>Lehrer's group is a member of SmarterSafer.org, an unusual coalition of taxpayer, conservation, business and free market economics groups that want to see changes in the flood insurance program.</p> <p>Adam Kolton, National Wildlife Federation, and Steve Ellis, Taxpayers for Common Sense, both of the SmarterSafer.org coalition, joined Lehrer in a press briefing and agreed that the bill represents a good starting point for reform.</p> <p>The Wildlife Federation is critical of the NFIP because its taxpayer-subsidized insurance helps promote development in wetlands and other environmentally-sensitive areas that destroys wildlife.</p> <p>Ellis, of the taxpayers watchdog organization, said the timing is good because Congress appears willing to "take up problematic programs." The NFIP has been cited by Congressional auditors as a high risk government program for a number of years.</p> <p>In other provisions, the Republican flood program draft bill would:</p> <ul> <li>Set a minimum deductible of $1,000 for policyholders whose premiums are at the cost of risk, while making $2,000 the minimum deductible available to those whose premiums are still below costs.</li> <li>Require that any property owners who let their policies lapse for lack of payment pay actuarially sound rates to restart coverage.</li> <li>Require more accurate flood maps and allow local residents and officials more input into mapping and eligibility decisions.</li> <li>Mandate two studies into privatizing the federal program. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Comptroller General would each be required to conduct a privatization study and report to Congress within 18 months.</li> </ul> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:e2469bde-1211-4b5c-b5b7-57de3659831fGov. Rick Perry and Texas House leaders ended a stalemate Tuesday by agreeing to use about one-third of the state's reserve fund to plug a budget deficit in the current fiscal year and to make $800 million in spending cuts to state agencies. Shortly ...Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:27:07 -0500<p>Gov. Rick Perry and Texas House leaders ended a stalemate Tuesday by agreeing to use about one-third of the state's reserve fund to plug a budget deficit in the current fiscal year and to make $800 million in spending cuts to state agencies.</p> <p>Shortly after Perry and House Speaker Joe Strauss announced they had reached an agreement to tap $3.2 billion of the state's Rainy Day Fund to help close a projected $4.3 billion deficit, the House Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to back the measure. The vote sends the measure to the full House where, as in the Senate, it would need the approval of three-fifths of voting lawmakers before becoming law.</p> <p>While Perry agreed to use the Rainy Day Fund to address the 2011 deficit, he vowed not to agree to use it to address the massive revenue shortfall that remains as lawmakers tackle the budget for 2012-2013.</p> <p>"We have worked closely with state leaders and lawmakers to balance the current budget, which includes using a one-time amount from the Economic Stabilization Fund to help our budget deal with the impact of the national recession," Perry said. "I remain steadfastly committed to protecting the remaining balance of the Rainy Day Fund, and will not sign a 2012-2013 state budget that uses the Rainy Day Fund."</p> <p>The state is facing a revenue shortfall that could reach as high as $27 billion over the next two-year budget when counting population growth and cost increases. The next budget likely will include severe cuts to all areas of state government, most heavily to public education and low-income and elderly health care programs.</p> <p>Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner, of Houston, cautioned that people should not think schools, nursing homes and Medicaid providers will be spared from budget cuts because of Tuesday's agreement.</p> <p>"For the teachers that came to this Capitol on Saturday and yesterday, to all the medical providers walking the halls, all the children concerned about their needs, nothing is going to be used from the Rainy Day Fund to cover any of their needs for the next two years," Turner said.</p> <p>The Rainy Day Fund, which is expected to have a balance of $9.4 billion at the end of the next budget period, is made up of revenue from oil and gas taxes.</p> <p>The measure approved by the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday also would make $800 million in agency cuts in the current budget, which covers state spending through Aug. 31.</p> <p>House Speaker Joe Straus said the agreement allows the state to preserve about $6 billion of the reserve fund to cover future emergencies.</p> <p>"Today Republican leaders locked in a plan to force up local taxes, make college more expensive, crowd more kids into classrooms, fire teachers, close nursing homes, and cut basic health services for children and the disabled," said Rep. Mike Villarreal, a Democrat from San Antonio, who is on the House Appropriations Committee. "Texans have already paid taxes into the Rainy Day Fund, but the governor would rather sit on the people's money than use it to save our schools."</p> <p>Conservatives have argued the Rainy Day Fund should be preserved.</p> <p>"We can reasonably predict that economic pressures on the Texas state budget will be even more severe in the next legislative session," said Talmadge Heflin, director of the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation's Center for Fiscal Policy.</p> <p>"It is the duty of those elected to government to govern -- and it is the duty of those who elected them to hold them accountable. Now more than ever, Texans must demand that their Legislature craft a responsible, conservative state budget with no further use of the Rainy Day Fund," Heflin said.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:18262d1b-b2fc-4e2f-842b-a3c948c37e61Legislation filed in Texas would create a &ldquo;loser pays&rdquo; legal system that Texas Gov. Rick Perry says would provide stronger protections against frivolous lawsuits. House Bill 274 and Senate Bill 13, sponsored by Rep. Brandon Creighton and...Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:47:20 -0500<p>Legislation filed in Texas would create a &ldquo;loser pays&rdquo; legal system that Texas Gov. Rick Perry says would provide stronger protections against frivolous lawsuits. </p> <p>House Bill 274 and Senate Bill 13, sponsored by Rep. Brandon Creighton and Sen. Joan Huffman, respectively, would establish an early dismissal option for frivolous lawsuits, ensure new laws cannot create causes of action unless expressly established by the Legislature, and set up speedier trials and limited discovery for lawsuits with claims between $10,000 and $100,000, according to an announcement released by the governor.</p> <div id="ad-in-text"> <ul></ul> <div id="beacon_b132dbe986" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; top: 0px; left: 0px;"><img alt="" width="0" height="0" style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=1768&amp;campaignid=960&amp;zoneid=79&amp;loc=1&amp;referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fnews%2Fsouthcentral%2F2011%2F03%2F15%2F190239.htm&amp;cb=b132dbe986" /></div> </div> <p>Gov. Perry noted the success of medical lawsuit reforms implemented in 2003, which helped reduce lower the number of frivolous lawsuits against doctors in Texas. The reforms, which placed a cap on non-economic damages, helped lower insurance rates and attract more than 14,000 doctors to return to practice in Texas or begin practicing here for the first time.</p> <p>Rep. Brandon Creighton, who joined Gov. Perry at a press conference to introduce the bills, said the legislation would cut down on abuse of the court system and allow&nbsp;&ldquo;employers to focus their time and resources on building their businesses.&rdquo; He said under his bill &ldquo; the non-prevailing side&rdquo; in a lawsuit would pay the costs for the other side. </p> <p>&ldquo;The reforms in SB 13 are designed to guard against frivolous civil litigation in Texas by curbing needless and abusive lawsuits,&rdquo; Sen. Joan Huffman said. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:f4030e13-0056-47fc-983f-da27fa69a6e0U.S. health authorities will take over supervision of three Johnson &amp; Johnson manufacturing plants after the healthcare giant failed to stem quality lapses that sparked a flood of recalls for consumer medicines like its Tylenol painkiller. J&amp;...Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:13:37 -0600<p>U.S. health authorities will take over supervision of three Johnson &amp; Johnson manufacturing plants after the healthcare giant failed to stem quality lapses that sparked a flood of recalls for consumer medicines like its Tylenol painkiller.</p> <p>J&amp;J's McNeil unit has recalled more than 300 million bottles and packages of Tylenol, Motrin, Rolaids, Benadryl and other products in the past year over faulty manufacturing.</p> <p>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said a consent decree was filed Thursday in Philadelphia federal court against McNeil. It gives the FDA authority to oversee plants operated by J&amp;J's McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit, which makes Tylenol and the company's array of other over the counter medicines.</p> <p>The decree will prevent the McNeil unit from making consumer medicines at a large factory in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania until the now-closed facility corrects quality lapses. It also sets a strict timetable to fix quality problems at McNeil's plants in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Las Piedras, Puerto Rico.</p> <p>The company must retain an independent expert to inspect all plants and ultimately verify that violations have been corrected.</p> <p>Morningstar analyst Damien Conover said J&amp;J, now that it will be under far closer FDA scrutiny for years, will have less flexibility in solving its manufacturing problems.</p> <p>"The company will have to jump through these hoops differently, which will be more expensive,'' he said.</p> <p>J&amp;J said two company executives were named as defendants in the consent decree. They are Veronica Cruz, vice president of quality at J&amp;J's McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit, and Hakan Erdemir, vice president of operations at McNeil.</p> <p>"This is a strong, but necessary, step to ensure that the products manufactured by this company meet federal standards for quality, safety and purity,'' Deborah Autor, head of compliance in the FDA's drug division, said in a statement.</p> <p>Some of the lapses led to metal particles entering liquid medicines, and also included mislabeling and moldy odors.</p> <p>While the medicines recalled have not proven harmful to any consumers, they have tarnished J&amp;J's reputation, which was built on a pledge to serve its patients first and deserve their trust.</p> <p>As recently as late February, the company recalled Sudafed allergy tablets for incorrectly repeating the word "not'' on its label to say "do not not divide, crush, chew or dissolve the tablet.''</p> <p>For a Factbox on the recalls, see:</p> <p>J&amp;J shares closed down 1.3 percent, or 79 cents, at $59.61 after the news.</p> <h5>NO UPFRONT PENALTY</h5> <p>The chain of recalls lost the company $900 million in consumer product sales last year and hurt earnings. Consumer products account for about one-quarter of J&amp;J's total annual sales of $62 billion.</p> <p>Wall Street analysts initially downplayed the potential financial costs of the escalating number of recalls, which were partly to blame for a 7.5 percent decline in J&amp;J shares since the end of 2009, compared with a 16 percent rise in the Standard &amp; Poor's 500 Index in the same time.</p> <p>J&amp;J said the decree does not require it to pay an upfront penalty to the government. By contrast, Schering-Plough Corp in 2002 had to pay the federal government $500 million as part of its consent decree to fix a slew of quality control problems.</p> <p>If McNeil violates the agreement, the FDA can order a manufacturing halt, product recalls or fines of up to $10 million annually.</p> <p>McNeil said it expects the consent decree will govern its operation of the facilities for at least five years once a plan to rectify its problems is completed.</p> <p>"Being monitored for five years tends to be very expensive with a lot of lawyers and outside consultants,'' said Jeff Jonas, analyst at Gabelli and Co. "For a company of J&amp;J's size it's not going to move the numbers. It's just another step in the process.''</p> <p>"There's one thing that's positive and that is now they have an actual road map for what they have to do to get back in compliance,'' Jonas said.</p> <p>J&amp;J shut down the Fort Washington plant almost a year ago after recalling scores of products made there, including a wide variety of children's formulations of Tylenol. It plans to reopen the plant after costly installation of new equipment and better quality-assurance procedures.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:020c0d7f-4e62-435e-88da-35915e03214aTexas lawmakers are considering eliminating a program that requires those charged with offenses including driving while intoxicated and failure to have insurance to pay state surcharges. Nearly 60 percent of those with the surcharges &ndash; about 1...Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:57:18 -0600<p>Texas lawmakers are considering eliminating a program that requires those charged with offenses including driving while intoxicated and failure to have insurance to pay state surcharges. </p> <p>Nearly 60 percent of those with the surcharges &ndash; about 1.2 million drivers &ndash; are unwilling or unable to pay and owe the state more than $1.1 billion. </p> <p>The surcharges are part of the Texas Driver Responsibility Program. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee recently called for the program to be eliminated, calling the increasing number of drivers who are unlicensed and uninsured because of it &ldquo;unacceptable.&rdquo; Drivers who refuse to pay lose their licenses. </p> <p>The Texas Department of Public Safety, under orders from the Legislature, began offering an amnesty program in January that allows delinquent drivers to settle up and get their licenses back by paying 10 percent of the amount they owed. </p> <p>The Texas Driver Responsibility Program was approved by the Legislature in 2003 to raise money for highways and trauma care, but no money from the program has ever gone to highways because of a lack of payments, and trauma centers have received only a fraction of what was intended. </p> <p>DWI offenses carry the biggest surcharges &ndash; $1,000 a year for three years on the first conviction and $2,000 a year if the blood alcohol content is twice the legal limit. No car insurance and an invalid license draw a $250-a-year surcharge for three years. Surcharges must be paid in addition to regular fines assessed for those violations. </p> <p>&ldquo;These surcharges are not changing behavior, not being collected and are creating a new class of criminals each day by adding to the 1.2 million unlicensed and uninsured drivers in the state,&rdquo; the Senate committee said in a report to the Legislature. </p> <p>Two other states that tried similar surcharge programs abandoned them because of the huge number of drivers who would not pay. </p> <p>The panel says conviction rates in Texas have decreased and dismissal rates have increased every year since the program was launched. DWI cases are now regularly prosecuted in courts as reckless driving, obstruction of highway and public intoxication, as defendants try to avoid the surcharges resulting from a DWI conviction. </p> <p>This has led to a significant jump in caseloads in the courts. </p> <p>&ldquo;At the current statewide trial capacity, it would take 16 years to dispose of these cases, if they all demand a trial,&rdquo; the committee noted in its report. </p> <p>Legislation to eliminate the program has been authored in the Senate by John Whitmire, D-Houston, chairman of the criminal justice committee, and in the House by Leo Berman, R-Tyler. </p> <p>In the meantime, the amnesty program will run through April 7, offering 713,444 drivers who are delinquent in their surcharges a chance to settle up by paying 10 percent of the amount owed on all surcharges &ndash; up to a maximum of $250. </p> <p>Some of those who have paid surcharges or aren&rsquo;t included in the amnesty period are angry. </p> <p>Ken Adams, a 50-year-old machinist from Lewisville, tells <em>The Dallas Morning News</em> that he regrets his two drunken-driving convictions, but he also regrets paying the thousands of dollars in state surcharges on top of his regular fines and penalties. </p> <p>Adams pleaded guilty to DWI in 2008 and 2009, was assessed stiff fines and his driver&rsquo;s license was suspended. He has already paid his $3,000 surcharge on his first offense, and his second DWI &ndash; for which he owes $4,500 &ndash; did not fall within the amnesty period. </p> <p>&ldquo;I made some mistakes and I paid with fines and some jail time. But this surcharge punishes you twice for the same offense. It&rsquo;s wrong and I don&rsquo;t care what anyone else says,&rdquo; he said. </p> <p>Tela Mange, a spokeswoman for the DPS, said the agency has received a small number of complaints from drivers whose surcharges came after 2008 and from those who have been paying their surcharges on time. She said the majority of those in default were from the period of 2004 through 2008, and also pointed out that there are no provisions in the law for refunds. </p> <p>A second program reducing surcharges for low-income drivers is scheduled to be implemented in the spring, after the amnesty period ends. </p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:70268e8d-4197-419c-996d-83f090ea7b15American International Group repaid another $6.9 billion of its bailout Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury said. With that payment, the Treasury said it has now recovered 70 percent of the $411 billion distributed under the crisis-era Troubled Asset Relief P...Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:53:14 -0600<p class="reuters">American International Group repaid another $6.9 billion of its bailout Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury said.</p> <p>With that payment, the Treasury said it has now recovered 70 percent of the $411 billion distributed under the crisis-era Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.</p> <p>AIG paid the Treasury $6.6 billion from the proceeds of its sale of shares in insurer MetLife, shares it acquired when it sold its international unit Alico to MetLife last year. AIG paid Treasury another $300 million in funds it had retained for expenses related to the Alico deal.</p> <p>After those payments, the Treasury still holds about $11.3 billion in preferred interests in AIG. It also owns about 92 percent of AIG&rsquo;s common stock.</p> <p>At Tuesday&rsquo;s closing share price, the sale of that stock would generate a profit for the taxpayer of about $14.22 billion. The Treasury said it expects taxpayers to recover &rdquo;every dollar&rdquo; of AIG&rsquo;s bailout, which at one point swelled to $182 billion.</p> <p>Of the TARP funds still outstanding, about 70 percent are concentrated in AIG, finance company Ally Financial and automaker General Motors.</p> <p>Any ultimate profit on the AIG shares would help offset any possible loss from the sale of the auto businesses.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:be95c881-2bdb-4305-aefe-354558646f76The Obama administration Tuesday appealed a U.S. judge&rsquo;s ruling in Florida that struck down its landmark healthcare overhaul law as unconstitutional because it required Americans to buy healthcare insurance or face a penalty. President Barack O...Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:49:22 -0600<p class="reuters">The Obama administration Tuesday appealed a U.S. judge&rsquo;s ruling in Florida that struck down its landmark healthcare overhaul law as unconstitutional because it required Americans to buy healthcare insurance or face a penalty.</p> <p>President Barack Obama&rsquo;s Justice Department filed its notice of appeal and the case will go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta. The fight over the law is expected to reach the Supreme Court.</p> <p>Healthcare reform is the signature of Obama&rsquo;s domestic policy and the administration has said it would continue to implement the law because halting it would cause irreparable harm.</p> <p>The administration will likely seek an expedited hearing on the case but Charles Shanor, a law professor at Emory University in Atlanta, said it would still be with the 11th Circuit for months before a ruling was issued.</p> <p>&ldquo;I just don&rsquo;t see the court writing an overnight opinion in a matter that&rsquo;s of such concern to the public,&rdquo; Shanor said, adding that the 11th Circuit was viewed as &ldquo;moderate&rdquo; when compared to other appellate courts.</p> <p>A three-judge panel would initially hear the case in oral arguments after a briefing period but once an opinion is issued the losing party could petition the court for &lsquo;en banc&rsquo; consideration by the entire appeals court, he said.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson in January backed arguments by 26 states that the sweeping law&rsquo;s requirement that Americans buy health insurance starting in 2014 or pay a penalty was unconstitutional.</p> <p>Last week he agreed to put his decision on hold pending appeal but he ordered the Obama administration to file its appeal by Thursday and to seek a fast-track review.</p> <p>Vinson&rsquo;s is one of two rulings that have found the individual mandate unconstitutional, but his was the only one that invalidated the entire healthcare law. A handful of judges in other states have dismissed legal challenges to the law.</p> <p>The overhaul enacted last year aims to expand health insurance to cover millions of uninsured Americans while also curbing costs. Administration officials insist it is needed to stem huge projected increases in healthcare costs.</p> <p>Opponents of the law argue it is unconstitutional because it penalizes Americans for failing to engage in commerce, specifically buying health insurance coverage.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:c2c2c564-c9c5-48f6-b9f6-d39defc55946We are looking to hire someone for the role as an insurance agent. You must have 2 years experience as a sales agent. We do criminal background check and drug test.&nbsp; We are looking for aggressive sales people. Please email your resume to r.nicke...Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:31:35 -0600We are looking to hire someone for the role as an insurance agent. You must have 2 years experience as a sales agent. We do criminal background check and drug test.&nbsp; We are looking for aggressive sales people. Please email your resume to <a href="mailto:r.nickels@reliableins.net">r.nickels@reliableins.net</a>.urn:uuid:579b266d-4264-4205-99ab-269e94a57526U.S. airlines have been raising fares with alarming frequency in recent weeks &mdash; and that can take a big bite out of the pocketbooks of travelers who don't know how to find a good deal. Last year's super-cheap fares are gone. But for travelers w...Wed, 09 Mar 2011 09:58:09 -0600<p>U.S. airlines have been raising fares with alarming frequency in recent weeks &mdash; and that can take a big bite out of the pocketbooks of travelers who don't know how to find a good deal.</p> <p>Last year's super-cheap fares are gone. But for travelers who can be patient, flexible and very persistent, there are still deals to be had.</p> <p>"Consumers should brace themselves for higher fares," said George Hobica, founder of AirfareWatchDog.com. Since December, the nation's largest carriers have upped fares six times. "There are still some bargains out there but we're not seeing the crazy sales we did in the past. Sales pop up and you just have to keep looking."</p> <p>Last month, for example, if you were lucky enough to stumble into it, you could have snagged a Delta fire sale: $250-$300 roundtrip from almost any major city in the U.S. to almost any major city in Europe.</p> <p>With the exception of flights to London and almost anywhere in Ireland, European travel this summer is going to be costly and prices are set only to rise if the cost of crude oil futures stays high or increases.</p> <p>Most major carriers already have slapped an unprecedented $400 fuel surcharge for each leg of a European trip. That represents a nearly 170% hike from the $150 the airlines charged when they first introduced fuel surcharges in fall 2007, according to BestFares.com. And there weren't baggage or priority-seating fees then.</p> <p>"They call them fuel surcharges, but they're charging these high fees because they can," said Tom Parsons, founder of BestFares.com.</p> <p>"As long a people will pay it, the airlines will continue to go for the jugular vein as much as they can," he added. "They justify it by saying it's all related to fuel when in reality it's all about making more money,"</p> <p>Maybe, but it's still financially smart to consider the season before you book the flight. Look at these seasonal price differences: A Delta flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Paris in March is priced at a $296 base fare, plus the $400 fuel surcharge; in July, that jumps to a base fare of $1,100, plus the $400 fuel surcharge; and falls to $655 in September, plus the $400 fuel surcharge. And don't forget there are taxes and other fees added to the prices.</p> <p>For consumers, that's bad and good. Anyone who's been on a flight, either domestic or international, in recent months knows those seats are jam-packed. Higher fees and fares could stop many consumers from flying at all, which would reduce demand that in turn causes the airlines to take some flights out of the air.</p> <p>If capacity is cut, that means even fewer flights at even higher prices.</p> <p>But changing routes and cutting more flights could take a few months. If demand does fall in the short-term, airlines will be slashing costs to fill planes, no matter where they're going.</p> <p>"Airlines need to fill those planes up to pay for the fuel," Seaney said, noting they want those flights at least 90% full. "The way airlines work is simple: They will see how many bookings they have this year compared with last year and if it's lower, they'll throw some cheap seats in to fill the plane."</p> <p>They'll also match prices when a competitor posts a sale or promotes new routes with cheap fares.</p> <p>Here are tips to finding the best deals available:</p> <p>&bull; Be flexible. Seaney said he shaved $600 off a spring-break trip by shifting his family's usual travel days of Saturday to Friday to Tuesday to Saturday. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the cheapest days to travel. The most expensive are Fridays and Sundays. Think too about red-eye flights vs. prime-time morning or late afternoon. "Definitely there are some flights that have lower fares, but they're not the ones most people want to take," Hobica said.</p> <p>&bull; Use alternative airports. That doesn't just mean flying out of Midway Airport in Chicago rather than O'Hare or even going an hour plus out of the city to Milwaukee, Wisc., rather than O'Hare but looking even further out. Consider this: Virgin Airlines is offering a round-trip sale from Chicago Midway to Los Angeles for $198 until June 15. But you want to go to San Diego and a round-trip flight from Chicago will set you back some $500. For a family of four, renting a car from L.A. and driving the roughly 120 miles to San Diego could save upwards of $1,000.</p> <p>&bull; Don't book too early. If you're thinking about a summer trip to Europe, wait until April to start planning in earnest, Seaney said. If you're intent on taking a trip this fall, wait until July, even August to book flights and then plan on going in September of October, one of the slowest travel periods of the year. If flights aren't booked some 80% to 90% ahead of the season, airlines will be forced to cut the fares. "Demand is a fickle thing," Seaney said. "Are there three people behind you willing to pay what you're not willing to pay? That's the question and no one knows the answer except the airlines in real time."</p> <p>&bull; Sign up for frequent-flyer and travel alerts at a number of airline and travel sites. You'll get e-mail notices when flights are put on sale.</p> <p>&bull; Use social media and group-buying discounts. Twitter, for example, is gaining status as a go-to for last-minute sale fares because some airlines think e-mail is too slow. Last month Virgin offered $77 travel certificates for a mere $7 on round-trip flights between Chicago and San Francisco or Chicago and Los Angeles. On March 2, it sold nearly 2,950 $100 certificates for $25 for round-trip travel between Dallas and San Francisco and Dallas and Los Angeles.</p> <p>&bull; Shop around. You will need to look at a number of travel sites to compare prices, including the airlines' own sites. Southwest's prices aren't on popular large-scale sites like Expedia, Travelocity or Orbitz, American Airlines has pulled its flight from some of those sites while Delta has taken its flight out of some smaller sites.</p> <p>&bull; When you see a good price, jump on it. Some sales &mdash; say, for new routes &mdash; will extend for a couple months; other sales will last only a few hours. Determine what your sweet spot is for fares, plus fees, taxes and surcharges, and be prepared to purchase if it comes up.</p> <p>&bull; Be on the lookout for peak travel-day surcharges, a fee the airlines have added to holiday and summer travel, even Super Bowl travel. The fees range from $10 to $30, depending on the day, on ticket prices that already have been marked higher.</p>urn:uuid:bee1b1b1-dd03-42d6-93b2-565492483d91LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. As of 1 January 2011&nbsp;(2011 -01-01), LinkedIn reports more than 90 million registered users,...Sun, 27 Feb 2011 23:51:01 -0600<p><b>LinkedIn</b> is a business-oriented social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. As of 1 January 2011&nbsp;(2011 -01-01), LinkedIn reports more than 90 million registered users, spanning more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The site is available in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Quantcast reports Linkedin has 21.4 million monthly unique U.S. visitors and 47.6 million globally.</p> <p>The purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. The people in the list are called <i>Connections</i>. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection.</p> <p>This list of connections can then be used in a number of ways:</p> <ul> <li>A contact network is built up consisting of their direct connections, the connections of each of their connections (termed <i>second-degree connections</i>) and also the connections of second-degree connections (termed <i>third-degree connections</i>). This can be used to gain an introduction to someone a person wishes to know through a mutual, trusted contact.</li> <li>It can then be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one's contact network.</li> <li>Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates.</li> <li>Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover which of their existing contacts can introduce them.</li> <li>Users can post their own photos and view photos of others to aid in identification.</li> <li>Users can now follow different companies and can get notification about the new joining and offers available.</li> <li>Users can save (i.e. bookmark) jobs which they would like to apply for.</li> </ul> <p>The "gated-access approach" (where contact with any professional requires either a preexisting relationship, or the intervention of a contact of theirs) is intended to build trust among the service's users. LinkedIn participates in EU's International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles. </p> <p>LinkedIn also allows users to research companies with which they may be interested in working. When typing the name of a given company in the search box, statistics about the company are provided. These may include the ratio of female to male employees, the percentage of the most common titles/positions held within the company, the location of the company's headquarters and offices, or a list of present and former employees.</p> <p>The feature LinkedIn Answers, &nbsp;similar to Yahoo! Answers, allows users to ask questions for the community to answer. This feature is free and the main difference from the latter is that questions are potentially more business-oriented, and the identity of the people asking and answering questions is known.</p> <p>The searchable LinkedIn Groups feature allows users to establish new business relationships by joining alumni, industry, or professional and other relevant groups. LinkedIn groups can be created in any subjects and by any member of LinkedIn. Some groups are specialised groups dealing with a narrow domain or industry whereas others are very broad and generic in nature.</p> <p>Another LinkedIn feature is LinkedIn Polls.</p> <p>A mobile version of the site was launched in February 2008 which gives access to a reduced feature set over a mobile phone. The mobile service is available in six languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.</p> <p>In mid-2008, LinkedIn launched LinkedIn DirectAds as a form of sponsored advertising.</p> <p>In October, 2008, LinkedIn revealed plans to opening its social network of 30 million professionals globally as a potential sample for business-to-business research. And, in doing so it's testing a potential social-network revenue model-research that to some appears more promising than advertising.</p> <p>In October, 2008, LinkedIn enabled an "applications platform" that allows other online services to be embedded within a member's profile page. For example, among the initial applications were an Amazon Reading List that allows LinkedIn members to display books they are reading, a connection to Tripit, and a Six Apart, WordPress and TypePad application that allows members to display their latest blog postings within their LinkedIn profile.</p> <p>In November, 2010, LinkedIn allowed businesses to list products and services on company profile pages; it also permitted LinkedIn members to "recommend" products and services and write reviews.</p> <p>In January 2011, LinkedIn acquired CardMunch, a mobile app maker that scans business cards and converts into contacts. LinkedIn plans to integrate this functionality into their services in the near future. <br /> <br /> ^{<a href="http://www.reliableins.net"><span style="font-size: 16px;">www.reliableins.net</span></a>}</p> <p><a href="#cite_note-6"></a>&nbsp;</p>urn:uuid:615fdd0d-0ce0-40be-ae91-90d78ad12bdfMyspace is a social networking website. Its headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California where it shares an office building with its immediate owner, News Corp. Digital Media, owned by News Corporation. Myspace became the most popular social network...Sun, 27 Feb 2011 23:44:51 -0600<p><b>Myspace</b> is a social networking website. Its headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California where it shares an office building with its immediate owner, News Corp. Digital Media, owned by News Corporation. Myspace became the most popular social networking site in the United States in June 2006. According to comScore, Myspace was overtaken internationally by its main competitor, Facebook, in April 2008, based on monthly unique visitors. Myspace employs 1,000 employees, after laying off 30% of its workforce in June 2009; the company does not disclose revenues or profits separately from News Corporation. Quantcast estimates MySpace's monthly U.S. unique visitors at 43.2 million.</p> <h3>Moods</h3> <p>Moods are small emoticons that are used to depict a mood the user is in. The feature was added in July 2007. The mood feature as of 2010 is not included by default with the status updates, but could be shared on the homepage as a separate update.</p> <h3>Blurbs, blogs, multimedia</h3> <p>Profiles contain two standard "blurbs": "About Me" and "Who I'd Like to Meet" sections. Profiles also contain an "Interests" section and a "Details" section. In the "Details" section, "Status" and "Zodiac Sign" fields will always display. However, fields in these sections will not be displayed if members do not fill them in. Profiles also contain a blog with standard fields for content, emotion, and media. Myspace also supports uploading images. One of the images can be chosen to be the "default image", the image that will be seen on the profile's main page, search page, and as the image that will appear to the side of the user's name on comments, messages, etc. A photo editor powered by Fotoflexer is available which can not only crop images and adjust contrast but also convert the image to a cartoon or a line drawing made with neon lights, or put the user's face in a photo of a $100 bill. Flash, such as on MySpace's video service, can be embedded. Blogging features are also available. These features could be hidden on a profile by using the module customizer or using HTML/CSS codes. Photos could be displayed on the Myspace profile instead of a link that it was used in previous years. Photos can be made into a slide show.</p> <h3>Comments</h3> <p>Below the User's Friends Space (by default) is the "comments" section, wherein the user's friends may leave comments for all viewers to read. Myspace users have the option to delete any comment or require all comments to be approved before posting. If a user's account is deleted, every comment left on other profiles by that user will be deleted, and replaced with the comment saying "This Profile No Longer Exists". The option of using HTML in comments could be enabled or disabled.</p> <h3>Profile customization (HTML/CSS)</h3> <p>Myspace allows users to customize their user profile pages by entering HTML (but not JavaScript) into such areas as "About Me", "I'd Like to Meet", and "Interests". Videos and flash-based content can be included this way. Users also have the option to add music to their profile pages via Myspace Music, a service that allows bands to post songs for use on Myspace.</p> <p>A user can also change the general appearance of his or her page by entering CSS (in a <tt>&lt;style&gt; ... &lt;/style&gt;</tt> element) into one of these fields to override the page's default style sheet using Myspace editors. This is often used to tweak fonts and colors. The fact that the user-added CSS is located in the middle of the page (rather than being located in the <tt>&lt;head&gt;</tt> element) means that the page will begin to load with the default Myspace layout before abruptly changing to the custom layout. A special type of modification is a div overlay, where the default layout is dramatically changed by hiding default text with <tt>&lt;div&gt;</tt> tags and large images.</p> <p>There are several independent web sites offering Myspace layout design utilities which let a user select options and preview what their page will look like with them.</p> <p>In 2008, Myspace launched a new Profile 2.0 as the next generation of the Myspace profile. Profile 2.0 features a cleaner interface and the ability to hide or show modules of the profile, along with customize the position of the module on the profile. Profile 2.0 layouts were released on the internet quickly as the use of the classic Myspace layouts do not work with profile 2.0. Profile 2.0 also was criticized for not looking right when trying to add custom CSS. To add custom CSS, the original theme has to be scrapped and many Myspace tweaks were not functional in the Profile 2.0 layout. In 2010, Myspace abandoned the Profile 1.0 layout and made Profile 2.0 the standard features of the profile. That promoted a cleaner interface and many themes are prepackaged with the customizer, along with the make a custom theme using various parameters of profile editing. Applications are used for decoration. While Profile 2.0 was the standard layout, a new profile was launched as an optional upgrade. The new profile was launched to keep up with the trends of the modern profile interface and attempts to give it a simpler and more mature design. Profile 3.0 intends to enable users more flexible customization and simpler theme building, but is not much different from the Profile 2.0 interface.</p> <h3>Music</h3> <p>Myspace profiles for musicians in the website's Myspace Music section differ from normal profiles in allowing artists to upload their entire discographies consisting of MP3 songs. The uploader must have rights to use the songs (e.g. their own work, permission granted, etc.). Unsigned musicians can use Myspace to post and sell music using SNOCAP, which has proven popular among Myspace users.</p> <p>Shortly after Myspace was sold to Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News and 20th Century Fox, in 2005, they launched their own record label, MySpace Records, in an effort to discover unknown talent currently on Myspace Music. Regardless of the artist already being famous or still looking for a break into the industry, artists can upload their songs onto Myspace and have access to millions of people on a daily basis. Some well known singers such as Lily Allen and Sean Kingston gained fame through Myspace. The availability of music on this website continues to develop, largely driven by young talent. Over eight million artists have been discovered by Myspace and many more continue to be discovered daily.In late 2007, the site launched The Myspace Transmissions, a series of live-in-studio recordings by well-known artists.</p> <p>Myspace, in 2008, redesigned its music page adding new features for all musicians. These new features include the users' ability to create playlists, resembling the functions of Last.fm and other social music websites, along with the popular ProjectPlaylist that is popular on profiles. The new music features also archive songs from many popular artists, resembling the services of iTunes and Napster. In March 2010, listening to the full song in the search results has been disable and had been replaced by 30 second samples. Myspace music also suggests songs based on the songs you are currently listening to or the songs you had added to the playlist, making it as a music discovery tool. Myspace Music also added an improved playlist feature and artist profile, along with better music suggestion features, making it one of the highest rated and advanced music discovery sites on the Web. The site features charts similar to Billboard charts and it keeps track of the most popular music liked by users of all genres. It also enables user to view popular music in other countries of the world, mostly in Europe and major Asian countries such as China and Russia.</p> <h2>Myspace features</h2> <p>Bulletins are posts that are posted on to a "bulletin board" for everyone on a Myspace user's friends list to see. Bulletins can be useful for contacting an entire friends list without resorting to messaging users individually. They have also become the primary attack point for phishing. Bulletins are deleted after ten days.</p> <p>Myspace has a Groups feature which allows a group of users to share a common page and message board. Groups can be created by anybody, and the moderator of the group can choose for anyone to join, or to approve or deny requests to join.</p> <p>In early 2006, Myspace introduced MySpaceIM, an instant messenger that uses one's Myspace account as a screen name. A Myspace user logs in to the client using the same e-mail associated with his or her Myspace account. Unlike other parts of MySpace, MySpaceIM is stand-alone software for Microsoft Windows. Users who use MySpaceIM get instant notification of new Myspace messages, friend requests, and comments. MySpaceIM was added as an default feature of Myspace by the end of 2009.</p> <p>In early 2007, Myspace introduced MySpaceTV, a service similar to the YouTube video sharing website. Myspace has been showing videos as early as 2006, but it has changed it name to MySpaceTV for a while. In 2009, MySpaceTV reverted back to Myspace Video once again. Myspace Video continues to be not as popular as other video sharing sites such as YouTube, but many sites had partnered with Myspace such as Hulu to promote their media to the Myspace community.</p> <p>In 2008, Myspace introduced an API with which users could create applications for other users to post on their profiles. The applications are similar to the Facebook applications. In May 2008, Myspace had added some security options regarding interaction with photos and other media. Many applications that are popular on Myspace had spin off versions on Facebook. The Myspace app Mafia Wars has became a Facebook sensation as well. On the other hand, Facebook applications such as Bumper Stickers and Farmville has been used in Myspace and was popular as well. Many application partnerships such as Zygna and Slide has been responsible from creating third party apps for use on both Myspace and Facebook, along with for use in the iTunes app store.</p> <p>There are a variety of environments in which users can access Myspace content on their mobile phone. American mobile phone provider Helio released a series of mobile phones in early 2006 that can utilize a service known as Myspace Mobile to access and edit one's profile and communicate with, and view the profiles of other members. Additionally, UIEvolution and Myspace developed a mobile version of Myspace for a wider range of carriers, including AT&amp;T, Vodafone and Rogers Wireless.</p> <p>In April 2007, Myspace launched a news service called Myspace News which displays news from RSS feeds that users submit. It also allows users to rank each news story by voting for it. The more votes a story gets, the higher the story moves up the page.</p> <p>Full service classifieds listing offered beginning in August 2006. It has grown by 33 percent in one year since inception. Myspace Classifieds was launched right at the same time the site appeared on the internet.</p> <p>Launched April 29, 2008, ksolo.myspace.com is a combination of Myspace and kSolo, which allows users to upload audio recordings of themselves singing onto their profile page. Users' friends are able to rate the performances. A video feature is not yet available, but Tom Anderson, Myspace co-founder and president, states that it is in the works.</p> <p>Myspace Polls is a feature on Myspace that was brought back in 2008 to enable users to post polls on their profile and share them with other users.</p> <p>MySpace uses an implementation of Telligent Community for its forum system.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:277e8a44-c675-4b2a-b2c8-1cf428db333eTwitter is a website, owned and operated by Twitter Inc., which offers a social networking and microblogging service, enabling its users to send and read messages called tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the use...Sun, 27 Feb 2011 23:37:33 -0600<p><b>Twitter</b> is a website, owned and operated by Twitter Inc., which offers a social networking and microblogging service, enabling its users to send and read messages called <i>tweets</i>. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the user's profile page. Tweets are publicly visible by default; however, senders can restrict message delivery to just their followers. Users may subscribe to other users' tweets&nbsp;&ndash; this is known as <i>following</i> and subscribers are known as <i>followers</i>.</p> <p>All users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, compatible external applications (such as for smartphones), or by Short Message Service (SMS) available in certain countries. While the service is free, accessing it through SMS may incur phone service provider fees. The website is based in San Francisco, California. Twitter also has servers and offices in San Antonio, Texas; and Boston, Massachusetts. Twitter, Inc. was originally incorporated in California, but as of 2007 is incorporated in the jurisdiction of Delaware.</p> <p>Since its creation in March 2006, and its launch in July 2006, by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained popularity worldwide and is estimated to have 190 million users, generating 65 million tweets a day and handling over 800,000 search queries per day.It is sometimes described as the "SMS of the Internet".<br /> <br /> Messages </p> <p>Users can group posts together by topic or type by use of hashtags &ndash; words or phrases prefixed with a <code>"#"</code> sign. Similarly, the <code>"@"</code> sign followed by a username is used for mentioning or replying to other users. To repost a message from another Twitter user, and share it with one's own followers, the retweet function is symbolized by "RT" in the message.</p> <p>In late 2009, the "Twitter Lists" feature was added, making it possible for users to follow (as well as mention and reply to) lists of authors instead of individual authors.</p> <p>Through SMS, users can communicate with Twitter through five gateway numbers: short codes for the United States, Canada, India, New Zealand, and an Isle of Man-based number for international use. There is also a short code in the United Kingdom which is only accessible to those on the Vodafone, O2 and Orange networks. In India, since Twitter only supports tweets from Bharti Airtel, an alternative platform called smsTweet was set up by a user to work on all networks. A similar platform called GladlyCast exists for mobile phone users in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.</p> <p>The messages were initially set to 140-character limit for compatibility with SMS messaging, introducing the shorthand notation and slang commonly used in SMS messages. The 140-character limit has also increased the usage of URL shortening services such as bit.ly, goo.gl, and tr.im, and content-hosting services, such as Twitpic, memozu.com and NotePub to accommodate multimedia content and text longer than 140 characters. Twitter uses bit.ly for automatic shortening of all URLs posted on its website.</p> <h3>Tweet contents</h3> <p>San Antonio-based market-research firm Pear Analytics analyzed 2,000 tweets (originating from the US and in English) over a two-week period in August 2009 from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM (CST) and separated them into six categories:</p> <ul> <li>Pointless babble &ndash; 40%</li> <li>Conversational &ndash; 38%</li> <li>Pass-along value &ndash; 9%</li> <li>Self-promotion &ndash; 6%</li> <li>Spam &ndash; 4%</li> <li>News &ndash; 4%</li> </ul> <p>Social networking researcher Danah Boyd responded to the Pear Analytics survey by arguing that what the Pear researchers labelled "pointless babble" is better characterized as "social grooming" and/or "peripheral awareness" (which she explains as persons "want[ing] to know what the people around them are thinking and doing and feeling, even when co-presence isn&rsquo;t viable").</p> <h3>Rankings</h3> <p>Twitter is ranked as one of the ten-most-visited websites worldwide by Alexa's web traffic analysis. Daily user estimates vary as the company does not publish statistics on active accounts. A February 2009 Compete.com blog entry ranked Twitter as the third most used social network based on their count of 6&nbsp;million unique monthly visitors and 55&nbsp;million monthly visits. In March 2009, a Nielsen.com blog ranked Twitter as the fastest-growing website in the Member Communities category for February 2009. Twitter had annual growth of 1,382 percent, increasing from 475,000 unique visitors in February 2008 to 7 million in February 2009. It was followed by Zimbio with a 240 percent increase, and Facebook with a 228 percent increase. However, Twitter has a user retention rate of forty percent.</p> <h3>Adding and following content</h3> <p>There are numerous tools for adding content, monitoring content and conversations including Tweetdeck, Salesforce.com, HootSuite, and Twitterfeed. Less than half of tweets are posted using the web user interface with most users using third-party applications (based on analysis of 500 million tweets by Sysomos).</p> <h3>Authentication</h3> <p>As of August 31, 2010, third-party Twitter applications are required to use OAuth, an authentication method that does not require users to enter their password into the authenticating application. Previously, the OAuth authentication method was optional, it is now compulsory and the user-name/password authentication method has been made redundant and is no longer functional. Twitter stated that the move to OAuth will mean "increased security and a better experience."<br /> <br /> ^{<a href="http://www.reliableins.net"><span style="font-size: 16px;">www.reliableins.net</span></a>}</p>urn:uuid:a37c091d-e28d-432d-b75f-0fdb520db51dFacebook is a social network service and website launched in February 2004 that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc.As of January 2011, Facebook has more than 600 million active users. Users may create a personal profile, add other users...Sun, 27 Feb 2011 23:28:14 -0600<p><b>Facebook</b> is a social network service and website launched in February 2004 that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc.As of January 2011, Facebook has more than 600 million active users. Users may create a personal profile, add other users as friends and exchange messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile. Additionally, users may join common interest user groups, organized by workplace, school, or college, or other characteristics. The name of the service stems from the colloquial name for the book given to students at the start of the academic year by university administrations in the US with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better. Facebook allows anyone who declares themselves to be at least 13 years old to become a registered user of the website.</p> <p>Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow computer science students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. The website's membership was initially limited by the founders to Harvard students, but was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It gradually added support for students at various other universities before opening to high school students, and, finally, to anyone aged 13 and over.</p> <p>A January 2009 Compete.com study ranked Facebook as the most used social network service by worldwide monthly active users, followed by MySpace. &nbsp;<i>Entertainment Weekly</i> put it on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying, "How on earth did we stalk our exes, remember our co-workers' birthdays, bug our friends, and play a rousing game of Scrabulous before Facebook?" Quantcast estimates Facebook has 135.1 million monthly unique U.S. visitors in October 2010. According to Social Media Today as of April 2010, it is estimated that 41.6% of the U.S. population has a Facebook account.</p> <p>Users can create profiles with photos, lists of personal interests, contact information, and other personal information. Users can communicate with friends and other users through private or public messages and a chat feature. They can also create and join interest groups and "like pages" (formerly called "fan pages", until April 19, 2010), some of which are maintained by organizations as a means of advertising.</p> <p>To allay concerns about privacy, Facebook enables users to choose their own privacy settings and choose who can see specific parts of their profile. The website is free to users, and generates revenue from advertising, such as banner ads. Facebook requires a user&rsquo;s name and profile picture (if applicable) to be accessible by everyone. Users can control who sees other information they have shared, as well as who can find them in searches, through their privacy settings.</p> <p>The media often compares Facebook to MySpace, but one significant difference between the two websites is the level of customization. Another difference is Facebook&rsquo;s requirement that users utilize their true identity, a demand that MySpace does not make. MySpace allows users to decorate their profiles using HTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), while Facebook only allows plain text. Facebook has a number of features with which users may interact. They include the Wall, a space on every user's profile page that allows friends to post messages for the user to see; Pokes, which allows users to send a virtual "poke" to each other (a notification then tells a user that they have been poked); Photos, where users can upload albums and photos; and Status, which allows users to inform their friends of their whereabouts and actions. Depending on privacy settings, anyone who can see a user's profile can also view that user's Wall. In July 2007, Facebook began allowing users to post attachments to the Wall, whereas the Wall was previously limited to textual content only.</p> <p>Over time, Facebook added features to its website. On September 6, 2006, a News Feed was announced, which appears on every user's homepage and highlights information including profile changes, upcoming events, and birthdays of the user's friends.This enabled spammers and other users to manipulate these features by creating illegitimate events or posting fake birthdays to attract attention to their profile or cause.Initially, the News Feed caused dissatisfaction among Facebook users; some complained it was too cluttered and full of undesired information, while others were concerned it made it too easy for others to track individual activities (such as relationship status changes, events, and conversations with other users).</p> <p>In response, Zuckerberg issued an apology for the site's failure to include appropriate customizable privacy features. Since then, users have been able to control what types of information are shared automatically with friends. Users are now able to prevent user-set categories of friends from seeing updates about certain types of activities, including profile changes, Wall posts, and newly added friends.</p> <p>On February 23, 2010, Facebook was granted a patent on certain aspects of its News Feed. The patent covers News Feeds in which links are provided so that one user can participate in the same activity of another user. The patent may encourage Facebook to pursue action against websites that violate its patent, which may potentially include websites such as Twitter.</p> <p>One of the most popular applications on Facebook is the Photos application, where users can upload albums and photos.allows users to upload an unlimited number of photos, compared with other image hosting services such as Photobucket and Flickr, which apply limits to the number of photos that a user is allowed to upload. During the first years, Facebook users were limited to 60&nbsp;photos per album. As of May 2009, this limit has been increased to 200&nbsp;photos per album.</p> <p>Privacy settings can be set for individual albums, limiting the groups of users that can see an album. For example, the privacy of an album can be set so that only the user's friends can see the album, while the privacy of another album can be set so that all Facebook users can see it. Another feature of the Photos application is the ability to "tag," or label, users in a photo. For instance, if a photo contains a user's friend, then the user can tag the friend in the photo. This sends a notification to the friend that they have been tagged, and provides them a link to see the photo.</p> <p>Facebook Notes was introduced on August 22, 2006, a blogging feature that allowed tags and embeddable images. Users were later able to import blogs from Xanga, LiveJournal, Blogger, and other blogging services. During the week of April 7, 2008, Facebook released a Comet-based instant messaging application called "Chat" to several networks,which allows users to communicate with friends and is similar in functionality to desktop-based instant messengers.</p> <p>Facebook launched Gifts on February 8, 2007, which allows users to send virtual gifts to their friends that appear on the recipient's profile. Gifts cost $1.00 each to purchase, and a personalized message can be attached to each gift. On May 14, 2007, Facebook launched Marketplace, which lets users post free classified ads. Marketplace has been compared to Craigslist by CNET, which points out that the major difference between the two is that listings posted by a user on Marketplace are only seen by users that are in the same network as that user, whereas listings posted on Craigslist can be seen by anyone.</p> <p>On July 20, 2008, Facebook introduced "Facebook Beta", a significant redesign of its user interface on selected networks. The Mini-Feed and Wall were consolidated, profiles were separated into tabbed sections, and an effort was made to create a "cleaner" look. After initially giving users a choice to switch, Facebook began migrating all users to the new version beginning in September 2008. On December 11, 2008, it was announced that Facebook was testing a simpler signup process.</p> <p>On June 13, 2009, Facebook introduced a "Usernames" feature, whereby pages can be linked with simpler URLs such as <code><a href="http://www.facebook.com/facebook">http://www.facebook.com/facebook</a></code> as opposed to <code><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=20531316728">http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=20531316728</a></code>. &nbsp;Many new smartphones offer access to the Facebook services either through their web-browsers or applications. An official Facebook application is available for the iPhone OS, the Android OS, and the WebOS. Nokia and Research In Motion both provide Facebook applications for their own mobile devices. More than 150 million active users access Facebook through mobile devices across 200 mobile operators in 60 countries.</p> <p>On November 15, 2010, Facebook announced a new "Facebook Messages" service. In a media event that day, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "It's true that people will be able to have an @facebook.com email addresses, but it's not email." The launch of such a feature had been anticipated for some time before the announcement, with some calling it a "Gmail killer." The system, to be available to all of the website's users, combines text messaging, instant messaging, emails, and regular messages, and will include privacy settings similar to those of other Facebook services. Codenamed "Project Titan," Facebook Messages took 15 months to develop.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:a5164964-2173-43c1-8071-3457dc6b0a09 Video calling Free video calling makes it easy to be together, even when you're not. Now with group video.&nbsp; Call people on their phones at the best rates from 2.3&cent;/min** or even cheaper with a subscription. &nbsp; Instant Messaging Qu...Sun, 27 Feb 2011 23:09:57 -0600<div class="gridCol3"> <p class="imageContainer"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Video calling<br /> </span></strong></p> <p>Free video calling makes it easy to be together, even when you're not. Now with group video.&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="gridCol3"> <p>Call people on their phones at the best rates from <strong>2.3&cent;</strong>/min** or even cheaper with a subscription.<br /> &nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="gridCol3"> <h4>Instant Messaging</h4> <p>Quick question or a friendly catch up, type and chat whenever you need to.<br /> &nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="gridCol3"> <h4>Skype Manager</h4> <p>Manage Skype for everyone at work.<br /> <br /> <br /> <strong><span style="font-size: 24px; text-decoration: underline;">Prices</span></strong></p> <h3>Free</h3> <p class="price">See how much you can do for free</p> <p class="highlighted">Get Skype and start talking to the world</p> <ul> <li>Skype-to-Skype calls</li> <li>One-to-one video calls</li> <li>Instant messaging</li> <li>Screen sharing</li> </ul> <div class="oneforth">&nbsp; <h3>Pay As You Go</h3> <p class="price">From <strong>2.3&cent;</strong>¹ a minute<br /> &nbsp; </p> <p class="highlighted">Great for regular calls to phones. And add features when you need them with Skype Credit.</p> <ul> <li>Call phones and mobiles</li> <li>SMS</li> <li>Call forwarding</li> </ul> </div> <div class="oneforth">&nbsp; <h3>Subscriptions</h3> <p class="price">From <strong>1.2&cent;</strong>² a minute<br /> &nbsp; </p> <p class="highlighted">Perfect for frequent calling and to get Skype's lowest calling rates when calling abroad.</p> <ul> <li>Lowest calling rates</li> <li>Choose unlimited calling²</li> <li>Best rates with a 3 or 12 month subscription</li> </ul> </div> <div class="oneforth last">&nbsp; <h3>Skype Premium</h3> <p class="price">Group video from <strong>$8.99/month</strong></p> <p class="highlighted">Get together with three or more³ people over group video.</p> <ul> <li>Group video calling</li> <li>Get help when you need it with live chat support</li> <li>Day pass or monthly subscription available</li> </ul> </div> <p ><br /> &nbsp;</p> </div>urn:uuid:d9a9495c-c836-43ec-81cb-7b7a70736250 Search your television Type in what you want to watch, and we'll find it for you. Google TV lets you seamlessly search all of the content on your TV, the web, and apps &ndash; then access it with a single click. You can also easily switch between T...Sun, 27 Feb 2011 22:46:46 -0600<div class="feature searchyourtv"> <h2>Search your television </h2> Type in what you want to watch, and we'll find it for you. Google TV lets you seamlessly search all of the content on your TV, the web, and apps &ndash; then access it with a single click. You can also easily switch between TV and the web without having to change inputs on your television. </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel left-image">&nbsp;</div> <div class="panel right-text"> <h2>The web is now a channel </h2> With Google Chrome and Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Google TV lets you access everything on the web. Watch your favorite web videos, view photos, play games, check fantasy scores, chat with friends, and do everything else you're accustomed to doing online. Plus, the world's best websites are now being perfected for television -- check out our Spotlight gallery for examples. </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel left-text worldofapps"> <h2>A new world of apps for your TV </h2> Google TV will come pre-loaded with apps like Netflix, Twitter, CNBC, Pandora, Napster, NBA Game Time, Amazon Instant Video and Gallery. Starting this year, apps from Android Market will work on Google TV as well.<br /> Watch the video. </div> <div class="panel right-image">&nbsp;</div> </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel right-text yourphoneremote"> <h2>Your phone = remote control </h2> Your Android phone or iPhone can be used to control your Google TV in place of a remote control. Use your voice to search, and even use multiple phones to control the same TV. No more fighting over the remote! </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div class="feature flinging"> <h2>Fling a video to your television </h2> Find a great website on your phone and want to show it to everyone? Now you can. "Fling" what you're watching, listening to, or doing on your phone by sending it to your TV with the press of a button. </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel left-image">&nbsp;</div> <div class="panel right-text watchitnow"> <h2>Watch it now </h2> Never miss a show again. With Google TV, you can access over 40,000 shows and movies whenever you want with Netflix ($8.99 a month) or Amazon Instant Video (shows start at 99 cents!). </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel left-image">&nbsp;</div> <div class="panel right-text youtubeperfected"> <h2>YouTube perfected for TV </h2> YouTube is great on the web, but it's even better on television. With YouTube Leanback, you can watch videos without ever clicking play -- just sit back and watch all of your favorite YouTube content, personally chosen for you, in full screen HD. You can even create new channels on the fly. </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel left-text"> <h2>Watch and browse,<br /> simultaneously </h2> With Google TV, you can browse the web or open an app and watch TV on the same screen. Check your fantasy football stats while watching the game, check your @replies on Twitter during American Idol, or purchase a product online right after you watch the ad. It's just like picture-in-picture mode, but with the web and the TV. </div> </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel right-text tvgetshomepage"> <h2>TV gets a homepage </h2> Turn on your television and you'll instantly have access to your favorite channels, apps, podcasts, and websites, thanks to the Google TV home screen. The home screen is customizable for you, by you, so that you can always change your preferences. </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel left-text seriesresult"> <h2>Find your favorite episode </h2> Google TV has a special page for every TV series that lets you quickly find and watch any episode, whether it's on TV or the web. </div> <div class="panel right-image">&nbsp;</div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel left-image">&nbsp;</div> <div class="panel right-text createplaylist"> <h2>Create a TV playlist </h2> Want to watch something, but don't have time right now? Send it to your Google Queue and watch it later. You can also subscribe to your favorite websites and video podcasts, add YouTube videos, and more. It's like building a DVR for the web. </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel right-image">&nbsp;</div> <div class="panel left-text recordfromsearch"> <h2>Record from the search bar </h2> If you're a DISH Network subscriber using Google TV, you&rsquo;ll enjoy many enhanced TV and DVR features, including recording a show right from the search bar and being able to search all of your recordings at once. </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel left-text rockout"> <h2>Rock out in your living room </h2> Listen to your favorite music on the best speakers in your house by creating a personal radio station on the fly with Pandora or listening to any song, any time, with Napster. </div> <div class="panel right-image">&nbsp;</div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel left-image">&nbsp;</div> <div class="panel right-text ultimatepictures"> <h2>The ultimate picture frame </h2> Turn the biggest screen in your house into a beautiful, high definition photo gallery. Now your TV can stream photos from Picasa, Flickr, and every other photo-sharing site. Plus, you can access any public gallery, not just your own. </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div class="feature"> <div class="panel left-text otaupdates"> <h2>Over-the-air updates </h2> How many consumer electronics products go up in value after you buy them? Google TV updates itself automatically, so you'll get new features for free. <br /> <br /> </div> <div class="panel right-image">&nbsp; <h2>The last screen<br /> has been liberated </h2> <div class="subtext">Anyone can develop content for Google TV's open platform through made-for-TV websites, and, starting this year, Google TV apps.</div> <br /> 1. Get a standalone TV. <div class="waystoget second"><label>2.</label> Get a separate box to use with your current HDTV. </div> <div class="clear"></div> <div class="devices"> <div id="or">or </div> Sony^&reg; Internet TV Logitech Revue^TM Sony^&reg; Internet TV Blu-ray <div id="bestbuy">Experience Google TV devices at your local Best Buy.<br /> <br /> <h3>Optimize for TV </h3> <p>Designers are enhancing their existing websites for an optimal viewing experience on the television. Check out some <a href="http://www.google.com/tv/spotlight-gallery.html" data-g-label="DEVELOPERS-EXAMPLES">examples</a>. </p> <p>Want to get involved?<br /> Learn how to optimize your site for TV</p> <div class="right"> <div class="section"> <h3>Create Apps for Android Market </h3> <p>Starting this year, developers will be able to create and sell Android apps for Google TV. </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <a href="http://www.google.com/tv/">http://www.google.com/tv/</a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div>urn:uuid:e2357d8e-acb2-4ed4-99fa-b80fbe9395e1 Save on Energy 1Have an expert check the insulation in your house to make sure it is adequate. If it is not, insulate where needed. You can do open areas, such as the attic, yourself. It will save both heating and cooling costs. 2Turn off the air c...Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:32:12 -0600<b> <p style="text-align: left;">Save on Energy</p> </b> <p style="text-align: left;">1Have an expert check the insulation in your</p> <p style="text-align: left;">house to make sure it is adequate. If it is not, insulate</p> <p style="text-align: left;">where needed. You can do open areas, such</p> <p style="text-align: left;">as the attic, yourself. It will save both heating and</p> <p style="text-align: left;">cooling costs.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">2Turn off the air conditioning and open the</p> <p style="text-align: left;">windows in moderate weather.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">3Wear warm clothes in the house in cold weather</p> <p style="text-align: left;">so you can lower your thermostat setting.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">4Take care of home repairs as soon as the need</p> <p style="text-align: left;">arises. Delay can make the problem worse and</p> <p style="text-align: left;">repair costs higher.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">5Close the doors and turn off the heat or air</p> <p style="text-align: left;">conditioning to rooms that you are not using.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">6Choose equipment with higher energy efficiency</p> <p style="text-align: left;">ratios (EER). Check the labels for EER.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">7Move to a smaller house if the one you live</p> <p style="text-align: left;">in is bigger than you really need.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">8Use energy saving window treatments, such</p> <p style="text-align: left;">as insulated or heavy draperies and storm</p> <p style="text-align: left;">windows.</p> <b> <p style="text-align: left;">Save on Transportation</p> </b> <p style="text-align: left;">9Keep your car in good running condition.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">It will be safer and will cost less to operate.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">10Walk more; drive less. You will save gasoline</p> <p style="text-align: left;">and improve your health.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">11Learn how to do some of your own car</p> <p style="text-align: left;">maintenance chores. Change the oil,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">oil filters, and air filters.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">12Use self-service gasoline pumps. Anyone can</p> <p style="text-align: left;">do it! Don&rsquo;t forget to check the oil and water</p> <p style="text-align: left;">levels.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">13Form a car pool to go to work, to meetings,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">and even on shopping trips.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">14Ask yourself each time you get in your car,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">&ldquo;Is this trip really necessary?&rdquo;</p> <p style="text-align: left;">15List &ldquo;things to do&rdquo; and &ldquo;things to buy&rdquo; before</p> <p style="text-align: left;">leaving home. Forgetting and making second</p> <p style="text-align: left;">trips are costly.</p> <b> <p style="text-align: left;">Save on Clothing</p> </b> <p style="text-align: left;">16Study your wardrobe, determine your needs,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">work out a clothing budget, and stay with it.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Clothes bought on impulse rarely fit in your budget</p> <p style="text-align: left;">or your wardrobe.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">17Buy the best quality you can afford, particularly</p> <p style="text-align: left;">in clothes that will last for several years.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">This is called &ldquo;Investment Dressing.&rdquo; Think in terms</p> <p style="text-align: left;">of cost per wearing.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">18Buy color-coordinated clothes you can mix</p> <p style="text-align: left;">and match. Buy all-season styles and fabrics</p> <p style="text-align: left;">when possible. This way you don&rsquo;t have to buy as</p> <p style="text-align: left;">many clothes.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">19Know how to spot a bargain. When you buy</p> <p style="text-align: left;">a garment, check its construction, care instructions,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">fiber content, and other label information.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Be sure it will last and will be easy to care for.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">2 Alabama Cooperative Extension System</p> <p style="text-align: left;">20Buy designs that will stay in style.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">21Buy wash and wear as much as possible.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Clothes that require dry cleaning are</p> <p style="text-align: left;">expensive to care for.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">22Choose clothes with simple trim; they won&rsquo;t</p> <p style="text-align: left;">go out of style as quickly. Trim should be of</p> <p style="text-align: left;">good quality and should require the same care as</p> <p style="text-align: left;">the rest of the garment.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">23Shop factory-outlet stores. Don&rsquo;t assume</p> <p style="text-align: left;">there is something wrong with clothes sold</p> <p style="text-align: left;">there. They could be surplus, samples, or discontinued</p> <p style="text-align: left;">lines. Any imperfect or damaged items must</p> <p style="text-align: left;">be tagged or advertised as such. And, the flaws in</p> <p style="text-align: left;">some may be so minor that they don&rsquo;t matter at all.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">24Accessories can add a new look to your</p> <p style="text-align: left;">wardrobe for a much smaller cost than</p> <p style="text-align: left;">buying major items.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">25Adapt what you have to current styles instead</p> <p style="text-align: left;">of dashing out to buy something new.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">26When you outgrow clothing, exchange with</p> <p style="text-align: left;">friends and relatives or recycle them.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">27Contribute clothing to a &ldquo;nearly new&rdquo; shop</p> <p style="text-align: left;">sponsored by a charitable organization. Your</p> <p style="text-align: left;">gift may be tax deductible if you get a signed receipt</p> <p style="text-align: left;">for its estimated value.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">28Learn to sew, but don&rsquo;t rush out and buy a</p> <p style="text-align: left;">lot of fabric that you&rsquo;ll never get around to</p> <p style="text-align: left;">making into garments.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">29Take good care of your clothing and shoes.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">They will last longer.</p> <b> <p style="text-align: left;">Save in the Home</p> </b> <p style="text-align: left;">30Cut the cost of your long distance calls as</p> <p style="text-align: left;">much as 60 percent by dialing yourself and</p> <p style="text-align: left;">using the daily and weekend specials. Plan what</p> <p style="text-align: left;">you need to say and limit talking time.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">31Use fewer paper products, such as paper</p> <p style="text-align: left;">plates, cups, and towels, so they won&rsquo;t have</p> <p style="text-align: left;">to be replaced as often.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">32Strive for a simpler lifestyle. This means</p> <p style="text-align: left;">owning fewer nonessential things and having</p> <p style="text-align: left;">less to clean and maintain. Buy less clutter and</p> <p style="text-align: left;">junk.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">33Be creative; use what you have in new and</p> <p style="text-align: left;">better ways.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">34Cut your recreation costs by planning more</p> <p style="text-align: left;">activities and games at home.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">35Entertain friends and relatives at home</p> <p style="text-align: left;">simply.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">36Use your sewing skills to make gifts: aprons,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">place mats, linens, hand towels, pillows,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">needlework. Or, make pictures, wall hangings,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">chair seat covers, and decorative screens.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">37Use some of your homemade jams and</p> <p style="text-align: left;">jellies for gifts.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">38Start slips from some of your plants; then</p> <p style="text-align: left;">pot them for gifts.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">39Plan carefully and thoroughly as the first</p> <p style="text-align: left;">step in economical decorating.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">40Consider remodeling rather than building</p> <p style="text-align: left;">a new house.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">41Learn to paint and to wallpaper.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">42Learn to refinish furniture.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">43Make your own draperies, curtains, spreads,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">slipcovers, and table covers.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">44Learn to clean, repair, and restore household</p> <p style="text-align: left;">items yourself. Learn to maintain and repair</p> <p style="text-align: left;">the house and equipment.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">45Make dried flower arrangements from garden</p> <p style="text-align: left;">flowers, wildflowers, and decorative</p> <p style="text-align: left;">weeds.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">46Decorate your home with items from nature</p> <p style="text-align: left;">or use family creations.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">47Take advantage of free or low-cost learning</p> <p style="text-align: left;">opportunities, trips, and community services,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">such as schools, workshops, fairs, libraries, concerts,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">hikes, public tennis courts, home shows,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Extension programs, and other adult education</p> <p style="text-align: left;">courses.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">48Hold a garage sale. Sell those items you</p> <p style="text-align: left;">no longer need, use, or want.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">49Plan an outdoor area for living. Landscape</p> <p style="text-align: left;">to beautify and enjoy it.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">50Buy things that will require as little</p> <p style="text-align: left;">maintenance as possible.</p> <i> <p style="text-align: left;">101 Ways to Save Money 3</p> </i>3 <p style="text-align: left;">51Buy furniture at auctions, garage sales,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">or second-hand shops.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">52Buy low-cost household cleaning products</p> <p style="text-align: left;">or learn to make your own.</p> <b> <p style="text-align: left;">Save on Food</p> </b> <p style="text-align: left;">53Feed your family well from the Food Guide</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Pyramid. Keep them healthy and you&rsquo;ll save</p> <p style="text-align: left;">on medical bills.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">54Plan your meals one week at a time. First,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">review the grocery ads to take advantage</p> <p style="text-align: left;">of specials. Make a shopping list from your menu</p> <p style="text-align: left;">plan with the ads.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">55Plan one meatless day per week.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">56When you use the oven, try to cook more</p> <p style="text-align: left;">than one item while it is hot. Cook the main</p> <p style="text-align: left;">dish, dessert, vegetables, quick breads, or other</p> <p style="text-align: left;">foods at the same time in the oven.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">57Stretch ground meat with bread crumbs,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">oatmeal, or tomato sauce.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">58Mix one-part nonfat dry milk with one part</p> <p style="text-align: left;">regular milk. The family will never know the</p> <p style="text-align: left;">difference.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">59Prepare some of your own convenience</p> <p style="text-align: left;">foods, master mixes, and desserts at home.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">60Prepare a large quantity of standard recipes,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">such as spaghetti sauce, chili, pastries, and</p> <p style="text-align: left;">stews. Then label and freeze them for later use.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">This not only saves time but also allows you to buy</p> <p style="text-align: left;">larger amounts of basic ingredients at lower prices.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">61Waste less! Each year Alabamians throw</p> <p style="text-align: left;">many dollars worth of food into garbage</p> <p style="text-align: left;">cans. This happens not only at home but also in</p> <p style="text-align: left;">restaurants and school cafeterias.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">62Eat less expensive foods; drink less expensive</p> <p style="text-align: left;">beverages.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">63Entertain with &ldquo;pot lucks&rdquo; or inexpensive</p> <p style="text-align: left;">buffets such as lasagna and salad.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">64Grocery shop when you are not hungry.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">It will help you avoid impulse buying.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">65Cut your food shopping trips to no more</p> <p style="text-align: left;">than one a week. You will save gasoline,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">time, and money.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">66When you shop, compare the price per unit:</p> <p style="text-align: left;">pound, ounce, dozen, package, or square</p> <p style="text-align: left;">foot. Take your calculator with you.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">67Buy fresh fruits and vegetables, fruit juices</p> <p style="text-align: left;">and milk drinks, oatmeal and peanut butter</p> <p style="text-align: left;">cookies, and popcorn instead of junk food. You&rsquo;ll</p> <p style="text-align: left;">be healthier.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">68Grow your own fruits and vegetables. Can,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">freeze, and dry some of them for future use.</p> <b> <p style="text-align: left;">Save on Children&rsquo;s Expenses</p> </b> <p style="text-align: left;">69Buy or make children&rsquo;s clothing with built-in</p> <p style="text-align: left;">growth features.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">70Use good quality fabrics, buttons, and</p> <p style="text-align: left;">trims from out-of-style adult clothes to</p> <p style="text-align: left;">make children&rsquo;s clothing.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">71Shop at discount stores for children&rsquo;s</p> <p style="text-align: left;">clothes.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">72Select children&rsquo;s clothes that are functional</p> <p style="text-align: left;">and comfortable.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">73Teach children proper care for clothing,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">toys, furniture, and equipment so replacements,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">repairs, and maintenance will be reduced.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">74Involve children in understanding their environment.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Reward them in some way for conserving</p> <p style="text-align: left;">resources.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">75Save household items that children can play</p> <p style="text-align: left;">with such as egg cartons, meat trays, old</p> <p style="text-align: left;">stockings, and cardboard boxes of all sizes.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">76Devise creative, inexpensive entertainment</p> <p style="text-align: left;">for children.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">77Interest children in budgeting their money.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Give them allowances, and let them learn</p> <p style="text-align: left;">to save and stretch their money.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">78Start a &ldquo;child-care pool&rdquo; with a group of</p> <p style="text-align: left;">friends to save on babysitting fees.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">79Buy basic gifts or supplies when prices are</p> <p style="text-align: left;">reduced, such as after Christmas or Easter,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">and save them for the following season.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">80Insist the children do some sort of work,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">besides regular chores, as soon as they are</p> <p style="text-align: left;">old enough.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">81Involve children in gardening.</p> <b> <p style="text-align: left;">Jo Turner, <i>Extension Program Specialist, </i>Professor, Human Development and</p> </b>Professor, Human Development and <p style="text-align: left;">Family Studies, Auburn University</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Adapted from, &ldquo;100 Ways to Save Money&rdquo; by the Mississippi Extension Service.</p> <b> <p style="text-align: left;">For more information, call your county Extension office. Look in your telephone directory</p> </b>call your county Extension office. Look in your telephone directory <p style="text-align: left;">under your county&rsquo;s name to find the number.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8</p> <p style="text-align: left;">and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&amp;M University and Auburn University) offers educational</p> <p style="text-align: left;">programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">HE-562 ECP, 10M, <b>Reprinted Oct 1999, </b>HE-562</p> <b> <p style="text-align: left;">Save on General Living Expenses</p> </b> <p style="text-align: left;">82 Distinguish between needs and wants&mdash;</p> <p style="text-align: left;">consider values, goals, and resources.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">83 Know alternatives for increasing income.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">84 Know how much things cost. Comparison</p> <p style="text-align: left;">shop.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">85 Know when to use cash, checks, or credit.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">86 Beware of little expenses. &ldquo;A small leak will</p> <p style="text-align: left;">sink a great ship.&rdquo;</p> <p style="text-align: left;">87 Shop with a list; don&rsquo;t buy on impulse.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">If you see something you really want that</p> <p style="text-align: left;">you didn&rsquo;t plan to buy, wait a day before buying it.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">88 Follow proven buying guidelines.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Consider price per unit and watch</p> <p style="text-align: left;">weights and measures. Check your sales slips.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Count your change.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">89 Pay promptly. Don&rsquo;t build up interest</p> <p style="text-align: left;">charges for late payments.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">90 Know how much money you have. Plan</p> <p style="text-align: left;">your spending.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">91Don&rsquo;t spend tomorrow&rsquo;s paycheck today.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">92Be sure the time is right for the best price.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">It&rsquo;s oftentimes not what you buy but when</p> <p style="text-align: left;">you buy it.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">93Learn the principles for cutting family living</p> <p style="text-align: left;">costs. Learn, practice, and develop skills in</p> <p style="text-align: left;">the marketplace, in the use of credit, in thrift, and</p> <p style="text-align: left;">in using financial institutions.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">94Substitute other resources for money. Learn</p> <p style="text-align: left;">to barter, borrow, share, switch, substitute,</p> <p style="text-align: left;">simplify, and conserve goods and services.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">95Establish a safe level of credit.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">96Set aside a realistic emergency fund equal</p> <p style="text-align: left;">to 2- to 6-months take-home pay.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">97Shop for credit just as you shop for</p> <p style="text-align: left;">merchandise. Consider the cost of credit as</p> <p style="text-align: left;">a part of the cost of the item you are buying. Know</p> <p style="text-align: left;">the annual percentage rate as well as the cost of</p> <p style="text-align: left;">credit in dollars and cents.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">98Shop sales carefully. A seasonal sale may</p> <p style="text-align: left;">save 10 to 25 percent; a clearance may save</p> <p style="text-align: left;">50 to 75 percent. Consider the actual savings in</p> <p style="text-align: left;">dollars and cents.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">99Remember, if you don&rsquo;t need it, it is not a</p> <p style="text-align: left;">good buy at any price.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">100Recycle. It will save money and reduce</p> <p style="text-align: left;">landfill space.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">101Check with your county Extension office</p> <p>for other money saving ideas.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:7079daa2-eb41-43d2-b643-9d4d3c860677 A federal judge this threw out a lawsuit claiming that President Barack Obama&rsquo;s requirement that all Americans have health insurance violates the religious freedom of those who rely on God to protect them. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler in...Thu, 24 Feb 2011 13:21:51 -0600<div id="article-content"> <p>A federal judge this threw out a lawsuit claiming that President Barack Obama&rsquo;s requirement that all Americans have health insurance violates the religious freedom of those who rely on God to protect them.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the American Center for Law and Justice, a Christian legal group founded by evangelist Pat Robertson, on behalf of five Americans who can afford health insurance but have chosen for years not to buy it.</p> <p>The case was one of several lawsuits filed against Obama&rsquo;s requirement that Americans either buy health insurance or pay a penalty, beginning in 2014. Kessler is the third Democratic-appointed judge to dismiss a challenge, while two Republican-appointed judges have ruled part or all of the law unconstitutional. Kessler wrote that the Supreme Court will need to settle the constitutional issues.</p> <p>Three of the plaintiffs are Christians who said they want to refuse all medical services for the rest of their lives because they believe God will heal their afflictions. They say being forced to buy insurance would conflict with their faith because they believe doing so would indicate they need &ldquo;a backup plan and (are) not really sure whether God will, in fact, provide,&rdquo; the lawsuit said.</p> <p>The two other plaintiffs have a holistic approach to medical care and prefer to pay for their health services out of pocket, in part because insurance often doesn&rsquo;t cover their chosen methods of healing.</p> <p>The lawsuit argued that Congress does not have the power under the Constitution to require health care purchases and that the mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.</p> <p>Kessler rejected both arguments and ruled that Congress has the right to regulate health care spending under the Commerce Clause and that the individual mandate must be viewed not as a stand-alone reform but as an essential part of the law Obama signed 11 months ago aimed at reducing overall costs. She also said that anyone who objects to having health care for religious reasons can choose to pay the penalty instead &mdash; as the lawsuit said all five plaintiffs plan to do.</p> <p>Kessler also expressed doubts that they can really determine whether they will never require health care. &ldquo;Individuals like plaintiffs who allege now that they will refuse medical services in the future may well find their way into the health care market when they face the reality of illness or injury,&rdquo; she wrote.</p> <p>Judges George Steeh of Michigan and Norman Moon of Virginia &mdash; like Kessler, they were nominated to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat &mdash; dismissed suits against the individual mandate last fall. Republican President George W. Bush-appointed Henry Hudson in Virginia ruled the insurance purchase requirement unconstitutional in December, while Ronald Reagan, a Republican, appointee Roger Vinson in Florida ruled the entire health care reform act unconstitutional last month.</p> <p>The Justice Department, which has been defending the law in court, noted that the law has now been upheld more times than not.</p> <p>&ldquo;We welcome this ruling, which marks the third time a court has reviewed the Affordable Care Act on the merits and upheld it as constitutional,&rdquo; said spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler. &ldquo;This court found &mdash; as two others have previously &mdash; that the minimum coverage provision of the statute was a reasonable measure for Congress to take in reforming our health care system.&rdquo;</p> </div> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:bfc548fe-956b-42bd-9759-4bf6407780f2Texas Rep. Harvey Hilderbran of Kerrville has filed legislation aimed at elevating public safety and protecting animal health by strengthening the insurance and record-keeping requirements for privately-owned dangerous wildlife such as lions and gori...Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:02:47 -0600<p>Texas Rep. Harvey Hilderbran of Kerrville has filed legislation aimed at elevating public safety and protecting animal health by strengthening the insurance and record-keeping requirements for privately-owned dangerous wildlife such as lions and gorillas.</p> <p>The bill would increase the amount of insurance required on dangerous animals to ensure their owners would be able to cover any property damage or bodily harm the animal may cause. The bill also prohibits owners from housing dangerous animals within five miles of a school, daycare, or church, and it requires them to provide at least two acres of property per registered animal.</p> <p>While owners of dangerous animals are already required to file a permit application with their local animal control agency or sheriff&rsquo;s office, Hilderbran&rsquo;s bill would increase the information applicants must provide in their permit request.</p> <p>The current application asks for information regarding an animal&rsquo;s species, sex, age, distinct color markings, and other identifying information. Hilderbran&rsquo;s bill would require owners to also include information on prior ownership and conditions of sale.</p> <p>&ldquo;Identifying the circumstances surrounding the acquisition of these animals helps us verify that the previous owner had a legal right to possess the animal and that it is not being sold through the black market,&rdquo; Hilderbran said.</p> <p>The representative said he will also add language to the bill to elevate inspection frequency and standards for rescue centers housing dangerous wildlife and to prohibit these centers from advertising themselves as both rescue and hunting facilities.</p> <p>Hilderbran added that his legislation has nothing to do with hoofed animals and that it would not alter the list of dangerous animals as listed within the Texas Health and Safety Code. That list includes lions, tigers, ocelots, cougars, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, bobcats, lynx, servals, caracals, hyenas, bears, coyotes, jackals, baboons, chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas.</p> <p>Further, the bill applies only to private animal owners and does not affect zoos, aquariums, or research facilities.</p>urn:uuid:5b064688-24f9-442d-a47f-21af3fee0e8aPutting his own stamp on a long-standing Republican priority, President Barack Obama is launching a drive to overhaul state medical malpractice laws and cut down on wasteful tests doctors perform because they fear lawsuits. Obama&rsquo;s budget calls...Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:39:08 -0600<p>Putting his own stamp on a long-standing Republican priority, President Barack Obama is launching a drive to overhaul state medical malpractice laws and cut down on wasteful tests doctors perform because they fear lawsuits.</p> <p>Obama&rsquo;s budget calls for $250 million in Justice Department grants to help states rewrite their malpractice laws in line with recommendations that his bipartisan debt reduction commission issued last year.</p> <p>&ldquo;I think the president is very serious about following up on this,&rdquo; Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the Senate Finance Committee this week. Her agency would advise the Justice Department on awarding the grants.</p> <p>Specific reforms the money could be used for exclude caps on jury awards that the American Medical Association and GOP lawmakers have pursued for years without success. But they do include measures unacceptable to trial lawyers, an interest group that contributes heavily to Democratic candidates.</p> <h4>House Bill</h4> <p>Meanwhile, the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines this week in support of a medical malpractice tort reform bill called the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011. The bill would cap noneconomic damages in medical injury cases at $250,000, or twice the amount of economic damages, whichever is greater.</p> <p>The bill, sponsored by Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., who is a doctor, is modeled after California&rsquo;s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975.</p> <p>Gingrey&rsquo;s bill would also allow a court to restrict the payment of attorney contingency fees and limits the fees to a decreasing percentage based on the increasing value of the amount awarded. It would deny punitive damages in the case of products that meet Food and Drug Administration standards.</p> <h4>Obama Proposals</h4> <p>Topping the list of ideas in the Obama administration proposals is one for health courts. Specially trained judges &mdash; not juries &mdash; would decide malpractice cases, awarding compensation from a set schedule. Plaintiffs&rsquo; lawyers say that would undermine the constitutional right to trial by jury. But proponents say it would bring predictability, resulting in lower malpractice insurance rates for doctors.</p> <p>&ldquo;Health courts offer much more protection for fearful physicians than caps because you are unlikely to get a crazy verdict when you have an expert judge,&rdquo; said lawyer Philip Howard, founder of Common Good, a nonprofit group that advocates for changes in the legal system. The money Obama seeks could go far, he added, estimating it would cost $5 million to $7 million for a midsize state to set up health courts.</p> <p>Speaking for trial lawyers, Gibson Vance, president of the American Association for Justice, called the idea &ldquo;bad policy and bad for patients.&rdquo;</p> <p>Obama&rsquo;s proposal also got a cool reception from congressional Republicans, who feel he has a record of promising more on malpractice than he delivers. Obama first indicated an interest in the issue during the marathon debate over his health care law. But all that actually wound up in the law was $25 million in grants to study the problem and potential solutions.</p> <p>It&rsquo;s different this time, administration officials said. The new proposal calls for ten times more money, and the grants would be used to change laws, not conduct more studies. Nonetheless, House Republicans are moving ahead with legislation to impose caps on jury awards.</p> <p>The cost of defensive medicine is difficult to estimate, but conservative estimates start at around $50 billion a year. Obama&rsquo;s debt commission estimated its recommendations could save government programs $17 billion through 2020, calling for an aggressive effort to rewrite malpractice laws. Obama&rsquo;s budget, however, does not claim any savings from the new proposal.</p> <p>Other malpractice reforms that could be funded under Obama&rsquo;s grant proposal include:</p> <ul> <li>Creating a legal defense for doctors, hospitals and other providers who follow guidelines for best clinical practices and use electronic medical records. So-called &ldquo;safe harbor&rdquo; laws establish the presumption that by adhering to high standards, doctors are not behaving in a negligent manner.</li> <li>Programs that require hospitals and doctors to disclose mistakes early, offer an apology and compensation, and also agree to make changes to protect other patients from being harmed in the same way. If the patient&rsquo;s family still wants to go to court, the provider&rsquo;s apology could not be used as evidence of liability. Such programs have been shown to reduce litigation.</li> <li>Changing legal rules that result in higher malpractice awards. For example, instead of holding all the providers involved in a case to be equally liable, a &ldquo;fair share&rdquo; rule would allocate malpractice payments in proportion to responsibility for the damages.</li> </ul> <p><a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:5cf9292c-6a2b-40c7-86d7-33eda9901546Honda is recalling nearly 700,000 Fit, Freed and City compact cars around the world for a defective spring part that may cause the engine to stall. No accidents have been reported related to the problem, but at least 72 complaints were filed in Japan...Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:33:33 -0600<p>Honda is recalling nearly 700,000 Fit, Freed and City compact cars around the world for a defective spring part that may cause the engine to stall.</p> <p>No accidents have been reported related to the problem, but at least 72 complaints were filed in Japan, and 29 abroad, Honda Motor Co. spokesman Tomohiro Okada said Thursday.</p> <p>Recalled are 167,000 vehicles in Japan, 156,000 in China, and 233,000 in the rest of Asia, Tokyo-based Honda said. About 122,000 cars are being recalled in North America.</p> <p>The spring was placed improperly in a small box inside the engine, so that, in some cases, the problem could cause the engine to stall, Okada said.</p>urn:uuid:79c4bbaa-753e-4c1a-8c08-806a2d4e0843The U.S. Senate aims to begin consideration next month of a bipartisan bill to revamp the U.S. patent system and reduce the likelihood of what critics see as excessive damage awards, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday. Reid said he plan...Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:31:53 -0600<p>The U.S. Senate aims to begin consideration next month of a bipartisan bill to revamp the U.S. patent system and reduce the likelihood of what critics see as excessive damage awards, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday.</p> <p>Reid said he plans to bring the bill to the Senate floor after lawmakers return from a week-long recess set to start on Friday.</p> <p>Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Dick Durbin voiced confidence that the measure would win approval, which would send it to the Republican-led House of Representatives for concurrence.</p> <p>"I feel good about it,'' said Durbin, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that reported out the measure on a 15-0 vote earlier this month.</p> <p>The bill would give judges a major role in determining how important a particular patent is to a product, so that infringing minor patents would not lead to huge damages.</p> <p>The bill also would give a patent to the first inventor to file, rather than the first to invent, making the patent application process easier for companies who apply for patents in multiple countries.</p> <p>"We will take that up the week we get back,'' Reid told reporters on Capitol Hill.</p> <p>The Senate is slated to return to work on Monday, Feb. 28, but action on the bill likely wouldn't start until at least later in the week, aides said.</p> <p>A vote on the bill could further slip a bit since the Senate must act quickly on a stopgap-funding measure to keep the government up and running beyond March 4.</p> <p>Regardless, senior Senate Democratic aides said, the anticipated plan is to get to the patent reform bill by the second full week in March.</p> <p>Senator Charles Schumer has said that he plans to offer an amendment that would allow companies accused of infringing business-method patents to allow them to ask the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to declare them invalid without resorting to litigation.</p> <p>The Supreme Court last year rejected a way to hedge energy costs but declined to shut the door on business method patents entirely. Perhaps the most familiar example of a business-method patent is Amazon.com Inc's one-click purchase patent.</p> <p>Other provisions in this year's 99-page bill aim to prevent bad patents from being issued by allowing third parties to provide information on why an application should be rejected.</p> <p>The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has asked for the right to set its own fees in order to hire more examiners and upgrade technology so it can chip away at a massive backlog of patent applications.</p> <p>The bill would give the patent office authority to set fees, but would require that the smallest applicants get relief on application fees.</p> <p>Big technology companies initiated a push several years ago for patent reform because of expensive litigation, and even more expensive damages, if they lost what many viewed as unfounded lawsuits.</p> <p>Some big tech companies have since dropped their support, at least partially because of efforts to reduce patent office reviews of patents that have already been granted.</p> <p>This year, Microsoft Corp. , the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Biotechnology Industry Organization support the patent legislation, while others oppose it.</p> <p>"We continue to have concerns with the current Senate bill,'' a trade group called the Coalition for Patent Fairness said in a statement.</p> <p>"The Coalition for Patent Fairness believes that additional changes need to be made to the bill to reflect the concerns of America's leading technology innovators and job creators as they continue to driving the economic recovery,'' said the group, whose members include Adobe Systems Inc. , Apple Inc. , Google Inc. , Intel Corp. , Research in Motion Ltd., Symantec Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:5d740d82-447e-4b43-91d1-2c271b8c4a93On issues ranging from the air we breathe to the noise factories make, business leaders want the government to stay out of their way. And the Republicans, looking toward the 2012 elections, are listening. The House's principal investigative panel, th...Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:43:44 -0600<p>On issues ranging from the air we breathe to the noise factories make, business leaders want the government to stay out of their way. And the Republicans, looking toward the 2012 elections, are listening.</p> <p>The House's principal investigative panel, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, took its turn this week in a hearing designed to give a voice to business complaints about government regulations.</p> <p>The entire House, meanwhile, could vote soon to direct 10 committees to compile an inventory of rules that hurt jobs. The resolution has no practical effect because committee chairmen already are under instructions from the Republican leadership to get rid of or modify rules that businesses don't like.</p> <p>But there may be a political bounce, and the GOP has scheduled more than nine hours of debate so its members can voice plenty of complaints about regulations.</p> <p>Invitations for this Thursday's hearing, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa of California, went to the National Association of Manufacturers, the Black Chamber of Commerce, the Western Growers Association and owners of small businesses.</p> <p>A Democratic staff memo complained that Issa's letters to businesses, seeking comments on harmful rules, did not request information about the benefits of regulation or reach out to groups that support federal safeguards.</p> <p>Issa has received some 200 suggestions from businesses, many of them longtime complaints about the Environmental Protection Agency's pollution control efforts and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's workplace rules.</p> <p>Recent additions to the business hit list include complaints about a law passed last year to overhaul the country's financial regulations. Businesses don't like the sweeping powers of a new consumer protection agency, or a Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to require businesses to identify their "conflict minerals" &mdash; those mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses.</p> <p>A report by Issa's staff acknowledged that rules such as the conflict minerals proposal have a good purpose &mdash; in this case, preventing atrocities &mdash; but also cost businesses time and money.</p> <p>The most complaints were against the EPA. Issa's staff report said the agency "has issued a host of new regulations affecting coal-generated power, directing these plants to purchase costly new equipment."</p> <p>The report mentioned EPA regulation of greenhouse gases as a pollutant, as well as increased scrutiny of other emissions.</p> <p>"EPA is also proposing a cascade of new standards for already regulated emissions such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and ozone, some of which had their standards updated as recently as 2008," the report said.</p> <p>The report said small businesses are concerned about proposed workplace "Right to Know" rules that would require all employers to disclose to workers whether they are legally considered employees or independent contractors. Businesses would have to provide an analysis of how their pay is computed. Employers are concerned the proposal could expose them to fines if they make errors in calculation.</p> <p>Another sore point is OSHA's proposed changes in workplace noise standards. Nearly 30 business groups complained that the proposal "would reverse decades of agency precedent that currently allows employers to provide personal protective equipment such as ear plugs or ear muffs, instead of more costly administrative or engineering controls."</p> <p>Businesses also objected to a proposed workplace rule that would require an injury and illness prevention program. Responders did not "take issue with OSHA's emphasis on workplace safety; instead, they view OSHA's formal program as a mandate that will undermine their current safety programs and lead to inconsistent and unpredictable safety violations by OSHA inspectors," the report said.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:d5ab6aee-7c60-4010-b3e8-573fc52e9ee0A class-action lawsuit accuses the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys and team owner Jerry Jones of deceiving hundreds of fans who bought Super Bowl tickets and had no seats, or who felt the seats were inadequate. The federal lawsuit, filed Feb. 8 in Dallas, al...Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:17:01 -0600<p>A class-action lawsuit accuses the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys and team owner Jerry Jones of deceiving hundreds of fans who bought Super Bowl tickets and had no seats, or who felt the seats were inadequate.</p> <p>The federal lawsuit, filed Feb. 8 in Dallas, alleges breach of contract, fraud and deceptive sales practices.</p> <p>It was filed on behalf of fans who were prevented from having seats at Sunday&rsquo;s game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington because of a snafu over temporary bleachers, as well as some Cowboys season ticket holders who say they wound up on folding chairs with obstructed views.</p> <p>A Cowboys spokesman did not immediately return a call requesting comment Wednesday.</p> <p>The Packers beat the Steelers 31-25.</p>urn:uuid:834472f8-411c-4876-a10c-a1f8f7ae6d82A U.S. government investigation showed no link between electronic throttles and unintended acceleration in Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles, a victory for the world's top automaker battered by recalls over runaway vehicles. The encouraging result for Toyo...Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:15:22 -0600<p>A U.S. government investigation showed no link between electronic throttles and unintended acceleration in Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles, a victory for the world's top automaker battered by recalls over runaway vehicles.</p> <p>The encouraging result for Toyota stems from a 10-month probe ordered by Congress following recalls of nearly 8 million of its best-selling models in the United States over defective floor mats and accelerator pedals that hurt its reputation for quality.</p> <p>Some safety advocates and congressional investigators questioned whether software-driven throttles also played a role in unintended acceleration complaints.</p> <p>"There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas,'' U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.</p> <p>Although Toyota has cleared a major hurdle in its ongoing safety saga, regulators said they would consider imposing requirements for all vehicles to have braking systems that automatically counteract any instances of unintended acceleration.</p> <p>Toyota, which has put electronically controlled throttles in its vehicles since 2002, has consistently said those systems were safe.</p> <p>The probe by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and NASA engineers found that the only causes of the unwanted acceleration were the previously identified sticking accelerator pedals and loose floormats that could jam the pedals</p> <p>Those problems were the root of massive recalls in 2009 and 2010 that rocked Toyota to its foundations and saw President Akio Toyoda come to Washington a year ago to tell U.S. lawmakers he was "deeply sorry.''</p> <p>U.S. regulators are looking into 89 deaths that may be associated with sudden acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles but have so far linked only a handful to the floor mat problem.</p> <p>Toyota has paid nearly $50 million in fines linked to the recalls and to settle accusations it failed to notify U.S. officials in a timely way about defects.</p> <p>Although the electronic throttle investigation turned up no flaws that would prompt another massive recall, Toyota still faces significant risks from scores of civil lawsuits stemming from the recalls.</p> <p>Those cases in federal and state courts, which may turn on the timing of company disclosures to regulators of already established defects, have an estimated potential liability of up to $10 billion.</p> <p>Toyota on Tuesday posted a smaller-than-expected fall in third-quarter profit and hiked its sales forecast for the year to March 31 by 70,000 vehicles to 7.48 million, thanks to better-than-expected sales in Asia, Japan and Russia.</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:97beae13-12b4-4078-ad9c-c42343ecee73 President Barack Obama&rsquo;s fellow Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked a Republican bid Wednesday to repeal his healthcare overhaul, likely leaving the fate of the year-old law up to the federal courts. The Senate rejected the attempted repeal o...Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:08:13 -0600<div id="article-content"> <p>President Barack Obama&rsquo;s fellow Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked a Republican bid Wednesday to repeal his healthcare overhaul, likely leaving the fate of the year-old law up to the federal courts.</p> <p>The Senate rejected the attempted repeal on a party-line vote of 51-47, two days after a federal judge struck down the law as unconstitutional, a ruling the Obama administration promptly announced it would appeal.</p> </div> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:c4aed392-5930-4e2f-8ed3-01f88b1a7be8Senior U.S. lawmakers are once again planning to reform the patent system to try to eliminate huge damage awards, an issue ripe for legislation after recent court decisions challenged calculation methods. Patent reform, in one form or another, has be...Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:06:32 -0600<p class="reuters">Senior U.S. lawmakers are once again planning to reform the patent system to try to eliminate huge damage awards, an issue ripe for legislation after recent court decisions challenged calculation methods.</p> <p>Patent reform, in one form or another, has been pushed in Congress for several years.</p> <p>It has so far stalled, partly because it pits huge industry players against each other in battles to either protect themselves or benefit from huge patent damage awards.</p> <p>This year, Microsoft Corp., the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Biotechnology Industry Organization support the reform legislation, while Dell Inc., Cisco Systems Inc. and others oppose it.</p> <p>Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy introduced a new bill last week and plans to try to get it approved by the Judiciary Committee Thursday, and then push for a vote by the full Senate. The House Judiciary Committee plans hearings, but has not put forward a bill.</p> <p>Although the legislation faces a tough time due to a divided Congress and fissures in the business community, it could answer key questions raised by the courts.</p> <p>The most critical of the court rulings affects how damages for infringement are calculated.</p> <p>For example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found in 2009 that Microsoft infringed a patent owned by Alcatel &mdash; now owned by Lucent &mdash; to make its Outlook software, but that the jury erred in using Microsoft&rsquo;s total Outlook sales in calculating damages.</p> <p>Then in January of this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit tossed out a commonly used method of calculating damages in another case involving Microsoft.</p> <p>While finding that Microsoft infringed a patent to prevent software piracy, the appeals court said flat out it would no longer accept a &ldquo;25 percent rule&rdquo; to determine the reasonable royalty rate a manufacturer will pay.</p> <p>Uniloc, which owns the patent, was awarded $388 million in damages, but that will be recalculated.</p> <p>&ldquo;Those court decisions didn&rsquo;t tell us how to calculate damages. They told us how not to calculate damages,&rdquo; said Mark Lemley, who teaches law at Stanford University.</p> <p>Leahy&rsquo;s bill, based on a compromise version that stalled last year, would address the calculation questions by setting up judges as gatekeepers to determine how to calculate damages.</p> <p>This means that drug companies &mdash; which generally have one or very few patents on any given product &mdash; may ask for a larger share of revenues in the case of infringement.</p> <p>Meanwhile, judges would be expected to determine that technology companies &mdash; whose devices may have hundreds of patents &mdash; would pay a smaller percentage of revenues for any infringement.</p> <p>The consequences of infringing used to be devastating.</p> <p>Courts had been allowed to order infringing technology stopped. In 2006, a district court judge in Virginia shook official Washington and the business world by considering enforcing an injunction on Research in Motion Ltd, which would have blacked out BlackBerry service nationwide.</p> <p>The injunction threat has since waned, in large part because of a 2006 Supreme Court ruling, eBay v. MercExchange, which made it harder to get an injunction. It added tests, one of which was whether public interest would be harmed by a permanent injunction.</p> <p>But the cost of litigation remains a huge threat that Leahy&rsquo;s legislation would address.</p> <p>&ldquo;The interesting take-away is that both Houses are coming out of the blocks really quickly,&rdquo; said Q. Todd Dickinson, executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. &ldquo;It got a pretty good head of steam. But it&rsquo;s stalled before so we&rsquo;ll see.&rdquo;</p> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>urn:uuid:57700cbc-9e49-4a36-a69e-cb6ef8a92a7dA federal judge in Florida struck down President Barack Obama&rsquo;s landmark healthcare overhaul as unconstitutional Monday in the biggest legal challenge yet to federal authority to enact the law. U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ruled that the re...Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:01:31 -0600<p class="reuters">A federal judge in Florida struck down President Barack Obama&rsquo;s landmark healthcare overhaul as unconstitutional Monday in the biggest legal challenge yet to federal authority to enact the law.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ruled that the reform law&rsquo;s so-called individual mandate went too far in requiring that Americans start buying health insurance in 2014 or pay a penalty.</p> <p>&ldquo;Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire act must be declared void,&rdquo; he wrote, &rdquo;This has been a difficult decision to reach and I am aware that it will have indeterminable implications.&rdquo;</p> <p>Referring to a key provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Vinson sided with governors and attorneys general from 26 U.S. states, almost all of whom are Republicans, in declaring the Obama healthcare reform unconstitutional.</p> <p>&ldquo;Regardless of how laudable its attempts may have been to accomplish these goals in passing the act, Congress must operate within the bounds established by the Constitution,&rdquo; Vinson, who was appointed to the bench by Republican President Ronald Reagan, ruled.</p> <p>The Obama administration said it would appeal Vinson&rsquo;s ruling and believed it would prevail on a highly politicized issue likely to end up at the Supreme Court.</p> <p>&ldquo;We strongly disagree with the court&rsquo;s ruling today and continue to believe &mdash; as other federal courts have found &mdash; that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional,&rdquo; Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said.</p> <p>A White House official told reporters the administration planned to continue with implementation of the law.</p> <p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll continue to operate as we have previously and suspect that the states will do the same,&rdquo; said the senior administration official, who asked not to be named.</p> <p>&ldquo;Obviously this case will be appealed &hellip; and so implementation would proceed apace &hellip; This is not the last word by any means,&rdquo; the official said.</p> <p>But the fact that the judge did not issue a stay of his ruling pending appeal by the government could threaten the application of many of the provisions of the healthcare law.</p> <h5>RULING DRAWS ATTACK, PRAISE</h5> <p>The plaintiffs represent more than half the U.S. states, so the Florida case has more prominence than some two dozen similar lawsuits filed in federal courts.</p> <p>The healthcare overhaul enacted last year, a contentious cornerstone of Obama&rsquo;s presidency, aims to expand health insurance to cover millions of uninsured Americans while also curbing costs. Administration officials insist it is needed to stem huge projected increases in healthcare costs.</p> <p>Two other district court judges have rejected challenges to the individual mandate. But a federal district judge in Richmond, Virginia, last month struck down that central provision of the law.</p> <p>Vinson&rsquo;s ruling was dramatically broader and drew immediate strong reaction.</p> <p>&ldquo;Healthcare reform is the law of the land and, now that Americans see its benefits, a majority of them oppose Republicans&rsquo; dangerous plans to repeal a law that put patients in control of their own healthcare,&rdquo; said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.</p> <p>Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, an influential national advocacy group that pushed for the healthcare overhaul, called Vinson&rsquo;s decision an example of &rdquo;radical judicial activism run amok.&rdquo;</p> <p>Republican House Speaker John Boehner was among those who applauded Vinson&rsquo;s ruling. &ldquo;Today&rsquo;s decision affirms the view, held by most of the states and a majority of the American people, that the federal government should not be in the business of forcing you to buy health insurance and punishing you if you don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Boehner said in a statement.</p> <p>The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which says it represents small businesses across America and was a plaintiff in the lawsuit, also welcomed the ruling</p> <h5>CONFLICTING RULINGS</h5> <p>The individual mandate is key to the law&rsquo;s mission of covering more than 30 million uninsured. Officials argue it is only by requiring healthy people to purchase policies that they can help pay for reforms, including a provision that individuals with pre-existing medical conditions cannot be refused coverage.</p> <p>Vinson&rsquo;s ruling comes after the U.S. House of Representatives, with a new Republican majority, voted earlier this month to repeal the healthcare reform law. The repeal measure is unlikely to go any further as the Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to drop it.</p> <p>Shares of U.S. health insurers were little changed immediately after the ruling, with UnitedHealth Group Inc and Aetna roughly flat and WellPoint Inc down 0.8 percent.</p> <p>&ldquo;This just adds to the conflicting nature of the rulings that we&rsquo;ve seen so far,&rdquo; said Matthew Coffina, an analyst with Morningstar. &ldquo;I think everyone watching the industry at this point has been expecting the Supreme Court to ultimately decide this situation.&rdquo;</p> <p>States involved in the lawsuit were Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Iowa, Ohio, Kansas, Maine, Wisconsin and Wyoming.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:0f4f959d-dbf0-4d8a-b7aa-53b1178cf4adAs a monster storm began to bear down on the middle of the nation Tuesday, those in its frigid and dangerous path could only hope it wouldn't live up to the hype. The storm threatened to leave up to a third of the nation covered in a hodge-podge of b...Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:13:12 -0600As a monster storm began to bear down on the middle of the nation Tuesday, those in its frigid and dangerous path could only hope it wouldn't live up to the hype. <p>The storm threatened to leave up to a third of the nation covered in a hodge-podge of brutal winter weather. Its reach was impressive: Snow and ice could fall along a 2,000-mile stretch from Colorado to Maine, tornadoes were possible in the South, and the weather was disrupting millions of people from Super Bowl travelers to schoolchildren.</p> <p>Early indications were ominous. By mid-morning, freezing rain and sleet were already pelting several states from Texas through Ohio. Parts of southwest Missouri already had 6 inches of snow by 8 a.m. About 3,000 were without power in Ohio, 2,600 in Oklahoma. Roads were ice-covered and virtually impassable in several states.</p> <p>Forecasters predicted more than 2 feet of snow in some places, up to an inch of ice plus snow in others. Making matters worse was the expectation of brutal cold and winds gusting to near 60 mph.</p> <p>"What really gives us nightmares is the prospect of widespread power outages," said Jeff Rainford, chief of staff for St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. "It's cross-our-fingers time."</p> <p>The St. Louis-based utility company AmerenUE had nearly 500 of its own linemen ready to go and was bringing in another 800 from as far away as Michigan. Massive amounts of ice predicted south of St. Louis, followed by strong winds, could cause a repeat of 2006, when the ice knocked out power in parts of Missouri for weeks.</p> <p>Hardware stores were selling out of snow shovels, backup generators and ice-melting salt. Grocery stores were doing all they could to keep supplied with the staples.</p> <p>"Milk, bread, toilet paper, beer," said Todd Vasel of the St. Louis-based grocery chain Dierbergs, who said pre-storm crowds were more than double the norm. "It's been the equivalent of Christmas Eve, which is normally one of our biggest days of the year."</p> <p>The storm brought the potential for some strange happenings &mdash; thundersnow, lightning, even tornadoes. Forecasters said some regions could get up to 2 inches of snow per hour through parts of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Blizzard warnings were in effect in much of the Midwest. Kansas City, St. Louis and Milwaukee all seemed in line for a foot of snow or more. Even Chicago, where snow is common, could be in for its third-worst blizzard since record-keeping began, with up to 20 inches forecast.</p> <p>After burying the Midwest, the storm was expected to sweep into the Northeast, parts of which already are on track for record snowfall this winter. A winter storm warning was in effect for New York City, with forecasters predicting a mix of snow, sleet and ice. Federal workers in Washington were given the option of working from home because roads on Tuesday were already slippery.</p> <p>When the snow finally ends, bitter cold will set in. Temperatures in some parts of the Midwest will dip well below zero. Gusty winds will blow all of that snow. Visibility will be virtually zero at times.</p> <p>In Chicago, the National Weather Service warned that high winds with gusts of up to 60 mph could produce waves on Lake Michigan of up to 25 feet, leading to considerable coastal flooding and freezing spray, particularly along Lake Shore Drive. If forecasters are right, Chicago could see its third-biggest snowstorm, overshadowed only by the 21.6 inches in 1999 and the 23 inches of snow that fell in 1967.</p> <p>Travel across the plains and Midwest was a mess.</p> <p>Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City and Tulsa International Airport were both closed. Thousands of flights were canceled at other Midwestern airports. In Texas, the destination for thousands trying to get to the Super Bowl on Sunday, Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport was closed for about an hour so crews could treat runways glazed over with ice.</p> <p>Driving wasn't any easier. The Iowa Department of Transportation said most roadways in the state were partially or completely covered with a combination of ice and snow. Officials warned that drifts and whiteout from blowing snow make travel treacherous, if not impossible, in some areas.</p> <p>Deadly wrecks were reported in Minnesota and Kansas. But accidents in Missouri were surprisingly few given the increasingly worsening conditions. Highway Patrol Sgt. Al Nothum said he drove along Interstate 44 in St. Louis County and went miles without seeing another car as people apparently heeded warnings to stay home.</p> <p>"It was pretty deserted out there," Nothum said.</p> <p>Plows and salt trucks were out in full force, just in case. The worst of the weather was still a full day away in Michigan, but 85 percent of Oakland County's fleet was already out salting roads in preparation for the "death storm," county Road Commission spokesman Craig Bryson said. </p> <p>"We're trying to get hard pack off the roads before the big stuff comes," he said. Cots were set up in the commission's garages so drivers could nap between making their runs. </p> <p>School districts, universities and legislatures closed. Governors in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois declared emergencies, even as the storm was just arriving. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon activated 600 members of the National Guard. </p> <p>Warming centers were set up around Missouri in anticipation of power outages. St. Louis officials called needy residents to check on their well-being and set up extra beds for the homeless. </p> <p>The Illinois Legislature canceled sessions for the entire week because of expected travel problems. </p> <p>It wasn't just people getting ready for the weather. The Humane Society of Missouri urged people to bring pets inside. Farmers and ranchers prepared livestock. </p> <p>Kevin Hafner, who works for Express Ranches' operation in El Reno, Okla., said workers prepared enough feed to last their animals for 48 hours. Workers were preparing to chop ice on ponds so the cattle will have adequate water. </p> <p>"They are tough enough to handle it," Hafner said of the cattle. "They've got a good hair coat this year, but we have to have enough feed to give them energy to keep going." <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:5334c6b5-ea74-45df-9595-d4ca0093ece5As the protests in Cairo enter the evening of their seventh day, CNN takes a look at some of the key questions surrounding them. What are the protests about? The protesters are calling for democratization -- for a government that they feel represents...Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:54:49 -0600As the protests in Cairo enter the evening of their seventh day, CNN takes a look at some of the key questions surrounding them. <p>What are the protests about?</p> <p>The protesters are calling for democratization -- for a government that they feel represents them. They want President Hosni Mubarak, 82, to step down after 30 years holding onto power, and an end to what they complain is a corrupt regime. Some have called for the government to face a trial.</p> <p>The anger is driven largely by economic frustrations. Egypt has seen a dramatic rise in the cost of living in recent years. While the government has offered food subsidies to help people handle rising prices, many are struggling. </p> <p>Egypt's economy was stagnant for decades, but in the past 10 years started to grow, creating bigger differences between rich and poor, said Juan Cole, a Middle East historian at the University of Michigan. <div class="cnn_strylceclbtn" style="display: none;"></div> </p> <p> <div class="parentMediaContainer" id="videoContainerexpand15" style="display: none;"></div> <cite class="expCaption">Protesters demand Mubarak removal</cite> </p> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt cnn_strylftcexpbx" id="expand25"> <div class="cnn_strylceclbtn" style="display: none;"></div> <div class="parentMediaContainer" id="videoContainerexpand25" style="display: none;"></div> <cite class="expCaption">Mubarak asks people to form new Cabinet</cite> </div> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt cnn_strylftcexpbx" id="expand35"> <div class="cnn_strylceclbtn" style="display: none;"></div> <div class="parentMediaContainer" id="videoContainerexpand35" style="display: none;"> <div class="mediaContainer" id="videoContainerexpand35Media"></div> </div> <div class="clickToPlay" id="clickToPlayvideoContainerexpand35" style="cursor: pointer;"></div> <cite class="expCaption">Where does U.S. go from here with Egypt?</cite> <div class="cnn_strylceclbtn" style="display: none;"></div> <div class="parentMediaContainer" id="videoContainerexpand45" style="display: none;"></div> "And I think some of the protest is over the ways in which the labor movements have gotten left behind and haven't shared in the economic growth," he said.</div> <p>Why now? What sparked the protests?</p> <p>A wave of protests in nearby Tunisia which overthrew the government helped inspire people in other nearby countries, facing similar frustrations, that it was time for an uprising.</p> <p>But the spark, in many ways, was one young man. Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old college graduate in Tunisia, was unable to find work, so he set up a fruit cart. Police confiscated it, saying he had no permit. According to the Federation of Human Rights Leagues, police also beat him. Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest, and later died.</p> <p>His self-immolation triggered the huge protests in Tunisia, which in turn helped inspire people in other nearby countries, including Algeria and Yemen, to take to the streets as well. There have also been protests in Jordan and Sudan. A Facebook page calls for similar demonstrations in Syria.</p> <p>A popular Facebook page that helped organize the Cairo protests beginning January 25 was dedicated to Bouazizi.</p> <p>Who are the protesters?</p> <p>Many are young men. The majority of Egypt's population is under 30, and the vast majority of its unemployed are as well. While the protesters include people from different socio-economic levels and different parts of the country, there is a "high proportion of the educated middle class," said Cole.</p> <p>There's "a feeling amongst that middle class that they're not being given the opportunities in life that their degrees warrant -- what historians would call a 'blocked elite,'" Cole said.</p> <p>Have the protests been violent?</p> <p>The protesters have generally been peaceful, chanting slogans and holding signs. Last week, police clashed violently with some demonstrators, leaving some dead and others wounded. Once the government sent in the military to take the place of police, the clashes came to a halt. The two sides have generally gotten along well. Some protesters have even posed for pictures with members of the military on their tanks. At times, the protests have even taken on the feeling of a music festival, with people wandering around, chatting, and celebrating.</p> <p>"This is the start of the rest of my life," one jubilant young man who appeared to be in his 20s told CNN. "As cheesy as it sounds, that's exactly how I feel right now."</p> <p>How did chaos begin in some areas?</p> <p>Police disappeared from the streets in parts of Cairo and some other areas, and some police stations were ransacked. Over the weekend, looters attacked stores and homes and torched some cars, and some prisoners escaped.</p> <p>Men gathered in neighborhoods to create vigilante groups protecting their property. In some places, people handed out knives, sticks, clubs, and baseball bats to men and teenage boys, encouraging them to fight any looters who came along.</p> <p>Some Egyptians said they worry the chaos could be part of Mubarak's strategy, getting citizens angry at the protesters for creating havoc and excited for government security forces to come along and bring order. But the crime has also built more frustration against the government among many Egyptians. </p> <p>How many have died?</p> <p>While it's difficult to ascertain a solid death toll, Human Rights Watch staffers have confirmed more than 120 deaths in Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez, according to a researcher for the group in Cairo.</p> <p>How is the food supply?</p> <p>Many families are fast running out of staples, and they are either unable or unwilling to shop for groceries. "I have three children, and I only have enough to feed them for maybe two more days. After that I do not know what we will do," school administrator Gamalat Gadalla said.</p> <p>Grocers have closed up shop or are running out of supplies themselves. </p> <p>"With the curfew, there are no restaurants, food or gas. Basic goods will soon be in shortage," Sandmonkey, an Egyptian blogger said via Twitter.</p> <p class="cnnInline">Egyptian state-run Nile TV has set up a hotline for citizens to call in and report bread shortages. There has been no other indication of what the Egyptian government is doing to address the crisis.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:0f305cc2-d3d4-4b46-9962-1f9de50f26f6It&rsquo;s the latest litigation tactic in the online age: U.S. lawyers are trying to mine the private zones of Facebook and other social-media sites for photos, comments, status updates and other tidbits that might contradict what their opponents ar...Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:30:56 -0600<p class="reuters">It&rsquo;s the latest litigation tactic in the online age: U.S. lawyers are trying to mine the private zones of Facebook and other social-media sites for photos, comments, status updates and other tidbits that might contradict what their opponents are saying in court. And increasingly, judges in civil cases are granting access to online caches that had formerly been considered off-limits.</p> <p>Defense lawyers in personal-injury cases, in particular, are finding social networks to be a rich source of potentially exculpatory evidence. In one recent case, a New York woman who claimed to be bedridden after falling off a defective chair showed up in family Facebook photos smiling happily in front of her house.</p> <p>While judges have long allowed information gleaned from public portions of networking sites to be used as evidence in civil trials, materials that are password-protected or reserved for selected &ldquo;friends&rdquo; have been given a greater level of protection. But in recent months, two state courts have granted defendants broad access to &ldquo;private&rdquo; photos and comments. A federal court issued a similar ruling in 2009.</p> <p>This shifting legal balance between privacy and evidence-gathering reflects the broader debate that has been raging over what level of privacy, if any, citizens can expect as they put more and more personal information online. And privacy, at least on this front, seems to be losing. &ldquo;This is beginning to catch on across the country,&rdquo; said Jim Dempsey, vice president of public policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a liberal think tank. &ldquo;You do have a right of privacy in your private Facebook postings. But in the context of litigation, that right can be overcome.&rdquo;</p> <h5>COURT-ORDERED CONSENT</h5> <p>Postings on social networks are generally governed by the federal Stored Communications Act, which regulates how private information can be disseminated in non-criminal matters. The law has been interpreted to mean that the sites don&rsquo;t have to hand over users&rsquo; personal data in response to a civil subpoena. Defense lawyers, though, have devised a strategy to work around this roadblock: They ask judges to order plaintiffs to sign consent forms granting defendants access to their private material. The defendants then attach these consent forms when they subpoena the sites. In these subpoenas, the plaintiffs are essentially authorizing the sites to hand over printouts of the private portions of their pages to the defendants.</p> <p>A personal-injury case in Erie, Pennsylvania, shows how online musings intended as private can now make their way into litigation. In 2007, a racecar driver named Bill McMillen sued the owners of a local track, Hummingbird Speedway, claiming that he was seriously injured and lost &ldquo;the enjoyment of life&rdquo; as a result of an accident on the track. The lawyer for the speedway, Gary Bax, said he checked out McMillen on Facebook and found comments and photos suggesting that after the accident, McMillen went on a fishing trip to Florida and attended the Dayton 500.</p> <p>Bax filed a motion to compel McMillen to turn over his Facebook and MySpace user names and passwords, so Bax could dig deeper. In September, Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas Judge John Henry Foradora granted the motion, noting that Facebook and News Corp&rsquo;s MySpace are specifically designed for sharing personal information. &ldquo;While it is conceivable that a person could use them as forums to divulge and seek advice on personal and private matters,&rdquo; Judge Foradora wrote, &ldquo;it would be unrealistic to expect that such disclosures would be considered confidential.&rdquo; A trial has not yet been scheduled.</p> <h5>SMILEY FACES</h5> <p>A similar ruling was handed down in the case involving the woman who claimed she fell off a defective chair. Kathleen Romano alleges she suffered &ldquo;serious permanent personal injuries&rdquo; due to the negligence of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based furniture company Steelcase. But according to Steelcase lawyer James Gallagher, Romano&rsquo;s MySpace postings regularly included smiley faces, suggesting that she was happy. Gallagher, a partner at Gallagher &amp; Faller in Garden City, New York, said he also tracked down the Facebook page of Romano&rsquo;s daughter, which, he said, included postings and photos indicating that the family had traveled to Florida, contradicting Romano&rsquo;s claims that she is homebound. &ldquo;We figured something smells here,&rdquo; Gallagher said, &ldquo;and we wanted to see what else was in there.&rdquo;</p> <p>New York Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Arlen Spinner granted Gallagher&rsquo;s motion to compel Romano to provide access to the private portions of her Facebook and MySpace pages. &ldquo;Plaintiffs who place their physical condition in controversy,&rdquo; Judge Spinner wrote, &ldquo;may not shield from disclosure material which is necessary to the defense of the action.&rdquo;</p> <p>Defense lawyers in both the Romano and McMillen cases said they will file subpoenas with Facebook and MySpace that incorporate the consent forms. Romano&rsquo;s attorney, Robert S. Kelner, said that if the case doesn&rsquo;t settle, he will appeal Judge Spinner&rsquo;s decision as overly broad. &ldquo;If you have a private page, you may invite very few people and you may disclose very few things,&rdquo; Kelner said. &ldquo;That is not something that should ever be open to a blanket authorization.&rdquo;</p> <p>In this case, Facebook is trying to stay out of it: The company filed a motion arguing that defense lawyers should seek access to plaintiff&rsquo;s online material directly &mdash; and not via a subpoena to the site. Facebook acknowledges, though, that litigants can be compelled to turn over private communications. &rdquo;If a person believes that their Facebook materials are relevant to a case, they may have a duty to preserve and produce those materials,&rdquo; company spokesman Andrew Noyce said in an e-mail to Reuters Legal. MySpace did not file a response to the motion in the Romano case and did not respond to a request for comment.</p> <p>In his September ruling, Judge Spinner cited a 2009 decision in U.S. District Court in Colorado involving two repairmen who sued Wal-Mart after an electrical accident in one of the company&rsquo;s stores. In the federal case, Magistrate Judge Michael J. Watanabe ruled that the plaintiffs&rsquo; private comments on Facebook, MySpace and Meetup.com were subject to subpoenas sought by Wal-Mart. The content of the sites are not protected by doctor-patient privilege or subject to a protective order, Judge Watanabe ruled, because the subpoenas were &ldquo;reasonably calculated&rdquo; to discover evidence that might be relevant to the lawsuit.</p> <p>To be sure, not all defense requests for access to private postings are being granted. In November, a New York State Appeals Court denied a defense request to compel the plaintiff in an insurance dispute to turn over photographs from the private portion of her Facebook profile. The court found that the request amounted to a &ldquo;fishing expedition,&rdquo; though it ruled that a more narrowly targeted request could be filed.</p> <p>Still, the cases seem to be trending in favor of the defense, and defense lawyers are expected to keep pressing. Steelcase attorney Gallagher said he has received about a dozen requests from other defense attorneys for his briefs. &ldquo;This is a wave that is going to explode all over plaintiffs&rsquo; law,&rdquo; he said.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> </p>urn:uuid:0c4d7026-967a-44db-a727-6e56520905f4Bank of America Corp.&rsquo;s Countrywide mortgage unit has been sued by investors claiming they were victimized in a &ldquo;massive fraud&rdquo; when they bought mortgage-backed securities. The lawsuit was filed on Monday in a New York state court b...Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:37:42 -0600<p class="reuters">Bank of America Corp.&rsquo;s Countrywide mortgage unit has been sued by investors claiming they were victimized in a &ldquo;massive fraud&rdquo; when they bought mortgage-backed securities.</p> <p>The lawsuit was filed on Monday in a New York state court by 12 plaintiffs including the TIAA-CREF fund family, New York Life Insurance Co. and Dexia Holdings Inc.</p> <p>According to the complaint, the investors bought hundreds of millions of dollars of Countrywide securities from 2005 to 2007 that they thought were &ldquo;conservative, low-risk investments.&rdquo;</p> <p>The investors said Countrywide misrepresented the securities&rsquo; safety in offering documents and elsewhere, and compromised their investments by ignoring its underwriting guidelines.</p> <p>As a result, the complaint said, most of the securities now carry &ldquo;junk&rdquo; credit ratings rather than the &ldquo;triple-A&rdquo; ratings they once had, resulting in &ldquo;significant losses.&rdquo;</p> <p>The plaintiffs want compensatory and punitive damages.</p> <p>Bank of America spokeswoman Shirley Norton said in a statement that the lender would review the lawsuit, &ldquo;but on first glance these sound like large, sophisticated investors who now want to blame someone for the fact that the declining economy caused their investment to lose value.&rdquo;</p> <p>Other defendants include several former Countrywide officials, including longtime Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo.</p> <p>David Siegel, a lawyer for Mozilo, said the lawsuit has no basis in law or fact.</p> <p>&ldquo;We expect to prevail against these plaintiffs as we have against other sophisticated MBS investors,&rdquo; Siegel said.</p> <p>Mozilo agreed in October to a $67.5 million settlement of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil fraud lawsuit accusing him of misleading investors.</p> <p>Countrywide had been the largest U.S. mortgage lender before it was bought in 2008 by Bank of America.</p> <p>In the fourth quarter of 2010, Bank of America took a $2 billion writedown on Countrywide. It also set aside $4.1 billion for legal costs tied to home loans it is buying or is likely to buy back from investors.</p> <p>The insurer Allstate Corp. sued Bank of America last month over the alleged misrepresentation of risks on more than $700 million of mortgage debt it bought from Countrywide.</p> <p>The case is Dexia Holdings Inc. et al v. Countrywide Financial Corp. et al, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 650185/2011.</p>urn:uuid:d3a9305c-a767-430b-8440-bef04294367aRate reduction The easiest way to lower your payment is to refinance your current mortgage to a lower rate. While rates are not near the rock-bottom levels of the last several years, they're still low when compared to the historical rate climate. If ...Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:19:46 -0600<h2>Rate reduction</h2> <p>The easiest way to lower your payment is to refinance your current mortgage to a lower rate. While rates are not near the rock-bottom levels of the last several years, they're still low when compared to the historical rate climate. If you didn't cash in on these low rates, you still may be pleasantly surprised at what a mortgage refinance could do for you.</p> <h2>The thrill of a single bill</h2> <p>How many credit cards do you have? Too many? If you have multiple pieces of plastic generating multiple monthly bills, consider a debt consolidation mortgage loan. Whether you consolidate your debts into a new first or second mortgage loan, you'll most likely lower your overall monthly payments. Debt consolidation works because the rates for credit cards are generally much higher than those for mortgage loans. Home loans are also tax-deductible, another reason to purge the plastic.</p> <h2>Coming to terms with a long-term loan</h2> <p>Another way to lower your monthly payment is to increase the repayment term of your loan. Many people switch from 15-year to 30-year mortgages under this approach, although there are 40- and 50-year mortgages, as well. While this definitely frees up short-term money, you'll eventually wind paying more money in interest payments over the long-term.</p> <p>If the monthly bills have you singing the budgetary blues, take a good look at your mortgage payment options. Start checking out rates and crunching numbers on our mortgage loan calculator. The results might show you just how easy it can be to move out of the red and into the black-and into the green of cold cash.</p>urn:uuid:8b996951-65aa-4880-b456-d9abb6905efb1. Stay healthy Yes, this is easier said than done, but staying healthy goes a long way toward controlling health insurance costs. If you're buying an individual health plan, you'll be charged based on your health, including weight, cholesterol, blo...Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:17:15 -0600<p><strong>1. Stay healthy<br /> </strong></p> <p>Yes, this is easier said than done, but staying healthy goes a long way toward controlling health insurance costs. If you're buying an individual health plan, you'll be charged based on your health, including weight, cholesterol, blood pressure and other pre-existing health conditions.</p> <p>The uninsured provide a good snapshot of what happens when routine medical care is overlooked or delayed. An October 2007 report by the National Coalition on Health Care pointed out the uninsured receive less preventive care and thus aren&rsquo;t diagnosed until they are more advanced disease stages. Once diagnosed, they tend to receive less care and suffer higher mortality rates than insured individuals.</p> <p>Many insurance plans cover 100 percent of wellness care for routine checkups, immunizations and diagnostic tests.</p> <p><strong>2. Stop smoking<br /> </strong></p> <p>You've heard all the reasons why you should quit smoking, but it's also bad for your health insurance premium.</p> <p>"If you use tobacco, quit &mdash; smokeless or any other type," says Laden. "This can result in savings in your health insurance after a period of time, generally a year, depending on the insurance company. The reduction is significant, so it's definitely something to consider."</p> <p>Health insurers may pay for smoking-cessation programs. At renewal time, having quit smoking can amount to substantial savings.</p> <p><strong>3. Increase your deductible<br /> </strong></p> <p>Whether you are enrolled in a group or individual plan, the more you pay out of pocket, the less you will have to pay in premiums. You may want to think of your insurance as a safety net for major health disasters rather than a payer of all routine medical costs.</p> <p>According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the lower your deductible, the more likely you will make a claim with the health insurance company. Health insurance companies compensate for this by increasing the premium on low-deductible plans. In order to get more bang for your buck, set your deductible at $1,000 or higher.</p> <p>If you like this strategy, consider a Consumer-Driven Health Plan (CDHP) or a High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). These plans have high deductibles.</p> <p>Employers could also offer a HDHP option at open enrollment time.</p> <p><strong>4. Change your co-insurance ratio<br /> </strong></p> <p>Your co-insurance ratio is how much you will pay after you have met your deductible.</p> <p>A common ratio is 80/20. This means that after you pay your deductible toward health care expenses, your insurer pays 80 percent of the bill and you pay 20 percent. Changing this ratio so you pay more will mean a lower health insurance premium. Just as with raising your deductible, you have to weigh the costs versus risks.</p> <p><strong><br /> 5. Pair a high-deductible health plan with an HSA (Health Savings Account)<br /> </strong></p> <p>Often high-deductible plans are paired with a health savings account. Pre-tax contributions can be rolled into your plan each year. Employers and their employees may contribute to this account. Then you pay health care expenses from your Health Savings Account until it&rsquo;s exhausted.</p> <br /> <p>"HSA plans can help you save on both your health care needs and your taxes," says Laden. "Our customers typically save 50 percent on HSA-plan premiums when you compare them to more traditional plans."</p> <p>Compare your anticipated health expenses with potential savings. The young and healthy could fare well with an HDHP paired with an HSA. HSAcenter.com, a site from Golden Rule, provides a calculator for comparing a traditional health care plan with an HSA to estimate cost savings.</p> <p>For more on health care savings accounts, read health care account comparisons: FSA, HRA and MSA.</p> <p><strong><br /> 6. Consider a major medical health plan<br /> </strong></p> <p>Major medical health plans, sometimes called catastrophic health insurance, offer limited insurance coverage with a high deductible, typically $1,000 for an individual and $2,000 for a family. Premiums are low because the insurance is intended for medical emergencies. It does not pay for regular doctor visits but will cover major hospital and medical expenses including hospital stays, X-rays and surgery.</p> <p><strong>7. No "extreme" anything<br /> </strong></p> <p>Abandon dangerous hobbies and recreational activities such as skydiving, mountain climbing or NASCAR. Anything that poses a significant injury risk will super-charge your insurance premiums.</p> <p><strong>8. Is your doctor in or out?<br /> </strong></p> <p>If the doctor you like is already in-network and the lab he works with is also in-network, an HMO can be as adequate as a PPO and offer lower premiums.</p> <p>No matter what plan type you have, "make sure you do business with an insurance company that has a strong national network," advises Laden. "Networks provide substantial savings on health care because they negotiate lower rates that can result in substantial savings on your health care, even before you meet your deductible." She notes that Golden Rule's network discounts generally save customers 30 to 40 percent.</p> <p><strong>9. Trade up group insurance plans<br /> </strong></p> <p>If both you and your spouse have group health insurance plans available through work, calculate which one will cover both your needs at the lowest cost.</p> <p>For some people, group rates might not offer the best value. "If you are fairly young and healthy, you could pay far less in premiums for a private health insurance policy rather than a group plan," says Robert Zirkelbach of America's Health Insurance Plans, a health insurer trade group.</p> <p><strong>10. Regularly reassess your insurance needs<br /> </strong></p> <p>You may be missing out on savings simply because you've stuck with the same plan year after year while your situation has changed.</p> <p>"You should periodically reassess your insurance needs," suggests Laden. "Things you should think about include: Do you have children that go to the doctor often? Do you take a lot of prescription drugs? Are tax breaks important to you? Are you willing to assume the cost of routine health in exchange for much lower premiums?"</p> <p>If you&rsquo;re in the market for a new plan, Laden recommends making sure the companies are reputable. Ask friends, family members and colleagues about their experiences. Check financial strength ratings&nbsp;to make sure the company is financially sound. In addition, many state insurance departments&nbsp;publish consumer complaint rankings of the insurers doing business in their state.</p> <p><strong>11. Lobby for group plan savings at work<br /> </strong></p> <p>If you buy a group health plan through work, you may think you're stuck with whatever is offered every year.</p> <p>But employees, especially those in smaller companies, can rally for better coverage options. There may be numerous "optional" benefits tacked on to your group health plan that are causing your group rate to skyrocket. If you and your co-workers agree that some coverage options are unnecessary (for instance, infertility treatment, mental health treatment and even dental), ask your employer drop them at renewal time.</p> <p><strong>12. Evaluate the road ahead<br /> </strong></p> <p>Zirkelbach advises that you consider your <em>future</em> health care situation when you buy a policy, so the coverage will be there when you need it.</p> <p>For example, if you are planning to start a family, secure maternity coverage now; it will be impossible to buy maternity insurance&nbsp;once you are pregnant.</p> <p>And finally, "Never go without health insurance coverage," says Laden. "I can't emphasize this enough. This is never a good idea. In times of economic strife, I understand where it can be tempting, but it you were in an accident, injured or are struck with a major illness, the cost of medical care can wipe you out financially. People rarely go into medical bankruptcy when they have health insurance; they do go into bankruptcy when they are not covered and have to go to the hospital."</p>urn:uuid:599a575e-9c89-4557-9dfc-d868dc2eeafb1. Request higher deductibles. The deductible is the amount of money you have to fork over before your insurance policy comes to the rescue. By bumping your deductible up from $200 to $500, you could lower the cost of your collision and comprehensive...Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:14:43 -0600<p><strong>1. Request higher deductibles.</strong> The deductible is the amount of money you have to fork over before your insurance policy comes to the rescue. By bumping your deductible up from $200 to $500, you could lower the cost of your collision and comprehensive coverage by 15 percent to 30 percent. By increasing it to $1,000, you could decrease that cost by at least 40 percent.</p> <p sizset="0" sizcache="2"><strong>2. Forgo coverage you don&rsquo;t need.</strong> Think about dropping collision and/or comprehensive coverage on older cars with a low market value. Such coverage often is not worth it because any claim you make probably won&rsquo;t exceed the cost of the insurance and the deductible amount. To assess your car&rsquo;s current value, visit Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds.com.</p> <p><strong>3. Avoid duplicating medical coverage.</strong> If you already have good health, life and disability insurance, buy only the minimum personal injury protection required by the state where you live.</p> <p sizset="2" sizcache="2"><strong>4. Purchase a low-profile car.</strong> It&rsquo;s more expensive to insure a vehicle that&rsquo;s expensive to repair, popular with thieves or known for not having the greatest safety record. For a rundown of vehicles&rsquo; risk levels, visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety&rsquo;s Web site.&nbsp;&nbsp;(To check on older models, go to the bottom of the page.)</p> <p><strong>5. Carpool or drive less. </strong>Many insurance companies offer &ldquo;low-mileage discounts&rdquo; to policyholders who carpool to work or drive a lower-than-average number of miles each year. You can call your insurer and find out whether you qualify.</p> <p><strong>6. Opt for safety gear.</strong> You can qualify for a discount on many policies if you have air bags, automatic seat belts, anti-lock brakes and daytime running lights. An approved alarm system or other anti-theft device can give you additional savings.</p> <p><strong>7. Seek out discounts for teens.</strong> Insure teenagers on the parents&rsquo; policy rather than a separate policy. Teens who maintain good grades and pass an approved drivers&rsquo; education course usually can qualify for reduced rates. An additional discount may come into play if your child goes to college more than 100 miles from home and doesn&rsquo;t bring a car along. </p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>8. Combine policies with one carrier. </strong>You may save money if you insure all your vehicles, including trailers and recreational vehicles, on a single policy. Your car premium also may go down if you buy homeowners&rsquo; or life insurance from the same company.</p> <p><strong>9. Ask about other discounts. </strong>You also might be able to pay less if you&rsquo;re older than 50 or 55 and/or retired; if you&rsquo;ve had no accidents or moving violations in three years; or if you&rsquo;re a longtime customer. Keep an eye on the bottom line, though. Call a few other insurers to make sure you&rsquo;re paying the lowest overall amount. </p> <p><strong>10. Pause before paying extra for roadside assistance.</strong> It might be good to line up a roadside assistance plan elsewhere because a tow could increase your auto insurance premium and might even affect your eligibility for coverage. What&rsquo;s more, you may already have an adequate roadside plan through your credit card.</p>urn:uuid:6071c192-9ebd-4a1b-9664-fe29d53f2cd6Raise Your Deductible Deductibles are the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance company starts to pay a claim, according to the terms of your policy. The higher your deductible, the more money you can save on your premiu...Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:37:05 -0600<p><b>Raise Your Deductible</b></p> <p>Deductibles are the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance company starts to pay a claim, according to the terms of your policy. The higher your deductible, the more money you can save on your premiums. Nowadays, most insurance companies recommend a deductible of at least $500. If you can afford to raise your deductible to $1,000, you may save as much as 25 percent. Remember, if you live in a disaster-prone area, your insurance policy may have a separate deductible for certain kinds of damage. If you live near the coast in the East, you may have a separate windstorm deductible; if you live in a state vulnerable to hail storms, you may have a separate deductible for hail; and if you live in an earthquake-prone area, your earthquake policy has a deductible. </p> <p><b>Don&rsquo;t confuse what you paid for your house with rebuilding costs</b></p> <p>The land under your house isn't at risk from theft, windstorm, fire and the other perils covered in your homeowners policy. So don't include its value in deciding how much homeowners insurance to buy. If you do, you will pay a higher premium than you should.</p> <p><b>Buy your home and auto policies from the same insurer</b></p> <p>Some companies that sell homeowners, auto and liability coverage will take 5 to 15 percent off your premium if you buy two or more policies from them. But make certain this combined price is lower than buying the different coverages from different companies.</p> <p><b>Make your home more disaster resistant</b></p> <p>Find out from your insurance agent or company representative what steps you can take to make your home more resistant to windstorms and other natural disasters. You may be able to save on your premiums by adding storm shutters, reinforcing your roof or buying stronger roofing materials. Older homes can be retrofitted to make them better able to withstand earthquakes. In addition, consider modernizing your heating, plumbing and electrical systems to reduce the risk of fire and water damage.</p> <p><b>Improve your home security</b></p> <p>You can usually get discounts of at least 5 percent for a smoke detector, burglar alarm or dead-bolt locks. Some companies offer to cut your premium by as much as 15 or 20 percent if you install a sophisticated sprinkler system and a fire and burglar alarm that rings at the police, fire or other monitoring stations. These systems aren't cheap and not every system qualifies for a discount. Before you buy such a system, find out what kind your insurer recommends, how much the device would cost and how much you'd save on premiums.</p> <p><b>Seek out other discounts</b></p> <p>Companies offer several types of discounts, but they don't all offer the same discount or the same amount of discount in all states. For example, since retired people stay at home more than working people they are less likely to be burglarized and may spot fires sooner, too. Retired people also have more time for maintaining their homes. If you're at least 55 years old and retired, you may qualify for a discount of up to 10 percent at some companies. Some employers and professional associations administer group insurance programs that may offer a better deal than you can get elsewhere.</p> <p><b>Maintain a good credit record</b></p> <p>Establishing a solid credit history can cut your insurance costs. Insurers are increasingly using credit information to price homeowners insurance policies. In most states, your insurer must advise you of any adverse action, such as a higher rate, at which time you should verify the accuracy of the information on which the insurer relied. To protect your credit standing, pay your bills on time, don't obtain more credit than you need and keep your credit balances as low as possible. Check your credit record on a regular basis and have any errors corrected promptly so that your record remains accurate.</p> <p><b>Stay with the same insurer</b></p> <p>If you've kept your coverage with a company for several years, you may receive a special discount for being a long-term policyholder. Some insurers will reduce their premiums by 5 percent if you stay with them for three to five years and by 10 percent if you remain a policyholder for six years or more. But make certain to periodically compare this price with that of other policies.</p> <p><b>1Review the limits in your policy and the value of your possessions at least once a year</b></p> <p>You want your policy to cover any major purchases or additions to your home. But you don't want to spend money for coverage you don't need. If your five-year-old fur coat is no longer worth the $5,000 you paid for it, you'll want to reduce or cancel your floater (extra insurance for items whose full value is not covered by standard homeowners policies such as expensive jewelry, high-end computers and valuable art work) and pocket the difference.</p> <p><b>Look for private insurance if you are in a government plan</b></p> <p>If you live in a high-risk area -- say, one that is especially vulnerable to coastal storms, fires, or crime -- and have been buying your homeowners insurance through a government plan, you should check with an insurance agent or company representative or contact your state department of insurance for the names of companies that might be interested in your business. You may find that there are steps you can take that would allow you to buy insurance at a lower price in the private market.</p> <p><b>When you&rsquo;re buying a home, consider the cost of homeowners insurance</b></p> <p>You may pay less for insurance if you buy a house close to a fire hydrant or in a community that has a professional rather than a volunteer fire department. It may also be cheaper if your home&rsquo;s electrical, heating and plumbing systems are less than 10 years old. If you live in the East, consider a brick home because it's more wind resistant. If you live in an earthquake-prone area, look for a wooden frame house because it is more likely to withstand this type of disaster. Choosing wisely could cut your premiums by 5 to 15 percent.</p> <p>Check the CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) report of the home you are thinking of buying. These reports contain the insurance claim history of the property and can help you judge some of the problems the house may have.</p> <p>Remember that flood insurance and earthquake damage are not covered by a standard homeowners policy. If you buy a house in a flood-prone area, you'll have to pay for a flood insurance policy that costs an average of $400 a year. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides useful information on flood insurance on its Web site at FloodSmart.gov A separate earthquake policy is available from most insurance companies. The cost of the coverage will depend on the likelihood of earthquakes in your area. In California the California Earthquake Authority (<a href="http://www.earthquakeauthority.com">www.earthquakeauthority.com</a> provides this coverage.</p> <p>If you have questions about insurance for any of your possessions, be sure to ask your agent or company representative when you're shopping around for a policy. For example, if you run a business out of your home, be sure to discuss coverage for that business. Most homeowners policies cover business equipment in the home, but only up to $2,500 and they offer no business liability insurance. Although you want to lower your homeowners insurance cost, you also want to make certain you have all the coverage you need. </p>urn:uuid:dd0cb567-ae45-4ac9-bd0f-ac21310f51beHere&rsquo;s a sliver of good news for people who may get involved in a car wreck in 2011 or after. The automobile insurance liability limits that were raised from the decades-old minimum of $20,000 to $25,000 in 2008 will increase again, to $30,000 ...Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:41:59 -0600<p style="text-align: left;">Here&rsquo;s a sliver of good news for people who may get involved in a car wreck in 2011 or after. The automobile insurance liability limits that were raised from the decades-old minimum of $20,000 to $25,000 in 2008 will increase again, to $30,000 effective January 1, 2011. This will be for policies written or renewed after that date.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">The minimum limits in Texas have lagged behind inflation for many years, but are now at least showing some movement. The bad news is that this is the last increase mentioned in the law, and it will take a new law to increase the limits further.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">The new limits are $30,000 per person, $60,000 per incident, and $25,000 for property damage.</p>urn:uuid:49863c1d-0165-4f1b-8d70-e0c68e8273f9Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin plans to step down when his term ends Feb. 1. Geeslin sent a letter to the governor asking that he not be reappointed. "It just seems to be the right time to transition and step aside and let someone else lea...Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:34:53 -0600<p class="Business-DigestKicker" id="id2417934">Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin plans to step down when his term ends Feb. 1. Geeslin sent a letter to the governor asking that he not be reappointed.</p> <p class="Text-TextRagRight1P0Indent HoustonText Roman" id="id2424480">"It just seems to be the right time to transition and step aside and let someone else lead," said Geeslin, who has had the job for five and a half years. He said he hasn't decided what he'll do next.</p> <p class="Text-TextRagRight1P0Indent HoustonText" id="id2424508">Geeslin oversaw the state insurance market as it went through legislative reforms that deregulated much of the home insurance industry and sought to steady the market after mold claims sent premiums soaring. A rate dispute with State Farm, however, remains unresolved. Also, windstorm insurance has become more expensive along the coast since hurricanes battered the area.</p>urn:uuid:bda548f4-d9ad-48f4-90f1-ef8cb371c5a1 Texas police are taking a stand against drivers with no car insurance policy. Because having liability car insurance is required by law in the state of Texas, some cities are adopting a &ldquo;no tolerance&rdquo; policy. In 2009, the state of Texas ...Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:32:13 -0600<div class="ve2_post_entry"> <p>Texas police are taking a stand against drivers with no <strong>car insurance policy</strong>. Because having liability car insurance is required by law in the state of Texas, some cities are adopting a &ldquo;no tolerance&rdquo; policy.</p> <p>In 2009, the state of Texas linked its vehicle registrations with insurance policies to verify coverage in a program called TexasSure. According to the data collected by this program, more than 23% of drivers across the state are uninsured.</p> <p>Efforts to combat uninsured motorists include heavy fines for those caught without auto insurance coverage. For a first offense, the fine ranges from $175 to $350. The fine jumps dramatically for a second offense to as much as $1,000, and the driver&rsquo;s license will be suspended. On top of these penalties, drivers without insurance must pay a surcharge of $250 each year for 3 years to maintain their driver&rsquo;s license.</p> <p><a href="http://www.theautoinsurance.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/car-insurance-policy2.jpg" title="car insurance policy" class="fancybox" rel="fancybox" jQuery1295458231120="4"></a>Within the 3 counties that Corpus Christi spans, about 25% of motorists are uninsured. The numbers are actually higher now than when Texas first instituted its TexasSure program. Then, the number of uninsured registrations was at 23%. With the numbers now greater than the state&rsquo;s overall numbers, Corpus Christi Police Chief Tony Briggs is among those cracking down on drivers without a car insurance policy.</p> <p>Stiff fines aren&rsquo;t the only weapon being used by Texas police. In Corpus Christi and other cities, police will be setting up check points to verify insurance. Those caught driving without insurance won&rsquo;t just be fined. Their vehicle will be towed to the impound yard where it will be stored until insurance is obtained. Then, the owner must also pay the impound storage fee to retrieve the vehicle.</p> <p>Not only is Texas taking a stand against uninsured motorists, the state is also hitting the wallets of those who have only the minimum liability car insurance. In 2011, Texas will increase the required minimum for medical coverage from $25,000 to $30,000 per year. This hike will cause an increase of about $40 a year, on average, for most policies.</p> <p>This increase is leaving some drivers concerned about their auto insurance coverage. With a tight economy, everyone is looking to lower bills, not raise them. Although the increase amounts to about $3.33 per month, the increase may be enough to strain some wallets. Those feeling the strain may reevaluate their policy and start looking for another company to get low cost auto insurance. Others may drop their policy altogether, risking heavy fines.</p> <p>According to one insurance agent, the increase in premiums is directly related to the hike in minimum requirements. Basically, clients are helping the insurance company pay for damage done to another person. The rate of increase will vary depending on a person&rsquo;s personal driving record. A poor driving record will pay a higher rate on the new coverage, whereas those with good driving records may actually pay a little less.</p> <p>The state of Texas isn&rsquo;t putting up with uninsured motorists. Its strong stand against uninsured driving is designed to cause uninsured motorists to seek out low cost auto insurance. Those with the minimum required liability car insurance will see a slight change in their car insurance policy and an increase in their premiums.</p> <div id="active-share-comment-marker"></div> </div>urn:uuid:2c77f369-f892-4280-a210-d57a1addcb3aThis is a really good site to see things that happened on this day in history. http://www.on-this-day.com/Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:36:50 -0600This is a really good site to see things that happened on this day in history. <a href="http://www.on-this-day.com/">http://www.on-this-day.com/</a>urn:uuid:88b324d6-50fc-48f1-b501-e074a5a452d9This is a really good site to check to see what other people were born on this day. http://born-on-this-day.com/Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:35:09 -0600This is a really good site to check to see what other people were born on this day. <a href="http://born-on-this-day.com/">http://born-on-this-day.com/</a>urn:uuid:14ea92f8-3272-46df-901b-0b701c47945eThe U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission will set up its first office outside the United States in China in a bid to reduce the amount of dangerous products reaching the American market. Commission head Inez Tenenbaum told reporters the &ldquo;his...Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:17:27 -0600<p>The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission will set up its first office outside the United States in China in a bid to reduce the amount of dangerous products reaching the American market.</p> <p>Commission head Inez Tenenbaum told reporters the &ldquo;history-making&rdquo; office also aims to make it easier for the U.S. to raise concerns with the Chinese government about product safety problems, such as faulty drywall and toxic metals in toys.</p> <p>&ldquo;Rather than rely on recalls to help us enforce our standards in the United States, (we will) move toward being more proactive and prevent problems from occurring in the first place,&rdquo; said Tenenbaum. &ldquo;By having a proactive preventative posture, we can reduce the number of recalls and keep our consumers safe and also prevent the loss of revenue and damage to a manufacturer&rsquo;s brand.&rsquo;</p> <p>Tenenbaum said choosing China as the commission&rsquo;s first overseas location made sense because 45 percent of the consumer products and 90 percent of all toys sold in the United States come from China and Hong Kong.</p> <p>China has been working to improve foreign consumer confidence in its exports after a series of food and product safety scandals, such as tainted fish and the use of lead-based paints on toys and other goods.</p> <p>The CPSC office, located within the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, will have just two employees to start, an attache and a safety specialist, who will work with their Chinese counterparts and help educate Chinese manufacturers about American product standards, Tenenbaum said.</p> <p>U.S. recalls of Chinese products have fallen, from 230 in 2009 to 220 last year, signaling improvements in China&rsquo;s manufacturing oversight, Tenenbaum said. But concerns remain about Chinese lead-tainted products, poorly designed toys with small parts that could choke children, counterfeit electrical products, and children&rsquo;s clothes that have dangerous drawstrings or are made with flammable material.</p> <p>Tenenbaum was to meet this week with officials from one of China&rsquo;s main product safety bodies, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Investigation and Quarantine, and said she would raise two major consumer product issues in the meeting.</p> <p>The first was the continuing problem of toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and antimony showing up in Chinese-made toys sold in the U.S. Last year, there were only three recalls of Chinese products tainted with lead but U.S. regulations are about to become stricter as of August this year, limiting allowable lead levels to just 100 parts per million from the current allowed amount of 300 parts per million.</p> <p>Another issue of concern is a floundering campaign by American consumers to get <a href="http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2011/01/11/180011.htm">compensation for Chinese drywall</a> that emitted noxious gases, damaging wiring and making homes unlivable. Thousands of American households were affected, mainly in Louisiana, as new buildings were constructed after Hurricane Katrina, and in Florida.</p> <p>Tenenbaum said she has repeatedly asked for the Chinese government&rsquo;s help in getting 13 Chinese companies alleged to be responsible to respond to compensation demands but none have come forward.</p>urn:uuid:362c298d-7b81-40c4-8230-e3d88b661460President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he would order a government-wide review of regulations with the goal of eliminating those that hurt job creation and make the U.S. economy less competitive. In an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal, Obama sa...Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:10:32 -0600<p class="reuters">President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he would order a government-wide review of regulations with the goal of eliminating those that hurt job creation and make the U.S. economy less competitive.</p> <p>In an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal, Obama said some government regulations have placed &ldquo;unreasonable burdens on business &mdash; burdens that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs.&rdquo;</p> <p>He said he would require that in the future government agencies &ldquo;ensure that regulations protect our safety, health and environment while promoting economic growth.&rdquo;</p> <p>The president has recently ratcheted up efforts to soothe relations with the business community, after alienating corporate America through rhetorical attacks against Wall Street and an agenda heavy on regulation.</p> <p>Business leaders say government regulations, including those being written for the healthcare overall and financial reform, have hurt job creation at a time of high unemployment.</p> <p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a review that will help bring order to regulations that have become a patchwork of overlapping rules, the result of tinkering by administrations and legislators of both parties and the influence of special interests in Washington over decades,&rdquo; Obama wrote.</p> <p>Noting that small businesses create most new jobs in the economy, he said he would direct the government to make a greater effort to reduce the burden regulations place on them.</p> <p>While vowing to eliminate rules that are &ldquo;not worth the cost, or that are just plain dumb,&rdquo; the president said his administration wouldn&rsquo;t shy away from writing new rules to address obvious gaps in government oversight.</p>urn:uuid:c66eba98-4a8f-48fa-a6c3-2a75f2ed10ecThe U.S. House of Representatives will resume action next week on repealing President Barack Obama&rsquo;s landmark healthcare overhaul, a House Republican spokesman said Thursday. The House had been expected to act this week on the repeal bill, but ...Sat, 15 Jan 2011 11:44:48 -0600<p class="reuters">The U.S. House of Representatives will resume action next week on repealing President Barack Obama&rsquo;s landmark healthcare overhaul, a House Republican spokesman said Thursday.</p> <p>The House had been expected to act this week on the repeal bill, but the vote was postponed after a shooting spree in Arizona killed six people and critically wounded U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords.</p> <p>&ldquo;As the White House noted, it is important for Congress to get back to work, and to that end we will resume thoughtful consideration of the health care bill next week,&rdquo; said Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.</p> <p>&ldquo;Americans have legitimate concerns about the cost of the new healthcare law and its effect on the ability to grow jobs in our country,&rdquo; he added.</p> <p>The vote is set for Wednesday, said another Republican aide who asked not to be identified.</p> <p>The repeal vote would fulfill a campaign promise of Republicans who won control of the House in November elections. But the measure will likely die in the Senate, where Democrats remain in control.</p> <p>Even if repeal were to pass the Congress, Obama would veto it, the White House has said.</p> <p>Conservative Tea Party activists, who were crucial to Republicans winning control of the House and picking up seats in the Senate, deride the healthcare law as one more government intrusion on the heels of Washington&rsquo;s bailout of troubled banks and the automotive industry.</p> <p>The House is also expected to vote on a second measure that would instruct three House committees to develop replacement healthcare legislation that would, among other things, &ldquo;foster economic growth and private sector job creation by eliminating job-killing policies and regulations.&rdquo;</p> <p>Democrats argue the healthcare overhaul that was signed into law last year will expand coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and help rein in soaring medical costs. But Republicans argue the coverage mandate in the legislation is unconstitutional and that penalties for employers who do not provide coverage discourage hiring.</p> <p>Some parts of the law already have gone into effect, with more set to roll into place over the next four to five years.</p> <p>The Congressional Budget Office has said that repealing the legislation would add $230 billion to budget deficits over the next decade. But Republicans have largely dismissed that estimate, arguing that the assumptions are flawed and that over time the healthcare law would deepen deficits.</p> <p>There are widespread concerns over long-term U.S. debt burdens. The rising cost of government healthcare programs is a major factor in the accumulating red ink.</p> <p>The battle over the healthcare law is also being waged in U.S. states, who are charged with implementing many of its key requirements. On Tuesday, Kansas took the first step in joining a multi-state lawsuit led by Florida, saying the reforms are an overreach of federal power.</p> <p>Currently, more than half of all states are suing, and the U.S. government is appealing a recent decision by a federal judge that the law&rsquo;s requirement all individuals have health insurance or pay a fine is unconstitutional.</p>urn:uuid:b16fbeba-3709-4909-885c-f7bed89136b6Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:03:23 -0600<img alt="" style="width: 1000px; height: 664px;" src="/img/~www.reliableins.net/Reliable%20Logo.JPG" />urn:uuid:3aa0793d-6436-47c3-af84-2091c68d35ddSometimes I like to look up popular quotes to get me going. When I need to be inspired or when I feel depressed it helps to read some of these. I look up quotes on http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/popular.html.Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:28:59 -0600Sometimes I like to look up popular quotes to get me going. When I need to be inspired or when I feel depressed it helps to read some of these. I look up quotes on <a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/popular.html">http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/popular.html</a>.urn:uuid:dfc7d0a5-fc44-4244-9c4f-b85c8813af3dI use this site for any time I get stumped on what to cook. IT's www.allrecipes.com. They have everything, from appetizer to entrees, desserts and drinks. They have all types of food from American, Mexican, Italian, Indian, Chinese to Brazilian, Afri...Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:20:49 -0600I use this site for any time I get stumped on what to cook. IT's <a href="http://www.allrecipes.com">www.allrecipes.com</a>. They have everything, from appetizer to entrees, desserts and drinks. They have all types of food from American, Mexican, Italian, Indian, Chinese to Brazilian, African and much more.urn:uuid:c2b71990-24f2-4cde-b554-aa714193bd9dLost in Shadow GameSpot Score 7.5 good Release Date: Jan 4, 2011 Lost In Shadow is a game that mixes unique platform elements and levels of puzzling. Genre: 3D Platformer New Super Mario Bros. Wii GameSpo...Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:11:22 -0600<h3 class="title">Lost in Shadow </h3> <div class="details"> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>7.5</strong></dd> <dd class="word nintendo">good</dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Jan 4, 2011</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>Lost In Shadow is a game that mixes unique platform elements and levels of puzzling.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>3D Platformer</strong></li> </ul> </div> <li class="game alt has_score"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">New Super Mario Bros. Wii </h3> <div class="details"> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>8.5</strong></dd> <dd class="word nintendo">great</dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Nov 15, 2009</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>Nintendo brings a side-scrolling multiplayer Mario Bros. to the Nintendo Wii.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>2D Platformer</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game has_score"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">Monster Hunter Tri </h3> <div class="details"> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>8.0</strong></dd> <dd class="word nintendo">great</dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Apr 20, 2010</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>Hunt down fantastical monsters in this action RPG developed exclusively for the Wii.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>Action Role-Playing</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game alt has_score"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">Call of Duty: Black Ops </h3> <div class="details"> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>9.0</strong></dd> <dd class="choice"><strong>Editors' Choice</strong></dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Nov 9, 2010</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>Fight through a globe-trotting campaign or test your skills online competition in this fast-paced first-person shooter.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>Historic First-Person Shooter</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game has_score"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">Donkey Kong Country Returns </h3> <div class="details"> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>8.5</strong></dd> <dd class="word nintendo">great</dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Nov 21, 2010</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>A new installment in the Donkey Kong Country series is coming to the Wii.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>2D Platformer</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game alt has_score"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">Just Dance 2</h3> <div class="details"> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>7.0</strong></dd> <dd class="word nintendo">good</dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Oct 12, 2010</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>The sequel to last year's hit dance party game returns exclusively for the Wii.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>Rhythm / Dancing</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game has_score"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">Super Smash Bros. Brawl </h3> <div class="details"> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>9.5</strong></dd> <dd class="choice"><strong>Editors' Choice</strong></dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Mar 9, 2008</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>Duke it out with your favorite Nintendo characters in Super Smash Bros. for the Wii.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>3D Fighting</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game alt has_score"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">GoldenEye 007 </h3> <div class="details"> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>8.5</strong></dd> <dd class="word nintendo">great</dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Nov 2, 2010</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>GoldenEye makes its Wii debut in the 2010 holiday season.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>Modern First-Person Shooter</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game has_score"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">Disney Epic Mickey </h3> <div class="details"> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>6.0</strong></dd> <dd class="word nintendo">fair</dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Nov 30, 2010</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>Deus Ex and Thief cocreator Warren Spector is developing a dark, Wii-exclusive adventure featuring Disney's rodent mascot. </p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>Adventure</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game alt has_score"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">Super Mario Galaxy 2 </h3> <div class="details"> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>10</strong></dd> <dd class="choice"><strong>Editors' Choice</strong></dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: May 23, 2010</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>The sequel to Super Mario Galaxy features strange new worlds to explore, new challenges to overcome, and Mario's trusty sidekick, Yoshi.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>3D Platformer</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">Disney Tangled: The Video Game </h3> <div class="details"> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Nov 23, 2010</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>Disney Tangled: The Video Game is a game based off the Disney movie Tangled.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>Action</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game alt"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">Zumba Fitness </h3> <div class="details"> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Nov 18, 2010</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>Zumba Fitness is a dance fitness game featuring nine different dance styles, including salsa, hip-hop, and mambo.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>Sports</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game has_score"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">Mario Kart Wii </h3> <div class="details"> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>8.5</strong></dd> <dd class="word nintendo">great</dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Apr 27, 2008</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>The venerable kart racer heads to the Wii and adds online competition to the mix.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>Kart Racing</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game alt"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword </h3> <div class="details"> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: TBA 2011</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>Skyward Sword features one-to-one controls that allow you to wield your remote in the way you want Link to swing his sword.</p> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Genre: <strong>Fantasy Action Adventure</strong></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="game has_score"> <div class="wrap"> <h3 class="title">Super Mario Bros. </h3> <div class="details"> <div class="thumb"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/smb/index.html" rel="nofollow">&nbsp;</a></div> <div class="score_summary"> <div class="main_score"> <dl class="main_score"> <dt>GameSpot Score</dt> <dd><strong>8.3</strong></dd> <dd class="word nintendo">great</dd> </dl> </div> </div> <ul class="more_details"> <li class="first">Release Date: Dec 25, 2006</li> </ul> <div class="deck"> <p>The Mario game that kicked off Nintendo's entry into the console business is now available for download via the Wii's Virtual Console service.</p> </div> </div> </div> </li>urn:uuid:efff530d-146c-4100-8efc-56e7cbb63247Always stay up to date with the weater no matter where you are or where you are going with www.weather.com.Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:04:25 -0600Always stay up to date with the weater no matter where you are or where you are going with <a href="http://www.weather.com">www.weather.com</a>.urn:uuid:39222698-c584-4f0a-9198-3c2b19ab3873Girls: 1. Sophia 2. Isabella 3. Olivia 4. Emma 5. Chloe 6. Ava 7. Lily 8. Madison 9. Addison 10. Abigail Boys: 1. Aiden 2. Jacob 3. Jackson 4. Ethan 5. Jayden 6. Noah 7. Logan 8. Caden 9. Lucas 10. LiamThu, 13 Jan 2011 08:01:11 -0600<p>Girls:</p> <p>1. Sophia<br /> 2. Isabella<br /> 3. Olivia<br /> 4. Emma<br /> 5. Chloe<br /> 6. Ava<br /> 7. Lily<br /> 8. Madison<br /> 9. Addison<br /> 10. Abigail</p> <p>Boys:<br /> 1. Aiden<br /> 2. Jacob<br /> 3. Jackson<br /> 4. Ethan<br /> 5. Jayden<br /> 6. Noah<br /> 7. Logan<br /> 8. Caden<br /> 9. Lucas<br /> 10. Liam</p>urn:uuid:b624bf04-08e9-40b4-a71c-12e707258cc5 Antonio's Flying Pizza - One of the most outstanding characteristics of Italian cooks is their high regard for the food itself and you will find that here at Antonio's Flying Pizza. Each tomato, each cheese, ea...Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:39:15 -0600<table width="85%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" style="width: 43%;"> <p>Antonio's Flying Pizza - One of the most outstanding characteristics of Italian cooks is their high regard for the food itself and you will find that here at Antonio's Flying Pizza. Each tomato, each cheese, each cut of meat or portion of seafood is savored for its own merit.</p> <p>Canton Restaurant - Our restaurant serves the best Cantonese Chinese food in Houston. All the food from our buffet is fresh homemade. The buffet's ingredients are carefully selected by the chef. Along with our buffet, we also have a salad bar.</p> <p>Collina's Italian Cafe - Specializes in pizza with 5 locations in Houston, and has been recognized by Pizza Today as one of the top 100 pizzerias in the U.S.</p> <p>Cordua Restaurants - Restaurateur and entrepreneur, Michael J. Cord&uacute;a, is celebrating over 20 years in Houston, Texas, blazing a trail of New World cuisine that keeps critics raving! With 6 locations there are many dishes that will keep you coming back for more!</p> <p>Hickory Barn Bar-B-Q - The Kiddy Brothers came to Houston with great BBQ on their minds. The oldest brother started his BBQ restaurant back in 1953. Since then, the brothers have opened several different BBQ restaurants in the Houston area. James opened The Hickory Barn in November of 1980. Although times have changed, our idea of great BBQ hasn't. We use choice meats and the freshest produce while keeping competitive prices.</p> <p>Hickory Hollow Restaurant - This is a real Texas cafe &ndash; you know the kind &ndash; where you see the cafe sign on the town square and imagine how good it&rsquo;s going to be. And even though we&rsquo;re not on the square, you&rsquo;ll be glad you stopped in. Hickory Hollow has been serving exceptional Texas comfort food with Texas hospitality since 1977.</p> <p>Home Plate Bar &amp; Grill - Take me out to the ball game! Take me out to Home Place Bar and Grill! Home Plate Bar &amp; Grill has a game day, to go, and main menu to choose from. Located across from Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, our game day specials include our home plate wings and burger.</p> <p>Houston Barbecue Company - The mouthwatering aroma of slow-smoked beef permeates this barbecue joint located south of Memorial in a tiny strip mall. Owners Kurt and Treca Craig ran Luling City Market for more than 15 years.</p> <p>Jenni's Noodle House - Jenni's Noodle House serves up delicious Vietnamese noodle dishes with serious attitude. Menu items include everything from vermicelli to shrimp soup. Low prices, carefree atmosphere and incredible dumplings leave the diner wanting to return soon!</p> <p>Kenny and Ziggy's New York Delicatessen - Shut your eyes, take a bite and you just might think you are in NYC! With Monster sandwiches piled high with lean meat, gourmet cheeses and all the fixings, you won't go wrong coming to Kenny and Ziggy's New York Delicatessen!</p> </td> <td valign="top" style="width: 4%;"></td> <td valign="top" style="width: 43%;"> <p>La Mexicana Restaurant - Since 1982, La Mexicana Restaurant has transformed the small grocery store it once was into a full service restaurant and bar. They constantly introduce new and innovative ideas to customers, but continue the traditional flair that they are known for. Whatever your heart's desire, you can find it here, soups, tacos, guisados, and the list continues! Don't miss out on this fantastic place!</p> <p>Massas - From the beautiful front entrance to the charming dining rooms inside, Massa's is an exceptional dining experience! With superior seafood and pasta and a fine wine this meal will be a memorable occasion!</p> <p>Monument Inn Seafood Restaurant - Famous for serving Certified Angus Beef with superior hospitality. Specializing in Fresh Gulf Coast Seafood and offering a wide array of Pastas, Beef and Chicken, Monument Inn is one of Houston&rsquo;s most popular restaurants!</p> <p>Mystery Cafe - Since 1995, Mystery Cafe has entertained and kept audiences guessing with their special version of the Whodunit. During each of the three breaks between acts, a different course of the meal is served and the characters mingle with the audience, trying to make sense of the mini-puzzles included in the clue packets.</p> <p>Oishii Japanese Restaurant - Oishii, located in Houston, Texas near Greenway Plaza, is a family-owned restaurant offering the finest in Japanese food, including sushi, sashimi, favorite Japanese cooked entrees such as tempura, teriyaki and soba noodle dishes, special salads &amp; outstanding desserts. Come in and experience our quick and delicious Japanese food.</p> <p>Rainbow Lodge - Imagine a 100 year old log cabin restaurant on an acre of grounds right in the middle of Houston! For over 30 years, Rainbow Lodge has been treating food lovers to succulent Wild Game and Regional Gulf Seafood in a cozy, lodge setting filled with refined touches.</p> <p>Rudi Lechner's Restaurant - Menu features German-Austrian specialty items and presents live music and events during Octoberfest.</p> <p>Spanish Flowers - Whether for lunch or a late-night snack, meals here are consistently superb. Specializing in both genuine Mexican dishes, as well as Tex-Mex favorites, Spanish Flowers serves up everything from traditional mole' to mouth-watering fajitas, menudo and caldo de rez to breakfast burritos and sopapillas.</p> <p>Taste of Texas - Texas&rsquo; premier steakhouse! We proudly serve Certified Angus Beef, the finest steaks and prime rib available. Open since 1977, the Taste of Texas is family owned and operated and strives to provide the highest quality, best value, warmest service and friendliest Texas hospitality in the business.</p> <p>The Bombay Brasserie - We serve our famous North Indian cuisine that Houstonian&rsquo;s have enjoyed since 1997 as well as our new Gourmet Cuisine which is classic continental cuisine, spiced with the flavors of India.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:701cda69-5857-4e15-ab03-b714aa46f3fc Ghost Walks - Starting at the Franklin Street Coffee House throughout October, Ghost Walks provide opportunity to get into the Halloween spirit on a leisurely two-mile MetroRail ride and stroll featuring urban ...Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:36:35 -0600<table width="85%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" style="width: 43%;"> <p>Ghost Walks - Starting at the Franklin Street Coffee House throughout October, Ghost Walks provide opportunity to get into the Halloween spirit on a leisurely two-mile MetroRail ride and stroll featuring urban legends and true tales of deceased Houstonians.</p> <p>Houston Children&rsquo;s Festival - A full day of fun, the Houston Children&rsquo;s Festival serves as an all day children&rsquo;s fest and benefits Child Advocates Inc. Admission is extremely affordable, and food, drink and rides are plentiful. Disney Channel guest stars, Popular cartoon characters and a $5000 scholarship treasure hunt are just some of the festival&rsquo;s features. Six stages with live performances and tons of educational games and booths are set up for kids to learn and have a blast.</p> <p>Houston International Festival - It's all about celebrating diversity and learning about different cultures. It's all about making our children, the future generation, global citizens.</p> <p>Houston Hot Sauce Festival - The Deadliest Batch of some the hottest products from around the globe are found at the annual Hot Sauce Festival in Houston, Texas. The sauce is so hot that it will make you cry like a baby. Do you have what it takes? We think so!</p> <p>Houston Livestock Show &amp; Rodeo - Big Fun for a Big Show! This events features multiple concerts, rodeos, livestock and horse shows, as well as plenty of other events, and activities to bring out the cowboy or cowgirl in everyone!</p> <p>Houston Tidelanders Barbershop Show - For men&rsquo;s a cappella barbershop harmony, the Houston Tidelanders presents Tidelander Reality, an annual show with an 80-plus voice chorus, props and costumes.</p> <p>International Quilt Festival - In late October or early November, more than 2,000 quilts and pieces of fabric art, original cloth dolls, and other textile arts are displayed at George R. Brown Convention Center in the world's largest quilt show.</p> <p>Kid's Market Day - Towards the end of March, Urban Harvest offers kids a look at where food really comes from, participants in school and youth gardening programs bring their produce to sell, and a variety of entertaining programs, food tasting, cooking demonstrations and live entertainment will be featured, at the Bayou City Farmers Market behind 3000 Richmond between Kirby and Buffalo Speedway.</p> </td> <td valign="top" style="width: 4%;"></td> <td valign="top" style="width: 43%;"> <p>Origami Festival at Tansu - Tansu in the Houston Heights stages an Origami Festival with exhibits, hands-on workshops, and free demonstrations.</p> <p>River Oaks Garden Club Azalea Trail - The Azalea Trail offers Houstonians an enjoyable weekend that educates the public about architecture, flower arranging and horticultural possibilities in our region. The proceeds from this event are given back to the community to be applied to specific projects dealing with education, conservation and civic beautification.</p> <p>Texas Renaissance Festival - The Texas Renaissance Festival is one of the nation's largest, most acclaimed Renaissance theme parks where the sights, sounds, tastes, and beauties of the 16th century come alive every Saturday and Sunday from October to November.</p> <p>Traders Villiage Annual Bluegrass Festival - Known nationally as America's largest weekend flea marketplace, the original Traders Village opened in Grand Prairie in 1973. Houston's Traders Village followed in 1989 bringing terrific values and entertainment to the Texas Gulf Coast. Today the combined markets host more than 5,500,000 shoppers and festival-goers each year. From trinkets and trash, to treasures and trends, like they say, "if you can't find it at Traders Village, you didn't need it in the first place!"</p> <p>Trot Your Turkey Off - Immediately after Thanksgiving, the Health Museum hosts a special interactive walking tour where you can explore the body and count the calories you have burned along the way.</p> <p>Wings Over Houston - Wings Over Houston Airshow is one of the top five airshows in the US, featuring civilian, modern military, and vintage warbird demos.</p> <p>Worldfest Houston International Film Festival - As the third largest Film Festival in the United States, the Worldfest Houston International Film Festival aims to honor and promote cultural tourism and brilliant talent n Houston. The festival features more than 50 feature films (over 4500 are entered) and places full emphasis on American and International films. Categories include student film, documentary, television commercials, music videos and much more. Each year the festival honors a different country.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:9cb7b005-3353-46c9-95fb-7f421edcecee Battleship Texas State Historic Site - The last of the battleships to participate in World War I and II, Battleship Texas became the first battleship memorial museum in the U.S. in 1948.These sites are located ...Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:34:43 -0600<table width="85%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" style="width: 43%;"> <p>Battleship Texas State Historic Site - The last of the battleships to participate in World War I and II, Battleship Texas became the first battleship memorial museum in the U.S. in 1948.These sites are located within minutes of downtown Houston. Millions of visitors come to this area each year to enjoy the mild coastal climate and cultural and sports activities. Visitors experience history first hand through living history at the San Jacinto Battleground and Battleship Texas.</p> <p>Burke Baker Planetarium - Located in the Houston Museum of Natural Science, this Planetarium offers a wealth of knowledge to all ages. There's something mesmerizing about sitting in a darkened planetarium, gazing at the domed ceiling, and watching the spectacle unfold above you. Burke Baker grants just such an experience.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thingstodo.com/states/TX/citypass/houston.htm"></a>Children's Museum of Houston - The Children's Museum of Houston is the highest-attended youth museum in the country for its size and is dedicated to its mission of transforming communities through innovative, child-centered learning. The Museum offers a multitude of exhibits bursting with action-packed fun that engage kids in the ultimate learning experience.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thingstodo.com/states/TX/citypass/houston.htm"></a>Downtown Aquarium - Experience the wonder of the underwater world at the Houston Downtown Aquarium as you tour the Aquarium Adventure Exhibit. Discover 400 species of fascinating marine life. Touch and feed the deep-water dwellers at Discovery Reef. Be sure to enjoy a dining adventure at Aquarium Restaurant as well as rides and games galore.</p> <p>Hermann Park Conservancy - Hermann Park, presented to the City of Houston by George Hermann in 1914, is one of Houston's most popular and historically significant public green spaces. Located in the heart of Houston, the 445-acre park has been an important resource for Houstonians for generations, and is celebrated as a place that has always welcomed diversity and fostered a strong sense of community among its patrons.</p> <p>Holocaust Museum Houston - Authentic film footage, artifacts, photographs and documents show life in pre-war Europe, the Nazi move toward the &ldquo;Final Solution&rdquo; and life after the Holocaust. It also endeavors to remind us that these dangers are still relevant today. The museum promotes understanding, remembrance and education with the goal that both students and the general population stay and become aware of the lesson of these tragic events. This lesson is that humankind must strive to live together in peace and harmony.</p> <p>Houston Fire Museum - Young and old alike will enjoy the Houston Fire Museum, which traces the history of Houston's local firefighters from the late 19th century to modern day. Exhibits chart firefighting in the city from its earliest days, and vintage equipment ranges from antique helmets to a 1938 REO salvage truck that kids can climb on. Children can also try on kid-sized gear and explore a replica firetruck cab to see what real firefighters experience when they go out on a call.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thingstodo.com/states/TX/citypass/houston.htm"></a>Houston Zoo - Essentially a small city encompassing a world of ecosystems and experiences, the Houston Zoo is made up of many moving parts. We have over 4,500 permanent residents (our animals) for whom we provide housing, meals, medical care and, yes, even education! In addition, we have over 1.7 million guests each year who come to experience our incredible variety of animals and ecosystems, as well as attend special private and public events and entertainment.</p> <p>John Cleary Gallery - An art lovers dream! The John Cleary Gallery showcases the finest in fine art photography,Some one once asked "What is your gallery&rsquo;s specialty?" the response from Catherine Couturier, the owner of the gallery, "Photography." He said, "Well, I know that. But what is your specialization?" Catherine smiled. "Good photography." That&rsquo;s all there is to it. Her highest goal will always be to show the best fine art photography, and she does her job!</p> <p>Kemah Boardwalk - The Fun Never Stops as you ride these waterslides, add some thrill rides, shake visitors, and walk the vintage-style boardwalk. You will love the wooden Bullet Coaster, the carousel, Ferris Wheel, kiddie rides, fried dough, and arcade games. Best part is, the lines move fast so you spend more time in the water then in line! Come, enjoy- the fun never stops here!</p> </td> <td valign="top" style="width: 4%;"></td> <td valign="top" style="width: 43%;"><br /> <p>Military Museum of Texas - Dedicated to the memory of Texans who served in the armed forces, the Military Museum displays uniforms, weapons, equipment, vehicles and other memorabilia that dates back to World War II. The Military Museum of Texas will provide a comprehensive educational program by providing an exciting collection of Texas military history with dynamic full size, walk-through environmental exhibits as well as static displays. </p> <p>Miller Outdoor Theatre - Bring your lawn chairs and your cooler, and prepare to have a relaxing good time at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Free fun for everyone! Miller Outdoor Theatre offers the most diverse season of professional entertainment of any Houston performance venue, and it's all FREE! Classical music, jazz, ethnic music and dance, ballet, Shakespeare, musical theatre, classic films, and much, much more.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thingstodo.com/states/TX/citypass/houston.htm"></a>Museum of Fine Arts - Travel the world at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, home to centuries-old masterpieces and modern marvels. In addition to the ongoing schedule of touring exhibitions and thematic installations, the museum&rsquo;s encyclopedic permanent collections of world art fill the galleries with works from every era of history.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thingstodo.com/states/TX/citypass/houston.htm"></a>Museum of Health &amp; Medical Science - Museum of Health &amp; Medical Science was made to be interactive and cater to children. The Health Museum encourages growing interest and regard for healthier lifestyles, fitness and good physical, mental and spiritual health. Exhibits include a large walk-through view of the human body called the 'Body Pavilion.' Any child would love to experience this Museum.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thingstodo.com/states/TX/citypass/houston.htm"></a>NASA Johnson Space Center Houston - Ever since the Apollo flights, Houston has been the place for space travel. NASA's Johnson Space Center, allows visitors to study and understand the making of space history. Join us for such exciting adventures as Mission Control, Neutral Buoyancy Lab, Rocket Park, Rocket Garden, Blast-off and don't forget to pick up your dehydrated ice cream!</p> <p>Police Museum - Located at the Police Academy on the spacious grounds of George Bush Intercontinental Airport and is a great place to spend an afternoon, especially if you have children. Police uniforms from around the world are on display, along with a somewhat odd collection of various weapons seized from criminals. With the assistance of an officer, you can view the elaborate gun collection and see what riding in a police car is like. The police helicopter is always a big hit with all ages.</p> <p>Sam Houston Boat Tour - Get ready for an unforgettably spectacular waterborne tour of one of the busiest ports in the world aboard the Port of Houston Authority's free public tour boat! Named for the legendary military commander who led the fight for Texas independence from Mexico and later statehood, the M/V Sam Houston offers free leisurely 90-minute round-trip cruises along the Houston Ship Channel.</p> <p>Sam Houston Race Park - Sam Houston Race Park hosts ten horse races a day. Sam Houston Race Park is Houston&rsquo;s premier racing, dining and entertainment destination located 15 minutes from downtown. Enjoy the thrill of live horse racing and exciting simulcasting action from around the world. Experience an array of dining options including our signature carving stations, fresh vegetable dishes, pasta creations and chocolate fountain dessert bar It also has a video theater that features simulcast viewing of other races, boxing matches and sports games.</p> <p>Scream World - Includes five different attractions: The outdoor Maze of Maniacs, The Haunted Hotel, Edge of Darkness, Movie Monsters, and the new outdoor Tobias Strange Family Cemetery.Screamworld has been selected by America's Best Haunts as one of the best haunted attractions in the United States, and is a must visit for all the screams and terror alike!</p> <p>Splash Town - Three stories of interactive fun for the whole family! You will find acres of body slides, tubes, pools, spraying and splashing attractions and kids areas providing hours of fun and relief from the Texas heat. Tree house Island, Guadalupe River Adventure, Crocodile Isle and Leaky pipes.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thingstodo.com/states/TX/citypass/houston.htm"></a>The Houston Museum of Natural Science - The purpose of the Houston Museum of Natural Science has always been to enhance in individuals the knowledge and delight in natural science and related subjects. Come, check out the great exhibits that can be found here such as "The Birth of Christianity: A Jewish Story," "Genghis Khan," "The Nature of Diamonds" and the Terra Cotta Warriors."</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:3076c912-94df-4449-bf69-014eff2dc19fNumber 10 Natural Sciences Manager Highest salary: $97,560 Training time: 6 years Natural science managers oversee the work of other scientists, such as agricultural scientists, chemists, biologists, and geologists. Natural science managers are comm...Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:30:34 -0600<h2>Number 10</h2> <h3>Natural Sciences Manager</h3> <b>Highest salary: </b>$97,560<br /> <b>Training time:</b> 6 years<br /> <br /> Natural science managers oversee the work of other scientists, such as agricultural scientists, chemists, biologists, and geologists. Natural science managers are commonly employed in the research and development field and work in pharmaceutical and environmental consulting or municipal organizations. Natural science managers often own their own consulting or testing firms, and can serve as expert witnesses in court hearings.<br /> <br /> A bachelor&rsquo;s degree is absolutely required, and to work your way up the ladder, an MBA or doctorate is strongly encouraged. Fortunately, many employers will pay for educational costs. The best and highest-paid natural science managers have an aptitude for key business functions, such as marketing, sales and finance. This is common, as it often takes a combination of business acumen and specialized knowledge to present and communicate ideas and concepts in a sophisticated sales environment.<br /> <h2>Number 9</h2> <h3>Marketing Manager</h3> <b>Highest s</b><b>alary: </b>$100,020<br /> <b>Training time:</b> 4 to 6 years<br /> <br /> Marketing managers, like CEOs, span all sorts of industries and levels of responsibility. A small accounting firm may have a marketing manager to help coordinate Yellow Page advertisements and chamber appearances, while this marketing manager's Fortune 500 peer is responsible for the complete tactical execution of a multimillion-dollar marketing budget that encompasses a plenitude of marketing media. Marketing managers can be expected to handle items such as public relations, brand development, media buying, collateral and promotions development, and even the financial metrics and analytics.<br /> <br /> The responsibility scope is a function of the organization&rsquo;s size and the outward focus of the company. For instance, a marketing manager at a Fortune 500 company serving the consumer audience will have a far larger task than the marketing manager at a small, niche business-to-business consulting firm. Communication skills, marketing prowess, and basic management skills all come into play. In most cases, marketing managers have a four-year degree, and an MBA will definitely help in higher-level executive marketing positions.<br /> <br /> <h2>Number 8</h2> <h3>Computer and Information Systems Manager</h3> <b>Highest salary:</b> $100,110<br /> <b>Training time: </b>4 to 8 years<br /> <br /> Computer and information systems managers are responsible for the overall strategy and direction of the company&rsquo;s information technology (IT) and systems plan. Many start out as programmers or data analysts, but as experience and conceptual knowledge is acquired, one can become capable of overseeing the information systems management of an entire enterprise. In today&rsquo;s technological environment, most companies regard this as a highly valued position and pay accordingly. Elements of the job include overseeing a company&rsquo;s IT security, information management, information technology deployment, software and application selection, revenue assurance, and compliance.<br /> <br /> When the field was relatively new, there were stories of incredibly gifted programmers who rose to top positions without any formal training or education. Today, however, with the wide corporate acceptance of information technology, more of an emphasis is placed on new candidates having a four-year degree in computer science, computer engineering or mathematics, and even advanced degrees.<br /> <br /> <h2>Number 7</h2> <h3>Air Traffic Controller</h3> <b>Highest s</b><b>alary:</b> $100,430<br /> <b>Training time:</b> 9 years<br /> <br /> Employed almost exclusively by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), air traffic controllers are responsible for the safe operation of private and commercial aircraft. Responsibilities include coordinating movement of air traffic to keep planes at safe distances from one another and to minimize traffic delays. Typically, a team works together to help planes position for takeoff and landing, taxi to the gate, and to communicate with pilots and warn about weather patterns.<br /> <br /> To become an air traffic controller, you must enroll in an FAA-approved program and pass an aptitude test. Exceptions may be made for those with military or aviation experience. A four-year degree and three years of work experience are typically required, and you must apply to take the exam. If you are selected and you pass, you&rsquo;ll have to attend a 12-week training session before working as a development controller for two to four years, and after that, you&rsquo;ll be ready to be hired as an air traffic controller.<br /> <br /> <h2>Number 6</h2> <h3>Lawyer</h3> <b>Highest s</b><b>alary: </b>$110,590<b><br /> Training time: </b>7 years<br /> <br /> The legal system affects nearly every aspect of our society -- and there is no shortage of attorney classifications that you can aspire to. We are all familiar with the personal injury and criminal attorneys, but the scope goes far beyond that. Environmental law, entertainment law, family law, real estate law, intellectual property, and civil law are a handful of the fields that need legal representation. Some attorneys choose to specialize in a particular industry, such as construction, waste management, securities, or insurance, while others will review agreements, represent the court or mediate.<br /> <br /> The industry is highly regulated and adheres to a very stringent code of ethics. Lawyers must pass the bar examination offered by the state they wish to practice in. However, in most cases, to be eligible to sit for the bar, you must have a four-year degree and have graduated from an ABA-accredited law school, which takes about three years.<br /> <br /> <h2>Number 5</h2> <h3>Dentist</h3> <b>Highest salary: </b>$132,660<br /> <b>Training time: </b>8 years<br /> <br /> There are quite a few specialties -- orthodontics, oral surgery and pediatrics to name a few -- within the dental field, although many opt to become general practitioners. Dentists in private practice will commonly oversee business operations, including administration and bookkeeping. All states require dentists to be licensed, so candidates must graduate from one of the 56 dental schools accredited by the ADA. Graduates must also pass both written and practical exams. While most dental schools require only two years of college-level education, most candidates obtain their bachelor&rsquo;s degree. Dental school for general practitioners takes three to four years, and if you wish to specialize, you can plan on an additional two to five years of training.<br /> <br /> <h2>Number 4</h2> <h3>Airline Pilot</h3> <b>Highest s</b><b>alary:</b> $134,090<br /> <b>Training time: </b>5 to 10 years<br /> <br /> A pilot can not only captain a commercial airliner, but he can also fly helicopters, test aircraft, serve as an aviation director, crop dust, monitor traffic, and pilot cargo planes. While everyone has heard of the grand benefits enjoyed by commercial airline pilots&nbsp; -- they fly only 100 hours per month due to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations -- it is not easy to obtain that status. Becoming certified as a pilot is not too stringent -- you need to be at least 18 years old&nbsp; and have at least 250 hours of flight experience to obtain the basic licenses. Commercial airline pilots need to be at least 23, have at least 1,500 hours in the air, and pass an array of FAA tests (written, flight and instrument).<br /> <br /> A four-year degree is not necessary; however, the increasingly competitive landscape is making many airlines require a bachelor&rsquo;s degree. Due to the number of required -- and generally expensive -- flight hours, many airline pilots have earned their experience in the military. There are, however, many private flight training schools. After being hired by an airline, it can take 5 to 15 years to become a captain and reap the rewards in terms of pay, benefits and choice of routes.<br /> <br /> <h2>Number 3</h2> <h3>Engineering Manager</h3> <b>Highest s</b><b>alary: </b>$140,210<br /> <b>Training time: </b>6 to 7 years<br /> <br /> Engineering managers are responsible for plans, coordination, research, design, and production activities. Frequently, engineering managers oversee natural science managers and information systems managers -- two professions that also made this list.<br /> <br /> Typically, engineering managers determine specific technical or scientific goals, provide broad outlines, plan the execution and, in some cases, are responsible for the financial viability of a project. For example, engineering managers may be actively involved in the development of a real estate community, or they may work in the manufacturing space to solve technical problems. However, managers who deal with semiconductors and electronic components manufacturing are among the highest paid.<br /> <br /> Most engineering managers have bachelor&rsquo;s degrees, and many will pursue post-graduate degrees, such as an MBA, a Master of Science or a doctorate.<br /> <br /> <h2>Number 2</h2> <h3>Chief Executive Officer (CEO)</h3> <b>Highest salary: </b>$140,880<br /> <b>Training time:</b> Varies<br /> <br /> A CEO is the highest ranking official within a company (and often the highest paid), and they&rsquo;re responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operational performance of the company. The CEO usually answers to the board of directors, which is elected by the shareholders. In smaller companies, however, the CEO is not only the Chairman of the Board, but he can also <i>be</i> the entire board of directors.<br /> <br /> There are many paths to becoming a CEO. In large Fortune 500 companies, you are just as likely to see an employee with more than 30 years become the head honcho as you are to see the company hire a seasoned executive manager. It is also possible to form your own company and simply name yourself CEO and build your company until you are actually overseeing many levels of management and development.<br /> <br /> In the corporate world, a bachelor&rsquo;s degree is almost ubiquitous and it is encouraged to obtain an MBA, though it&rsquo;s not necessary -- we all know that Bill Gates is an inspirational dropout.<br /> <br /> <h2>Number 1</h2> <h3>Surgeon</h3> <b>Highest s</b><b>alary:</b> $181,850<br /> <b>Training time:</b> 10 to 15 years<br /> <br /> While many medical professions are high on the pay scale, those who perform surgery are the highest paid -- specifically, surgeons who specialize in the treatment of illness or injury. As such, most surgeons opt to specialize in a specific area, like the heart or the brain.<br /> <br /> Even for general surgeons, the very granular knowledge required to effectively perform an operation can only be obtained through additional formal training and many years of hands-on experience. Of course, a four-year degree is required to go down this path, and biology or other sciences are preferred because these provide access to basic knowledge that will be applied in medical school. After college, plan for four years of medical school -- the first two years will be in classrooms, and the last two will involve working with patients under the direction of physician educators. A residency is the next step, and this can last from three to seven years, depending on the candidate&rsquo;s desire to specialize. A candidate must also pass a licensing examination.<br /> <br /> While the profession can be lucrative, it is certainly not easy or cheap: More than 80% of medical-school graduates carry a debt.<br /> <br /> <h2>earning six digits</h2> To make the most money, your best bet is to go down the medical path, provided you are willing to participate in the many years of required training and education. Also, before getting too green-eyed, realize that one year in school is one year taken away from building your career. Overall, to do well, note the specialization of each of the top 24 highest-paying careers per the U.S. Department of Labor -- finding your niche and becoming the best certainly pays dividends.<br /> <br /> The top 24 according to the U.S. Department of Labor:<br /> <ol> <li>Surgeon: $181,850</li> <li>Anesthesiologist: $174,610</li> <li>OB/GYN: $174,610</li> <li>Oral and maxillofacial surgeon: $169,600</li> <li>Internist: $156,790</li> <li>Prosthodontist: $156,710</li> <li>Orthodontist: $153,240</li> <li>Psychiatrist: $151,380</li> <li>Chief Executive Officer: $140,880</li> <li>Engineering Manager: $140,210</li> <li>Pediatrician: $140,000</li> <li>Family or general practitioner: $137,980</li> <li>Physician/surgeon, all other: $137,100</li> <li>Airline Pilot: $134,090</li> <li>Dentist: $132,660</li> <li>Podiatrist: $111,130</li> <li>Lawyer: $110,590</li> <li>Dentist, any other specialist: $106,040</li> <li>Air Traffic Controller: $100,430</li> <li>Computer and Information Systems Manager: $100,110</li> <li>Marketing Manager: $100,020</li> <li>Natural Sciences Manager: $97,560</li> <li>Sales Manager: $96,950</li> <li>Astronomer: $96,780</li> </ol>urn:uuid:f78d7350-98f4-4c56-a829-b62f590b547d1. Raynham Hall, Norfolk, England: The &ldquo;Brown Lady &rdquo; has been sighted here many a times, and there is also a world famous photograph of her gliding down the stairs, taken in 1936. She is believed to be the ghost of Lady Townshend who live...Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:05:19 -0600<strong>1. Raynham Hall, Norfolk, England:</strong> <p>The &ldquo;Brown Lady &rdquo; has been sighted here many a times, and there is also a world famous photograph of her gliding down the stairs, taken in 1936. She is believed to be the ghost of Lady Townshend who lived and died here in the 18^th century. There have been frequent sightings of her as she wanders around the premises in a brown brocade dress.</p> <p><br class="spacer_" /> </p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Winchester-Mystery-Mansion-San-Jose-California.jpg"></a>2. Winchester</strong><strong> Mystery Mansion, San Jose, California:</strong></p> <p>A home built by ghosts for ghosts? There are so many stories connected with this home that fact seems to get intermingled with fiction. The fact is that this convoluted house has doors that lead nowhere, staircases that end suddenly, and many other weird features. Built by Sarah Winchester , ostensibly to exorcise the ghosts of the people killed by the rifles built by her family concern,&nbsp; even today it is believed that you can hear an organ playing and you can smell chicken soup in an empty kitchen.</p> <p><br class="spacer_" /> </p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Lizzie-Borden-House-Fall-River-Massachusetts.jpg"></a>3. Lizzie Borden House, Fall River, Massachusetts:</strong></p> <p>Now here is a haunted home, where you are actually invited to stay over for bed and breakfast, and personally encounter the spirits which haunt this home. The site of the grisly murder in 1892 of Abby and Abe Borden, ostensibly by Lizzie Borden, this home is renowned for the sound of a woman weeping softly, of cameras working when no one was near them and lights flickering, all manifestations of troubled spirits.</p> <p><br class="spacer_" /> </p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Bachelors-Grove-Cemetery-Midlothian-Illinois.jpg"></a>4. Bachelors</strong><strong> Grove Cemetery, Midlothian, Illinois:</strong></p> <p>One cemetery where there have been over a hundred sightings is the Bachelors Grove Cemetery near Chicago. There are stories about the White Lady, the Phantom Farmhouse and the Farmer with his Plough. There is also the famous picture of a lady sitting at a grave taken in the 80s by Jude Fetz.</p> <p><br class="spacer_" /> </p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/The-Tivoli-Theatre-Hamilton-Canada.jpg"></a>5. The Tivoli Theatre, Hamilton, Canada:</strong></p> <p>Nobody has been able to solve the mystery of what really happened to Ambrose Small when he disappeared in 1919 in Toronto, but his ghost is believed to be haunting one of his favourite haunts, the Tivoli Theatre in Hamilton. Many staff members have seen him loitering around the area, dressed in Victorian clothes with his trademark large moustache very much in evidence.</p> <p><br class="spacer_" /> </p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/The-White-House-Washington.jpg"></a>6. The White House, Washington:</strong></p> <p>Abraham Lincoln&rsquo;s spirit still wanders around the precincts of this very famous residence. There have been reports of unexplained knocks on doors, of footsteps in the hallowed corridors and other such sightings. Abigail Adams and Dolly Madison are also believed to be among the ghosts who still love this home.</p> <p><br class="spacer_" /> </p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/South-Shields-Tyne-Wear-Newcastle-UK.jpg"></a>7. South Shields, Tyne &amp; Wear, Newcastle, UK:</strong></p> <p>Documented thoroughly, the ghosts in this home are definitely not the friendly ones. There has been documentation of blood coming out of taps, of slashes on the chest of the male resident of the house, and various other eerie phenomenons. A poltergeist case which has proven to be true, the details have been collated in a book in 2006.</p> <p><br class="spacer_" /> </p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/The-House-of-the-Seven-Gables-Salem-Massachusetts.jpg"></a>8. The House of the Seven Gables, Salem Massachusetts:</strong></p> <p>Famous author Nathaniel Hawthorne and his son Julian are believed to be the ghosts of this home. His ancestors lived here and presided over the 1892 witchcraft trials. It is believed that a curse was placed on the family and they are doomed to traverse this world forever.</p> <p><br class="spacer_" /> </p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Ocean-Avenue-Amityville.jpg"></a>9. Ocean Avenue</strong><strong>, Amityville:</strong></p> <p>Robert DeFeo shot dead six of his family members in this home in 1974. Since then the families which have moved into this home have been terrorized by slimy eyes, by oozing green liquids and various other unpleasant occurrences.</p> <p><br class="spacer_" /> </p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Newstead-Abbey-Nottinghamshire-England.jpg"></a>10. Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, England:</strong></p> <p>The home of Lord Byron, this abbey has for centuries been the home of many ghosts. Lord Byron himself spoke about the Black Friar who always made an appearance before a misfortune or a death in the family. The White Lady has also been seen wandering around the rooms and so have been the Rose Lady and the Cavalier.</p>urn:uuid:8f51a014-fe67-44a9-ba6f-474fb6d0e8e91. Paris Situated on the river Seine, Paris is the capital of France. Paris is known as &lsquo;the city of love&rsquo;. The country comes first among the best honeymoon destinations around the world. The reason is its beautiful sites, such as, Eiffel...Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:03:38 -0600<strong>1. Paris</strong> <p>Situated on the river Seine, Paris is the capital of France. Paris is known as &lsquo;the city of love&rsquo;. The country comes first among the best honeymoon destinations around the world. The reason is its beautiful sites, such as, Eiffel Tower, Disneyland Resort, The Louvre, etc. If you are in Paris celebrating your honeymoon, you will never spend a day out of romance. Paris is all about love and beauty. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world. The museums, monuments and artworks of Paris are highly esteemed across the globe.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Rome.jpg"></a>2. Rome</strong></p> <p>Situated in Italy, Rome is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is the capital city of Italy. It is the third most visited vacation spots in the world. This country has a very rich history of Italian art and culture. The history is as interesting as its beautiful eye-catching sites. Rome&rsquo;s monuments and museums are among world&rsquo;s top 50 most visited tourist destinations. A honeymoon is empty without beautiful scenery and surroundings and Rome is the city of beautiful ancient sceneries.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Venice.jpg"></a>3. Venice</strong></p> <p>This city is the capital of the Veneto. It is situated in northern Italy. It is also known as &lsquo;The City of Light&rsquo;, &lsquo;City of Water&rsquo;, &lsquo;City of Bridges&rsquo;, and &lsquo;Queen of Adriatic&rsquo;. The city consists of 118 small islands stretching around the Venetian Lagoon. This is an extremely beautiful city famous for its history, cultural artifacts and beautiful sites around. The honeymoon couple will be surrounded by a relaxing water view. The ancient art and Venice&rsquo;s beauty is extremely capable of extending your honeymoon vacation.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Bahamas.jpg"></a>4. Bahamas</strong></p> <p>This country is made of 29 islands, 661 cays and 2,387 rocks is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The official language is English, making tourist vacations even easier. Your honeymoon vacation can never be better than it will be on Bahamas. Bahamas is famous for its white find sand, Coral Beaches, Tropical sceneries, clear sparkling water surrounding the island and glittering sunshine. Its capital is Nassau. Celebrating precious moments of your honeymoon in the beauty of Bahamas is worth it. You will find a spirit of joy and vacation in Bahamas.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Florence.jpg"></a>5. Florence</strong></p> <p>Explore the beauty of ancient history and heritage in this city with your spouse. Florence is the capital city of Tuscany. The city is famous for its core importance in the Middle Ages and The Renaissance. The architecture of this city will become an unforgettable experience for you. Digging in to history is going to give you a memorable experience, more than adventure. The city&rsquo;s artworks, architecture, tourist sites, museums and monuments have become one of the major attractions for tourists around the world.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Sydney.jpg"></a>6. Sydney</strong></p> <p>Sydney is also known as &lsquo;the harbor city&rsquo;. It is a home to many different cultures which make this city even more beautiful. Sydney is the capital of New South Wales. It is also the largest city in Australia. It is built on hills surrounding the Sydney Harbour. Sydney is famous for its beaches, parks and rivers. Hyde Park, Royal Botanical Gardens and Sydney Harbour make Sydney one of the most beautiful cities of the world.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Tahiti.jpg"></a>7. Tahiti</strong></p> <p>It is the largest island in Windward group of French Polynesia. Also known as O&rsquo;tahiti, the island is famous for crystal clear waters, serenity, food and beautiful sites. The food mainly comprises of French cuisine. Tahiti is the most populous island of French Polynesia. You will find multicultural people groups around. The island is amazing for a honeymoon experience.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/French-Riviera.jpg"></a>8. French Riviera</strong></p> <p>The famous Mediterranean coastline of the southeastern France, French Riviera has also been a vacation spot for the British and Russians. It was the holiday spot to Queen Victoria and King Edward VII. It is one the most famous tourist centre in the world. The French Riviera is famous for its beaches, resorts and water sites.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Fiji.jpg"></a>9. Fiji</strong></p> <p>Situated in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and South of Tuvalu, Fiji is a very beautiful island nation with amazing sites. Watching people wearing flowers tucked in their hair and colorful dresses will cheer your senses. The exciting lifestyle is what you need on your honeymoon. Fiji is filled with joy and grace. It is wonderful place to dig in a carefree culture of happiness. You can live your honeymoon up to your expectations here without getting noticed or disturbed by anyone.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Hawaii.jpg"></a>10. Hawaii</strong></p> <p>Last but not the least preferred Honeymoon locations around the globe is the newly added US state of Hawaii. Exotic Tropical flowers, pristine turquoise waters, immaculate beaches and the great food are a few of the many things that force you to come back and visit the place again and again. And if its for your honeymoon, there can be nothing more beautiful, uncrowded and adventurous than Hawaii.</p> <p>Your honeymoon should be filled with love, privacy and celebration. These top 10 spots offer you every ounce of joy that you need on your honeymoon.</p>urn:uuid:aa97bc83-7f47-4362-8f7c-a7aa214370fd The following list includes the top 100 greatest movies of all time, according to the American Film Institute, including films such as Citizen Kane, The Godfather, and Casablanca. The American Film Institute asked more than 1,500 members of the film...Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:58:46 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>The following list includes the top 100 greatest movies of all time, according to the American Film Institute, including films such as <i>Citizen Kane</i>, <i>The Godfather</i>, and <i>Casablanca</i>. The American Film Institute asked more than 1,500 members of the film community to pick the 100 best films of all time from a list of 400 movies nominated by the institute. The criteria for inclusion was historical significance, critical recognition and awards, and popularity determined by box-office revenue, syndication, video sale and rental figures. The updated, 10th anniversary edition of the list was released in 2007. </p> <div class="center"> <table class="sgmltable" id="A0760907" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">1. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Citizen Kane</i> (1941) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">2. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Godfather</i> (1972) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">3. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Casablanca</i> (1942) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">4. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Raging Bull</i> (1980) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">5. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Singin' in the Rain</i> (1952) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">6. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Gone with the Wind</i> (1939) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">7. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Lawrence of Arabia</i> (1962) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">8. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Schindler's List</i> (1993) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">9. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Vertigo</i> (1958) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">10. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Wizard of Oz</i> (1939) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">11. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>City Lights</i> (1931) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">12. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Searchers</i> (1956) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">13. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Star Wars</i> (1977) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">14. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Psycho</i> (1960) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">15. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i> (1968) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">16. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Sunset Blvd.</i> (1950) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">17. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Graduate</i> (1967) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">18. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The General</i> (1927) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">19. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>On the Waterfront</i> (1954) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">20. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>It's a Wonderful Life</i> (1946) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">21. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Chinatown</i> (1974) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">22. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Some Like It Hot</i> (1959) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">23. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Grapes of Wrath</i> (1940) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">24. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial</i> (1982) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">25. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>To Kill A Mockingbird</i> (1962) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">26. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Mr. Smith Goes to Washington</i> (1939) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">27. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>High Noon</i> (1952) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">28. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>All About Eve</i> (1950) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">29. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Double Indemnity</i> (1944) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">30. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Apocalypse Now</i> (1979) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">31. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Maltese Falcon</i> (1941) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">32. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Godfather Part II</i> (1974) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">33. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest</i> (1975) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">34. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs</i> (1937) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">35. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Annie Hall</i> (1977) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">36. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Bridge on the River Kwai</i> (1957) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">37. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Best Years of Our Lives</i> (1946) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">38. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Treasure of the Sierra Madre</i> (1948) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">39. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Dr. Strangelove</i> (1964) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">40. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Sound of Music</i> (1965) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">41. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>King Kong</i> (1933) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">42. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Bonnie and Clyde</i> (1967) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">43. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Midnight Cowboy</i> (1969) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">44. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Philadelphia Story</i> (1940) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">45. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Shane</i> (1953) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">46. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>It Happened One Night</i> (1934) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">47. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>A Streetcar Named Desire</i> (1951) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">48. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Rear Window</i> (1954) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">49. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Intolerance</i> (1916) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">50. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring</i> (2001) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">51. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>West Side Story</i> (1961) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">52. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Taxi Driver</i> (1976) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">53. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Deer Hunter</i> (1978) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">54. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>M*a*s*h</i> (1970) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">55. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>North By Northwest</i> (1959) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">56. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Jaws</i> (1977) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">57. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Rocky</i> (1976) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">58. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Gold Rush</i> (1925) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">59. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Nashville</i> (1975) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">60. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Duck Soup</i> (1933) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">61. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Sullivan's Travels</i> (1958) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">62. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>American Graffiti</i> (1973) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">63. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Cabaret</i> (1972) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">64. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Network</i> (1976) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">65. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The African Queen</i> (1951) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">66. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i> (1981) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">67. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?</i> (1966) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">68. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Unforgiven</i> (1992) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">69. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Tootsie</i> (1982) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">70. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>A Clockwork Orange</i> (1971) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">71. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Saving Private Ryan</i> (1998) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">72. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Shawshank Redemption</i> (1994) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">73. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid</i> (1969) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">74. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Silence of the Lambs</i> (1991) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">75. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>In the Heat of the Night</i> (1967) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">76. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Forrest Gump</i> (1994) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">77. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>All the President's Men</i> (1976) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">78. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Modern Times</i> (1936) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">79. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Wild Bunch</i> (1969) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">80. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Apartment</i> (1960) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">81. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Spartacus</i> (1960) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">82. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Sunrise</i> (1927) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">83. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Titanic</i> (1997) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">84. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Easy Rider</i> (1969) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">85. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>A Night at the Opera</i> (1935) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">86. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Platoon</i> (1986) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">87. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>12 Angry Men</i> (1957) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">88. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Bringing Up Baby</i> (1938) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">89. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Sixth Sense</i> (1999) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">90. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Swing Time</i> (1936) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">91. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Sophie's Choice</i> (1982) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">92. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Goodfellas</i> (1990) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">93. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The French Connection</i> (1971) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">94. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Pulp Fiction</i> (1994) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">95. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>The Last Picture Show</i> (1971) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">96. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Do the Right Thing</i> (1989) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">97. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Blade Runner</i> (1982) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">98. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Yankee Doodle Dandy</i> (1942) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">99. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Toy Story</i> (1995) </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">100. </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><i>Ben-Hur</i> (1959) </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <br /> <br /> Read more: <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0760906.html#ixzz1AsA14bLl" style="color: #003399;">Top 100 Greatest Movies &mdash; Infoplease.com</a> <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0760906.html#ixzz1AsA14bLl" style="color: #003399;">http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0760906.html#ixzz1AsA14bLl</a></div>urn:uuid:df5769be-30ad-426d-8abe-6341a0e77ac1 Here are the top 100 songs according to Billboard! 1. The Twist by Chubby Checker - Cameo Parkway 1957-1967 2. Smooth by Carlos Santana - Smooth 3. Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin - The Ultimate Bobby Darin 4. How Do I Live by LeAnn Rimes - You Lig...Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:54:42 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>Here are the top 100 songs according to Billboard!</p> <p>1. <em>The Twist </em>by Chubby Checker - Cameo Parkway 1957-1967</p> <p>2. <em>Smooth </em>by Carlos Santana - Smooth<br /> <br /> </p> <div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>3. <em>Mack</em> the Knife by Bobby Darin - The Ultimate Bobby Darin</p> <p>4. <em>How Do I Live </em>by LeAnn Rimes - You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs</p> <p>5.<em> Macarena</em> by Various - Greatest Sports Rock and Jams - Disk 2</p> <p>6.<em> Physical</em> by Olivia Newton-John - 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of Olivia Newton-John</p> <div class="relatedStyle" style="padding-bottom: 10px;">7. <em>You Light Up My Life</em> by Various - Easy 70's (Disk 2)</div> <p>8. <em>Hey Jude </em>by The Beatles - 1967-1970 (Disc 1)</p> <p>9. <em>We Belong Together</em> by Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi</p> <p>10. <em>Un-Break My Heart</em> by Toni Braxton - Secrets</p> <p>11.<em> Yeah! </em>By Usher - Confessions</p> <p>12. <em>Bette Davis Eyes</em> by Kim Carnes - The Best Of</p> <p>13.<em> Endless Love</em> by Diana Ross/Lionel Richie - The #1's</p> <p>14. <em>Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)</em> by Rod Stewart - If We Fall In Love Tonight</p> <p>15.<em> Foolish Games </em>by Jewel - Pieces of You</p> <p>16. <em>(Everything I Do) I Do It for You </em>by Bryan Adams - So Far So Good</p> <p>17.<em> I'll Make Love to You </em>by Boyz II Men - Legacy: The Greatest Hits Collection</p> <p>18. Theme from a Summer Place by Jamie Hoover - Jamie Hoo-Ever</p> <p>19. <em>Le Freak </em>by Chic - Dance Floor Divas: The '70s</p> <p>20.<em> How Deep Is Your Love</em> by The Bee Gees - Their Greatest Hits: The Record - CD2</p> <p>21. <em>Eye of the Tiger </em>by Survivor - Ultimate Survivor</p> <p>22. <em>I Just Want To Be Your Everything</em> by Andy Gibb - Andy Gibb</p> <p>23. <em>Low</em> by Flo Rida/T-Pain - Mail on Sunday</p> <p>24. <em>Too Close</em> by Next - Rated Next</p> <p>25<em>. Every Breath You Take</em> by The Police - Every Breath You Take: The Singles</p> <p>26.<em> Flashdance...What a Feeling </em>by Irene Cara - Ultimate Disco: 30th Anniversary Collection</p> <p>27. <em>Tossin' and Turnin' </em>by Bobby Lewis - National Lampoon's Animal House</p> <p>28.<em> The Battle of New Orleans </em>by Johnny Horton - 16 Biggest Hits</p> <p>29. <em>One Sweet Day </em>by Mariah Carey/Boyz II Men - Daydream</p> <p>30.<em> Truly Madly Deeply</em> by Savage Garden - Savage Garden</p> <p>31.<em> Silly Love Songs</em> by Paul McCartney/Wings - Wings Greatest</p> <p>32.<em> Let's Get It On </em>by Marvin Gaye - What's Going On/Let's Get It On</p> <p>33.<em> Night Fever </em>by The Bee Gees - Their Greatest Hits: The Record - CD2</p> <p>34.<em> Another One Bites</em> The Dust by Queen - The Game</p> <p>35. <em>Say Say Say</em> by Paul McCartney - All the Best</p> <p>36. <em>How You Remind Me </em>by Nickelback - Silver Side Up</p> <p>37. <em>Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree</em> by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando - Time-Life Superhits 1973</p> <p>38. <em>It's All in the Game</em> by Tommy Edwards - Diner</p> <p>39.<em> I Want to Hold Your Hand</em> by The Beatles - The Capitol Albums Vol.1 - Meet The Beatles!</p> <p>40. <em>Shadow Dancing</em> by Andy Gibb - Greatest Hits Collection</p> <p>41.<em> Candle in the Wind</em> by Elton John - Here and There</p> <p>42.<em> No One</em> by Alicia Keys - As I Am</p> <p>43.<em> End Of The Road </em>by Boyz II Men - The Best Of Boyz II Men 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection</p> <p>44. <em>Call Me</em> by Blondie - The Best of Blondie</p> <p>45. <em>Let Me Love You</em> by Mario/Jadakiss/T.I. - Turning Point</p> <p>46.<em> Stayin' Alive</em> by The Bee Gees - Number Ones</p> <p>47. <em>Lady </em>by Kenny Rogers - 20 Great Years</p> <p>48.<em> I'm A Believer</em> by The Monkees - Rhino Hi-Five: The Monkees</p> <p>49.<em> Gold Digger </em>by Kanye West - Late Registration</p> <p>50. <em>Apologize</em> by Timbaland - Timbaland Presents Shock Value]</p> <p>51. <em>The Sign</em> by Ace Of Base - The Sign</p> <p>52. <em>Centerfold </em>by The J. Geils Band - Only Rock 1980 - 1984</p> <p>53.<em> (Just Like) Starting Over</em> by John Lennon - Imagine OST</p> <p>54. <em>The Boy Is Mine</em> by Monica/Brandy - The Boy Is Mine</p> <p>55.<em> Because I Love You (The Postman Song)</em> by Steve B. - Best of Stevie B</p> <p>56.<em> I Love Rock N' Roll</em> by Joan Jett &amp; the Blackhearts/Joan Jett &amp; the Blackhearts - Fit to Be Tied: Great Hits by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts</p> <p>57. <em>Aquarius-Let The Sunhine In</em> by Fifth Dimension - The Summer of Peace, Love &amp; Music - Volume 2</p> <p>58. <em>Whoomp! (There It Is)</em> by Tag Team - Jock Jams, Vol. 1</p> <p>59.<em> Ebony &amp; Ivory</em> by Stevie Wonder - Song Review - A Greatest Hits Collection (Disc 2)</p> <p>60.<em> Rush, Rush</em> by Paula Abdul - Paula Abdul</p> <p>61. <em>That's What Friends Are For </em>by Dionne &amp; Friends - Very Best Of Burt Bacharach</p> <p>62.<em> Upside Down</em> by Diana Ross - The Disco Years, Vol. 5: Must Be The Music</p> <p>63.<em> Sugar, Sugar</em> by The Archies - Absolutely The Best of The Archies</p> <p>64.<em> Dilemma</em> by Nelly - Nellyville</p> <p>65. <em>I Heard It Through The Grapevine </em>by Marvin Gaye - Motown 25 #1 Hits From 25 Years (Disc 1)</p> <p>66. <em>You're Still the One</em> by Shania Twain - Greatest Hits</p> <p>67.<em> Hot Stuff </em>by Donna Summer - Pure Disco</p> <p>68.<em> I Will Always Love You</em> by Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard</p> <p>69. <em>Gangsta's Paradise</em> by Coolio feat. L.V. - Gangsta's Paradise</p> <p>70.<em> Abracadabra </em>by Steve Miller Band - Young Hearts: Complete Greatest Hits</p> <p>71. <em>Billie Jean </em>by Michael Jackson - The Ultimate Collection (Disc 2)</p> <p>72. <em>You're So Vain</em> by Carly Simon - No Secrets</p> <p>73.<em> Play That Funky Music</em> by Wild Cherry - Billboard Top Hits - 1976</p> <p>74. <em>Say You, Say Me </em>by Lionel Richie - The Definitive Collection</p> <p>75. <em>My Sharona</em> by The Knack - Retrospective (The Best Of The Knack)</p> <p>76. <em>All Night Long (All Night)</em> by Lionel Richie - Can't Slow Down</p> <p>77.<em> Nothing Compares 2 U</em> by Sin&eacute;ad O'Connor - Journeys</p> <p>78. <em>I Swear </em>by All-4-One - Rhino Hi-Five: Valentine's Day Songs 2</p> <p>79. <em>Family Affair</em> by Mary J. Blige - No More Drama</p> <p>80. <em>Waiting For A Girl Like You</em> by Foreigner - Records</p> <p>81.<em> Are You Lonesome Tonight? </em>By Elvis Presley - ELV1S 30 #1 HITS</p> <p>82.<em> Killing Me Softly With His Song</em> by Roberta Flack - Softly With These Songs The Best</p> <p>83.<em> Hurts So Good </em>by John Mellencamp - Footloose</p> <p>84. <em>I'll Be Missing You</em> by Puff Daddy - Diana, Princess of Wales - Tribute Disc 2</p> <p>85.<em> Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head </em>by B J Thomas - Forrest Gump</p> <p>86. <em>Another Day in Paradise </em>by Phil Collins - But Seriously</p> <p>87. <em>Best of My Love</em> by The Emotions - Best of My Love: The Best of the Emotions</p> <p>88. <em>You Make Me Wanna... </em>by Usher - My Way</p> <p>89. <em>Big Girls Don't Cry</em> by Fergie - The Dutchess</p> <p>90. <em>Way We Were</em> by Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were</p> <p>91.<em> Another Night </em>by The Real McCoy - Another Night</p> <p>92.<em> It's Now or Never</em> by Elvis Presley - Love, Elvis</p> <p>93. <em>Do That To Me One More Time</em> by Captain &amp; Tennille - The Ultimate Collection: Captain &amp; Tennille</p> <p>94.<em> A Fifth Of Beethoven</em> by Walter Murphy &amp; the Big Apple Band - The Disco Box (Disc 2)</p> <p>95. <em>Like A Virgin</em> by Madonna - Like A Virgin</p> <p>96. <em>Maria Maria</em> by Santana (feat. The Product G&amp;B) - Maria Maria</p> <p>97.<em> I Will Survive</em> by Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive: The Anthology</p> <p>98.<em> I Can't Stop Loving You (2-15-62)</em> by Ray Charles - Genius &amp; Soul The 50th Anniversary Coll - Disc 3</p> <p>99. <em>U Got It Bad </em>by Usher - 8701</p> <p>100. <em>Joy To The World</em> by Three Dog Night - Three Dog Night: The Complete Hit Single</p> </div> </div>urn:uuid:6f9b3170-c710-4c03-aeae-739d1e0ffec1 A judge has sentenced two men to life in prison after they pleaded guilty in a series of fires at churches in Smith County in East Texas last year. Judge Christi Kennedy ordered the prison terms for 20-year-old Jason Robert Bourque and 22-year-old D...Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:45:02 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>A judge has sentenced two men to life in prison after they pleaded guilty in a series of fires at churches in Smith County in East Texas last year.</p> <p>Judge Christi Kennedy ordered the prison terms for 20-year-old Jason Robert Bourque and 22-year-old Daniel George McAllister on Jan. 10, 2011.</p> <p>In December 2010, Bourque pleaded guilty to five counts of arson and three counts of attempted arson.</p> <p>McAllister entered guilty pleas to two counts of arson and two counts of attempted arson.</p> <p>The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says Bourque also was sentenced to 20 years for attempted arson, to be served consecutive to the life prison term.</p> <p>McAllister received 20 years for attempted arson, to be served concurrently.</p> <p>Charges are pending over fires in Van Zandt and Henderson counties.</p> <p>The rash of church fires, 10 in all, began with a blaze at a church in Athens and another on New Year's Day 2010 not far away. A fire in the central Texas town of Temple followed, but the federal investigation did not kick in until two churches were torched Jan. 11, 2010, in Athens. Less than a week later, four fires in five days were reported.</p> <p>Bourque and McAllister were arrested last February. Nobody was hurt in the 10 blazes.</p> </div>urn:uuid:1b8bc701-a43a-48a2-a737-cee632905047 The top U.S. product safety official said on Monday the agency has failed to persuade Chinese makers of defective drywall to compensate American homeowners, in a dispute that threatens to mar strained trade ties. The failure to persuade about 13 mak...Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:36:05 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>The top U.S. product safety official said on Monday the agency has failed to persuade Chinese makers of defective drywall to compensate American homeowners, in a dispute that threatens to mar strained trade ties.</p> <p>The failure to persuade about 13 makers of contaminated drywall to redress American homeowners has been a major stumbling block for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is responsible for protecting Americans from unsafe household products.</p> <p>Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum said she would raise the drywall issue again when she meets her counterparts at China's Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, later on Monday.</p> <p>"We have not been able to get any of the Chinese manufacturers to come to the table to discuss our scientific findings and what, if any, they think their responsibility is to the American homeowner," she told reporters at a media briefing.</p> <p>"We are still very hopeful that the Chinese companies can come to the table and let us explain what our findings are and see if they can participate in helping us make our homeowners get a remedy in getting the Chinese drywall out."</p> <p>Drywall is also know as plasterboard and is used to make walls and ceilings.</p> <p>Tenenbaum said about 4,000 homeowners<a href="http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2009/10/16/104574.htm"> </a>had filed complaints about Chinese-made drywall saying the material had made their homes uninhabitable because it emits a foul smell and causes appliances such as air-conditioners to fail.</p> <p>Tenenbaum said the agency has released guidelines that said certain Chinese drywall samples emitted hydrogen sulfide, at higher levels than U.S. samples.</p> <p>Tenenbaum was in China to announce the appointment of Jeff Hilsgen as the agency's representative in Beijing -- the only overseas office set up by the agency.</p> <p>The tainted drywall, which was imported to rebuild houses after Hurricane Katrina hit the southern United States in 2005, has added to increased concern about the quality of goods imported from China.</p> <p>In recent years, worries about the high levels of toxic substances such as lead or cadmium in toys have led to a series of large recalls, hurting trade relations between the United States and China.</p> <p>Tenenbaum's visit to China comes a week ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's trip to the United States, during which rising trade tension stemming from issues such as product safety disputes will likely top the agenda.</p> <p>Last March, U.S. senators pressed U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to demand China pay for damage and health problems caused by contaminated Chinese-made drywall.</p> <h3>PRODUCT RECALLS</h3> <p>But Tenenbaum said the number of products recalls from China had improved markedly in 2010, lauding regulatory measures undertaken by China.</p> <p>"We're seeing an improvement in terms of the quality of products coming out of China," she said, noting that the number of product recalls in 2010 dropped to 220, from 346 in 2008.</p> <p>Despite this, Tenenbaum said enforcement in the provinces was still a challenge for her Chinese counterparts.</p> <p>Slightly more than half of U.S. product recalls come from China, according to data provided by the agency.</p> <p>Only one company, Germany's Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin) had agreed to remove the drywall and rewire 300 homes in a pilot program, Tenenbaum said.</p> <p>The program excludes more than 5,000 homes tainted with drywall from other Chinese manufacturers, which argue they should not be required to face claims in U.S. courts.</p> <p>Lennar Corp. , the third-biggest U.S. homebuilder, had to set aside millions of dollars to cover claims against it for the use of faulty Chinese drywall.</p> </div>urn:uuid:d7eb95b1-5208-4a02-a77a-0ec6447c2d40 The total economic cost of an overweight and obese population in the U.S. and Canada approaches $300 billion per year, with 90 percent of the total &ndash; $270 billion &ndash; attributed to the U.S. A new study the Society of Actuaries (SOA) looked...Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:31:55 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>The total economic cost of an overweight and obese population in the U.S. and Canada approaches $300 billion per year, with 90 percent of the total &ndash; $270 billion &ndash; attributed to the U.S.</p> <p>A new study the Society of Actuaries (SOA) looked at the economic costs of overweight (BMI between 25.0 &ndash; 29.9) and obesity (BMI of more than 30) caused by increased need for medical care, and loss of economic productivity resulting from excess mortality and disability.</p> <p>In the study, the SOA also divided the $300 billion finding into specific causes of economic costs. According to the SOA, the figure breaks down into the following economic costs per year:</p> <ul> <li>Total cost of excess medical care caused by overweight and obesity: $127 billion</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Economic loss of productivity caused by excess mortality: $49 billion</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Economic loss of productivity caused by disability for active workers : $43 billion</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Economic loss of productivity caused by overweight or obesity for totally disabled workers: $72 billion</li> </ul> <p>Researchers and actuaries Don Behan and Sam Cox reviewed nearly 500 research articles on obesity and its relation to mortality and morbidity, focusing primarily on papers published from January 1980 to June 2009.</p> <p>"We found substantial evidence that overweight and obesity are becoming world-wide epidemics, and are having negative impacts on health and mortality," said actuary Don Behan, an independent consulting actuary. "As actuaries, we are working with the insurance industry to help incentivize consumers through their health plan design to focus on health and wellness, which will hopefully help curb the weight and health problems we face today."</p> <p>Going one step further, the SOA breaks out the economic cost of overweight versus obesity for the U.S. and for Canada. Dividing up the $270 billion economic cost in the U.S., obesity cost the U.S. economy $198 billion and overweight cost $72 billion in 2009.</p> <p>The SOA said it also uncovered, through an online survey of 1,000 Americans 18 years and older, that the majority of consumers &ndash; 83 percent &ndash; would be willing to follow a healthy lifestyle, such as participating in a health and wellness program, if incentivized through their health plan.</p> <p>"Overweight and obesity have been shown to increase the rate of several common adverse medical conditions, resulting in this extraordinary economic cost to society," said Behan. "We can't stand back and ignore the fact that overweight and obesity are drivers of cost increases and detrimental economic effects. It's time for actuaries, the employer community and the insurance industry to take action and help consumers make smart, healthy decisions."</p> </div>urn:uuid:4cef101f-d8ff-4cc1-a6f1-46099b00e6fa Rank Stock # of Shares (millions) % Weighting of Portfolio (as of 6/30/09) 1 Coca-Cola (KO) 200....Sat, 08 Jan 2011 19:33:12 -0600<table width="497" id="table1241" bordercolor="#003366" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="center" valign="bottom" style="background-color: #de8525; width: 32px;"><b>Rank</b></td> <td align="center" valign="bottom" style="background-color: #de8525; width: 307px;"><b>Stock</b></td> <td align="center" valign="bottom" style="background-color: #de8525; width: 59px;"><b># of Shares<br /> (millions)</b></td> <td align="center" valign="bottom" style="background-color: #de8525;"><b>% Weighting <br /> of Portfolio<br /> (as of 6/30/09)</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">1</td> <td valign="top"><b>Coca-Cola</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=KO" title="Coca-Cola Co." target="_blank">KO</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">200.0</td> <td align="center" valign="top">21.60%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">2</td> <td valign="top"><b>Wells Fargo</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=WFC" title="Wells Fargo" target="_blank">WFC*</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">320.0</td> <td align="center" valign="top">19.56%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">3</td> <td valign="top"><b>American Express</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=AXP" title="American Express Company" target="_blank">AXP</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">151.6</td> <td align="center" valign="top">12.28%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">4</td> <td valign="top"><b>Procter &amp; Gamble</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=PG" title="Procter &amp; Gamble Co." target="_blank">PG*</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">79.1</td> <td align="center" valign="top">9.83%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">5</td> <td valign="top"><b>Kraft Foods Inc.</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=KFT" title="Kraft Foods Inc." target="_blank">KFT</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">106.7</td> <td align="center" valign="top">6.34%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">6</td> <td valign="top"><b>Wesco Financial Corp. </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=WSC" title="Wesco Financial Corp. " target="_blank">WSC</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">5.7</td> <td align="center" valign="top">4.32%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">7</td> <td valign="top"><b>Wal-Mart</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=WMT" title="Wal-Mart Stores Inc." target="_blank">WMT</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">39.0</td> <td align="center" valign="top">4.26%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">8</td> <td valign="top"><b>US Bancorp</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=USB" title="US Bancorp" target="_blank">USB</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">69.0</td> <td align="center" valign="top">3.51%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">9</td> <td valign="top"><b>ConocoPhillips</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=COP" title="ConocoPhillips " target="_blank">COP</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">34.2</td> <td align="center" valign="top">3.43%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">10</td> <td valign="top"><b>Johnson &amp; Johnson </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=JNJ" title="Johnson &amp; Johnson " target="_blank">JNJ</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">23.9</td> <td align="center" valign="top">3.06%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">11</td> <td valign="top"><b>Moody's Corp. </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MCO" title="Moody's Corp. " target="_blank">MCO</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">30.8</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1.80%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">12</td> <td valign="top"><b>Washington Post Co. </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=WPO" title="Washington Post Co. " target="_blank">WPO</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1.7</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1.51%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">13</td> <td valign="top"><b>Nike Inc. </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=NKE" title="Nike Inc. " target="_blank">NKE</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">7.6</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1.10%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">14</td> <td valign="top"><b>M&amp;T Bank Corp.</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=MTB" title="M&amp;T Bank Corp." target="_blank">MTB</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">5.6</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.87%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">15</td> <td valign="top"><b>Republic Services Inc. </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=RSG" title="Republic Services Inc. " target="_blank">RSG</a>)<b> ADDED TO POSITION!</b></td> <td align="center" valign="top">10.8</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.62%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">16</td> <td valign="top"><b>USG Corp.</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=USG" title="USG Corp." target="_blank">USG</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">17.1</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.58%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">17</td> <td valign="top"><b>Costco </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=COST" title="Costco Wholesale Corp. " target="_blank">COST</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">4.3</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.51%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">18</td> <td valign="top"><b>Nalco Holding Co.</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=NLC" title="Nalco Holding Co." target="_blank">NLC</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">9.0</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.43%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">19</td> <td valign="top"><b>Comcast </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CMCSA" title="Comcast Corporation" target="_blank">CMCSK</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">12.0</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.42%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">20</td> <td valign="top"><b>Iron Mountain Inc.</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=IRM" title="Iron Mountain Inc." target="_blank">IRM</a>)<b> ADDED TO POSITION!</b></td> <td align="center" valign="top">7.8</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.42%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">21</td> <td valign="top"><b>Ingersoll-Rand</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=IR" title="Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd." target="_blank">IR</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">5.6</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.39%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">22</td> <td valign="top"><b>CarMax Inc. </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=KMX" title="CarMax Inc. " target="_blank">KMX</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">7.7</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.38%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">23</td> <td valign="top"><b>Nestle S.A.</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=NSRGY.PK" title="Nestle S.A." target="_blank">NSRGY.PK</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">3.4</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.34%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">24</td> <td valign="top"><b>Lowe's</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=LOW" title="Lowe's Companies Inc. " target="_blank">LOW</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">6.5</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.31%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">25</td> <td valign="top"><b>Torchmark Corp.</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=TMK" title="Torchmark Corp." target="_blank">TMK</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">2.8</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.30%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">26</td> <td valign="top"><b>Sanofi-Aventis</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=SNY" title="Sanofi-Aventis" target="_blank">SNY</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">3.9</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.29%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">27</td> <td valign="top"><b>General Electric</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=GE" title="General Electric Co." target="_blank">GE</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">7.8</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.28%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">28</td> <td valign="top"><b>Becton Dickinson &amp; Co.</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=BDX" title="Becton Dickinson &amp; Co. " target="_blank">BDX</a>)<b> ADDED TO POSITION!</b></td> <td align="center" valign="top">1.7</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.27%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">29</td> <td valign="top"><b>NRG Energy, Inc. </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=NRG" title="NRG Energy, Inc. " target="_blank">NRG</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">6.0</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.25%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">30</td> <td valign="top"><b>United Parcel Service, Inc.</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=UPS" title="United Parcel Service, Inc." target="_blank">UPS*</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1.4</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.18%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">31</td> <td valign="top"><b>Bank of America </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=BAC" title="Bank of America Corporation" target="_blank">BAC*</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">5.0</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.18%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">32</td> <td valign="top"><b>Home Depot </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=HD" title="Home Depot, Inc" target="_blank">HD*</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">2.8</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.18%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">33</td> <td valign="top"><b>GlaxoSmithKline </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=GSK" title="GlaxoSmithKline plc " target="_blank">GSK</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1.5</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.11%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">34</td> <td valign="top"><b>Gannett Co., Inc. </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=GCI" title="Gannett Co., Inc. " target="_blank">GCI</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1.7</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.06%</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="497" id="table1241" bordercolor="#003366" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top">35</td> <td valign="top"><b>Exxon Mobil </b>(<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=XOM" title="Exxon Mobil Corp. " target="_blank">XOM</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.4</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.06%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">36</td> <td valign="top"><b>Comdisco Holding Co. Inc.</b> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CDCO.OB" title="Comdisco Holding Co. Inc." target="_blank">CDCO.OB</a>)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1.5</td> <td align="center" valign="top">0.03%</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:ff886eeb-ddc6-467d-bafb-8e4fd021a737<img src='http://www.reliableins.net/img/~www.reliableins.net/headerBackImage.jpg' align='left' /> Happy New Year! We would like to wish you and your's a happy and prosperous new year. We look forward to being here for you when you need us the most. If you need a quote onauto, home, business,&nbsp;motorcycle or anything else give us a call at ...Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:48:45 -0600<img alt="" src="/img/~www.reliableins.net/headerBackImage.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <br /> <strong><span style="font-size: 24px;">Happy New Year!<br /> </span></strong><br /> We would like to wish you and your's a happy and prosperous new year. We look forward to being here for you when you need us the most. If you need a quote on<a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto</a>, <a href="/homeowners/insurance_quote.aspx">home</a>, <a href="/business/bop_quote.aspx">business</a>,&nbsp;<a href="/motorcycle/insurance_quote.aspx">motorcycle</a> or anything else give us a call at 713-CAR-SAVE (713-227-7283)&nbsp;or visit <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>. &nbsp;<br /> <br /> <strong><span style="font-size: 24px;">Resolutions!<br /> </span></strong><br /> We know keeping your resolutions is hard. We believe in you. Now it's time to burn those calories, save money, spend more time with our family or what ever it may be. Our resolution to you is to set our bar of customer service standards higher and maintain them. You can guarantee that we will and strive for better service everyday.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> If you&nbsp;or someone you know would like a quote please give us a call at 713-CAR-SAVE (713-227-7283) or visit <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>. &nbsp;urn:uuid:c41b23ae-1662-4ccf-bb64-49a276f38a66 American International Group Inc. (AIG) has agreed to pay $146.5 million in fines and additional taxes to state insurance regulators for alleged under-reporting of premiums to states more than a decade ago. The company will pay $100 million in penal...Thu, 23 Dec 2010 14:31:32 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>American International Group Inc. (AIG) has agreed to pay $146.5 million in fines and additional taxes to state insurance regulators for alleged under-reporting of premiums to states more than a decade ago.</p> <p>The company will pay $100 million in penalties to all 50 states and the District of Columbia and another $46.5 million in additional taxes and assessments to eight state insurance departments that led the examination.</p> <p>The deal resolves a multi-state probe that examined whether AIG violated premium reporting rules governing workers compensation insurance from 1985 to 1996. The misreporting had the effect of lowering the premium taxes and premium-based assessments AIG paid, according to regulators.</p> <p>The settlement was announced by acting Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Robert L. Pratter on behalf of all states.</p> <p>"Accurate company financial data is an essential ingredient of proper insurance regulation," said Pratter. "AIG will pay a significant penalty, $100 million divided among the participating states, to resolve violations of insurance laws. This reflects the seriousness of the violations in this instance over a sustained period of time &ndash;primarily prior to 1996 &ndash; by AIG's prior senior management."</p> <p>Under the terms of the settlement, AIG will:</p> <ul> <li>Pay a $100 million fine to be apportioned among all the participating states;</li> <li>Pay approximately $46.5 million in additional taxes and assessments;</li> <li>Enter into a compliance plan containing agreed-upon specific steps and standards for evaluating AIG's ongoing compliance with workers compensation insurance rating and reporting requirements;</li> <li>Submit to periodic internal and state monitoring and a confirmatory examination at the end of 24 months; and</li> <li>Agree to pay a contingent potential fine of up to $150 million if AIG fails to meet the terms of the compliance plan.</li> </ul> <p>The AIG insurance companies will be filing restated financial statements by March 1, 2011 reflecting the reallocation of approximately $2.1 billion of premium.</p> <p>The multi-state examination was led by the states of Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. All the other states and the District of Columbia are participating in the settlement.</p> <p>The scope of the examination was AIG's financial reporting of workers compensation insurance for the years 1985 through 1996. The examination found AIG did not comply with rating, forms and financial reporting laws. It found that AIG misreported $2.12 billion of workers compensation premium that was reported instead as general or commercial automobile liability premium.</p> <p>In early 2006, AIG reached a $343 million settlement with New York and other states' attorneys general for underpayment of workers compensation premiums taxes and residual market assessments. AIG was found to have improperly booked workers' compensation premiums as general liability premiums from at least 1985 through 1996. One effect was to reduce AIG's taxes and residual market payments for those years. That 2006 deal was part of an overall $1.6 billion settlement of fraud, bid-rigging and improper accounting charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission and New York officials.</p> <p>The alleged misreporting occurred under previous AIG management. Pratter said AIG's current chief executive officer and board of directors cooperated fully throughout the examination.</p> <p>This settlement is conditioned upon its adoption by at least 35 of the remaining 43 states and the District of Columbia by March 1, 2011.</p> <p>AIG said it hopes states go along.</p> <p>"We are pleased that if this settlement becomes final, we will have resolved all remaining regulatory issues related to AIG's workers compensation premium reporting for our stakeholders,'' Joe Norton, company spokesman, said in a statement to <em>Insurance Journal</em>. "The settlement represents AIG's unwavering commitment to regulatory compliance and principled corporate governance."</p> <p>State regulatory issues may be resolved, however, the agreement is also conditional upon settlements of lawsuits between AIG and some of its workers' compensation competitors over whether the residual markets and state guaranty funds whose assessments are based on reported premiums have been shortchanged by misreporting. A U.S. District Court judge in Chicago ruled in August, 2009 that the trade group National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. (NCCI) did not have standing to sue for $1 billion on behalf of the residual markets but individual insurers have filed their own lawsuits and AIG has also sued other insurers.</p> <p>AIG, which received a total of $182 million in government bailout funds, is progressing on its restructuring plan that will allow it pay back the government.</p> </div>urn:uuid:2c4c40b0-da7f-40ee-8f80-e3b2db7bdf83 Those photos on Facebook showing you palling around with drunks, the raunchy joke you posted on Twitter, and those links to politically incorrect groups on your personal Web site &mdash;all of this information can now become part of your job applica...Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:32:14 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>Those photos on Facebook showing you palling around with drunks, the raunchy joke you posted on Twitter, and those links to politically incorrect groups on your personal Web site &mdash;all of this information can now become part of your job application and employment record.</p> <p>The practice of employers checking employment, criminal and credit histories of job candidates is apparently no longer sufficient. A California company is helping employers collect information about job candidates and employees from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and wherever else on the Internet the person may have posted information.<br /> <br /> </p> <div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>We not only review the social networks; it's the two-thirds of user-generated content that doesn't fall into the category of Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace," said Max Drucker, co-founder and CEO of Social Intelligence Corp., in an interview with Insurance Journal. "We review blogs. We review bulletin boards. We review the microblogs. We review comments in forums. We really are looking for anything out there, personal web pages, anything out there that a person can create themselves and has posted publicly, into the public domain, online."</p> <p>Drucker sees his service as a risk management tool for employers, helping them avoid liability for negligently hiring someone who later turns out to be a real mismatch, or worse. Post-hiring, it helps keep employees in line with a company's media policy.</p> <p><strong>Arms-Length</strong></p> <p>Companies are already scouring the Internet for information on job candidates and employees, but they may not be doing so efficiently or thoroughly, according to Drucker. What's more, they may be exposing themselves to liability by identifying information they shouldn't consider in hiring, such as age, race or religion. Social Intelligence acts as an "arms-length third party" to do the web searching for employers.</p> <p>"[T]oday essentially all companies in the Fortune 500 do some form of a criminal background check. I don't see this as any different," says Drucker. "You have an obligation to your existing workforce and your customers to not make negligent hires, and this gives you the opportunity to do this, without the risk that goes into doing that thing yourself."</p> <p>After Social Intelligence's computers comb the Internet for the information, at least three people at the firm review the results, according to Drucker. They customize their reports, giving employers the information they want while blacking out anything that is irrelevant to the job under consideration or that is illegal for employers to use in hiring such as if someone is pregnant or has a medical condition. If there is an objectionable photo, they describe it to the employer without actually including the photo in the report since that could disclose a person's race, age or other irrelevant characteristics.</p> <p><strong>Protecting Applicants</strong></p> <p>By blocking certain information, his service benefits job candidates as much as it does employers, Drucker contends.</p> <p>"We only provide solutions that are about protecting the job applicants from discrimination and, in turn, by doing that, you're protecting the employers of allegations of discrimination. You're giving them a fair hiring practice," he told Insurance Journal.</p> <p>"And we are coming from the approach of protecting that job applicant from potential discrimination or being evaluated based on things that are online that either, A, they have no control over, or B, simply are not relevant to the job."</p> <p>He says Social Intelligence functions as a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Thus, he said, anyone who has suffered "adverse actioning"&mdash; been fired or not been hired&mdash;has a right to a copy of the report and an opportunity to correct any misinformation.</p> <p>Drucker is surprised at what some people will post to the Internet.</p> <p>"It's ridiculous. I mean, we see this stuff all day, every day. People that are applying for jobs, people that have even posted their resumes online, that have these alter egos, doing things that represent them very poorly, and could, in turn, create a lot of risk for that company," he said.</p> <p>Social Intelligence is not just interested in embarrassing or negative information. "There's looking for the objectionable material, but we're also looking for positive attributes," he says, citing such things as participation in industry-leading blogs or charitable organizations, or if someone has a lot of Linked-In contacts.</p> <p>Drucker's social media monitoring service can be continued post-hiring, too. Bosses may request email alerts if something questionable about the company or a worker appears on the Internet.</p> <p>Social Intelligence will also monitor employees' use of the Internet and social networks&mdash;to see if they are posting derogatory comments about the company or fellow employees..</p> <p>"It's critical that their employees adhere to what their media policy is, which is, of course, don't give company secrets, and don't talk about the company in this forum or that forum. Don't have pictures of you doing a thing like shooting or drinking while wearing a company logos," Drucker said.</p> <p><strong>Additional Applications</strong></p> <p>Drucker is no stranger to insurance. He previously co-founded an insurance web application company named Steel Card that ChoicePoint acquired a few years ago. While he thinks insurance firms are prime candidates for use of his services in their hiring, extending the use of Internet monitoring beyond hiring and into underwriting is probably not doable now, although it could happen in the future.</p> <p>Right now, however, what does look promising in the insurance space is using social network and Web monitoring for fraud detection, following people who file disability, workers' compensation and other insurance claims.</p> <p>"[T]hat's one of our areas that we are exploring," he said.</p> <p>Just as his firm promises to protect employers from being sued, he is well aware his own firm is exposing itself to privacy critics, if not to potential lawsuits, by poking around in individuals' web spaces.</p> <p>"Look, all companies need to worry about being sued, at some level, for whatever the reason and we certainly understand that we're going into a new space that may be treated as controversial," he said. He hopes that by "making every effort, in every single way, to adhere to all the laws" and by focusing on protecting job applicants, his firm should be in a safe place.</p> <p>"But, of course, I have no idea of what may happen in the future," he said.</p> </div> </div>urn:uuid:e0eeec12-ad55-4c62-834a-f4c723eb1eeb Allstate Insurance has notified the Texas Department of Insurance that it will increase homeowner rates -- some by almost 10 percent. About 450,000 homeowners covered by Allstate Texas Lloyds will see a rate increase of 5.4 percent, effective Jan. 2...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:30:58 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>Allstate Insurance has notified the Texas Department of Insurance that it will increase homeowner rates -- some by almost 10 percent.</p> <p>About 450,000 homeowners covered by Allstate Texas Lloyds will see a rate increase of 5.4 percent, effective Jan. 20. Rates for the estimated 175,000 homeowners covered by Allstate Texas Fire and Casualty will increase 9.7 percent, according to documents filed with the state regulatory agency.</p> <p>The Texas Department of Insurance will review the Allstate rate filings to make sure they are justified. Regulators can order a reduction if a review indicates the rates are excessive.</p> <p>Allstate rates are very competitive in Texas, company spokeswoman Kristen Beaman said Tuesday. The increase is necessary because of higher costs for construction and damage caused by destructive weather.</p> <p>"It's a reflection of the weather in Texas,'' Beaman told The Dallas Morning News. "Hail and wind storms have been increasing in severity over the last several years. The increased cost of roofing materials is also a big factor.''</p> <p>The increase for Allstate Texas Lloyds customers averages $64 annually. The average increase for Allstate Fire and Casualty customers will be $115 a year.</p> <p>"Here we go again,'' said Alex Winslow of the consumer group Texas Watch. "It seems like every time one of the major insurance carriers raises rates, they all raise rates.''</p> <p>Farmers Insurance in November announced plans to raise rates 3.9 percent in March, for nearly half of its Texas policyholders.</p> <p>Allstate is increasing a discount for Allstate Texas Fire and Casualty customers who also have auto policies with the company to 22 percent from 15 percent.</p> <p>"We don't take pricing lightly,'' Beaman told the Houston Chronicle. "We understand we have a responsibility to offer consumer products at a fair price, but it needs to be one that reflects risk as adequately as possible.''</p> <p>The Office of Public Insurance Counsel, which represents consumers, has sent a letter to the department opposing the planned Allstate increases.</p> <p>Consumer groups would like the 2011 Legislature to return to a system of prior state approval of all rate hikes for auto and homeowners insurance.</p> </div>urn:uuid:6bc68401-f451-4db6-a812-faf0c448f287 Date Event 09-08-2008 PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR ISSUING UNAPPROVED FORMS IN TEXAS. 08-21-2003 REDOMESTICATED FROM WASHINGTON,...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:27:58 -0600<p> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-08-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR ISSUING UNAPPROVED FORMS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-21-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">REDOMESTICATED FROM WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO LIVONIA, MICHIGAN BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-14-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $75,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </p> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-09-2004 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS TO IRVING, TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-03-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, WAS APPROVED TO MOVE THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-15-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">INDUSTRIAL COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-15-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: INDUSTRIAL COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM DALLAS, TEXAS TO HOUSTON, TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-26-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">ACQUIRED BY INTERINSURANCE EXCHANGE OF THE AUTOMOBILE CLUB LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-31-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">ACQUIRED BY FAIRFAX, INC., A WYOMING CORPORATION. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-15-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">WITHDREW ARTICLE 1.28 APPLICATION AND MOVED BOOKS AND RECORDS BACK TO TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-12-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,000 PAID BY COMPANY, TRANSAMERICA INSURANCE COMPANY OF TEXAS, CHILTON INSURANCE COMPANY AND TRANSAMERICA LLOYDS INSURANCE COMPANY FOR MOVING BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-15-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS WAS APPROVED </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-31-1990 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS WAS APPROVED </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-17-1987 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, WAS APPROVED TO MOVE THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-20-1964 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS TO DALLAS, TEXAS </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:f88386ca-2cb4-43fd-acde-15bf6a06e09b Date Event 02-07-2007 REDOMESTICATED FROM TULSA, OKLAHOMA TO MAIDSON, WISCONSIN BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT. 02-07-2007 AD...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:26:19 -0600<table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-07-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">REDOMESTICATED FROM TULSA, OKLAHOMA TO MAIDSON, WISCONSIN BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-07-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED REINSURANCE ON ALL LINES AUTHORIZED TO BE WRITTEN ON A DIRECT BASIS INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-14-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">TRI-STATE INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-14-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: TRI-STATE INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-18-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $6,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GENERAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA, FARMERS &amp; MERCHANTS INSURANCE COMPANY, MIDWESTERN INSURANCE COMPANY, PENNSYLVANIA GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND POTOMAC INSURANCE COMPANY OF ILLINOIS FOR FILING FAULTY ZIP CODE DATA IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-24-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">HOMELAND CENTRAL INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-24-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: HOMELAND CENTRAL INSURANCE COMPANY REDOMESTICATED FROM DES MOINES, IOWA TO MADISON, WISCONSIN BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-02-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">HAWKEYE-SECURITY INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-02-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: HAWKEYE-SECURITY INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-17-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM WEST DES MOINES, IOWA TO DES MOINES, IOWA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-08-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM DES MOINES, IOWA TO WEST DES MOINES, IOWA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-08-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">CHANGED FIRE, ALLIED COVERAGES AND INLAND MARINE INSURANCE FROM REINSURANCE ONLY TO WRITING DIRECTLY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-30-1950 </td> <td headers="history2">HAWKEYE CASUALTY COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=01804" title="Go to company profile of 01804" target="_self">(01804)</a></b> DES MOINES, IOWA MERGED INTO COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:205b0cff-0b7a-442c-a1b3-9719ea63f857 Date Event 05-17-2010 PENALTY OF $11,875 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN KENTUCKY. 03-30-2010 ...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:23:30 -0600<table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-17-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $11,875 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN KENTUCKY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-30-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $49,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-20-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-29-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, AND GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-27-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $17,250 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY, AND GOVERMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-17-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $17,250 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN KENTUCKY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-30-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $31,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-20-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-29-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY, AND GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-03-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $2,000 FOR ISSUING RENEWAL BILLING NOTICES WHICH FAIL TO CLEARLY STATE THE EFFECT OF NONPAYMENT OF PREMIUM BY THE DUE DATE IN WISCONSIN. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-27-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $17,250 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY, AND GOVERMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-14-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR FAILURE TO PROMPTLY AND EQUITABLY SETTLE A CLAIM IN OREGON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-29-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $120,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY, AND GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY FOR USE OF AN UNFILED AND UNAPPROVED INSURANCE SCORING MODEL IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-29-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY, AND GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-08-2004 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $9,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-21-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $42,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-13-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN WISCONSIN. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-27-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,853 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY, AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-05-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $34,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY, GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR USE OF UNLICENSED INDIVIDUALS IN THE TRANSACTION OF INSURANCE IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-31-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $56,250 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-17-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY, AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION OF AGENT LICENSING PRACTICES IN OHIO </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-10-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000 FOR ISSUING POLICIES THROUGH PERSONS NOT LICENSED AS INSURANCE AGENTS IN SOUTH DAKOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-30-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY AND GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-18-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.32 ORDER BY CONSENT ISSUED IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-27-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $9,611,328 PAID BY COMPANY AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR RATE FILING VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-26-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $22,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY OF VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-25-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $35,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY AND GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR UNFAIR AUTOMOBILE UNDERWRITING PRACTICES IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-30-1989 </td> <td headers="history2">REDOMESTICATED FROM DES MOINES, IOWA TO CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-19-1983 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: EQUITABLE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=01188" title="Go to company profile of 01188" target="_self">(01188)</a></b>. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-19-1983 </td> <td headers="history2">EQUITABLE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-31-1978 </td> <td headers="history2">EQUITABLE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=26175" title="Go to company profile of 26175" target="_self">(26175)</a></b> FORT WORTH, TEXAS MERGED INTO COMPANY FORMERLY EQUI-GEN INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=01137" title="Go to company profile of 01137" target="_self">(01137)</a></b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-31-1978 </td> <td headers="history2">EQUI-GEN INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-17-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $24,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN KENTUCKY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-30-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $64,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-20-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-29-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, AND GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-02-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-27-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $17,250 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY, AND GOVERMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-29-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $120,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, AND GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY FOR USE OF AN UNFILED AND UNAPPROVED INSURANCE SCORING MODEL IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-29-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY, AND GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-21-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $42,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-27-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,853 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-05-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $34,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY, GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR USE OF UNLICENSED INDIVIDUALS IN THE TRANSACTION OF INSURANCE IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-08-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR DENYING AN AUTOMOBILE CLAIM WITHOUT CONDUCTING A REASONABLE INVESTIGATION IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-17-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY, GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION OF AGENT LICENSING PRACTICES IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-30-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY AND GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-18-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.32 ORDER BY CONSENT ISSUED IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-26-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $22,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GEICO CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-25-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $35,000 PAID BY COMPANY, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY AND GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR UNFAIR AUTOMOBILE UNDERWRITING PRACTICES IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-23-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR NOT GIVING POLICYHOLDERS PROPER CANCELLATION NOTICE IN ALASKA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-26-1986 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: CRITERION INSURANCE COMPANY WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=03933" title="Go to company profile of 03933" target="_self">(03933)</a></b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-26-1986 </td> <td headers="history2">CRITERION INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-16-1984 </td> <td headers="history2">CONVERTED FROM A STOCK CASUALTY COMPANY TO A STOCK FIRE &amp; CASUALTY COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:a04145e9-54a7-4d92-aaf2-eeecd0bfc6f7 Date Event 07-05-2006 PROGRESSIVE HOME INSURANCE COMPANY 07-05-2006 FORMERLY: PROGRESSIVE HOME INSURANCE COMPANY ...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:20:56 -0600<table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-05-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PROGRESSIVE HOME INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-05-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: PROGRESSIVE HOME INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-18-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED AUTOMOBILE--LIABILITY &amp; PHYSICAL DAMAGE INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-31-2004 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 12/25/2003, TOTALLY REINSURED PROGRESSIVE HOME UNDERWRITERS INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=95572" title="Go to company profile of 95572" target="_self">(95572)</a></b> AUSTIN, TEXAS </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-02-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">APPROVED TO WITHDRAW FROM WRITING LIABILITY OTHER THAN AUTOMOBILE FIDELITY AND SURETY INSURANCE IN TEXAS. COMPANY MAY NOT RE-ENTER MARKET FOR THESE LINES WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL UNTIL 8/2/2015. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-29-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $1,200 FOR PROVIDING A COURSE TO STUDENTS AFTER COURSE CERTIFICATION HAD EXPIRED IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-31-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR USE OF AN ADJUSTER WHO WAS NOT PROPERLY LICENSED IN KENTUCKY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-04-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $95,366 PAID BY COMPANY AND NINE OTHER PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE GROUP COMPANIES (SEE ORDER) FOR USE OF A FORM FOR WHICH THE COMMISSIONER'S APPROVAL DID NOT THEN EXIST AND USE OF RATES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH A FILING THEN IN EFFECT IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-18-2004 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000 FOR USE OF ADJUSTERS WHO WERE NOT LICENSED AT THE TIME OF CLAIMS-HANDLING IN NEW MEXICO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-12-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND PROGRESSIVE COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-04-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-15-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $68,820 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-27-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $64,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-11-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $30,000 PAID BY COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE PREFERRED INSURANCE COMPANY AND PROGRESSIVE NORTHWESTERN INSURANCE COMPANY OF SOLICITING INSURANCE WITH EMPLOYEES NOT LICENSED AS NON-RESIDENT AGENTS IN NEVADA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-17-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $49,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-07-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">WITHDREW AND DELETED WORKERS' COMPENSATION &amp; EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-31-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $28,132 PAID BY COMPANY, UNITED FINANCIAL CASUALTY COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE PREFERRED INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONAL CONTINENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY, CLASSIC INSURANCE COMPANY AND PROGRESSIVE NORTHWESTERN INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-11-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM BEACHWOOD, OHIO TO MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-18-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $18,000 PAID BY COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY AND UNITED FINANCIAL CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-27-1987 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO TO BEACHWOOD, OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-17-1976 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM CLEVELAND, OHIO TO MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-24-2004 </td> <td headers="history2">SPECIALTY RISK INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-24-2004 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: SPECIALTY RISK INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-22-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">REDOMESTICATED FROM MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE TO MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-04-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $95,366 PAID BY COMPANY AND NINE OTHER PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE GROUP COMPANIES (SEE ORDER) FOR USE OF A FORM FOR WHICH THE COMMISSIONER'S APPROVAL DID NOT THEN EXIST AND USE OF RATES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH A FILING THEN IN EFFECT IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-08-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">CLASSIC INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-08-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: CLASSIC INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-31-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $28,132 PAID BY COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE NORTHWESTERN INS CO, PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INS CO,UNITED FINANCIAL CASUALTY CO, PROGRESSIVE SPECIALTY INS CO, PROGRESSIVE PREFERRED INS CO AND NATIONAL CONTINENTAL INS CO FOR VIOLATIONS IN MARKET CONDUCT EXAM IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-23-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR COMMISSION RATE VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-23-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS WAS APPROVED. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-12-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-23-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS DENIED AND ORDERED TO MAINTAIN BOOKS AND RECORDS AT ADDRESS OF THE CURRENT ARTICLE 1.28 APPLICATION. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-08-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS WAS APPROVED </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-19-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS WAS APPROVED EFFECTIVE 08/31/1995. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-07-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS WAS APPROVED </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-15-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS WAS APPROVED </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-03-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS DENIED AND ORDERED TO MAINTAIN BOOKS AND RECORDS AT ADDRESS OF THE CURRENT ARTICLE 1.28 APPLICATION. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-31-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM ROCKDALE, TEXAS TO AUSTIN, TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-14-1988 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, WAS APPROVED TO MOVE THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-10-1975 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: ASSOCIATED COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY ROCKDALE, TEXAS. <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=06300" title="Go to company profile of 06300" target="_self">(06300)</a></b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-10-1975 </td> <td headers="history2">ASSOCIATED COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-29-1971 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: BEN MILAM COUNTY MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY ROCKDALE, TEXAS. <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=00407" title="Go to company profile of 00407" target="_self">(00407)</a></b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-29-1971 </td> <td headers="history2">BEN MILAM COUNTY MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-04-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $95,366 PAID BY COMPANY AND NINE OTHER PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE GROUP COMPANIES (SEE ORDER) FOR USE OF A FORM FOR WHICH THE COMMISSIONER'S APPROVAL DID NOT THEN EXIST AND USE OF RATES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH A FILING THEN IN EFFECT IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-29-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-25-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">REDOMESTICATED FROM BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON TO MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-25-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED REINSURANCE ON ALL LINES AUTHORIZED TO BE WRITTEN ON A DIRECT BASIS INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-18-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $150,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-19-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $125,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-11-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $30,000 PAID BY COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY AND PROGRESSIVE PREFERRED INSURANCE COMPANY FOR SOLICITING INSURANCE WITH EMPLOYEES NOT LICENSED AS NON-RESIDENT AGENTS IN NEVADA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-06-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM BOTHELL, WASHINGTON TO BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-31-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $28,132 PAID BY COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, UNITED FINANCIAL CASUALTY COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE PREFERRED INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONAL CONTINENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND CLASSIC INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-18-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON TO BOTHELL, WASHINGTON </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-04-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $95,366 PAID BY COMPANY AND NINE OTHER PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE GROUP COMPANIES (SEE ORDER) FOR USE OF A FORM FOR WHICH THE COMMISSIONER'S APPROVAL DID NOT THEN EXIST AND USE OF RATES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH A FILING THEN IN EFFECT IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-11-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $30,000 PAID BY COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY AND PROGRESSIVE NORTHWESTERN INSURANCE COMPANY FOR SOLICITING INSURANCE WITH EMPLOYEES NOT LICENSED AS NON-RESIDENT AGENTS IN NEVADA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-31-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $28,132 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONAL CONTINENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY, CLASSIC INSURANCE COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE NORTHWESTERN INSURANCE COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, UNITED FINANCIAL CASUALTY COMPANY AND PROGRESSIVE SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-11-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM BEACHWOOD, OHIO TO MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-27-1987 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO TO BEACHWOOD, OHIO. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-18-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">REDOMESTICATED FROM RIVERVIEW, FLORIDA TO INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-17-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM TAMPA, FLORIDA TO RIVERVIEW, FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-17-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED REINSURANCE ON ALL LINES AUTHORIZED TO BE WRITTEN ON A DIRECT BASIS INSURANCE.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-04-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $95,366 PAID BY COMPANY AND NINE OTHER PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE GROUP COMPANIES (SEE ORDER) FOR USE OF A FORM FOR WHICH THE COMMISSIONER'S APPROVAL DID NOT THEN EXIST AND USE OF RATES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH A FILING THEN IN EFFECT IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-15-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,650 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-31-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $28,132 PAID BY COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE PREFERRED INS CO, NATIONAL CONTINENTAL INS CO, CLASSIC INS CO, PROGRESSIVE NORTHWESTERN INS CO, PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INS CO AND UNITED FINANCIAL CASUALTY CO FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAM IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-11-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM BEACHWOOD, OHIO TO MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-18-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $18,000 PAID BY COMPANY, PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY AND UNITED FINANCIAL CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-27-1987 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO TO BEACHWOOD, OHIO </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-04-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $95,366 PAID BY COMPANY AND NINE OTHER PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE GROUP COMPANIES (SEE ORDER) FOR USE OF A FORM FOR WHICH THE COMMISSIONER'S APPROVAL DID NOT THEN EXIST AND USE OF RATES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH A FILING THEN IN EFFECT IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-03-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">REDOMESTICATED FROM RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA TO MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-03-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PRO-WEST INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-03-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: PRO-WEST INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-31-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PEOPLES INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-31-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: PEOPLES INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-29-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: ANVIL INSURANCE COMPANY IRVINE, CALIFORNIA </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-29-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">ANVIL INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:5ac841b1-fd5a-4689-8bd0-191494c36dfa Date Event 02-15-2006 REDOMESTICATED FROM BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS TO WAUSAU, WISCONSIN BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT. 04-29-2002 ...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:14:47 -0600<table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-15-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">REDOMESTICATED FROM BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS TO WAUSAU, WISCONSIN BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-29-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">LIBERTY INSURANCE ACQUISITION CORPORATION, A MASSACHUSETTS STOCK INSURANCE COMPANY (NOT LICENSED IN TEXAS) MERGED INTO COMPANY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-22-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">CONVERTED FROM A MUTUAL PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY TO A STOCK PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-11-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-30-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $9,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT INVESTIGATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-08-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $19,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-10-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED FIDELITY &amp; SURETY INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-07-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH WORKERS' COMPENSATION POLICIES IN GEORGIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-25-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 FOR ISSUING 2 WORKERS' COMPENSATION POLICIES NOT RATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATE-REQUIRED FILINGS IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-01-1989 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $637,500 PAID BY COMPANY AND LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR UNDERWRITING PRACTICES AND RATING LAW VIOLATIONS IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-15-1949 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: UNITED MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=04318" title="Go to company profile of 04318" target="_self">(04318)</a></b>. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-15-1949 </td> <td headers="history2">UNITED MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-12-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $12,000 FOR FAILURE TO PAY INDEPENDENT REVIEW ORGANIZATION FEES IN A TIMELY BASIS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-20-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 FOR VIOLATIONS OF ADJUSTER LICENSING LAWS IN VERMONT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-26-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">COMPANY AND BERKELEY MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, IRVING, TEXAS ACQUIRED GAINSCO COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=93956" title="Go to company profile of 93956" target="_self">(93956)</a></b> FORT WORTH, TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-22-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">CONVERTED FROM A MUTUAL PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY TO A STOCK PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-11-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND LIBERTY MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-30-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,900 FOR VILATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT INVESTIGATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-08-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $19,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND LIBERTY MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-07-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $8,500 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH WORKERS' COMPENSATION POLICIES IN GEORGIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-01-1989 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $637,500 PAID BY COMPANY AND LIBERTY MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR UNDERWRITING PRACTICES AND RATING LAW VIOLATIONS IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-13-1989 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $100,000 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH THE AUTOMOBILE MANUAL IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:a42f3c94-caec-41b3-8234-989ddcbef371 Date Event 02-14-2003 PROVIDENT NATIONAL ASSURANCE COMPANY 02-14-2003 FORMERLY: PROVIDENT NATIONAL ASSURANCE COMPANY REDOM...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:10:35 -0600<table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-14-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">PROVIDENT NATIONAL ASSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-14-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: PROVIDENT NATIONAL ASSURANCE COMPANY REDOMESTICATED FROM CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE TO NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-28-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 07/01/1992 PARTIALLY REINSURED BY PROVIDENT LIFE AND ACCIDENT INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=68655" title="Go to company profile of 68655" target="_self">(68655)</a></b> CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-22-1979 </td> <td headers="history2">REDOMESTICATED FROM DES MOINES, IOWA TO CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-31-1975 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: AMERICAN REPUBLIC ASSURANCE COMPANY DES MOINES, IOWA. <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=04680" title="Go to company profile of 04680" target="_self">(04680)</a></b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-31-1975 </td> <td headers="history2">AMERICAN REPUBLIC ASSURANCE COMPANY. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-02-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $850,000 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR DENYING AUTOMOBILE POLICIES ON THE BASIS OF MARTIAL STATUS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-26-1986 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, WAS APPROVED TO MOVE THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-21-1985 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: KEMPER COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY GARLAND, TEXAS. <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=02088" title="Go to company profile of 02088" target="_self">(02088)</a></b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-21-1985 </td> <td headers="history2">KEMPER COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-20-1961 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: MODERN COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY AUSTIN, TEXAS. <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=02581" title="Go to company profile of 02581" target="_self">(02581)</a></b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-20-1961 </td> <td headers="history2">MODERN COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-22-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $4,100 PAID BY ALLSTATE FIRE AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, AND THREE OTHER ALLSTATE COMPANIES, FOR ISSUANCE OF INSURANCE POLICIES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INSURANCE CODE IN OKLAHOMA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-11-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND NINE OTHER ALLSTATE COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-23-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 FOR POLICY VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-28-2004 </td> <td headers="history2">DELETED MORTGAGE GUARANTY INSURANCE AND ADDED FIRE, ALLIED COVERAGES, HAIL-GROWING CROPS ONLY, RAIN, INLAND MARINE, OCEAN MARINE, AIRCRAFT-- LIABILITY &amp; PHYSICAL DAMAGE, ACCIDENT, HEALTH, EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY, AUTOMOBILE--LIABILITY &amp; PHYSICAL DAMAGE, LIABILITY OTHER THAN AUTOMOBILE, FIDELITY &amp; SURETY, GLASS, BURGLARY &amp; THEFT, FORGERY, BOILER &amp; MACHINERY, CREDIT AND REINSURANCE ON ALL LINES AUTHORIZED TO BE WRITTEN ON A DIRECT BASIS INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-15-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">FORESTVIEW MORTGAGE INSURANCE CO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-15-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: FORESTVIEW MORTGAGE INSURANCE CO. REDOMESTICATED FROM RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA TO NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-21-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA TO RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-03-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">DELETED FIRE, ALLIED COVERAGES, INLAND MARINE, OCEAN MARINE, LIABILITY OTHER THAN AUTO, FIDELITY &amp; SURETY, GLASS, BURGLARY &amp; THEFT, FORGERY, BOILER &amp; MACHINERY, CREDIT AND REINSURANCE. ADDED MORTGAGE GUARANTY, TYPE I INSURANCE. CONVERTED FROM A FIRE &amp; CASUALTY TO A CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-14-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PMI INSURANCE CO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-14-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: PMI INSURANCE CO. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-11-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $3,500 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-22-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $4,100 PAID BY ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY, AND THREE OTHER ALLSTATE COMPANIES, FOR ISSUANCE OF INSURANCE POLICIES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INSURANCE CODE IN OKLAHOMA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-29-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $1,000 FOR FAILURE TO USE FILED FORM AS OF EFFECTIVE DATE IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-04-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $9,483.50 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-11-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND NINE OTHER ALLSTATE COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-16-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY AND ALLSTATE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-18-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $4,000 FOR MAKING OR ISSUING INSURANCE CONTRACTS OR POLICIES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH RATE AND SUPPLEMENTARY RATE INFORMATION FILINGS IN EFFECT IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-11-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND IN A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VERMONT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-27-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $31,300 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-21-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $90,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-08-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR USE OF UNDERWRITING CRITERIA WHICH VIOLATE INSURANCE STATUTES IN HAWAII. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-10-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $51,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT INVESTIGATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-09-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VERMONT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-02-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR FAILURE TO INCLUDE STATUTORILY REQUIRED LANGUAGE IN POLICY TERMINATION LETTERS IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-15-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $6,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-06-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000 PAID BY ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-10-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $54,850 PAID BY ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW JERSEY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-30-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY AND ALLSTATE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE REPORTS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-29-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $42,700,000 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY AND ALLSTATE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS WITH PRIVATE PASSANGER AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE RATE FILINGS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-23-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-11-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-10-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $16,962.50 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-16-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $27,400 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-20-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">APPROVED TO WITHDRAW FROM COMMERCIAL WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSURANCE IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-02-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-02-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $850,000 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY AND ALLSTATE COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR DENYING AUTOMOBILE POLICIES ON THE BASIS OF MARTIAL STATUS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-20-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $47,000 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, NORTHBROOK INDEMNITY COMPANY, NORTHBROOK NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND NORTHBROOK PROPERTY AND CASUALTY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-22-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $9,364 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-30-1974 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: NATIONAL EMBLEM INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=58020" title="Go to company profile of 58020" target="_self">(58020)</a></b>. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-30-1974 </td> <td headers="history2">NATIONAL EMBLEM INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-11-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $3,500 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-21-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $2,500 FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE INSURANCE CODE IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-01-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $1,500 FOR USING RATES AND FORMS THAT HAD NOT BEEN FILED OR APPROVED IN OKLAHOMA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-22-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $4,100 PAID BY ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, AND THREE OTHER ALLSTATE COMPANIES, FOR ISSUANCE OF INSURANCE POLICIES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INSURANCE CODE IN OKLAHOMA. PENALTY OF $2,500 FOR ENGAGING IN UNFAIR CLAIM SETTLEMENT PRACTICES IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-23-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $550 FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE COMPLETE AND TIMELY RESPONSE IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-20-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $575 FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE COMPLETE AND TIMELY RESPONSE IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-04-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $9,483.50 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY, AND ALLSTATE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-11-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND NINE OTHER ALLSTATE COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-16-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-17-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $1,000 FOR MAKING OR ISSUING AN INSURANCE CONTRACT OR POLICY NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RATE FILINGS IN EFFECT FOR THE COMPANY IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-18-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $4,000 FOR MAKING OR ISSUING INSURANCE CONTRACTS OR POLICIES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH RATE AND SUPPLEMENTARY RATE INFORMATION FILINGS IN EFFECT IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-24-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $4,500 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH CONTINUING EDUCATION PROVIDER CERTIFICATION IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-15-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $3,200 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH CONTINUING EDUCATION PROVIDER CERTIFICATION IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-11-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND IN A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VERMONT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-27-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $100,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION OF RENEWAL PREMIUM INCREASES IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-13-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-13-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $33,650 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT REVIEW IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-22-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $12,220 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN INDIANA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-27-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $31,300 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-14-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH 10/16/2001 CONSENT ORDER IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-30-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $9,800 FOR USE OF UNLICENSED ADJUSTERS IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-21-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $90,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-08-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR USE OF UNDERWRITING CRITERIA WHICH VIOLATE INSURANCE STATUTES IN HAWAII. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-05-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR RESUBMISSION OF LICENSING FORMS IN HAWAII. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-19-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR FAILURE TO PAY ALL REASONABLE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH AUTOMOBILE GLASS CLAIMS IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-16-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH A REFUNDED MAINTENANCE TAX SURCHARGE IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-16-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 FOR FAILURE TO APPLY A PREMIUM DISCOUNT PLAN TO ALL QUALIFIED POLICYHOLDERS IN MICHIGAN. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-02-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $250,000 FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-10-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $82,520 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT INVESTIGATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-19-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 FOR USE OF UNLICENSED PERSONNEL TO PERFORM DUTIES STATUTORILY ENTRUSTED TO DULY LICENSED ADJUSTERS IN WEST VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-09-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VERMONT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-02-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR FAILURE TO INCLUDE STATUTORILY REQUIRED LANGUAGE IN POLICY TERMINATION LETTERS IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-06-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000 PAID BY ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-28-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $33,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-10-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $54,850 PAID BY ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW JERSEY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-04-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $150,000 FOR AGENT VIOLATIONS IN TENNESSEE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-06-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $23,000 FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE RENEWAL APPLICATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-30-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE REPORTS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-29-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $42,700,000 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS WITH PRIVATE PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE RATE FILINGS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-23-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $40,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-11-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-24-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $23,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MICHIGAN. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-10-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $16,962.50 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-17-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $100,000 FOR USING UNAPPROVED FORM IN OKLAHOMA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-25-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $22,600 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-20-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">APPROVED TO WITHDRAW FROM COMMERCIAL WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSURANCE IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-12-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $16,000 FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY RESPOND TO AN INQUIRY FROM THE DEPARTMENT ABOUT A COMPLAINT IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-12-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR AN AGENT SELLING POLICIES WITHOUT A LICENSE IN OKLAHOMA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-10-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 FOR MAILING AUTOMOBILE CANCELLATIONS BY BULK OPPOSED TO REGISTERED OR CERTIFIED MAIL IN NEBRASKA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-02-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-27-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000 FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY RESPOND TO CONSUMER COMPLAINTS AND THE DEPARTMENT IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-02-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $850,000 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR DENYING AUTOMOBILE POLICIES ON THE BASIS OF MARTIAL STATUS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-25-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $94,000 FOR FAILURE TO PAY MEDICAL TREATMENT DISPUTE ARBITRATION AWARD PAYMENTS IN A TIMELY MANNER IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-21-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-20-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $47,000 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY, NORTHBROOK INDEMNITY COMPANY, NORTHBROOK NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND NORTHBROOK PROPERTY AND CASUALTY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-24-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE QUARTERLY CLOSED CLAIM REPORTS AND FORM IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-12-1967 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM SKOKIE, ILLINOIS TO NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-02-1953 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM CHICAGO, ILLINOIS TO SKOKIE, ILLINOIS. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-02-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $1,650 FOR FAILURE TO FILE THE HEALTH COST REPORTING FORM IN A TIMELY MANNER IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-23-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $1,000 FOR FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN INQUIRY IN NEBRASKA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-03-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 1/1/2005, GLENBROOK LIFE AND ANNUITY COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=93412" title="Go to company profile of 93412" target="_self">(93412)</a></b>, PHOENIX, ARIZONA MERGED INTO COMPANY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-11-2004 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MASSACHUSETTS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-07-2004 </td> <td headers="history2">AUTHORIZED TO OPERATE AS A THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-25-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $100,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEVADA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-10-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 1/1/2003, NORTHBROOK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=93550" title="Go to company profile of 93550" target="_self">(93550)</a></b> PHOENIX, ARIZONA MERGED INTO COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-20-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED VARIABLE LIFE INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-12-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ILLINOIS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-07-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 10/01/1999 REINSURED FIXED ANNUITIES OF MBL LIFE ASSURANCE CORPORATION <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=93505" title="Go to company profile of 93505" target="_self">(93505)</a></b> NEWARK, NEW JERSEY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-07-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN SOUTH DAKOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-28-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,800 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OKLAHOMA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-14-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ILLINOIS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-23-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 03/29/1996 EMPLOYER GROUP ACCIDENT AND HEALTH INSURANCE REINSURED BY METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=53950" title="Go to company profile of 53950" target="_self">(53950)</a></b> NEW YORK, NEW YORK </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-29-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED VARIABLE ANNUITY INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-24-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $125,000 FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE LAWS IN CALIFORNIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-09-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $125,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND IN THE COMPANY'S CREDIT LIFE AND CREDIT HEALTH INSURANCE EXPERIENCE REPORT IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-11-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 01/01/1990 PARTIALLY REINSURED BY MUTUAL OF OMAHA INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=57370" title="Go to company profile of 57370" target="_self">(57370)</a></b> OMAHA, NEBRASKA </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-27-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 FOR FAILING TO MAIL INFORMATION TO EXISTING INSURER WITHIN THREE WORKING DAYS AFTER THE DATE THE REPLACING INSURER RECEIVED THE APPLICATION IN ITS HOME OFFICE IN OREGON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-12-1967 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM SKOKIE, ILLINOIS TO NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-22-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $4,100 PAID BY ALLSTATE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, AND THREE OTHER ALLSTATE COMPANIES, FOR ISSUANCE OF INSURANCE POLICIES NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INSURANCE CODE IN OKLAHOMA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-19-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-22-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $575 FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE A COMPLETE AND TIMELY RESPONSE IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-04-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $9,483.50 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY, AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MISSOURI. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-11-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND NINE OTHER ALLSTATE COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-16-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-06-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $36,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-16-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM NORTHFIELD, ILLINOIS TO NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-30-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE REPORTS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-29-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $42,700,000 PAID BY COMPANY, ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY AND ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS WITH PRIVATE PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE RATE FILINGS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-11-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">APPROVED TO WITHDRAW FROM WRITING RESIDENTIAL FIRE AND COMPREHENSIVE PERSONAL LIABILITY POLICIES IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-10-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR CLAIM HANDLING AND/OR SETTLEMENT PRACTICE VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-23-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $75,000 FOR IMPROPERLY SURCHARGING POLICYHOLDERS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-12-1989 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, WAS APPROVED TO MOVE THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:4582cc9e-bee9-42e8-9828-107c1fa14ccc Date Event 03-27-2007 REDOMESTICATED FROM OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS TO COLUMBUS, OHIO BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT. 06-21-2001 ...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:00:17 -0600<table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-27-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">REDOMESTICATED FROM OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS TO COLUMBUS, OHIO BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-21-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM TOPEKA, KANSAS TO OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-07-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">WATERFORD INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-07-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: WATERFORD INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-30-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">VALLEY NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-30-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: VALLEY NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-30-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED REINSURANCE ON ALL LINES AUTHORIZED TO BE WRITTEN ON A DIRECT BASIS INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-30-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">LINCOLN NATIONAL SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-30-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: LINCOLN NATIONAL SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-26-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY, AMERICAN STATES INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=05030" title="Go to company profile of 05030" target="_self">(05030)</a></b>, AMERICAN ECONOMY INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=02155" title="Go to company profile of 02155" target="_self">(02155)</a></b> AND WESTERN FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=90550" title="Go to company profile of 90550" target="_self">(90550)</a></b> FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A WORKERS' COMPENSATION EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-05-1990 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: WESTERN CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY, THE MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM FORT SCOTT, KANSAS TO TOPEKA, KANSAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-05-1990 </td> <td headers="history2">WESTERN CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY THE </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-01-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 07/24/1997, CEASE AND DESIST ORDER RELEASED VIA ADMISSION TO ARKANSAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-30-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE QUARTERLY CLOSED CLAIM REPORTS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-26-1990 </td> <td headers="history2">CEASE AND DESIST ORDER ENTERED IN ARKANSAS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-19-1986 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: FARMLAND INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=03622" title="Go to company profile of 03622" target="_self">(03622)</a></b>. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-19-1986 </td> <td headers="history2">FARMLAND INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-01-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $45,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, AND NATIONWIDE ASSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-24-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE LIFE AND ANNUITY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILING TO MONITOR AND SUPERVISE THEIR SALES FORCE IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-07-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONAWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-27-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $112,500 FOR ENGAGING IN THE PRACTICE OF UNFAIRLY DISCRIMINATING AGAINST AUTO INSURANCE APPLICANTS BASED UPON MARITAL STATUS THROUGH ITS MARKETING PRACTICES IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-05-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $100,000 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH THE RISK EVALUATION SYSTEM IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-24-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $35,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURNACE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR RATE VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-21-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">DEEMED APPROVED TO WITHDRAW FROM HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-31-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $37,000 PAID BY COMPANY ALONG WITH 7 OTHER COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS IN MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-13-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-25-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">TIG COUNTRYWIDE INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-25-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: TIG COUNTRYWIDE INSURANCE COMPANY REDOMESTICATED FROM SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA TO MADISON, WISCONSIN BY WAY OF CHARTER AMENDMENT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-25-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED REINSURANCE ON ALL LINES AUTHORIZED TO BE WRITTEN ON A DIRECT BASIS INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-24-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $12,000 PAID BY COMPANY, TIG INSURANCE COMPANY, FAIRMONT INSURANCE COMPANY AND TIG PREMIER INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE ZIP CODE DATA IN MISSOURI </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-18-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $40,000 PAID BY COMPANY, FAIRMONT INSURANCE COMPANY, TRANSAMERICA ASSURANCE COMPANY, TIG INDEMNITY COMPANY, TIG INSURANCE COMPANY AND TIG PREMIER INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-10-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA TO SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-10-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">TRANSAMERICA COUNTRYWIDE INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-10-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: TRANSAMERICA COUNTRYWIDE INSURANCE COMPANY WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-26-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: COUNTRYWIDE INSURANCE COMPANY IRVINE, CALIFORNIA </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-26-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">COUNTRYWIDE INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-10-1987 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA TO IRVINE, CALIFORNIA </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-31-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 12/31/2009, NATIONWIDE LIFE AND ANNUITY COMPANY OF AMERICA NEWARK, DELAWARE <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=93864" title="Go to company profile of 93864" target="_self">(93864)</a></b> MERGED INTO COMPANY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-15-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $2,100,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A FIVE-STATE MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-22-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, AND NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILING TO MONITOR AND SUPERVISE THEIR SALES FORCE IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-22-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">FINANCIAL HORIZONS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-22-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: FINANCIAL HORIZONS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-24-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED VARIABLE LIFE AND VARIABLE ANNUITY INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-22-1988 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: NATIONWIDE VARIABLE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=05235" title="Go to company profile of 05235" target="_self">(05235)</a></b>. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-22-1988 </td> <td headers="history2">NATIONWIDE VARIABLE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-31-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 12/31/2009, NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA BERWYN, PENNSYLVANIA <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=68700" title="Go to company profile of 68700" target="_self">(68700)</a></b> MERGED INTO COMPANY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-15-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $2,100,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A FIVE-STATE MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-18-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 3/1/2004, CERTAIN HEALTH INSURANCE REINSURED BY CENTRAL UNITED LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=93609" title="Go to company profile of 93609" target="_self">(93609)</a></b>, HOUSTON, TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-28-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $30,000 FOR FAILURE TO RESPOND IN A TIMELY MANNER TO THE DIVISION'S REQUEST FOR PREMIUM TAX INFORMATION INQUIRIES IN SOUTH DAKOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-10-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">WITHDREW FROM WRITING INDIVIDUAL ACCIDENT AND HEALTH INSURANCE IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-09-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $17,054.03 FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE ITS 2000 TAXES IN LOUISIANA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-15-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ILLINOIS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-22-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 5/30/2000, EMPLOYERS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF WAUSAU, WAUSAU, WISCONSIN <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=25775" title="Go to company profile of 25775" target="_self">(25775)</a></b> MERGED INTO COMPANY. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-18-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $14,100 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-24-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE LIFE AND ANNUITY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILING TO MONITOR AND SUPERVISE THEIR SALES FORCE IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-08-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-30-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">APPROVED TO WITHDRAW FROM WRITING GROUP LIFE AND GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-14-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $60,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR UNLICENSED ACTIVITIES BY NATIONWIDE AGENTS IN MAINE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-24-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 1/1/1995, PARTIALLY REINSURED ALL INDIVIDUAL ACCIDENT AND HEALTH POLICIES OF FARMLAND LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=28670" title="Go to company profile of 28670" target="_self">(28670)</a></b> DES MOINES, IOWA AND FARMLAND MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=28680" title="Go to company profile of 28680" target="_self">(28680)</a></b> DES MOINES, IOWA. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-31-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 FOR UNDERWRITING GUIDELINE VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-12-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">CHANGED ATTORNEY-IN-FACT FROM ROBERT W. SAIK TO LONE STAR GENERAL AGENCY, INC. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-10-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS WAS APPROVED. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-16-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">CHANGED ATTORNEY-IN-FACT FROM JAMES A. MERHAR TO ROBERT W. SAIK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-21-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">WAUSAU LLOYDS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-21-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: WAUSAU LLOYDS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-21-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">CHANGED ATTORNEY-IN-FACT FROM JAMES B. POPE TO JAMES A. MERHAR. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-02-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, WAS APPROVED TO MOVE THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-03-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM IRVING, TEXAS TO SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-30-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50 FOR FAILING TO SUBMIT ITS REQUISITE RENEWAL FEE FOR THE 2008 CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-05-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $18,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-02-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $27,333 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-01-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $45,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, AND NATIONWIDE ASSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-17-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, AND NATIONWIDE ASSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A SETTLEMENT PRACTICES INVESTIGATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-05-2004 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR USE OF CREDIT SCORING WITHOUT COMPANY PROVIDING ITS OWN DATA TO DEMONSTRATE A SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED RISK OF LOSS IN ARKANSAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-23-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR UNFAIR CLAIMS PRACTICES IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-06-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $24,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE PROPERTY &amp; CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VERMONT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-08-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $15,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-23-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $31,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-24-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE LIFE AND ANNUITY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILING TO MONITOR AND SUPERVISE THEIR SALES FORCE IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-07-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-27-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $112,500 FOR ENGAGING IN THE PRACTICE OF UNFAIRLY DISCRIMINATING AGAINST AUTO INSURANCE APPLICANTS BASED UPON MARITAL STATUS THROUGH ITS MARKETING PRACTICES IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-05-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $100,000 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH THE RISK EVALUATION SYSTEM IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-23-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $33,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-07-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $38,651.37 FOR UNDERPAYMENT OF THE ESTIMATED FRANCHISE TAX FOR 1996 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-14-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $60,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR UNLICENSED ACTIVITIES BY NATIONWIDE AGENTS IN MAINE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-24-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $35,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR RATE VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-11-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $23,385 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-01-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $19,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-31-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $37,000 PAID BY COMPANY ALONG WITH 7 OTHER COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-29-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $575 FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE A COMPLETE AND TIMELY RESPONSE TO A DEPARTMENT INQUIRY IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-13-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $500 FOR FAILURE TO SUBMIT ANNUAL PREMIUM QUOTATIONS IN A TIMELY MANNER IN HAWAII. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-30-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50 FOR FAILING TO SUBMIT ITS REQUISITE FEE FOR EACH COMPANY'S 2008 CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-08-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR FAILURE TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND ACT PROMPTLY UPON COMMUNICATIONS RELATING TO CLAIMS IN OREGON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-05-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $12,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-02-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $27,333 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-01-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $45,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, AND NATIONWIDE ASSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-17-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, AND NATIONWIDE ASSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A SETTLEMENT PRACTICES INVESTIGATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-23-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR UNFAIR CLAIMS PRACTICES IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-28-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">ACQUIRED TITAN INDEMNITY COMPANY, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-06-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $24,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE PROPERTY &amp; CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VERMONT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-08-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATIN IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-23-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $11,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-05-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A COMPLIANCE REVIEW IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-14-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR FAILURE TO OBTAIN DRIVER EXCLUSION STATEMENT AND USE OF DRIVING RECORD INFORMATION MORE THAN THREE YEARS OLD IN OREGON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-30-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR CHANGE OF INSUREDS' RATES BASED ON CHANGE OF ZIP CODES IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-26-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $9,900 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-28-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $8,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN VIRGINIA </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-26-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 10/01/1998 ALLIED MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=00605" title="Go to company profile of 00605" target="_self">(00605)</a></b> DES MOINES, IOWA MERGED INTO COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-24-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE LIFE AND ANNUITY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILING TO MONITOR AND SUPERVISE THEIR SALES FORCE IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-07-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE NUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-27-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $112,500 FOR ENGAGING IN THE PRACTICE OF UNFAIRLY DISCRIMINATING AGAINST AUTO INSURANCE APPLICANTS BASED UPON MARITAL STATUS THROUGH ITS MARKETING PRACTICES IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-05-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $100,000 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH THE RISK EVALUATION SYSTEM IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-23-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $33,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-12-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,550 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH COURSE APPLICATION RECORDS AND RELATED CONTINUING EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-14-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $60,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR UNLICENSED ACTIVITIS OF NATIONWIDE AGENTS IN MAINE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-24-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $35,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR RATE VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-20-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR USING AN ADJUSTER WITHOUT BEING PROPERLY APPOINTED BY NATIONWIDE IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-11-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $14,985 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-01-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $19,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-23-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-31-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $37,000 PAID BY COMPANY ALONG WITH 7 OTHER COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-26-1983 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $11,000 FOR UNFAIR CLAIM PRACTICES IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-28-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $75,000 FOR CANCELLING POLICY VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-05-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $9,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">05-02-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $27,333 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-17-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, AND NATIONWIDE ASSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A SETTLEMENT PRACTICES INVESTIGATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-06-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $24,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VERMONT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-23-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $24,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-24-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE LIFE AND ANNUITY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILING TO MONITOR AND SUPERVISE THEIR SALES FORCE IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-07-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $20,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-27-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $112,500 FOR ENGAGING IN THE PRACTICE OF UNFAIRLY DISCRIMINATING AGAINST AUTO INSURANCE APPLICANTS BASED UPON MARITAL STATUS THROUGH ITS MARKETING PRACTICES IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-05-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $100,000 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH THE RISK EVALUATION SYSTEM IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-23-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $33,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-24-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $35,000 PAID BY COMPANY, NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR RATE VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-11-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,885 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-01-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-31-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $37,000 PAID BY COMPANY ALONG WITH 7 OTHER COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:42c2a206-8948-445a-9d78-9b49c49ff1ff Date Event 01-07-2005 ADDED HAIL-GROWING CROPS ONLY INSURANCE. 02-07-1991 DELETED ACCIDENT, HEALTH, WORKERS' COMPENSATION ...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:54:03 -0600<table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-07-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED HAIL-GROWING CROPS ONLY INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-07-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">DELETED ACCIDENT, HEALTH, WORKERS' COMPENSATION &amp; EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY AND FORGERY INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-24-1970 </td> <td headers="history2">ALLIANCE MUTUAL CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=00067" title="Go to company profile of 00067" target="_self">(00067)</a></b> MCPHERSON, KANSAS MERGED INTO COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-05-1954 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-05-1954 </td> <td headers="history2">FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-30-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">APPROVED ACQUISITION OF 21ST CENTURY INSURANCE COMPANY OF THE SOUTHWEST <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=95971" title="Go to company profile of 95971" target="_self">(95971)</a></b> AND AIG ADVANTAGE INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=93987" title="Go to company profile of 93987" target="_self">(93987)</a></b> BY COMPANY, FIRE INSURANCE EXCHANGE <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=29750" title="Go to company profile of 29750" target="_self">(29750)</a></b>, TRUCK INSURANCE EXCHANGE <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=84450" title="Go to company profile of 84450" target="_self">(84450)</a></b> AND FARMERS GROUP, INC., A SUBSIDIARY OF ZURICH FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-02-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">COMPANY, FIRE INSURANCE EXCHANGE AND TRUCK INSURANCE EXCHANGE, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA ACQUIRED FOREMOST COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, DALLAS, TEXAS AND FOREMOST LLOYDS OF TEXAS, LEWISVILLE, TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-04-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $35,000 PAID BY COMPANY, MID-CENTURY INSURANCE COMPANY, FIRE INSURANCE EXCHANGE AND TRUCK INSURANCE EXCHANGE FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-14-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED WORKERS' COMPENSATION &amp; EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-09-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND MID-CENTURY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-01-1968 </td> <td headers="history2">REINSURED ALL PRIVATE PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE POLICIES AND COMPREHENSIVE PERSONAL LIABILITY POLICIES OF TEXAS FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=81700" title="Go to company profile of 81700" target="_self">(81700)</a></b> AUSTIN, TEXAS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-17-1947 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: FARMERS AUTOMOBILE INTER INSURANCE EXCHANGE <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=01244" title="Go to company profile of 01244" target="_self">(01244)</a></b>. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-17-1947 </td> <td headers="history2">FARMERS AUTOMOBILE INTER INSURANCE EXCHANGE </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-03-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">EFFECTIVE 06/30/1999 RANCH-FARM MUTUAL FEED INSURANCE ASSOCIATION BRENHAM, TEXAS. <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=69550" title="Go to company profile of 69550" target="_self">(69550)</a></b> MERGED INTO COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-03-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM DES MOINES, IOWA TO WEST DES MOINES, IOWA </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-07-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">APPROVED TO WITHDRAW FROM WRITING POULTRY INSURANCE IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-13-1991 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED FIRE, ALLIED COVERAGES, AUTOMOBILE--LIABILITY &amp; PHYSICAL DAMAGE LIABILITY OTHER THAN AUTOMOBILE, FIDELITY &amp; SURETY, GLASS AND BURGLARY &amp; THEFT INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-02-1989 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED HAIL-GROWING CROPS ONLY AND LIVESTOCK INSURANCE. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-12-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $13,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-21-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $1,650 FOR FILING A LATE RESPONSE TO THE ANNUAL HEALTH COST REPORT IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-05-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $1,250 IN CONNECTION WITH AN OMITTED SIGNATURE PAGE IN THE MARCH 31, 2009 QUARTERLY FINANCIAL STATEMENT IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-16-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $500 FOR VIOLATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH AGENT APPOINTMENT RENEWALS IN MASSACHUSETTS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-08-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED VARIABLE LIFE AND VARIABLE ANNUITY INSURANCE. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-09-2007 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM ROUND ROCK, TEXAS TO AUSTIN, TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-15-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $100,000 PAID BY COMPANY, MID-CENTURY INSURANCE COMPANY OF TEXAS AND TEXAS FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY, ROUND ROCK, TEXAS FOR CHARGING RATES IN EXCESS OF THOSE IT HAD FILED IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-04-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">ACQUIRED BY ALLIED ZURICH P.L.C., ALLIED ZURICH HOLDING LIMITED, ZURICH FINANCIAL SERVICES, ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=93350" title="Go to company profile of 93350" target="_self">(93350)</a></b> AND ZURICH ALLIED AG. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-25-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000 PAID BY COMPANY, TEXAS FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY AND MID-CENTURY INSURANCE COMPANY OF TEXAS FOR PRIVATE PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY INSURANCE RATE VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-31-1997 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM AUSTIN, TEXAS TO ROUND ROCK, TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-21-1988 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, WAS APPROVED TO MOVE THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-19-1962 </td> <td headers="history2">MOVED HOME OFFICE FROM BEAUMONT, TEXAS TO AUSTIN, TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-08-1962 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: JEFFERSON COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=02077" title="Go to company profile of 02077" target="_self">(02077)</a></b>. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-08-1962 </td> <td headers="history2">JEFFERSON COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:48ac9145-c3b1-4e0f-9bba-1476680fe185 Date Event 03-10-1992 PENALTY OF $45,000 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM LLOYDS, STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY F...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:28:30 -0600<table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-10-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $45,000 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM LLOYDS, STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE QUARTERLY CLOSED CLAIM REPORTS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-27-1988 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, WAS APPROVED TO MOVE THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-17-1960 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: GENERAL UNDERWRITERS COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=01494" title="Go to company profile of 01494" target="_self">(01494)</a></b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-17-1960 </td> <td headers="history2">GENERAL UNDERWRITERS COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-18-1959 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: HOME COUNTY MUTUAL INDUSTRIAL INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=01867" title="Go to company profile of 01867" target="_self">(01867)</a></b>. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-18-1959 </td> <td headers="history2">HOME COUNTY MUTUAL INDUSTRIAL INSURANCE COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-22-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $500 FOR UNINTENTIONAL EXCESSIVE NONRENEWALS FOR REFERENCED REPORTING PERIOD IN WEST VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-12-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $175,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-16-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $550 FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE A COMPLETE AND TIMELY RESPONSE IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-15-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-18-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $200 FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE A WORKERS COMPENSATION GUARANTY CONTRACT IN OREGON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-28-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000, WITH $10,000 SUSPENDED, PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR USE OF RATES THAT WEREN'T IN ACCORDANCE WITH RATES FILINGS IN EFFECT IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-14-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE REASONS FOR ADVERSE ACTIONS IN NOTICES SENT TO CONSUMERS IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-21-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $35,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-10-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,306.07 FOR UNDERPAYMENT OF 2007 PREMIUM TAXES IN LOUISIANA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-19-2006 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED HAIL-GROWING CROPS ONLY INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-31-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-22-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR VIOLATIONS WITH CANCELLING POLICIES IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-04-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $500,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN EXAMINATION IN MINNESOTA. PENALTY OF $100,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MINNESOTA. PENALTY OF $75,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-20-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $40,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR USE OF PROHIBITED UNDERWRITING STANDARDS IN HAWAII. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-16-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $36,518.59 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-06-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 FOR CLAIM VIOLATIONS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-18-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $75,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE PAYMENT TO INSUREDS' VENDORS IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-13-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $12,000 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY AND STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-27-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $6,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-03-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $8,900 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE, STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE, AND STATE FARM LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-06-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $38,525 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-27-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY AND STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-31-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $75,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR USE OF A CANCELLATION NOTICE FOR NON-PAYMENT OF PREMIUM WHICH HAD NOT BEEN APPROVED BY THE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-20-1996 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $26,000 FOR PERMITTING CERTAIN EMPLOYEES TO ADJUST WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS AND HOMEOWNERS' CLAIMS WITHOUT HAVING A VALID ADJUSTER'S LICENSE IN VERMONT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-12-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $35,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-20-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $52,250 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN GEORGIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-09-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,700 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY AND STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OKLAHOMA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-10-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $45,000 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF TEXAS, STATE FARM LLOYDS AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE QUARTERLY CLAIM REPORTS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-05-1990 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $125,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR RATING VIOLATION, IMPLEMENTED A RATING CLASSIFICATION PRIOR TO APPROVAL IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-12-1950 </td> <td headers="history2">STATE FARM FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=03854" title="Go to company profile of 03854" target="_self">(03854)</a></b> BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS MERGED INTO COMPANY </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-08-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">APPROVED TO WITHDRAW FROM WRITING HOMEOWNERS MULTIPLE PERIL INSURANCE, SPECIFICALLY MOBILEOWNER INSURANCE IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-02-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $40,000 FOR ISSUING NONRENEWAL NOTICES PRIOR TO HAVING THE WITHDRAW PLAN APPROVED IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-04-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $500,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN EXAMINATION IN MINNESOTA. PENALTY OF $75,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-13-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $12,000 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-03-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $8,900 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY, STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE, AND STATE FARM LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-27-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-20-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $14,750 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN GEORGIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-09-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,700 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OKLAHOMA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-05-1990 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $125,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR RATING VIOLATION, IMPLEMENTED A RATING CLASSIFICATION PRIOR TO APPROVAL IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-10-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $29,999.88 FOR UNDERPAYMENT OF 2007 PREMIUM TAXES IN LOUISIANA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-26-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-12-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">MONETARY PENALTY, DATED 03/31/2003, VACATED IN GEORGIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-31-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR FAILURE TO RESPOND TO A DIRECTIVE OF THE OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INSURANCE IN GEORGIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-03-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $8,900 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY, STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE, AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-09-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">ADDED VARIABLE LIFE AND VARIABLE ANNUITY INSURANCE. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-10-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $45,000 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF TEXAS, STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE QUARTERLY CLOSED CLAIM REPORTS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-19-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">DELETED WORKERS' COMPENSATION &amp; EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY INSURANCE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-17-1988 </td> <td headers="history2">ARTICLE 1.28, TEXAS INSURANCE CODE, WAS APPROVED TO MOVE THEIR BOOKS AND RECORDS OUT OF TEXAS </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-29-1983 </td> <td headers="history2">FORMERLY: STATE FARM LLOYDS OF TEXAS <b class="red"><a href="https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_show_profile.jsp?tdiNum=04848" title="Go to company profile of 04848" target="_self">(04848)</a></b>. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-29-1983 </td> <td headers="history2">STATE FARM LLOYDS OF TEXAS </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="95%" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <th id="history1"><strong>Date</strong> </th> <th id="history2"><strong>Event</strong> </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-30-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $16,000, WITH $4,000 SUSPENDED, FOR FAILURE TO VERIFY THAT ALL AGENTS HAD COMPLETED THE REQUIRED LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE EDUCATION BEFORE SELLING LONG TERM CARE POLICIES IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-26-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-17-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $6,500 FOR ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE FROM FIVE PRODUCERS WHO WERE NOT IN COMPLIANCE IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-12-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $175,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-20-2010 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $500 FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE A COPY OF ITS RESPONSE TO A CUSTOMER TO THE DIVISION OF INSURANCE IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-28-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $40,000 FOR NO LONGER ACCEPTING OPEN ENROLLMENT APPLICATIONS AND SUSPENDING ISSUANCE OF POLICIES FOR ALL INDIVIDUALS ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICARE IN FLORIDA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-10-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $750 FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE ITS 2008 ANNUAL LOSS RATIO FILING FOR INDIVIDUAL HEALTH PLANS IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-15-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-28-2009 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000, WITH $10,000 SUSPENDED, PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR USE OF RATES THAT WEREN'T IN ACCORDANCE WITH RATES FILINGS IN EFFECT IN WASHINGTON. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">08-21-2008 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $35,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM MUTUAL FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-31-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-04-2005 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $12,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND IN A TARGET MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION OF MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT BUSINESS IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-23-2004 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $131,850 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-18-2003 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $6,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VERMONT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-04-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $100,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-20-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $40,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR USE OF PROHIBITED UNDERWRITING STANDARDS IN HAWAII. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-16-2002 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $36,518.59 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OHIO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">11-06-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $25,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN EXAMINATION IN NEVADA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-18-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $75,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE &amp; CASUALTY COMPANY FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE PAYMENT TO INSUREDS' VENDORS IN MINNESOTA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-14-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $12,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-13-2001 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $12,000 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY AND STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN VIRGINIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-27-2000 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $6,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN CONNECTICUT. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-19-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $50,000 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING AN INVESTIGATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-03-1999 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $8,900 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY, STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE, AND STATE FARM LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN ARIZONA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">07-06-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $97,965 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW YORK. PENALTY OF $38,525 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW YORK ON 07/06/1998. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">04-27-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,000 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM FIRE &amp; CASUALTY COMPANY AND STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN MARYLAND. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-31-1998 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $75,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR USE OF A CANCELLATION NOTICE FOR NON-PAYMENT OF PREMIUM WHICH HAD NOT BEEN APPROVED BY THE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER IN PENNSYLVANIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">01-12-1995 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $35,000 PAID BY COMPANY AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN COLORADO. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">09-20-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $5,500 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN GEORGIA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">02-24-1994 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $26,000 FOR OFFERING A POLICY WITH A PERMANENT EXCLUSION WHICH IS IN VIOLATION IN MAINE. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">12-10-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $82,830 FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN NEW YORK. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">06-09-1993 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $10,700 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY AND STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY FOR VIOLATIONS FOUND DURING A MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION IN OKLAHOMA. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">10-23-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $7,500 FOR 2 ADJUSTER ALLEGEDLY USING A CHEAT SHEET IN CONNECTION WITH THE TAKING OF THE ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS INCORPORATED EXAMINATION IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="white-space: nowrap;" headers="history1">03-10-1992 </td> <td headers="history2">PENALTY OF $45,000 PAID BY COMPANY, STATE FARM COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF TEXAS, STATE FARM LLOYDS AND STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE QUARTERLY CLAIM REPORTS IN TEXAS. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>urn:uuid:07199d3c-599e-426c-8b01-15e2587f822b The Obama administration Wednesday launched a legal battle against BP Plc and its partners by suing them for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, which could cost the companies billions of dollars. The lawsuit seeks damages from the well ow...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:07:12 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>The Obama administration Wednesday launched a legal battle against BP Plc and its partners by suing them for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, which could cost the companies billions of dollars.</p> <p>The lawsuit seeks damages from the well owners BP, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Mitsui &amp; Co. Ltd unit MOEX, and well driller Transocean Ltd. and its insurer QBE Underwriting/Lloyd's Syndicate 1036, part of Lloyd's of London, for their roles in the Gulf of Mexico disaster.</p> <p>"While today's civil action marks a critical step forward, it is not a final step,'' U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters at a news conference.</p> <p>"Both our criminal and civil investigations are continuing, and our work to ensure that the American taxpayers are not forced to bear the costs of restoring the Gulf area -- and its economy -- goes on,'' he said.</p> <p>The suit, the first by the U.S. government after the April 20 explosion aboard the drilling rig in which 11 workers died, was filed in a New Orleans federal courtm which is considering private lawsuits against BP and the others for the spill.</p> <p>BP, which returned to profitability in the third quarter of 2010, has begun selling assets and amassing a massive warchest to pay for damages caused by the oil spill, which the oil concern has estimated could reach as much as $40 billion.</p> <p>The oil company said Wednesday it was weighing the sale of its Canadian natural-gas liquids business.</p> <p>In response to the lawsuit, BP said it is "solely a statement of the government's allegations and does not in any manner constitute any finding of liability or any judicial finding that the allegations have merit.''</p> <p>"BP will answer the government's allegations in a timely manner and will continue to cooperate with all government investigations and inquiries,'' the company said.</p> <h3>SETTLEMENT IS A POSSIBILITY</h3> <p>Legal experts have said they expect the two sides to settle eventually but it could take years. In comparison, Exxon settled government claims over the spill by its Valdez tanker in Alaska in 1991, two years after the oil hit the coast.</p> <p>The lawsuit against BP and others warned that "the full extent of potential injuries, destruction, loss and loss of services is not yet fully known and may not be fully konwn for many years.''</p> <p>Shares in the companies targeted in the lawsuit fell in the wake of the lawsuit.</p> <p>The stocks trimmed early losses to close off their lows, with BP down 1.3 percent at $43.86 and Anadarko Petroleum down 2.3 percent at $67.41. Halliburton, which wasn't named in the suit, closed near session lows, down 3.1 percent at $39.79.</p> <p>The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig blowout spilled about 4.9 million barrels of oil over several months. It fouled resort beaches and fishing grounds and led to hundreds of lawsuits over lost revenues and wages.</p> <p>"This is about getting a fair deal for the region that suffered enormous consequences from this disaster,'' said Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency.</p> <p>The lawsuit accused the companies of violating safety and operating regulations in the period leading up to the disaster, including keeping the well under control, failing to use the best available and safest drilling technology and failing to maintain continuous surveillance of the well.</p> <p>The government claimed the companies violated the U.S. Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act, but the lawsuit does not request a specific dollar amount for damages.</p> <p>For every barrel of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, there could be a fine of up to $4,300 if gross negligence is found. That would equal a fine of at least $21 billion. If no gross negligence is found, the fine could be up to $1,100 per barrel or almost $5.4 billion.</p> <p>It will be up to the judge to weigh the evidence presented in court to determine if the defendants were grossly negligent in their conduct, a Justice Department official said.</p> <p>The Justice Department could also seek additional fines for harm to any animals protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, among other environmental laws.</p> <p>The lawsuit did not name Halliburton, which did the cementing for the well, or Cameron International which provided well equipment, but Justice Department officials made it clear more defendants and charges could be added later.</p> <h3>BP HAS TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY</h3> <p>BP has taken responsibility for the cleanup but has questioned government estimates of how much oil came out of the well. BP co-owned the Macondo well with Anadarko and MOEX.</p> <p>After the lawsuit was filed, its partners said the blame and liability laid squarely on BP.</p> <p>Anadarko said it was not responsible for the decisions and operation for the well and therefore BP should be held responsible. Transocean, which drilled the well, also tried to pin the blame on BP.</p> <p>"The responsibility for hydrocarbons discharged from a well lies solely with its owner and operator,'' Transocean said in a statement, adding it was "indemnified in this matter.''</p> <p>BP has estimated it may cost as much as $40 billion to pay for the spill, including the cleanup and penalties. The London-based oil firm has been selling numerous assets to raise as much as $30 billion to cover those costs.</p> <p>The Justice Department asked a federal judge in New Orleans overseeing the litigation to hold the companies liable, except for Lloyd's, for unlimited damages, beyond the $75 million cap under the Oil Pollution Act.</p> <p>The judge in Louisiana, Carl Barbier, has been overseeing the hundreds of private lawsuits involving thousands of plaintiffs against BP and its partners. He has a status hearing set for Friday.</p> <p>A lawyer for private individuals suing BP over the spill said the new lawsuit by the Obama administration would not hurt their efforts.</p> <p>"We look forward to continued cooperation with the U.S. government in pursuit of justice for all victims of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy,'' said the lawyer Steve Herman. "(I) think it demonstrates confidence and momentum in the Court proceedings as we approach the February 2012 trial.''</p> </div>urn:uuid:2e524d2d-9ab3-4f8d-b45d-07a4c87a2bfb A deal that President Barack Obama struck with Republicans to extend expiring tax cuts for nearly every working American and spur job growth sailed through the U.S. Senate Wednesday. The Senate passed the legislation in a 81 to 19 vote. The drama no...Fri, 17 Dec 2010 09:45:17 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>A deal that President Barack Obama struck with Republicans to extend expiring tax cuts for nearly every working American and spur job growth sailed through the U.S. Senate Wednesday.</p> <p>The Senate passed the legislation in a 81 to 19 vote. The drama now moves to the House of Representatives, where many of Obama's fellow Democrats strongly oppose the measure as favoring the wealthy and are still angry with him for cutting the deal with Republicans without them.</p> <p>The House will start debate on the tax deal on Thursday, a senior Democratic aide said. Most of the 255 House Democrats may oppose the package, but it is expected to be approved with overwhelming support among the chamber's 179 Republicans.</p> <p>House Democrats are becoming more resigned to passage of the $858 billion package, which is expected to boost economic growth next year but add to the budget deficit.</p> <p>"At the end of the day I think we are going to have to pass a bill,'' said liberal Representative Henry Waxman.</p> <p>The plan extends for two years all Bush-era individual tax rates, prevents a spike in taxes on capital gains and dividends and renews long-term jobless insurance, while providing new tax relief for students, working families and businesses.</p> <p>Senate Republicans and Democrats backed it in a rare show of bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress.</p> <p>Obama, whose party lost ground to the Republicans in November's midterm elections, tried to make up with the business community at a meeting with some 20 top CEOs Wednesday.</p> <p>He was expected to ask them to invest and hire more to help boost economic growth.</p> <p>Many economists predict the tax package could add up to 1 percentage point to economic expansion next year, due particularly to a one-year cut in the payroll tax and removal of uncertainty about taxes in general.</p> <p>The measure passed by the Senate leaves out renewal of a popular bond program expiring this month, Build America Bonds, which funds infrastructure projects, favored by Democrats, cities and investors. It leaves intact an ethanol tax credit, thwarting efforts by some lawmakers to weaken it.</p> <p>But deficit hawks warn that the tax bill deepens the nearly $14 trillion federal debt.</p> <p>Worries about the bill's potential impact on the federal deficit prompted a two-day sell-off of U.S. Treasury bonds last week. On Wednesday treasuries prices rose after recent price declines lured buyers.</p> <h3>OBAMA IN FINAL PUSH</h3> <p>Obama urged lawmakers to approve the tax bill.</p> <p>"I am absolutely convinced that this tax cut plan, while not perfect, will help grow our economy and create jobs in the private sector,'' the president said before the Senate vote.</p> <p>Particularly irksome to Democrats is a provision raising the exemption threshold for the estate tax from the 2009 policy of $3.5 million to $5 million, and cutting the tax rate from 45 percent to 35 percent.</p> <p>"It's hard to believe they think it's wise to give a windfall to heirs such as Paris Hilton,'' Democratic Representative Chris Van Hollen, an assistant to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wrote in the Washington Post.</p> <p>Democrats will likely try to change the tax bill with an amendment on the estate tax, though it is unclear if that could pass.</p> <p>Still, MF Global analyst Chris Krueger said that such a vote would be symbolic. Another vote on altering the payroll tax cut in the Senate bill, which many believe is a back-door to starving the Social Security system of funds, is also likely to fail, he said.</p> <p>"Neither will derail the bill's inevitability as they are shy of the 217 votes required,'' he said in a research note.</p> <p>Representative Earl Pomeroy, the Democrat sponsor of a steeper estate tax proposal, told Reuters it was "unclear'' if such a vote would pass.</p> <p>He said Democrats will try because "some things are worth fighting for.'' He then noted: "I will say this ... people want to get home and, you know sometimes, heading to the gate is a pretty powerful impetus to pass packages.''</p> <p>About 30 conservative Democrats known as "Blue Dog Democrats'' wrote to Pelosi this week urging the bill's passage.</p> <p>Obama and most of his fellow Democrats had pushed renewal of the tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush only on household income of up to $250,000.</p> <p>But after Democrats lost control of the House and saw their margins shrink in the Senate in the midterm elections, Obama decided to strike a deal with Republicans.</p> </div>urn:uuid:4e224ef3-7971-4da7-ab42-c704cc9055fdWe&rsquo;ve all had bad Christmas presents in the past. Whether it was from Grandma (who thought you&rsquo;d love to save money with a US Treasury Bond that would be worth $20 in 10 years) to that uncle with inappropriate facial hair (who almost died...Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:51:13 -0600<p>We&rsquo;ve all had bad Christmas presents in the past. Whether it was from Grandma (who thought you&rsquo;d love to save money with a US Treasury Bond that would be worth $20 in 10 years) to that uncle with inappropriate facial hair (who almost died laughing when you opened the little box of fake dog doo when you were 25), we&rsquo;ve all had to force a smile and say, &ldquo;Thanks&rdquo; through clenched teeth. Sure it&rsquo;s easy to come up with the things that most people want, like diamonds, video games, and perfect children, but it&rsquo;s hard to come up with a list of the gifts you definitely need to avoid at Christmas. So, for your benefit and wellbeing, these are the gifts you don&rsquo;t want to give this Christmas (that is, if you want to live to see next Christmas, in some cases).</p> <ol> <li>Cleaning Supplies: I know your wife has been saying that she wants a new mop, but Christmas is not the time to give it to her. Giving cleaning supplies is like saying, &ldquo;Our house is a mess, please clean it up&mdash;then make me some dinner. Now, woman! Now!&rdquo; I&rsquo;m speaking from experience; she won&rsquo;t appreciate it, and she&rsquo;ll tell you exactly where you can stick that mop.</li> <li>Anything Related to Weight Loss: A gym membership, a year&rsquo;s supply of diet shakes, a girdle&mdash;all gifts to avoid at Christmas. If you want to make someone&rsquo;s girth painfully obvious to everyone gathered about the Christmas tree, you&rsquo;re probably the kind of person who is looking forward to sleeping on the couch until New Years.</li> <li>A Christmas Sweater: I know it&rsquo;s Christmas, and we should all get into the spirit, but Christmas sweaters don&rsquo;t look good on anyone. No, really. There are no exceptions. There is never an excuse to wear a Christmas sweater. Ever. End of discussion.</li> <li>A Picture of You: Yes, you are awesome. You light up a room whenever you enter. In fact, your light is so bright when you enter a room that everyone else usually leaves. Christmas is a time for thinking of others, not of thinking about yourself. So, unless you are George Clooney or Angelina Jolie, giving away a picture of yourself at Christmas is probably a no-no.</li> <li>Liposuction: Really? Do you really want to give your loved one liposuction for Christmas? Unless you are looking to sever that relationship forever, this is not a good idea.</li> <li>A Hermit Crab: Maybe your nephew is into science and nature and all that brainy stuff, but that doesn&rsquo;t give you leave to buy him a useless animal with the personality of a&mdash;well&mdash;crustacean. Besides it will probably die in a week or two anyway. Do you want to be responsible for that heartbreak? I didn&rsquo;t think so.</li> <li>Self-Help Books: It&rsquo;s great that you want to help the person but I think a copy of &ldquo;Chicken Soup for the Prisoner&rsquo;s Soul&rdquo; wouldn&rsquo;t go over so well with your wayward sibling.</li> <li>Lightly Used Underwear: In this economy it pays to be thrifty&mdash;but not that thrifty.</li> <li>Snooki&rsquo;s Debut CD: Did you know Snooki, from &ldquo;Jersey Shore,&rdquo; is cutting her debut album and that it is going to rocket her singing career into the stratosphere? It worked for Kevin Federline, didn&rsquo;t it? Nobody wants this.</li> <li>Dental Work: Nothing says Christmas like braces! Seriously, if you want to avoid paying for intensive therapy sessions for your children in the future. Don&rsquo;t give them the gift of orthodontia for Christmas this year.</li> </ol>urn:uuid:ba21a6d7-c71c-48e3-b5da-69bdf359089e<img src='http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/618kPISJrYL._SL75_.jpg' align='left' /> Apple iPod Touch Newest Model The newest release of the Apple iPod Touch will be one of the most popular gift items this Christmas season. It allows you take digital pictures and record HD quality video. It offers even higher quality for awesome g...Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:46:34 -0600<div class="modfloat full"> <div class="module moduleText color0" id="mod_9785037"> <h2 class="subtitle">Apple iPod Touch Newest Model</h2> <div class="txtd" id="txtd_9785037" style="word-wrap: break-word;"> <p>The newest release of the Apple iPod Touch will be one of the most popular gift items this Christmas season. It allows you take digital pictures and record HD quality video. It offers even higher quality for awesome game playing. The newest Apple iPod touch now offers video calling.&nbsp;</p> <p>The iPod touch is a great device for storing music, video, podcasts with multi-touch screen technology. It is the number one handheld gaming device and is a great Christmas gift for 2010.</p> </div> </div> <div class="module moduleImage" id="mod_9785034"> <div id="imgs_9785034"> <div id="img_url_3753904"> </div> <div class="caption_full" id="img_desc_3753904"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="floatclear"></div> <div class="modfloat right"> <div class="module moduleAmazon color1" id="mod_10798796"> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td class="pic"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Apple-iPad-MB292LL-Tablet-16GB/dp/B002C7481G%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002C7481G" rel="nofollow"><img width="57" height="75" style="border: 0px solid;" alt="Apple iPad MB292LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi)" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/618kPISJrYL._SL75_.jpg" /></a></td> <td class="details"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Apple-iPad-MB292LL-Tablet-16GB/dp/B002C7481G%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002C7481G" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 16px;">Apple iPad MB292LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi)</span></a> <div class="amazonDescription"></div> <div class="price"><b>Amazon Price:</b> $547.00<br /> List Pri<img alt="" width="520" height="11" class="full" src="http://s1.hubimg.com/u/3753904_f520.jpg" />ce: $499.00</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <div class="module moduleEbay color1" id="mod_10357172"> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td class="pic"><a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?campid=5336544677&amp;customid=Most-Wanted-Christmas-Gifts&amp;toolid=10013&amp;mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2FNEW-Wall-AC-Charger-for-Apple-iPad-Pad-Tablet-PC-16GB_W0QQitemZ280601982451QQcategoryZ31534QQcmdZViewItem" onclick="javascript:urchinTracker('/analytics/ebay_regular');" rel="nofollow"><img width="64" height="64" style="border: 0px solid;" alt="NEW Wall AC Charger for Apple iPad Pad Tablet PC 16GB" src="http://thumbs4.ebaystatic.com/pict/2806019824518080_1.jpg" /><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 16px;"> </span></a></td> <td class="details"><a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?campid=5336544677&amp;customid=Most-Wanted-Christmas-Gifts&amp;toolid=10013&amp;mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2FNEW-Wall-AC-Charger-for-Apple-iPad-Pad-Tablet-PC-16GB_W0QQitemZ280601982451QQcategoryZ31534QQcmdZViewItem" onclick="javascript:urchinTracker('/analytics/ebay_regular');" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 16px;">NEW Wall AC Charger for Apple iPad Pad Tablet PC 16GB </span></a> <div class="price"><b>Current Bid:</b> $.99 </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?type=1&amp;campid=5336544677&amp;toolid=10001&amp;customid=Most-Wanted-Christmas-Gifts" target="_top" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: 0px solid;" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-2103840-5902068" /><img width="85" height="35" class="ebaylogo" alt="ebay logo" src="http://x.hubpages.com/i/ebay.gif" /></a></div> </div> <div class="modfloat full"> <div class="module moduleText color0" id="mod_9751780"> <h2 class="subtitle">Apple iPad Tablet</h2> <div class="txtd" id="txtd_9751780" style="word-wrap: break-word;"> <p>The Apple iPad Tablet is probably one of the coolest gifts you can buy this Christmas season. It is an exciting to use new piece of technology. There are so many apps available for the Apple iPad such as fun games and interesting ways to access information on the internet.</p> <p>I just love mine and use mine a lot with a free app that enables you to run programs on your computer through your Apple Ipad. You can also get many <a href="../../hub/Buy-iPad-Accessories-Online"><span style="color: #0000ff;">accessories for the Apple iPad</span></a>. An Apple iPad would make someone very happy on Christmas morning.</p> <p>An Apple iPad is probably the number one gift this Christmas season. On the right I have an Apple iPad listed that are for sale on both Amazon and Ebay. Most anyone on your Christmas list would love to have an Apple iPad wrapped up under the tree with their name on it.</p> </div> </div> <div class="module moduleImage" id="mod_9751748"> <div id="imgs_9751748"> <div id="img_url_3742516"><img alt="" width="520" height="11" class="full" src="http://s1.hubimg.com/u/3742516_f520.jpg" /> </div> <div class="caption_full" id="img_desc_3742516"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="floatclear"></div> <div class="modfloat right"> <div class="module moduleAmazon color1" id="mod_9749832"> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td class="pic"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-4GB-Console-Kinect/dp/B003O6EE4U%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB003O6EE4U" rel="nofollow"><img width="75" height="71" style="border: 0px solid;" alt="Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51EKidYBcdL._SL75_.jpg" /></a></td> <td class="details"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-4GB-Console-Kinect/dp/B003O6EE4U%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB003O6EE4U" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 16px;">Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect</span></a> <div class="amazonDescription"></div> <div class="price"><b>Amazon Price:</b> $346.00<br /> List Price: $299.99</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> <div class="modfloat full"> <div class="module moduleText color0" id="mod_9750803"> <h2 class="subtitle">Xbox 360 Kinect Console</h2> <div class="txtd" id="txtd_9750803" style="word-wrap: break-word;"> <p>This long awaited addition to the Xbox 360 system is one of the most asked for gift this holiday season. The Kinect console for Xbox 360 enables voice activation for your Xbox 360 system. You can tell the Xbox to play or pause and the Kinect allows it to recognize voice commands. The Kinect also offers remote free operation of Xbox 360 video games.</p> <p>The Kinect console is a must have addtion to the Xbox 360 and make for perfect gift for the Xbox 360 fan in your life.</p> </div> </div> <div class="module moduleImage" id="mod_9750890"> <div id="imgs_9750890"> <div id="img_url_3742518"><img alt="" width="520" height="11" class="full" src="http://s3.hubimg.com/u/3742518_f520.jpg" /> </div> <div class="caption_full" id="img_desc_3742518"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="floatclear"></div> <div class="modfloat right"> <div class="module moduleAmazon color1" id="mod_9751786"> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td class="pic"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-Move-Starter-Bundle-3/dp/B002I0J4NE%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002I0J4NE" rel="nofollow"><img width="74" height="75" style="border: 0px solid;" alt="PlayStation Move Starter Bundle" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eOJKv85eL._SL75_.jpg" /></a></td> <td class="details"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-Move-Starter-Bundle-3/dp/B002I0J4NE%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002I0J4NE" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 16px;">PlayStation Move Starter Bundle</span></a> <div class="amazonDescription"></div> <div class="price"><b>Amazon Price:</b> $99.99<br /> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> <div class="modfloat full"> <div class="module moduleText color0" id="mod_9751792"> <h2 class="subtitle">Playstation Move</h2> <div class="txtd" id="txtd_9751792" style="word-wrap: break-word;"> <p>The Playstation Move is the newest component for the Playstation 3. It enables game players to really get into their game play.&nbsp;</p> <p>PlayStation Move brings motion gaming exclusively to your PS3 system. In addition to the PS3 system, PlayStation Move requires both the PlayStation Move motion controller and the PlayStation Eye camera to track your every move and put you in the game. PS3 game players will definitely have this item on their Christmas list this year.</p> </div> </div> <div class="module moduleImage" id="mod_9751858"> <div id="imgs_9751858"> <div id="img_url_3751388"><img alt="" width="520" height="11" class="full" src="http://s1.hubimg.com/u/3751388_f520.jpg" /> </div> <div class="caption_full" id="img_desc_3751388"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="floatclear"></div> <div class="modfloat right"> <div class="module moduleAmazon color1" id="mod_9754220"> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td class="pic"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reader-Wifi-Graphite/dp/B002Y27P3M%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002Y27P3M" rel="nofollow"><img width="75" height="75" style="border: 0px solid;" alt="Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6&quot; Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417XQ0XwQuL._SL75_.jpg" /></a></td> <td class="details"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reader-Wifi-Graphite/dp/B002Y27P3M%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002Y27P3M" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 16px;">Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology</span></a> <div class="amazonDescription"></div> <div class="price"><b>Amazon Price:</b> $139.00<br /> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> <div class="modfloat full"> <div class="module moduleText color0" id="mod_9754236"> <h2 class="subtitle">Amazon Kindle Wireless Reading Device</h2> <div class="txtd" id="txtd_9754236" style="word-wrap: break-word;"> <p>The Kindle is an electronic reading device for downloading, storing, and reading electronic books, which are also known as e-books. It was developed by Amazon and is now <a href="../../hub/Why-Is-Kindle-The-Number-1-Best-Selling-Product-On-Amazon"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Amazon's Number One best selling product</span></a>.</p> <p>there are literally thousands of books that you can read on the Kindle. The Kindle is as thin as a magazine but holds up to 3,500 books, magazines, stories and documents. An avid reader would love to receive a Kindle reader as a favorite Christmas gift.</p> </div> </div> <div class="module moduleImage" id="mod_9751860"> <div id="imgs_9751860"> <div id="img_url_3753876"><img alt="" width="520" height="11" class="full" src="http://s1.hubimg.com/u/3753876_f520.jpg" /> </div> <div class="caption_full" id="img_desc_3753876"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="floatclear"></div> <div class="modfloat right"> <div class="module moduleAmazon color1" id="mod_9754237"> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td class="pic"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Halo-Reach-Xbox-360/dp/B002BSA20M%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002BSA20M" rel="nofollow"><img width="54" height="75" style="border: 0px solid;" alt="Halo Reach" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-O5TggkAL._SL75_.jpg" /></a></td> <td class="details"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Halo-Reach-Xbox-360/dp/B002BSA20M%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002BSA20M" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 16px;">Halo Reach</span></a> <div class="amazonDescription"></div> <div class="price"><b>Amazon Price:</b> $37.98<br /> List Price: $59.99</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> <div class="modfloat full"> <div class="module moduleText color0" id="mod_9784987"> <h2 class="subtitle">Halo Reach For Xbox 360</h2> <div class="txtd" id="txtd_9784987" style="word-wrap: break-word;"> <p>Halo Reach is a long awaited new video game for Xbox 360. The Halo series of video games have been wildly popular for Xbox 360 and this one is no exception. With Halo Reach here is no need to run after power ups any more. Everyone starts with the power up of their choice. </p> <p>The loadups are cool and for strategy the game will probably be played a little differently then the old Halo games. This video game will be a best selling Christmas gift for video game lovers this season.</p> </div> </div> <div class="module moduleImage" id="mod_9751859"> <div id="imgs_9751859"> <div id="img_url_3753881"><img alt="" width="520" height="11" class="full" src="http://s2.hubimg.com/u/3753881_f520.jpg" /> </div> <div class="caption_full" id="img_desc_3753881"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="floatclear"></div> <div class="modfloat right"> <div class="module moduleAmazon color1" id="mod_9784990"> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td class="pic"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40C630-40-Inch-1080p-Black/dp/B0036WT3P2%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0036WT3P2" rel="nofollow"><img width="75" height="54" style="border: 0px solid;" alt="Samsung LN40C630 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black)" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YLbpgOHgL._SL75_.jpg" /></a></td> <td class="details"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40C630-40-Inch-1080p-Black/dp/B0036WT3P2%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0036WT3P2" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 16px;">Samsung LN40C630 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black)</span></a> <div class="amazonDescription"></div> <div class="price"><b>Amazon Price:</b> Too low to display<br /> List Price: $899.99</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> <div class="modfloat full"> <div class="module moduleText color0" id="mod_9784988"> <h2 class="subtitle">Samsung LN40C630 40-Inch LCD HDTV </h2> <div class="txtd" id="txtd_9784988" style="word-wrap: break-word;"> <p>The screen size of this top selling flat screen TV is 40 inches. It has a full 1080p HD resolution with vivid colors and stunning clarity. It includes the technology of connecting a thumb drive or digital camera quickly and easily. </p> <p>The user-friendly interface allows access to videos, a music playlist and pictures via the remote. If you are considering a TV as a Christmas gift this year this one is the one to buy.</p> </div> </div> <div class="module moduleImage" id="mod_9751861"> <div id="imgs_9751861"> <div id="img_url_3753888"><img alt="" width="520" height="11" class="full" src="http://s1.hubimg.com/u/3753888_f520.jpg" /> </div> <div class="caption_full" id="img_desc_3753888"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="floatclear"></div> <div class="modfloat right"> <div class="module moduleAmazon color1" id="mod_9784989"> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td class="pic"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-Black-Ops-Xbox-360/dp/B003JVKHEQ%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB003JVKHEQ" rel="nofollow"><img width="53" height="75" style="border: 0px solid;" alt="Call of Duty: Black Ops" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51spFPoaZXL._SL75_.jpg" /></a></td> <td class="details"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-Black-Ops-Xbox-360/dp/B003JVKHEQ%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB003JVKHEQ" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 16px;">Call of Duty: Black Ops</span></a> <div class="amazonDescription"></div> <div class="price"><b>Amazon Price:</b> $47.00<br /> List Price: $59.99</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> <div class="modfloat full"> <div class="module moduleText color0" id="mod_9785035"> <h2 class="subtitle">Call of Duty: Black Ops</h2> <div class="txtd" id="txtd_9785035" style="word-wrap: break-word;"> <p>Call of Duty: Black Ops is the latest release in the popular series of Call of Duty games. Call of Duty: Black Ops, puts players behind enemy lines during the most dangerous time period mankind has ever known. This epic single player campaign is filled with heart-racing action, </p> <p>Call of Duty: Black Ops puts players in the boots of elite special forces units engaged in covert warfare, deniable operations, and explosive conflicts around the globe. Xbox 360 fans would love to find a Call of Duty Black Ops game under the Christmas tree this year.</p> </div> </div> <div class="module moduleImage" id="mod_9785033"> <div id="imgs_9785033"> <div id="img_url_3753905"><img alt="" width="520" height="11" class="full" src="http://s2.hubimg.com/u/3753905_f520.jpg" /> </div> <div class="caption_full" id="img_desc_3753905"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="floatclear"></div> <div class="modfloat right"> <div class="module moduleAmazon color1" id="mod_9785039"> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td class="pic"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/UL30A-A2-Light-13-3-Inch-Silver-Laptop/dp/B002P3KMNU%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002P3KMNU" rel="nofollow"><img width="75" height="75" style="border: 0px solid;" alt="ASUS UL30A-A2 Thin and Light 13-3-Inch Silver Laptop - 12 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31j%2B6kmZf6L._SL75_.jpg" /></a></td> <td class="details"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/UL30A-A2-Light-13-3-Inch-Silver-Laptop/dp/B002P3KMNU%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002P3KMNU" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 16px;">ASUS UL30A-A2 Thin and Light 13-3-Inch Silver Laptop - 12 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)</span></a> <div class="amazonDescription"></div> <div class="price"><b>Amazon Price:</b> $579.00<br /> List Price: $799.00</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> <div class="modfloat full"> <div class="module moduleText color0" id="mod_9785036"> <h2 class="subtitle">ASUS UL30A-X5 Thin and Light Black Laptop</h2> <div class="txtd" id="txtd_9785036" style="word-wrap: break-word;"> <p>The Asus thin laptop is one of Amazon's best selling laptops.It offers a h<strong>igh-gloss 13.3-inch HD high definition display</strong> with 1366 x 768 resolution. The 8 cell battery has 12 hours of battery life. The laptop comes loaded with Windows 7 and has a 1.3 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor.</p> <p>This popular Asus laptop only weighs 3.74 pounds and is a great all around laptop computer.If you want to make someone happy on Christmas morning with a special present be sure to pick up one of these laptops.</p> </div> </div> <div class="module moduleImage" id="mod_9785032"> <div id="imgs_9785032"> <div id="img_url_3753906"><img alt="" width="520" height="11" class="full" src="http://s3.hubimg.com/u/3753906_f520.jpg" /> </div> <div class="caption_full" id="img_desc_3753906"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="floatclear"></div> <div class="modfloat right"> <div class="module moduleAmazon color1" id="mod_9785082"> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td class="pic"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Transmitter-Hands-Free-Capability-Blackberry-Smartphones/dp/B003PPGOC0%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB003PPGOC0" rel="nofollow"><img width="75" height="75" style="border: 0px solid;" alt="GOgroove FlexSMART X2 ADVANCED Wireless In-Car Bluetooth FM Transmitter with Charging, Music Control and Hands-Free Calling Capability for ANDROID, iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Smartphones" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51uUx7hw-RL._SL75_.jpg" /></a></td> <td class="details"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Transmitter-Hands-Free-Capability-Blackberry-Smartphones/dp/B003PPGOC0%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dthenumbeone0f-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB003PPGOC0" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 16px;">GOgroove FlexSMART X2 ADVANCED Wireless In-Car Bluetooth FM Transmitter with Charging, Music Control and Hands-Free Calling Capability for ANDROID, iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Smartphones</span></a> <div class="amazonDescription"></div> <div class="price"><b>Amazon Price:</b> $59.99<br /> List Price: $119.99</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> <div class="modfloat full"> <div class="module moduleText color0" id="mod_9785081"> <h2 class="subtitle">Motorola DROID II Android Cell Phone</h2> <div class="txtd" id="txtd_9785081" style="word-wrap: break-word;"> <p>The Motorola Droid II offers fast 3G connectivity&nbsp;and is powered by the Android operating system, It offers access to thousands of apps to customize your phone via the Android Market.&nbsp;Advanced multitasking capabilities&nbsp;allow you to receive notifications, listen to music, and even record GPS data without keeping the application open.&nbsp;</p> <p>The DROID 2 comes travel-ready with a built-in 3G Mobile Hotspot--a Wi-Fi hotspot that can be shared among five Wi-Fi-capable devices.&nbsp;Enjoy Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter all in real-time&nbsp;without logging into and updating multiple applications. If your looking to gift a new cellphone this Christmas, the Motorola Droid II fits the bill for the most wanted.</p> </div> </div> </div>urn:uuid:bc119736-2d68-4d63-9fb3-347744d6e1b6 The people who launched TheyWroteOffMyCar.com are at it again with a new Web site service called mycarisworthless.com. That's worth less, not worthless, according to the announcement. It's supposed to help consumers calculate the reduced, or diminis...Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:40:36 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>The people who launched TheyWroteOffMyCar.com are at it again with a new Web site service called mycarisworthless.com. That's worth less, not worthless, according to the announcement.</p> <p>It's supposed to help consumers calculate the reduced, or diminished, value of their vehicle after an insurance repair claim.</p> <p>"Approximately 15 percent of vehicles on the road are involved in a vehicle damage claim annually," claims Viraf Baliwalla, president of theywroteoffmycar.com. He says that about 10 percent of those claims result in a total loss but 90 percent are repaired and have a claim registered against their history and therefore incur diminished value, which amounts to billions of dollars nationwide annually.</p> <p>According to Baliwalla, most car owners assume they have not lost any money if insurance has paid for all repairs to their </p> <div style="width: 4px; float: right; height: 8px; margin-left: 8px; clear: right;"> <div class="adv">&nbsp;</div> <a href="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=1495__zoneid=1__cb=fa2d29fd59__oadest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fiphone%2F" target="_top"></a> <div id="beacon_fa2d29fd59" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; top: 0px; left: 0px;"><img alt="" width="0" height="0" style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=1495&amp;campaignid=396&amp;zoneid=1&amp;loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2F2010%2F12%2F01%2F115298.htm&amp;referer=http%3A%2F%2Fus.mg1.mail.yahoo.com%2Fdc%2Flaunch%3F.gx%3D1%26.rand%3D124tlh1ou39ot&amp;cb=fa2d29fd59" originalPath="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=1495&amp;campaignid=396&amp;zoneid=1&amp;loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2F2010%2F12%2F01%2F115298.htm&amp;referer=http%3A%2F%2Fus.mg1.mail.yahoo.com%2Fdc%2Flaunch%3F.gx%3D1%26.rand%3D124tlh1ou39ot&amp;cb=fa2d29fd59" originalAttribute="src" /></div> </div> <p>damaged car. But, he says, that's not the case.</p> <p>"Even if a vehicle is repaired properly by the insurance company, the vehicle still has an inherent decrease in value just because of a claim being registered against it," he maintains. "Try to sell that car or trade it in and be ready for a rude awakening, anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars."</p> <p>"Most people don't know they are eligible to claim for diminished value and therefore don't ask for it. Nor do they know how to calculate or demonstrate their loss," says Baliwalla.</p> <p>He says it is not the insurance company's responsibility to inform people of their eligibility for diminished value or to educate them on how it works. They also have to be able to demonstrate that they have incurred the amount of loss they are claiming.</p> <p>One of the challenges for both policyholders and insurers has been that both sides have a vested interest but neither have expertise in pricing vehicles, according to the Web site guru. That's where his MyCarIsWorthLess.com comes in. He says it is the first "completely neutral" online tool that delivers a "fair and reasonable result instantly."</p> <p>The cost to generate an online diminished value report is $39.</p> <p>His main Web site, TheyWroteOffMyCar.com, helps consumers whose vehicles have been deemed a total loss by their insurance company.<br /> <br /> </p> </div>urn:uuid:55c380c0-0ecc-470d-9f79-3850a8439084 Allstate Insurance Company of Northbrook, IL Order Number: 10-0884 Date of Order: 10/8/2010 Order Final In: October Action Taken: Ordered to pay $879,510 to State of Texas as part of multistate agreement Violation: Failed to maintain adequate manage...Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:16:22 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p><strong>Allstate Insurance Company</strong> of Northbrook, IL<br /> <strong>Order Number:</strong> 10-0884<br /> <strong>Date of Order:</strong> 10/8/2010<br /> <strong>Order Final In:</strong> October<br /> <strong>Action Taken:</strong> Ordered to pay $879,510 to State of Texas as part of multistate agreement<br /> <strong>Violation:</strong> Failed to maintain adequate management oversight of claims adjusting software.</p> <br /> <br /> Read more: <a href="http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2010/12/03/115400.htm#ixzz1757el4kK" style="color: #003399;">http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2010/12/03/115400.htm#ixzz1757el4kK</a></div>urn:uuid:b449877b-0584-49f9-9568-cdd13f4c3a37 1.&nbsp;Angel Tree Angel Tree is a ministry of Prison Fellowship, delivering love in the form of Christmas gifts and a message of hope to children of prisoners. Angel Tree Christmas connects the parents in prison with their children through the deli...Wed, 01 Dec 2010 09:51:37 -0600<span style="font-size: 24px;"> <h2><span style="font-size: 16px;">1.</span>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.angeltree.org/angeltree-home" target="_blank" zT="-o1/XL">Angel Tree</a></h2> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Angel Tree is a ministry of Prison Fellowship, delivering love in the form of Christmas gifts and a message of hope to children of prisoners. Angel Tree Christmas connects the parents in prison with their children through the delivery of Christmas gifts by local church volunteers who purchase and deliver these gifts and the gospel to children. Often times the local church will host a Christmas party for the children, their caretakers and family.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h2><span style="font-size: 16px;">2.</span>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.samaritanspurse.org/MP_Article.asp?ArticleID=63" target="_blank" zT="-o1/XL">Operation Christmas Child</a></h2> Operation Christmas Child invites you to pack a shoe box with small toys, school supplies, other gifts, and a personal note to introduce a hurting child to God's love. The small gifts of love and messages of hope through Jesus Christ are delivered to needy children overseas.<br /> <br /> <h2>3. <a href="http://www.wish.org/home/giving/" target="_blank" zT="-o1/XL">Make a Wish Foundation</a></h2> Make this holiday season special by helping a child&rsquo;s dream come true. Make a Wish's unique holiday donation options will help grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.<br /> <br /> <h2>4. <a href="http://www.toysfortots.org" target="_blank" zT="-o1/XL">Toys for Tots</a></h2> Donate a new toy or give a donation to help make Christmas a little brighter for a needy child in your community.<br /> <br /> <h2>5. <a href="http://www.mytwofrontteeth.org/index.jsp" target="_blank" zT="-o1/XL">My Two Front Teeth</a></h2> My Two Front Teeth offers a personalized online gift-giving experience to aid underprivileged children. These children are selected through community organizations and allowed to individually pick their one holiday wish. The child's wish profile is entered into the online database where donors then choose an online sponsorship.<br /> <br /> You can also donate food and clothing to charities or ministries, even work in a soup kitchen.</span>urn:uuid:e3e379ed-84ae-41da-a53e-b19bcb1188f3 The Texas Department of Public Safety announced that Texas drivers can now order their driving records online and print them out immediately instead of waiting to have the record mailed to them. "We are pleased to offer this new service, which ...Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:59:53 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>The Texas Department of Public Safety announced that Texas drivers can now order their driving records online and print them out immediately instead of waiting to have the record mailed to them.</p> <div style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 8px; clear: right;"> <div class="adv"></div> <a href="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=1008__zoneid=1__cb=7b01616bc0__oadest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fbooks%2Finsurance-concepts.php" target="_blank"></a> <div id="beacon_7b01616bc0" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; top: 0px; left: 0px;"><img alt="" width="0" height="0" style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=1008&amp;campaignid=628&amp;zoneid=1&amp;loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fnews%2Fsouthcentral%2F2010%2F11%2F30%2F115259.htm&amp;referer=http%3A%2F%2Fus.mg1.mail.yahoo.com%2Fdc%2Flaunch%3F.gx%3D1%26.rand%3Dankb91cdubksj&amp;cb=7b01616bc0" /></div> </div> <p>"We are pleased to offer this new service, which is available 24/7 to our customers. The convenience of ordering your driver record online and then printing it out yourself will save everyone time and money," said Rebecca Davio, the DPS Assistant Director for Driver License.</p> <p>Previously, drivers could order their driver record online but had to wait to receive their record via the U.S. Postal Service. Now, drivers can place their order using a credit card and their actual driver license, and then print out their record, which is available in a certified version suitable for submitting to a court for permission to take defensive driving.</p> <p>To order a driver record online, visit <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.texas.gov"><span style="color: #0000ff;">www.texas.gov</span></a></span>.</p> </div>urn:uuid:b4f2dbd6-6448-4bf8-9fa1-94a9238faf22 Farmers Insurance has filed for a 3.9 percent rate increase for homeowners policies in Texas. The Dallas Morning News reports that Farmers' filing with the Texas Department of Insurance will affect about half the company's customers in Texas. Farmer...Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:39:24 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>Farmers Insurance has filed for a 3.9 percent rate increase for homeowners policies in Texas.</p> <p>The <em>Dallas Morning News</em> reports that Farmers' filing with the Texas Department of Insurance will affect about half the company's customers in Texas.</p> <p>Farmers' spokesman Luis Sahagun says the rate hike is needed to handle the increasing cost of claims in Texas.</p> <p>The new rates will go into effect in March. It will affect customers who have either the Texas Family Home Policy or the Farmers Next Generation Homeowners Policy. About 324,000 customers have those policies.</p> <p>A state insurance department spokesman says actuaries will review the company's filing to make sure the rate hike is justified.</p> <p>An insurer can increase premiums once it notifies the agency.</p> </div>urn:uuid:fb975f96-ede3-42b1-818d-ca242bc6eca0 State law requires Texas employers who do not carry workers' compensation insurance coverage to report their non-coverage status and work-related injuries and illnesses to the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC...Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:45:18 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>State law requires Texas employers who do not carry workers' compensation insurance coverage to report their non-coverage status and work-related injuries and illnesses to the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC). Now non-coverage status can be reported online&nbsp;under "Employer Online Filings."</p> <p>Employers completing the DWC Form-005, <em>Employer Notice of No Coverage or Termination of Coverage,</em> online will be required to supply the business name, business type, Federal Employer Identification Number and details on business locations or updated information on business locations. Online and hard copy versions of the DWC Form-005 recently were revised. Hard copies of the revised form are available for download from the TDI website.</p> <p>All employers in Texas that do not carry workers' compensation insurance are required to notify the TDI-DWC by filing the revised DWC Form-005, when any of the following events occur:</p> <div style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 8px; clear: right;"> <div class="adv"></div> <a href="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=1008__zoneid=1__cb=7af61b26e5__oadest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fbooks%2Finsurance-concepts.php" target="_blank"></a> <div id="beacon_7af61b26e5" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; top: 0px; left: 0px;"><img alt="" width="0" height="0" style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=1008&amp;campaignid=628&amp;zoneid=1&amp;loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fnews%2Fsouthcentral%2F2010%2F11%2F24%2F115180.htm&amp;referer=http%3A%2F%2Fus.mg1.mail.yahoo.com%2Fdc%2Flaunch&amp;cb=7af61b26e5" /></div> </div> <ul> <li>Within 30 days after hiring an employee;</li> <li>Within 30 days after receipt of a TDI request (within ten days for employers principally located outside of Texas); and</li> <li>Within ten days of notifying their workers' compensation insurance carrier of their intent to cancel the policy, unless the employer purchases a new policy or becomes a certified self-insurer.</li> </ul> <p>Employers must file the revised DWC Form-005 annually on the anniversary date of the original filing for as long as they remain in operation and do not carry workers' compensation insurance. An employer's failure to comply with these notification requirements is an administrative violation and the employer may be subject to penalties [Texas Labor Code &sect;406.004(a)].</p> <p>The DWC Form-205, <em>Location of Employers' Business(es)</em>, has also been revised and is available for download from the TDI website. This form is filed as an attachment to the DWC Form-005. Employers will be required to file the new DWC Form-005 and DWC Form-205 with the TDI-DWC on and after Feb. 1, 2011.</p> <p>Texas employers with five or more employees are also required to report work-related injuries and illnesses to the TDI-DWC. Employers must report each work-related injury or illness by the seventh day of the following month using the DWC Form-007, <em>Non-Covered Employer's Report of Occupational Injury and Illness</em>, for each:</p> <ul> <li>Work-related injury resulting in the employee's absence from work for more than one day;</li> <li>Occupational disease of which the employer has knowledge, and</li> <li>Work-related fatality.</li> </ul> <p>All employees are included under this requirement except domestic workers; casual workers engaged in employment incidental to a personal residence; certain farm and ranch workers; and employees covered by a method of compensation established under federal law.</p> <p>Workers' compensation insurance coverage provides covered employees with income and medical benefits if they sustain a work-related injury or illness. Texas private employers can choose whether or not to provide workers' compensation insurance coverage for their employees. Except in cases of gross negligence, workers' compensation insurance limits an employer's liability if an employee brings suit against the employer for damages.</p> </div>urn:uuid:e8cdd1a7-fba0-4442-bd23-a2cfea66ce91The insurance industry just unveiled a giant, $40 million wind chamber that is capable of blowing down a house. The reason it was created? To test how improved construction methods and materials can prevent major damage during wind-driven catastrophe...Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:59:14 -0600The insurance industry just unveiled a giant, $40 million wind chamber that is capable of blowing down a house. The reason it was created? To test how improved construction methods and materials can prevent major damage during wind-driven catastrophes like hurricanes. Watch as Insurance Journal visits the facility &mdash; part of the Institute for Business and Home Safety&rsquo;s research center in South Carolina &mdash;to find out exactly how these tests are done and what the research done in South Carolina could mean for the future of property damage claims.<br /> <br /> See the video here <a href="http://www.insurancejournal.tv/videos/4569/">http://www.insurancejournal.tv/videos/4569/</a>.urn:uuid:3353051d-f5f1-4fa0-980d-85b3cae9dba8 Most insurers are letting consumer technology like smartphones and social media networks get ahead of them, creating a challenge to attract a new generation of customers who are not interested in doing business with agents the way their parents did....Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:48:13 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>Most insurers are letting consumer technology like smartphones and social media networks get ahead of them, creating a challenge to attract a new generation of customers who are not interested in doing business with agents the way their parents did.</p> <p>But it has also created an opportunity for companies like Allstate and State Farm that have embraced interactive technologies as a way to extend their brand's reach to children of the 1980s and 1990s.</p> <p>"You're not going to get any more mortality (business) with the things you're doing now'' among the younger generation, said Douglas French, managing principal of Ernst &amp; Young's insurance advisory practice, told reporters recently.</p> <p>While the insurance industry is known for many things, an orientation toward the young and/or hip customer is not one of them. In some ways this contrasts strongly with banks, which are offering check deposit via cell phone and pushing the Internet to replace branches for much of their business.</p> <p>Catchy advertising gimmicks like Aflac's spirited duck or Geico's cavemen notwithstanding, underwriters usually aim their pitches at a middle-aged customer seeking an aura of confident authority about matters like health and property.</p> <p>While that has continued to work among a segment of the market, branding experts say there is a missed opportunity.</p> <p>"It's a buggy whip mentality. Everything is moving more and more to high-tech electronic online interface and particularly with this generation,'' said Robert Passikoff, president of brand loyalty and customer metrics researcher Brand Keys.</p> <p>"They're still looking at this as a commodity ... if we can get the price down low enough, people will come to us and I don't need a lot of friends on Twitter and Facebook.''</p> <h3>FEW BRIGHT SPOTS</h3> <p>There are some companies in the industry that have been more aggressive with their push into new media, though mostly in automotive insurance. Industry executives say auto insurance lends itself to new media because the transactions are in some ways simpler than other insurance lines.</p> <p>Allstate has a suite of mobile applications for smartphones that offer services like home inventory lists and roadside assistance requests.</p> <p>"A very significant number, up to a majority, of wireless users will have these devices with them and they expect to be able to interact with companies through these devices where they are,'' said Bob Wasserman, vice president of e-business for Allstate. "You start to think about what this device can do and you build other capabilities.''</p> <p>State Farm is just as active, with prominent links off its home page to Twitter, Facebook and Flickr feeds and a suite of mobile applications for customers, though they are still just a supplement to the company's traditional network of agents in storefronts across the country.</p> <p>Berkshire Hathaway's Geico is also aggressive in mobile, offers an application that lets people obtain rate quotes by taking a picture of their drivers license among its lineup of phone applications.</p> <p>No matter what channel they are using, the auto insurers seem to have picked up on an idea that other insurers have missed: younger customers don't want to go to an agent's office and don't want to be sold products where they already know they can get a better price elsewhere.</p> <p>Brand Keys' Passikoff said that shift in thinking could take a decade for insurers to really make, but some say that may not be sufficiently aggressive.</p> <p>"I don't see the industry moving fast enough,'' said Bill Chrnelich, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers' insurance practice, in a recent interview. "This industry isn't focused enough on that change in their sales and distribution.''<br /> <br /> You can see on our home page our link to Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and&nbsp;Myspace.</p> </div>urn:uuid:0c3dc4f9-7021-4783-a574-c095fc7cd1bc The United States is lagging behind nearly every other high-income country in reducing annual traffic fatalities, said a report released this week by a U.S. government research panel. There's some good news: U.S. traffic fatalities fell 9.7 percent ...Wed, 17 Nov 2010 10:28:44 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>The United States is lagging behind nearly every other high-income country in reducing annual traffic fatalities, said a report released this week by a U.S. government research panel.</p> <p>There's some good news: U.S. traffic fatalities fell 9.7 percent in 2009 to 33,808, the lowest number since 1950. In 2008, an estimated 37,423 people died on the highways, a decline of 9.3 percent from the previous year.</p> <p>But dramatic declines in traffic fatalities in the U.S. over the last several years are likely due to a sour economy in which people drive less, rather than lasting changes in behavior, the report suggests. As the economy improves, researchers said, fatalities are likely to rebound.</p> <div style="width: 3px; float: right; height: 15px; margin-left: 8px; clear: right;"> <div class="adv"></div> <a href="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=1536__zoneid=1__cb=df2ce3693d__oadest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.auw.com%2Fproducer_center.html" target="_top"></a> <div id="beacon_df2ce3693d" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; top: 0px; left: 0px;"><img alt="" width="0" height="0" style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=1536&amp;campaignid=815&amp;zoneid=1&amp;loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2F2010%2F11%2F17%2F114965.htm&amp;referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2F&amp;cb=df2ce3693d" /></div> </div> <p>"The experience of the past three years is not grounds for concluding that sustainable progress has been made on traffic safety,'' the report said.</p> <p>In the 1970s, the U.S. fatality rate was the lowest in the world. But because safety efforts have improved more slowly in the United States than elsewhere, most high-income countries have now matched or gone below the U.S. rate, said the report by the Transportation Research Board.</p> <p>Countries with comparable living standards where fatality rates per mile (kilometer) of travel were substantially higher than in the United States 15 years ago are now below the U.S. rate, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Norway, France and Britain.</p> <p>"The United States can no longer claim to rank highly in road safety by world standards,'' the report said.</p> <p>From 1995 to 2009, fatalities dropped 52 percent in France, 38 percent in Britain, 25 percent in Australia, and 50 percent in 15 high-income countries for which long-term fatality and traffic data are available, the report said. But they dropped only 19 percent in the U.S.</p> <p>The dramatic declines in fatalities in other nations have been achieved in part through the kinds of programs that have sometimes generated opposition in the U.S: speed cameras and speed measuring devices, sobriety checkpoints and mandatory motorcycle helmets, for example.</p> <p>If such programs were widely adopted in the U.S., it's probable that thousands of lives could be saved each year, the report said.</p> <p>Researchers estimated that nationwide, sustained and frequent use of checkpoints to detect drunk drivers could save 1,500 to 3,000 lives annually. Systematic speed control programs applied nationwide could save another 1,000 to 2,000 lives, the report said.</p> <p>If every state required all motorcyclists to wear helmets, about 450 deaths a year could be avoided, the report said. Increasing the rate of seat belt use just 5 percent -- from the present 85 percent to 90 percent -- would save about 1,200 lives.</p> <p>"Where is the public outcry against these preventable deaths?'' said National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman.</p> <p>"Americans should strive for zero fatalities on the road. We should be leading, rather than following the international community when it comes to roadway design and safety measures,'' Hersman said. "But it is a sad fact that the U.S. is in their rear view mirror and falling further behind the rest of the world when it comes to highway safety.''</p> </div>urn:uuid:3b126967-49f5-41d7-8a83-18c93fa43031<img src='http://img.insurancejournal.com/ads/127f150a05c3bb4dc05e8e47365cea44.jpg' align='left' /> Local and state government workers have much higher rates of injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work than workers in private industry, the government reported. The rate among local and state government workers was 180 to 185 cases per 1...Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:29:54 -0600<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>Local and state government workers have much higher rates of injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work than workers in private industry, the government reported.</p> <p>The rate among local and state government workers was 180 to 185 cases per 10,000 full-time workers compared to 106 cases for private firms.</p> <p>This is the first time incidence rates for public workers have exceeded those for private industry.</p> <div style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 8px; clear: right;"> <div class="adv">Advertisement</div> <div id="beacon_dbca7dda63" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; top: 0px; left: 0px;"><img alt="" width="0" height="0" style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=1495&amp;campaignid=396&amp;zoneid=1&amp;loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2F2010%2F11%2F11%2F114816.htm&amp;referer=http%3A%2F%2Fus.mg1.mail.yahoo.com%2Fdc%2Flaunch%3F.gx%3D1%26.rand%3D1m2o9v0qhg8ge&amp;cb=dbca7dda63" /></div> </div> <p>Overall, for public and private employees, the number of reported nonfatal occupational injury and illness cases that required days away from work to recuperate decreased by nine percent to 1,238,490 cases in 2009 for private industry, state government and local government, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.</p> <p>The total incidence rate decreased by five percent in 2009 to 117 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.</p> <p>Musculoskeletal disorders continued for the second year in a row to comprise almost 30 percent of all workplace injuries and illnesses requiring time away from work.</p> <p>Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, said the overall decline might have to do with the economy.</p> <p>"Although it is encouraging to see a reduction in the total number of days away from work for injuries and illnesses suffered by workers in 2009, we know that economic conditions may have weighed heavily on the decline. Specifically, a decrease in employment and total hours worked, especially in construction and manufacturing, has led to fewer workers exposed to safety and health hazards in the workplace.," he said</p> <p>He said that as the economy improves and more Americans are rehired, work-related illnesses could rise.</p> <p>As for the public sector, Michaels said the numbers show a high occurrence among many public employee occupations, particularly among transit and intercity bus drivers, law enforcement officers, emergency response workers, and nursing aides and orderlies.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://ads.wellspublishing.com/www/delivery/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=1495__zoneid=1__cb=dbca7dda63__oadest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insurancejournal.com%2Fiphone%2F" target="_top"><img width="300" height="250" title="Try our iPhone App for Free!" style="width: 4px; height: 7px;border: 0px solid;" alt="Try our iPhone App for Free!" src="http://img.insurancejournal.com/ads/127f150a05c3bb4dc05e8e47365cea44.jpg" /></a></p> </div>urn:uuid:3873f99a-fa62-4895-8e66-32fd2298fc23Thanksgiving is on November 25 this year. We want you to eat lots of turkey, mashed potatoes and rolls. Then watch football until you fall asleep. Try to beat all the early Black Friday shoppers. You can search online to find who is having the best...Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:18:28 -0500Thanksgiving is on November 25 this year. We want you to eat lots of turkey, mashed potatoes and rolls. Then watch football until you fall asleep. <br /> <br /> Try to beat all the early Black Friday shoppers. You can search online to find who is having the best deals on televisions, video games and lots more.<br /> <br /> Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Reliable insurance!urn:uuid:981245f1-e18e-4e80-964e-8ee058d3f576 Republicans were not only victorious in the U.S. House but also in state houses across the country. Tuesday night's GOP power will give the party its largest number of seats in state legislatures since the Great Depression, according to the National...Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:04:00 -0500<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p>Republicans were not only victorious in the U.S. House but also in state houses across the country.</p> <p>Tuesday night's GOP power will give the party its largest number of seats in state legislatures since the Great Depression, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.</p> <p>Republicans now hold about 3,890, or 53 percent, of the total state legislative seats in America, the most seats in the GOP column since 1928. The GOP will now control at least 54 of the 99 state legislative chambers, its highest number since 1952. As a result, state legislatures will likely reflect a more conservative political agenda when they convene in 2011, NCSL reports.</p> <p>"2010 will go down as a defining political election that will shape the national political landscape for at least the next 10 years," said Tim Storey, elections specialist with NCSL. "The GOP, in dramatic fashion, finds itself now in the best position for both congressional and state legislative line drawing than it has enjoyed in the modern era of redistricting."</p> <p>NCSL is a bipartisan organization that provides research for state legislators and their staffs.</p> <p>As reported by <em>Insurance Journal</em>, Republicans also won three of the four races for insurance commissioner posts. Incumbent Democrat Kim Holland lost in Oklahoma to Republican insurance agent John Doak. Republican Sandy Praeger&nbsp;was re-elected without opposition in Kansas and Republican state Sen. Ralph Hudgens won the race to be Georgia's insurance chief. California bucked the trend, electing Democrat Assemblyman Dave Jones as insurance commissioner.</p> <p>In addition, the GOP also made inroads in state corner offices, picking up an estimated 10 states beyond what they already control, with a few states still undecided. At least 29 states will be run by Republican governors.</p> <p>Voters elected new Republican governors in the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming.</p> <p>California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii and New York elected new Democratic governors, while Rhode Island elected a former Republican turned Independent, Lincoln Chafee.</p> <p>Many of the newly-elected governors are expected to appoint new insurance commissioners.</p> <p>With their gains in state legislatures, Republicans now have a decided advantage in shaping congressional and state legislative districts when legislatures start the redistricting process next year. The GOP will have unilateral control of about 190 U.S. House districts, according to NCSL.</p> <p>Storey says this is the best position for the GOP in redistricting since the landmark Supreme Court decision, Baker vs. Carr, in 1962, which established the "one-person, one-vote" rule that requires districts to be redrawn every 10 years.</p> <p>The night marked a 20-year march by Republicans across the South. In 1990, the GOP held no legislative chambers and only 26 percent of legislative seats in the region. With Tuesday's results, the GOP now controls 18 legislative chambers and 54 percent of the seats. The Midwest, traditionally a Democratic stronghold, now has just 38 percent Democrat members, the lowest percentage there since 1956.</p> <p>Storey said Democrats were overwhelmed by an "enthusiasm gap." Of the roughly 11,000 candidates running for the 6,115 legislative seats up this year, the GOP had 822 more Republicans running for office than in 2008. Democrats actually had 50 fewer candidates than two years ago.</p> <p>Based on unofficial, preliminary returns, legislative chambers that have switched so far are:</p> <ul> <li>Alabama House and Senate</li> <li>Indiana House</li> <li>Iowa House</li> <li>Maine House and Senate</li> <li>Michigan House</li> <li>Minnesota House and Senate</li> <li>Montana House</li> <li>New Hampshire House and Senate</li> <li>North Carolina House and Senate</li> <li>Ohio House</li> <li>Pennsylvania House</li> <li>Wisconsin Assembly and Senate</li> </ul> <p>Undecided chambers that could still switch are the Colorado Senate and House; the New York Senate; the Oregon House; and the Washington Senate.</p> <p>Other NCSL observations about the recent election include:</p> <ul> <li>Republicans gained at least 680 seats on Tuesday, the largest gain by either party since 1966, surpassing Democratic gains in the post-Watergate election of 1974.</li> <li>The North Carolina Senate is now in Republican control for the first time since 1870.</li> <li>The Minnesota Senate, which held nonpartisan elections until 1974, is under Republican control for the first time.</li> <li>The Alabama legislature is under Republican control for the first time since Reconstruction.</li> </ul> <p>There will be significant turnover in state House and Senate leadership when state legislatures convene next year. Currently, 32 House Speakers are Democrats and 17 are Republican. Next year, this will change to 30 Republicans and 15 Democrats. Chambers in Colorado, Oregon and Washington remain undecided and Nebraska is nonpartisan. In terms of Senate presidents, in January 30 Senate chambers will be led by Republicans and 17 by Democrats. Currently, there are 26 Democrats and 24 Republicans. Chambers in New York, Oregon and Washington remain undecided.</p> </div>urn:uuid:7a20abd6-6436-4ce6-8392-9030c5310b89Texas State Rep. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) has filed a&nbsp;manadus petition&nbsp;in the 1st Court of Appeals in Houston seeking relief from a&nbsp;temporary stay&nbsp;of his request for information concerning a $189 million settlement between the...Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:00:25 -0500<p>Texas State Rep. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) has filed a&nbsp;manadus petition&nbsp;in the 1st Court of Appeals in Houston seeking relief from a&nbsp;temporary stay&nbsp;of his request for information concerning a $189 million settlement between the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) and a number of its insureds over Hurricane Ike claims.</p> <p>Taylor has been battling Steve Mostyn, the lead plaintiff in the case, over access to information about the settlement. Taylor says he's concerned about, among other things, a payment of $86 million in legal fees as part of the settlement.</p> <p>Taylor maintains he is seeking information related to the settlement in his capacity as the Co-Chairman of the Joint Windstorm Insurance Legislative Oversight Board, a member of the House Insurance Committee, the Select Committee on Emergency Preparedness and as the State Representative for House District 24 in Galveston County.</p> <p>"For months now, I have sought to fulfill my legislative responsibilities with regard to TWIA. In order to fix the problems with TWIA, we've got to fully understand what's going on and comprehend the scope and magnitude of the issues," Taylor said. "If there is a problem paying timely claims, we need to know that. If there is a problem with paying out $86 million in legal fees, we need to know that too. We should be putting people back in their houses, not making attorneys rich."</p> <p>Although Taylor's initial request did not seek private, confidential information on claimants, he issued a request&nbsp;clarifying only settlement details related to the reported $86 million in legal fees obtained by Mostyn on behalf of 2,400 homeowners was necessary.</p> <p>Mostyn has previously asserted that the information in the settlement is confidential and suggested that Taylor was over-stepping his authority as a state representative in requesting information about a confidential settlement.</p> <p>He also asserted that Taylor's reason for requesting the information is politically motivated, as Mostyn is a well-known political donor to the Democratic Party. Mostyn has said the timing of Taylor's original request "strongly suggests that he his using his position on the legislative oversight committee for non-legislative political and partisan purposes."</p> <p>In addition to the mandamus, Taylor has filed a&nbsp;Motion of Relief&nbsp;that seeks to lift a temporary restraining order by State District Judge Susan Criss (D-Galveston) banning TWIA from releasing the settlement information. The mandamus petition asserts that Judge Criss' order was an unconstitutional interference by a judge in lawful exercise of legislative and executive agency duties.</p>urn:uuid:ea0eb516-5df6-435e-9d5a-e34f8fc4085eThis was a great fight. Expect a rematch within a year. If you missed the fight you can see the entire fight here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuBtq8qLlTA &nbsp;Mon, 25 Oct 2010 11:29:51 -0500This was a great fight. Expect a rematch within a year. If you missed the fight you can see the entire fight here.<br /> <br /> <div class="UIShareStage_Subtitle">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuBtq8qLlTA</div> &nbsp;urn:uuid:bce7ec29-490a-4abd-ae6a-b42a9b21ad15Happy Halloween! Halloween is coming up. We hope every enjoys the candy, haunted houses and being with friends. However, you always should practice safety for the kids. Here are some helpful tips. Talk to your children about what they can and c...Sat, 02 Oct 2010 13:38:27 -0500<strong>Happy Halloween!<br /> </strong><br /> Halloween is coming up. We hope every enjoys the candy, haunted houses and being with friends. However, you always should practice safety for the kids. Here are some helpful tips.<br /> <ul> <li>Talk to your children about what they can and can't do </li> <li>Never allow them in a stranges house or even ring the door bell without a guardian with them </li> <li>Be careful crossing the street </li> <li>Know where your children are at </li> <li>Always check their candy for poison or objects in the candy. Always throw away opened candy </li> </ul>urn:uuid:e32a3b44-1d64-4d0e-ae75-965642b2995b It&rsquo;s almost Labor Day, which means it&rsquo;s time again to bid farewell to the lazy days of summer. The upside is that you have three days off to enjoy your time. Seize this opportunity to shop the mega sales, play some golf (mini or otherwis...Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:09:25 -0500<p><span style="font-size: 24px;"><br /> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">It&rsquo;s almost Labor Day, which means it&rsquo;s time again to bid farewell to the lazy days of summer. The upside is that you have three days off to enjoy your time. Seize this opportunity to shop the mega sales, play some golf (mini or otherwise) and eat something grilled before the mildly cooler temperatures set in.<br /> <br /> <strong><span style="font-size: 24px;">Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means</span></strong> </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;">Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. <br /> <br /> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. </p> <p style="text-align: left;">In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country. </p>urn:uuid:4deafcaf-1d27-4f77-996d-52dd43d4d732Health Insurance is probably the most important type of insurance you should get. For one, 67% of all bankruptcies are due to people not able to pay their medical bills. As medical care advances and treatments increase, health care costs also increas...Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:52:08 -0500Health Insurance is probably the most important type of insurance you should get. For one, 67% of all bankruptcies are due to people not able to pay their medical bills. <p>As medical care advances and treatments increase, health care costs also increase. The purpose of health insurance is to help you pay for care. It protects you and your family financially in the event of an unexpected serious illness or injury that could be very expensive. In addition, you are more likely to get routine and preventive care if you have health insurance.</p> <p>You need health insurance because you cannot predict what your medical bills will be. In some years, your costs may be low. In other years, you may have very high medical expenses. If you have health insurance, you will have peace of mind in knowing that you are protected from most of these costs. You should not wait until you or a family member becomes seriously ill to try to purchase health insurance. </p> <p>We also know that there is a link between having health insurance and getting better health care. Research shows that people with health insurance are more likely to have a regular doctor and to get care when they need it. </p>urn:uuid:26c8bfb3-eda2-497b-b124-54fb3720a5fdIn its single biggest repayment of bailout loans so far, American International Group Inc. said Monday it is paying back nearly $4 billion in taxpayer aid with proceeds from a recent debt sale. The insurer's aircraft leasing company, International Le...Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:10:20 -0500<p>In its single biggest repayment of bailout loans so far, American International Group Inc. said Monday it is paying back nearly $4 billion in taxpayer aid with proceeds from a recent debt sale.</p> <p>The insurer's aircraft leasing company, International Lease Finance Corp., completed the sale of $4.4 billion in debt. AIG will use more than $3.9 billion of the proceeds to repay the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, trimming the balance on its credit line with the Fed to about $15 billion. Adding interest, the total is about $21 billion.</p> <p>The emergency credit line was part of a $182 billion federal bailout package that New York-based AIG received during the financial crisis to avoid collapse. AIG has been selling off assets to pay back the aid.</p> <p>"This is continuing tangible evidence of AIG's progress in repaying the American taxpayers," said Robert Benmosche, AIG President and CEO. "AIG is getting stronger every day. We still have more work to do, but we will finish the job and make sure we repay the American taxpayers."</p> <p>As of June 30, excluding the new payment, AIG said its outstanding balance owed to the government stood at about $101 billion. The total includes debt as well as preferred shares of stock in AIG held by the Treasury Department.</p> <p>Los Angeles-based ILFC leases one of the world's biggest commercial jet fleets. It struggled earlier this year to pay off its loans, and had to draw the $3.9 billion from AIG to pay back some of its debt. AIG had tried to find a buyer for the unit, but any sale seems off the table for now as ILFC has found healthy demand for recent bond offerings which will help it meet some deadlines for paying back loans.</p> <p>The repayment will release about $10 billion of collateral that ILFC had pledged to the Fed under the credit agreement. With the recent debt sales and other notes issues, the aircraft unit has boosted its total liquidity -- assets that can quickly be converted to cash -- to more than $12.5 billion over the last five months.</p> <p>The offerings "are a direct reflection of our company's viability and future prospects as a leader in leasing aircraft to the world's airlines," said Henri Courpron, ILFC's CEO. He noted that the company has more than $13 billion in aircraft orders.</p> <p>Separately, AIG said it will book a pretax charge of about $650 million against its earnings due to the repayment.</p> <p>AIG shares dipped 13 cents to $35.04. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $21.54 to $55.90.</p> <p>In June, the Congressional Oversight Panel said in a report that it was still unclear whether U.S. taxpayers will ever fully recoup the full $182 billion they plowed into AIG.</p> <p>Regulators feared AIG's collapse would pose a threat to the whole U.S. financial system, in part because of AIG's dealings in financial contracts called credit default swaps. The swaps that AIG sold were insurance-like guarantees on mortgage securities that wound up forcing AIG to pay out billions of dollars after the housing market went bust.</p> <p>Earlier this month, AIG reported a $538 million second-quarter loss due to charges related to selling assets to repay the bailout money. Among the charges were $3.42 billion related to the sales of AIG's American Life Insurance Co. unit, or Alico, and its Nan Shan Life Insurance Co.</p>urn:uuid:3fe05e21-6237-453a-9667-65630f43e271It's far from the only service that Fiesta Auto Insurance Co. provides. Yet John Rost, founder and president of the growing full service agency business, considers the particular practice to be in the best interest of drivers everywhere. He's refer...Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:04:00 -0500<p>It's far from the only service that Fiesta Auto Insurance Co. provides. </p> <p>Yet John Rost, founder and president of the growing full service agency business, considers the particular practice to be in the best interest of drivers everywhere. </p> <p>He's referring to writing auto insurance policies for illegal immigrants, despite their inability to legally obtain a state-issued driver's license beforehand. </p> <p>"People would like to believe that an undocumented individual wouldn't buy a car, or if they had a car and didn't have a driver's license, they wouldn't drive to work," Rost said. "That's clearly not the case." </p> <p>The issue is framed within a larger ongoing political debate over immigration policy and can generate the same divisiveness. Rost pointed to the concern by some that issuing a driver's license to those without immigration status will result in other benefits following suit. </p> <p>There is also the social welfare debate about using immigration status as a prerequisite for selling auto insurance, and whether such a limitation might skew one's chances of being hit by an uninsured motorist. </p> <p>As history continues to show, a lack of insurance doesn't necessarily keep illegal drivers off the road. Bob Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, said about 15% of drivers in the United States lack automobile insurance. Put simply, Hartwig said society is better served with a higher proportion of insured drivers; and an individual is better off being hit by a driver with a policy. But he said many never get past the initial political debate. </p> <p>"It's a dicey issue on the national stage, and it's not one that the insurance industry is going to be able to resolve or play a fundamental role in," Hartwig said. "Unless the law of the state forbids an insurer from selling the coverage to someone who is undocumented, then it's likely there will be insurers and agents who are willing to service that market." </p> <p>In California, there is no state law that would prevent an insurer from selling an auto policy to a non-U.S. resident or an unlicensed driver, according to the state Department of Insurance. Carriers there can also write coverage for someone with a valid driver's license from another country. In 1993, the state passed a law that required licensed drivers to establish proof of legal residency, well in advance of momentum that has built at the federal level. </p> <p>After the September 11 terrorist attacks there was a shift in driver licensing standards. Spurred along by Congress in 2005 there has been a push for states to require that applicants have established a "lawful presence" in the United States before being issued a license.<br /> <br /> </p> <p>As of March 2007, 30 states have adopted the lawful presence standard established under Real ID initiative, according to Janice Kephart, director of national security policy at the Center for Immigration Studies. All but four states -- Illinois, New Mexico, Utah and Washington --require driver license applicants to establish a lawful presence. </p> <p>Rost said assisting illegal immigrants in obtaining auto coverage is a small component of his franchise-oriented agency. Rost started his auto insurance business in California with four offices in 1999 and his initial target was the under-served Hispanic and Latino market (BestWire, Jan. 22, 2010). </p> <p>In addition to insurance coverage, as well as standard and nonstandard auto, Fiesta franchises also offer tax preparation services. He said the underwriting process for illegal immigrants without a license wasn't anything unique. In the absence of a foreign driver's license, some use a matricula or form of government identification. </p> <p>"I don't know if any of us are out there vying for it," Rost said, referring to the market. "It's not something we advertise or market. It's simply due to the fact that these consumers are walking in and insurance companies are able to take that customer and charge them what they think is the appropriate premium. We're simply able to facilitate that." </p> <p>Rost said the coverage being written through carriers has been available for the past seven years and underwritten by major ones. </p> <p>"As soon as one carrier allowed it in their underwriting guidelines, other carriers started to add it in," Rost said. </p> <p>Rost noted that establishing citizenship isn't necessarily a requirement for purchasing or registering a car, something confirmed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Insurers. </p> <p>"If somebody can buy a vehicle, register a vehicle and insure a vehicle legally, wouldn't it be in the best interest of the community within that state to see that they actually know how to control their vehicle?" Rost said. "Isn't that the purpose of them going to a driver's license exam and road test?"<br /> <br /> </p>urn:uuid:76d96b2b-d6ee-49f6-8aa0-26bd1d4b1230It's far from the only service that Fiesta Auto Insurance Co. provides. Yet John Rost, founder and president of the growing full service agency business, considers the particular practice to be in the best interest of drivers everywhere. He's refer...Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:01:08 -0500<p>It's far from the only service that Fiesta Auto Insurance Co. provides. </p> <p>Yet John Rost, founder and president of the growing full service agency business, considers the particular practice to be in the best interest of drivers everywhere. </p> <p>He's referring to writing auto insurance policies for illegal immigrants, despite their inability to legally obtain a state-issued driver's license beforehand. </p> <p>"People would like to believe that an undocumented individual wouldn't buy a car, or if they had a car and didn't have a driver's license, they wouldn't drive to work," Rost said. "That's clearly not the case." </p> <p>The issue is framed within a larger ongoing political debate over immigration policy and can generate the same divisiveness. Rost pointed to the concern by some that issuing a driver's license to those without immigration status will result in other benefits following suit. </p> <p>There is also the social welfare debate about using immigration status as a prerequisite for selling auto insurance, and whether such a limitation might skew one's chances of being hit by an uninsured motorist. </p> <p>As history continues to show, a lack of insurance doesn't necessarily keep illegal drivers off the road. Bob Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, said about 15% of drivers in the United States lack automobile insurance. Put simply, Hartwig said society is better served with a higher proportion of insured drivers; and an individual is better off being hit by a driver with a policy. But he said many never get past the initial political debate. </p> <p>"It's a dicey issue on the national stage, and it's not one that the insurance industry is going to be able to resolve or play a fundamental role in," Hartwig said. "Unless the law of the state forbids an insurer from selling the coverage to someone who is undocumented, then it's likely there will be insurers and agents who are willing to service that market." </p> <p>In California, there is no state law that would prevent an insurer from selling an auto policy to a non-U.S. resident or an unlicensed driver, according to the state Department of Insurance. Carriers there can also write coverage for someone with a valid driver's license from another country. In 1993, the state passed a law that required licensed drivers to establish proof of legal residency, well in advance of momentum that has built at the federal level. </p> <p>After the September 11 terrorist attacks there was a shift in driver licensing standards. Spurred along by Congress in 2005 there has been a push for states to require that applicants have established a "lawful presence" in the United States before being issued a license.<br /> <br /> </p> <p>As of March 2007, 30 states have adopted the lawful presence standard established under Real ID initiative, according to Janice Kephart, director of national security policy at the Center for Immigration Studies. All but four states -- Illinois, New Mexico, Utah and Washington --require driver license applicants to establish a lawful presence. </p> <p>Rost said assisting illegal immigrants in obtaining auto coverage is a small component of his franchise-oriented agency. Rost started his auto insurance business in California with four offices in 1999 and his initial target was the under-served Hispanic and Latino market (BestWire, Jan. 22, 2010). </p> <p>In addition to insurance coverage, as well as standard and nonstandard auto, Fiesta franchises also offer tax preparation services. He said the underwriting process for illegal immigrants without a license wasn't anything unique. In the absence of a foreign driver's license, some use a matricula or form of government identification. </p> <p>"I don't know if any of us are out there vying for it," Rost said, referring to the market. "It's not something we advertise or market. It's simply due to the fact that these consumers are walking in and insurance companies are able to take that customer and charge them what they think is the appropriate premium. We're simply able to facilitate that." </p> <p>Rost said the coverage being written through carriers has been available for the past seven years and underwritten by major ones. </p> <p>"As soon as one carrier allowed it in their underwriting guidelines, other carriers started to add it in," Rost said. </p> <p>Rost noted that establishing citizenship isn't necessarily a requirement for purchasing or registering a car, something confirmed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Insurers. </p> <p>"If somebody can buy a vehicle, register a vehicle and insure a vehicle legally, wouldn't it be in the best interest of the community within that state to see that they actually know how to control their vehicle?" Rost said. "Isn't that the purpose of them going to a driver's license exam and road test?"<br /> <br /> </p>urn:uuid:668d6e19-0dc7-445b-b4ed-05f089475a51<img src='http://www.reliableins.net/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/iStock_000004354760XSmall.jpg' align='left' />Let&rsquo;s face it; when you think about auto insurance, you think about cars, accidents, theft and acts of nature. You think auto insurance is boring and practical, safe and required by law in varying amounts depending on your state. Right? What y...Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:32:42 -0500<p><img alt="" src="/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/iStock_000004354760XSmall.jpg" style="float: left; width: 300px; height: 199px; margin-right: 7px; margin-left: 7px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" />Let&rsquo;s face it; when you think about <a href="http://www.reliableins.net/automobile/default.aspx" title="Auto Insurance">auto insurance</a>, you think about cars, accidents, theft and acts of nature. You think auto insurance is boring and practical, safe and required by law in varying amounts depending on your state. </p> <p>Right?</p> <p>What you do not think of when the words &ldquo;auto insurance&rdquo; are mumbled in polite society is pirates or sailors, romantic sea vessels, sinking ships and dramatic maritime vistas with all its inherent risks. Well let&rsquo;s talk about the exciting history of auto insurance and see if we can&rsquo;t change how you view this fascinating (that&rsquo;s right, fascinating) insurance coverage. </p> <p><strong>The History of Auto Insurance</strong></p> <p>4,000 years ago there were no automobiles around to transport goods and people&mdash;but there were boats. Boats were the key to connecting continents, exploration, delivering goods, waging wars and even shipping people to a longed-for destination. But much like the automobiles of today, ships were not impervious to accident and damage. Storms, faulty equipment, dastardly pirates, wear and tear and other factors often conspired to create sunken vessels filled with priceless and damaged cargo. </p> <p>The owners of the ships had a responsibility to their clients to deliver the goods and cargo they carried&mdash;but they could not guarantee that no harm would ever befall these goods&mdash;which meant with every voyage there was an inherent risk. In order to insure this risk, ancient Babylonian sailors would give their clients money representing the full cost of all the cargo they were entrusting on the ships before they set sail. If the cargo was delivered, the sailor could then collect the money back that he&rsquo;d given his client to guarantee safe delivery. That was the very beginning of auto insurance as we know it.</p> <p>When cars were first driven on formerly horse and wagon infested streets, there wasn&rsquo;t much in the way of driving laws. Of course, there also weren&rsquo;t many drivers; cars were the domain of the extremely wealthy and were considered a privilege. Because lives and property were at stake thanks to the reckless driving of many privileged individuals and few driving laws, liability insurance was eventually required for those with a vehicle. That ensured that all the people whose lives and property were exposed to the drivers had some financial recourse if they suffered damages.</p> <p>As the years went by and the driving population grew, auto insurance became more sophisticated, offering protections to not only those who might be damaged by the liability of the driver, but also the driver him or herself. Now, insurance is mandatory in almost every state (with the exception of New Hampshire). Policies have been improved so that protection extends more to the driver to protect against things like theft and damage caused by acts of nature. </p> <p>Call us today at (713) 227-7283 to get a free <a href="http://www.reliableins.net/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx" title="Houston auto insurance quote">Houston auto insurance</a> quote.</p>urn:uuid:b0e28908-d652-43d5-abd6-a6f9c6c7babfAfter trending downward for four years, identity theft is on the rise again. Last year more than 11 million consumers were hit by the crime. That's a record, according to Javelin Strategy and Research, a California company that has surveyed 5,000 adu...Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:53:15 -0500<p>After trending downward for four years, identity theft is on the rise again. Last year more than 11 million consumers were hit by the crime. That's a record, according to Javelin Strategy and Research, a California company that has surveyed 5,000 adults on the subject every year since 2003. The jump is partly a result of the recession, Javelin says, when fraud tends to spike.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>But you don't need to sign up for expensive services offered by credit-reporting bureaus and other companies to keep your identity safe. Most of their products are unnecessary or ineffective, or they duplicate things you can do yourself -- free. Our own assessment of some two dozen identity-theft protection products crowding the market found dubious value. Here's how to protect yourself.</p> <p><strong>1. Get Serious, Not Scared</strong></p> <p>Don't let the horror stories freak you out. The worst-case scenario -- where someone opens new credit-card accounts or commits other crimes using your name, Social Security number, or other information -- is relatively uncommon. That nightmare happened to less than 1 percent of all U.S. households in 2005, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Justice. Half of that group resolved the problem, usually in less than a day to two weeks.</p> <p>The most common form of ID theft isn't even what most people think of as ID theft. It's old-fashioned credit-card fraud and check-kiting, with someone fraudulently accessing your credit- or debit-card account. It affects about 4 percent of households. What's more, in most cases, your liability is legally limited, and credit-card issuers or banks pay the direct losses, not you. Most victims suffered no out-of-pocket costs last year; those who did lost only $373 on average, half the amount lost in 2007, Javelin says. That's well below the $1 million to $2 million guarantees that many identity-theft protection services trumpet to suggest that your losses could be catastrophic.</p> <noscript></noscript> <p>You can protect yourself by taking these low-tech, common-sense precautions:</p> <p>&bull; Never give your Social Security number or other information to strangers who call, text, or send e-mail messages to you, even if they seem legitimate, as with phony "phishing" e-mail that looks like it comes from your bank. And don't write your Social Security number on checks (except those you send to the IRS), noncredit applications, or other forms.</p> <p>&bull; Never leave your wallet or purse unattended. Don't carry your Social Security card, rarely used credit cards, or written PINs or passwords.</p> <p>&bull; Store financial account statements, medical records, and tax filings in a secure place at home, especially if you let workers or others inside, and shred those documents when you no longer need them.</p> <p>&bull; Don't post your date of birth, mother's maiden name, first pet's name, or other personal information on websites like Facebook, Flickr, Friendster, LinkedIn, MySpace, or Twitter. They're often used to verify your identity and could allow an imposter electronic access to your accounts.</p> <p>&bull; If your bank or credit-card issuer offers free online or mobile alerts that will warn you of suspicious account activity as soon as it's detected, sign up for them. The alerts are different from the expensive credit-monitoring services that banks also sell. (You don't need those.)</p> <p><strong>2. Place Security Freezes and Fraud Alerts</strong></p> <p>You can shut out ID thieves before they cause damage by placing a security freeze on your credit reports at all three major credit bureaus: <a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=10s6tj9vb/**http%3A//www.equifax.com/" target="_blank">Equifax</a> ; <a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=10tck0vi6/**http%3A//www.experian.com/" target="_blank">Experian</a>; and <a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=10vs6f420/**http%3A//www.transunion.com/" target="_blank">Transunion</a>. It will prevent anyone from looking at your credit report except for the companies that already have a financial relationship with you, certain government agencies, and other exempt entities. To sign up for one, go to each bureau's home page and look for the security-freeze link.</p> <p>If a lender can't pull your credit report, it isn't likely to grant new credit to someone else in your name. So a security freeze is an excellent deterrent against fraud. But like all deterrents, it isn't fail-safe. "Some creditors, such as payday lenders, will give credit without getting a credit report," says Rebecca Kuehn, assistant director of the Federal Trade Commission's division of privacy and identity protection.</p> <p>If you haven't placed a security freeze and you spot a sign of identity theft, put an initial fraud alert on your credit report immediately. That's fast, free, and stays in place for 90 days. It also gives you additional legal protection. After that, request a security freeze.</p> <p>Prospective lenders are supposed to see a fraud alert on your credit file and call you to find out whether the application is legitimate. Filing a fraud alert is appropriate anytime your identity information is compromised, such as when your wallet, cell phone, or computer is lost or stolen, or if your home or car is broken into. But you should also do it after more-subtle warning signs, such as finding unauthorized charges on your credit-card statement (even if quickly resolved) or failing to receive expected bills or mail.</p> <p>Fraud alerts are free; security freezes typically cost $5 to $10 per person per credit bureau each time you place or temporarily lift one. Prices range from free to $20 depending on state law. But if you're a victim of ID fraud, freezes are usually free. You can initiate a freeze online directly with each credit bureau; for fraud alerts, you only need to inform one bureau, which will pass the request on to the other two.</p> <p><strong>3. Secure Your Devices</strong></p> <p>If you access the Internet on your computer, you probably already know about the need for a firewall; regularly updated anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-phishing software; and strong passwords with upper- and lower-case letters, numerals, and symbols like #, &amp;, and $. But you might not think about other wide-open doors to your identity. Make sure your smart phone, iPad, other mobile devices, and portable flash drives containing personal data have security applications and encryption in case they're lost or stolen.</p> <p><strong>4. Keep an ID-Theft File</strong></p> <p>Because identity theft is now a fact of life, it's a good idea to set up a folder for certain documents and data and keep it in a secure place. Include credit reports, security-freeze documents and passwords, copies of annual privacy notices, security-breach notices, and potential ID-theft evidence, such as mail to your address in someone else's name. This is also the place to keep photocopies of the contents of your wallet -- the front and back of your driver's license, credit cards, club membership cards, etc. -- in case it's lost or stolen.</p> <p><strong>5. Review All Your Personal Data Files</strong></p> <p>Check your credit report periodically for items that you don't recognize -- such as accounts, judgments, liens, collections, bankruptcies, and other possible footprints of identity theft -- and dispute all erroneous and fraudulent information. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you're entitled to one free copy of your credit report every year from each of the big three credit bureaus. Stagger your requests so that you'll get your file from one of them every four months.</p> <p>You should order your free reports at <a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=117p2cd63/**http%3A//www.annualcreditreport.com/" target="_blank">www.annualcreditreport.com</a>. You're also entitled to an additional free report from each bureau whenever you place an initial fraud alert on your credit report.</p> <p>Other data brokers keep files on you. Irregularities could mean someone is using your ID to work, tap your health benefits, rent homes, or write bad checks. You have a right to free copies each year and to dispute errors in them.</p> <p><strong>6. Stop Unsolicited Credit-Card Offers</strong></p> <p>One way crooks steal your name is by swiping preapproved credit offers from your mailbox to open an account. They can then watch your mailbox to lift the new card you didn't know was coming. You can stop credit bureaus from selling your name to lenders by going to <a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=114jquoau/**http%3A//www.optoutprescreen.com/" target="_blank">www.optoutprescreen.com</a> or calling 888-567-8688. Opting out should stop most offers, and it's free.</p> <p>Other credit offers might come from affiliates of financial services companies that already have a business relationship with you. You can stop them by paying attention to the annual privacy rights notices you get from banks, brokers, and other financial companies and exercising your right under federal law to prevent them from "sharing" (translation: "selling") your information with affiliates and others. Do the same with retailers and websites.</p> <p><strong>7. Monitor Accounts Often</strong></p> <p>It's no longer enough to wait for your monthly credit-card or checking account statement to look for suspicious activity. For added protection, sign up for online access to your accounts and check them regularly, even daily. "Almost a third of victims told us they became aware of an identity theft when they noticed missing money from an account," says Katrina Baum, acting division director and senior statistician at the National Institute of Justice. "What this tells me is that it really behooves consumers to be vigilant about checking their financial statements and paying attention to their account activity."</p> <p>And don't assume that the paper checks listed are legit. Crooks can tap into your funds using fabricated checks with a fictitious name, address, and bank -- as long as they use your real account number.</p> <p>Monitor your telephone bills (landline and cellular) to find any unauthorized "cramming" charges for phony services and purchases. As cell phones increasingly become mobile payment devices, fraudulent charges are showing up there, too.</p> <p><strong>8. Respond Rapidly</strong></p> <p>If you suspect you've been a victim of identity theft, act quickly. Immediately contact your creditors and financial institutions to report unauthorized charges or debits, and close any compromised accounts. Place fraud alerts and security freezes, and get your credit reports from all three credit bureaus so you can review them for irregularities. File a report with your local police and the FTC, and step up your own account monitoring. Chances are good that these actions will resolve the problem in relatively short order and at little or no cost.</p> <p>Don't let the incident scare you into signing up for identity-theft protection or credit-monitoring services -- unless they're free, which is often the case for a limited time after corporate or government data breaches. Make sure a breach notice is not an identity-theft trick itself, and remember to cancel the subscription when the free period runs out.</p>urn:uuid:c39b1931-fffb-4faf-8b1d-4803429cad74 Write a Best-seller Swim With Dolphins Win an Award, Trophy or Prize Catch a Fish With Your Bare Hands Make a Discovery Realize Your Childhood Dream Learn That Instrument Leave Your Mark in Graffiti Get a ...Sun, 01 Aug 2010 13:04:47 -0500<ol id="OaB"> <li>Write a Best-seller </li> <li>Swim With Dolphins </li> <li>Win an Award, Trophy or Prize </li> <li>Catch a Fish With Your Bare Hands </li> <li>Make a Discovery </li> <li>Realize Your Childhood Dream </li> <li>Learn That Instrument </li> <li><s>Leave Your Mark in Graffiti</s> </li> <li>Get a Piece of Art into an Exhibition </li> <li>Meet Someone with your Own Name </li> <li>Ride the World's Biggest Rollercoasters </li> <li>Stage Dive or Crowd Surf </li> <li>Get Into the Guinness Book of World Records </li> <li>Own a Pointless Collection </li> <li>Master Poker and Win Big in a Casino </li> <li>Go Up in a Hot Air Balloon </li> <li>See a Space Shuttle Launch </li> <li>Capture the Moment in an Award-winning Photograph </li> <li><s>Bunjy Jump</s> </li> <li><s>See an Erupting Volcano</s> </li> <li>Sky Dive </li> <li>Meet Your Idol </li> <li>Stay in the Best Suite in a Five Star Hotel </li> <li>Experience Weightlessness </li> <li><s>See the Aurora Borealis</s> </li> <li>Get to Score a Hole in One </li> <li>Design Your Own Cocktail </li> <li>Play a Part in Your Favorite TV Show </li> <li>Visit Every Continent </li> <li>Make Fire Without Matches </li> <li>See Animals in the Wild </li> <li>Get a Free Upgrade on a Plane </li> <li>Be Friends With an Ex </li> <li>Hit Your Targets </li> <li>Throw a Dart into a Map and Travel to Where it Lands </li> <li>Attend a Film Premiere </li> <li>Scuba Dive </li> <li><s>Milk a Cow</s> </li> <li>Be Present When Your Country Wins the World Cup </li> <li>See Both Solar and Lunar Eclipses </li> <li>Learn Another Language </li> <li>Read The Greatest Book Ever Written </li> <li>Complete a Coast to Coast Road Trip Across America </li> <li>Score the Winning Goal/Try/Basket </li> <li>See the All Time Greatest Film </li> <li>Live in the Place You Love </li> <li>Leave a Job You Hate </li> <li>Take Part in a Police Line-up </li> <li><s>Join the Mile High Club</s> </li> <li>Make the Front Page of a National Newspaper </li> <li>Visit... <ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha;"> <li>Colosseum, Rome, Italy </li> <li>Uluru, Australia </li> <li>Machu Picchu, Peru </li> <li>The Pyramids at Giza, Egypt </li> <li>Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil </li> <li>Sydney Harbour, Australia </li> <li>Taj Mahal, Delhi, India </li> <li>Great Barrier Reef, Australia </li> <li>Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco </li> <li>Grand Canyon, Arizona </li> <li>Angor Wat, Cambodia </li> <li>The Great Wall of China</li> </ol> </li> <li>Save Someone's Life </li> <li>Invent a Word That Makes it into the Dictionary </li> <li>Have Enough Money to Do All the Things on This List </li> <li>Stand on the International Date Line </li> <li>Learn to Fly a Plane </li> <li>Invent Something </li> <li>Learn Astronomy and Read the Night Sky </li> <li>Drink a Vintage Wine </li> <li>Answer a Personal Ad </li> <li>Spend Christmas on the Beach </li> <li>Builds Your Own House </li> <li>Sell All Your Junk on eBay and Make a Profit </li> <li>Visit the World's Tallest Buildings </li> <li>Run a Marathon </li> <li>Conquer Your Fear </li> <li>Throw Away the Instant Noodles </li> <li>Own an Original Work of Art </li> <li>Get Something Named After You </li> <li>Be an Extra in a Film </li> <li>Live Out of a Van </li> <li>Go on a Demonstration </li> <li>Confess </li> <li>Reach 100 Years of Age </li> <li>Continue Your Gene Pool</li> </ol> <p>This blog started with 101 but I had to delete someone of them, because they are not things we condone.<br /> <br /> If you know someone that could find this blog useful please send it to them or bookmark it.<br /> <br /> If you would like a quote on <a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance</a>, <a href="/homeowners/insurance_quote.aspx">home insurance</a>, <a href="/life/insurance_quote.aspx">life insurance </a>or <a href="/business/general_liability_quote.aspx">business insurance </a>click here.</p>urn:uuid:0e06a4fb-5846-41c3-8776-80ded6d03a54Tax free weekend is coming up on August 20-22. All clothes and school supplies will be tax free. Here at Reliable Insurance we would like to extend to everyone a fee free weekend. We will not charge a fee on any new auto, home or commercial policy. W...Sat, 31 Jul 2010 10:57:59 -0500Tax free weekend is coming up on August 20-22. All clothes and school supplies will be tax free. Here at Reliable Insurance we would like to extend to everyone a fee free weekend. We will not charge a fee on any new auto, home or commercial policy. We will waive $75 on on the first monthly payment for auto, $130 on homeowners and $150 on commercial policies. We would like you to take advantage of this opportunity before it expires. This offer only applies to new policies sold on August 20-22, and not renewals.<br /> <br /> If you know anyone that would find this newsletter useful please let them know. <br /> <br /> If you would like a quote on <a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance</a>, <a href="/homeowners/insurance_quote.aspx">home insurance </a>and <a href="/business/general_liability_quote.aspx">commercial insurance&nbsp;</a>click here.urn:uuid:80007af5-89ca-4840-bf41-c78e8126718fGoogle has been voted the best place in the world to work not once, but twice. The company offers many benefits to its employees, but the most important thing among them is a high wage according to Indeed.com.Google has been named the best place to w...Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:46:37 -0500Google has been voted the best place in the world to work not once, but twice. The company offers many benefits to its employees, but the most important thing among them is a high wage according to Indeed.com.Google has been named the best place to work by <a href="http://cgullworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/google-rated-best-place-to-work-by.html">Fortune</a> magazine twice. Google offers free gourmet meals, bus shuttle service, flexible hours, child care services, free massages, the company allows you to bring pets to work, professional haircuts and much more.<br /> <br /> But above all the bells and whistles, Google employees also reportedly get some of the <a href="http://www.cherryav.com/articles/technology/30-The-Googlenairs.html">best salaries</a> in the world.<br /> <br /> Here is some data gathered from Indeed.com, a job search engine company:<br /> <br /> &bull; Google Programmer in Phoenix - $174,000/year<br /> &bull; Google Programmer in California - $197,000/year<br /> &bull; Google Programmer in Chicago - $222,000/year<br /> &bull; Google Programmer in New York - $242,000/year<br /> <br /> In addition to salary, Google offers the following financial benefits to its employees:<br /> <br /> &bull; Google pays $8,000 per year to any employee who will continue their education. The only condition: they must get at least a B Grade in their classes.<br /> <br /> &bull; If you refer another employee to Google and they stay for more than 60 days, Google pays you $2,000 as bonus.<br /> <br /> &bull; If you adopt a kid while working in Google, they pay you $5,000 toward legal and adoption fees.<br /> <br /> &bull; Based on your work experience, Google will offer you up to 25 days paid vacation a year.<br /> <br /> According to the New York Times, there are at least 1,000 employees at Google with stock option worth more than $5 million (they are now referred to as <a href="http://www.cherryav.com/articles/technology/30-The-Googlenairs.html">Googlenaires</a>). Even after working for Google for a year, they are worth more than $250,000. One such example is Google&rsquo;s former masseuse who became a millionaire because she had stock options so early on in the company and cashed-in on them as the company grew.<br /> <br /> Competing firms say Google alone has raised the average programmer&rsquo;s salary by 50 per cent over the last few years.<br /> <br /> And if that weren't enough, Google also offers the following benefits to its employees, as described on one of its job postings:(these are just a few examples but more can be <a href="http://www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/static.py?page=benefits.html">found here</a>):<br /> <br /> &bull; Maternity Benefits: 12 weeks off at 75 per cent pay.<br /> <br /> &bull; Google matches contributions of up to $3000 per year from eligible employees to non-profit organizations.<br /> <br /> &bull; Food: Check out our free lunch and dinner &ndash; our gourmet chefs create a wide variety of healthy and delicious meals every day. Got the munchies? Google also offers snacks to help satisfy you in between meals.<br /> <br /> &bull; On-site Doctor: At Google headquarters in Mountain View, California you have the convenience of seeing a doctor on-site.<br /> <br /> &bull; Shuttle Service: Google is pleased to provide its Mountain View employees with free shuttles to several San Francisco, East Bay and South Bay locations.<br /> <br /> &bull; Financial Planning Classes: Google provides objective and conflict-free financial education classes. The courses are comprehensive and cover a variety of financial topics.<br /> <br /> &bull; Other On-Site Services: At Google headquarters in Mountain View, there&rsquo;s on-site oil change, car wash, dry cleaning, massage therapy, gym, hair stylist, fitness classes and bike repair.<br /> <br /> &bull; Other Great Benefits: Ski trip, company movie day, summer picnic, Halloween &amp; holiday party, health fair, quarterly group offsites, credit union, sauna, roller hockey, outdoor volleyball court, discounts for products and local attractions.<br /> <br /> No wonder Google is the best place to work and their employees turn out some of the best products in the world.urn:uuid:10677ecd-54b6-4b62-bbd9-b9ccc47ad00cWhen you go to purchase life insurance you will have a lot of options thrown your way to choose from. One of the things you will need to consider will be the different supplemental benefits that will be an option for you. In many cases, the addition ...Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:22:29 -0500<p>When you go to purchase life insurance you will have a lot of options thrown your way to choose from.</p> <p>One of the things you will need to consider will be the different supplemental benefits that will be an option for you. In many cases, the addition of a rider is shown in an added charge by the company and may necessitate that the insured prove evidence of insurability.</p> <p>So just what are some of the more important riders to take a look at?</p> <p>Among them are: </p> <p><strong>Waiver of Premium - </strong>This option provides that the individual's policy will remain in force by the company, minus additional payment of premiums, if the insured becomes totally disabled prior to the age of 60 or 65, following an initial waiting period. Total disability is looked at by the terms of the rider, and premiums are waived provided the individual's disability continues and policy benefits continue just as if the person had paid the premiums. Most experts will tell you this coverage, which is relatively inexpensive, is worth it.</p> <p><strong>Automatic Premium Loan Provision - </strong>This provision notes that at the conclusion of the grace period, provided the premium due has not been paid, a policy loan automatically be made from the policy's cash value to cover the premium. This action will prevent an unintended lapse in the policy. Many experts will recommend this action due to the numerous circumstances for when a premium payment might have inadvertently not been paid. The provision in this matter needs to be elected by the policy owner and can be cancelled during any time by the same individual.</p> <p><strong>Disability Income - </strong>With disability income, the individual is provided a monthly income while they are fully disabled following an initial waiting period. Keep in mind that the monthly disability income benefit will be limited to a portion of the death benefit.</p> <p><strong>Accidental Death Benefit - </strong>The provision here offers an added amount of insurance should the death of the insured take place due to an accident. A number of accidental death benefits offer two to three times the face amount of the policy for specified types of accidents. The accidental death must take place before a specified age, like 65. One another note....death as a result of sickness is prohibited.</p> <p><strong>Cost of Living Rider - </strong>With this rider, the individual is allowed to acquire additional insurance on a yearly basis to help offset added insurance needs that are a result of inflation. The amount that can be acquired is factored around increases in the cost of living index. The additional coverage is typically available at inexpensive rates and evidence for insurability is not necessary for such increases.</p> <p><strong>Spouse Rider - </strong>The rider involved here offers level term coverage on the life of the insurer's spouse. This kind of rider also provides a conversion provision allowing the spouse to transfer to permanent coverage without evidence of insurability before the termination of the rider or upon the passing of the insured under the basic policy.</p> <p><strong>Children's Rider - </strong>With this form of rider, you are typically provided level term coverage for the life of your children. The riders are generally offered at one premium rate and could cover newborns and adopted children who can be added to the coverage minus increasing the premium you pay. The rider also provides a conversion provision, thereby allowing each child to convert to a permanent plan of coverage without evidence of insurability before the termination of the rider or upon the passing of the insured through the basic policy.</p> <p><strong>Term Riders - </strong>These kinds of riders offer temporary coverage which can be attached to a present permanent policy or interest sensitive policy to offer an amount of added insurance protection for a fixed period of time. These kinds of riders are a good idea in the event you need added insurance or a lesser amount of coverage for a limited period of time.</p> <p>As always it is best when searching for life insurance to discuss with an agent what scenarios would be best for you when it comes to riders and supplements.<br /> <br /> If you would like a quote on <a href="/life/insurance_quote.aspx">life insurance</a> click here.</p> <p></p>urn:uuid:a7b59071-a73a-4592-938a-fc2c7458807eAs new parents try to get a few hours sleep with their new arrivals in tow, they may have overlooked the idea of getting life insurance. If so, make sure to speak with an insurance agent to see what he/she can offer you and your newest family member...Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:12:35 -0500<p>As new parents try to get a few hours sleep with their new arrivals in tow, they may have overlooked the idea of getting life insurance. </p> <p>If so, make sure to speak with an insurance agent to see what he/she can offer you and your newest family member.</p> <p>Once you welcome a newborn into the family, your thoughts should of course swing to your long-term responsibility for growing your family, even in the event something happens to you. This is a great time to go over your existing life insurance. In the event you do not have any coverage, it is a good time to consider it.</p> <p>The first thing you want to evaluate is your current life insurance policies, including any coverage you have through a job or any other individual policies you own.</p> <p>Among other things, think about whether you have enough coverage, whether you have the proper coverage, if the rates you pay are competitive, and whether your beneficiary designations need any attention.</p> <p>The next step is to make sure you have the proper amount of coverage in order to protect you and your loved ones.</p> <p>A U.S. Department of Agriculture report said that the cost of bringing up a child from birth through age 17 can exceed $200,000. Four years in college can easily tack on another $50,000 or more to this figure. </p> <p>You also want to make sure that both you and your spouse are covered, especially if the spouse may be a stay-at-home caregiver. In the event something happens to the stay-at-home spouse, the expenses for raising your child will likely increase.</p> <p>It is also important to determine what type of coverage you need for you and your increasing family.</p> <p>There are two main types of life insurance - term life, which will provide a death benefit only for a set time period, and permanent life, which puts together a death benefit with a savings option (or cash value).</p> <p>Prior to purchasing your life insurance after the birth of a child, be sure to do some serious comparison shopping to make sure you are able to receive the most competitive rates. The best way to go about this is working with a consumer insurance information provider who can give you multiple quotes, thereby enhancing the chances for you to save money.</p> <p>Finally, it is very important that the right beneficiary information is in your file after the birth of a child.</p> <p>The policyholder and their spouse are likely to name each other as the beneficiary on their individual life insurance policies. It is important, however, to name a contingent beneficiary who will obtain the policy proceeds if both individuals die.</p> <p>If you're wondering who the contingent beneficiary could be, it can be the child. </p> <p>If that is the case, proceeds for the policy should be placed in a trust for the benefit of the child and the policy should note a trustee, along with specifying how the policy proceeds should be handled.<br /> <br /> If you would like a quote on <a href="/life/insurance_quote.aspx">life insurance </a>click here</p>urn:uuid:e202a1b2-88ac-4786-94e3-756ee9b4e4ec Term Insurance&nbsp; This is the simplest and cheapest type of life insurance. It means you are insured for as long a...Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:10:00 -0500<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="7" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td><strong><span style="font-size: 13px;">Term Insurance&nbsp;</span></strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table width="95%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="0" align="right"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="style2"><span style="font-size: 13px;">This is the simplest and cheapest type of life insurance. It means you are insured for as long as you maintain the policy, for a stated term. Term insurance is well suited for those on a limited budget, giving them peace of mind that their families will be taken care of in case the worst happens. <br /> <br /> It can be positioned to pay off a large loan such as a mortgage or home refinance. Term life insurance is known for the low monthly payments for young people relative to the high payout. Insurers offer term insurance policies providing level premiums of 5, 10, 20 and 30 year terms. </span> <span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /> <br /> Claims filed on term life insurance will be satisfied as long as the premiums are up to date, the insurance contract has not expired and if no claims are filed. There are no returns of premium dollars if no claim is filed by the insured. &nbsp;</span> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong><span style="font-size: 13px;">Whole Life Insurance</span></strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table width="95%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="0" align="right"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="style2"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Unlike Term Insurance, Whole Life Insurance continues as long as you live and continue making premium payments. Because Whole Life Insurance premium levels are permanent, it is most economical when purchased when the insured is young. <br /> <br /> Whole Life Insurance is set up to function not only as insurance, but as a kind of cash fund to assist you with short-term financial needs. As long as your policy remains intact, you can borrow against it and loan yourself money at the current interest rate.</span> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <br /> If you would like a quote on <a href="/life/insurance_quote.aspx">life insurance</a> click here.urn:uuid:75f0a940-01d2-4097-9e56-562d22555b1fSo, you probably already know that a good credit score can mean lower interest rates on loans. However, did you know that many insurance companies offer discounts for consumers who maintain an above average credit rating? Here&rsquo;s how it works an...Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:35:52 -0500<p>So, you probably already know that a good credit score can mean lower interest rates on loans. However, did you know that many insurance companies offer discounts for consumers who maintain an above average credit rating? Here&rsquo;s how it works and what you should know:</p> <p>When you get an insurance quote (home, auto, etc.) the insurance company assigns you with an insurance score. Your insurance score takes many things into consideration, one of those being, you guessed it- your credit rating. The&nbsp;higher your credit rating, the better your insurance score.</p> <p>Insurance providers then use your insurance score as a factor in determining your insurance premiums. If you have a good insurance score, you may qualify for a discount that other policyholders (with lower insurance scores) are not offered.</p> <p>Studies have found a distinct correlation between a consumer&rsquo;s credit score and their likelihood of filing an insurance claim. Providers also correlate a higher credit rating with the chance that a consumer will pay their premiums on time more regularly. So, it is only natural that they will reward those customers with a strong credit rating with lower rates.<br /> <br /> If you would like a <a href="/homeowners/insurance_quote.aspx">home insurance </a>quote click here</p>urn:uuid:fa5e9150-00ab-4f99-8176-f3f8b3b8f272Homeowners insurance and title insurance are two totally different types of insurance coverage that protect against different risks. Homeowners insurance covers loss or damage to your home; other structures on your property; personal property kept in...Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:19:17 -0500<p>Homeowners insurance and title insurance are two totally different types of insurance coverage that protect against different risks.</p> <p>Homeowners insurance covers loss or damage to your home; other structures on your property; personal property kept in your home; loss of use; &nbsp;liability; and medical expenses for accidents that occur on your property. <br /> <br /> Title insurance, on the other hand, protects your ownership in the real property. Title insurance guarantees that you have true entitlement to the property. Many lenders will require you to carry title insurance so they know for sure that you have clear ownership of the property and the home.</p> <p>A title insurance company will conduct research before a loan is approved and they search for any outstanding liens, encumbrances or other defects that may hinder the property ownership from becoming solely yours. Once the Title Insurance company is sure that that property does not hold any such liens, the Title Insurance Company will&nbsp; issue title insurance. This protects the owner from anyone else&nbsp;trying to claim ownership of the property.<br /> <br /> IF you would like a quote on <a href="/homeowners/insurance_quote.aspx">home insurance </a>click here</p>urn:uuid:d5cd25ea-8457-4364-8599-8c334d52d895Typically the answer to this question is no. The contents portion of your homeowners insurance policy provides coverage for the policyholder&rsquo;s belongings as well as immediate family members who reside in the home (children, spouse). In the even...Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:16:27 -0500<p>Typically the answer to this question is no. The contents portion of your homeowners insurance policy provides coverage for the policyholder&rsquo;s belongings as well as immediate family members who reside in the home (children, spouse).</p> <p>In the event that your home was damaged or lost in a covered peril, your homeowners insurance policy would provide coverage for your belongings, up to the limits for each type of item in your policy.</p> <p>Your roommate might want to consider purchasing a renter&rsquo;s insurance policy. A renter&rsquo;s insurance policy provides coverage for the tenant&rsquo;s belongings up to coverage limits listed in their policy.&nbsp; Your roommate would then have sufficient coverage for her belongings in the event of a loss.<br /> <br /> If you need a quote on <a href="/homeowners/insurance_quote.aspx">home insurance </a>click here</p>urn:uuid:8ef88479-f153-4daf-8518-1116002990e5Your insurance company can never force you to replace your roof or any other part of your home. However, if your roof is in poor condition due to a lack of proper maintenance, the insurance company does have the right to non-renew your policy. Every ...Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:11:58 -0500Your insurance company can never force you to replace your roof or any other part of your home. However, if your roof is in poor condition due to a lack of proper maintenance, the insurance company does have the right to non-renew your policy. Every provider is different, though, and you should check the specific details of your policy for more information. If your insurance company is considering to non-renew your policy, it might be in your best interest to have your roof repaired or replaced. This might help you lower your insurance rates and will make your home less susceptible to wind and hail damages.<br /> <br /> IF you need a <a href="/homeowners/insurance_quote.aspx">home insurance </a>quote click hereurn:uuid:3d00acb7-f127-4331-abd2-7f1d75cb7fc1Frosty winter days call for hot chocolate and warm fires&mdash;not home maintenance. You can help keep winter weather from infiltrating your home by properly preparing for the cold months ahead. And if Jack Frost does come nipping at your nose, havi...Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:04:53 -0500<p>Frosty winter days call for hot chocolate and warm fires&mdash;not home maintenance. </p> <p>You can help keep winter weather from infiltrating your home by properly preparing for the cold months ahead. And if Jack Frost does come nipping at your nose, having the right home insurance coverage helps ensure you have the funds to make any repairs quickly and easily.</p> <p><strong>Get the Right Home Insurance</strong></p> <p>Basic home insurance covers four things: the structure of your home, your personal belongings, liability and living expenses. However, to what degree you're covered depends on the type of plan you have and how much insurance you purchase.</p> <p>Before winter kicks into full gear, you may want to reassess your home insurance needs. There's no better place to shop your home insurance than InsureMe. Since 1993, we have been working with homeowners to get them the <em>right</em> insurance. If winter's whipping wind, icy rain or heavy snow damages your home, we want you to have home insurance that will take care of you and your family and make the situation right as fast as possible.</p> <p><strong>Winterize Your Home</strong></p> <p>We also want to give you information to help prevent winter from getting the best of you. Winterizing your home takes minimal effort compared to restoring a caved-in roof or flooded basement. So take a few days now to make sure your abode is up to par.</p> <p><strong>Keep your house warm.</strong> That's simple enough. If your house falls below 65 degrees, your pipes could freeze, causing all sorts of other problems. This is a lot less costly if you have winterized your windows. That means adding weather stripping, caulking gaps and installing storm windows where necessary.</p> <p><strong>Check your heating system and fireplace.</strong> Have your heating system and fireplace checked out before the wintry season approaches and you start using them regularly. Have a professional service your heating unit and clean your chimney and fireplace.</p> <p><strong>Check out the roof area.</strong> What would your house be without a roof? Not much good. Ensure it's intact&mdash;no loose shingles, clean gutters and no overhanging tree limbs. It's also worthwhile to install a screen over the top of your fireplace to keep out debris and make sure your chimney flashing (the metal or aluminum seal between your chimney and roof) remains secure.</p> <p><strong>Get to know your pipes</strong>. Learn how to turn off water should your pipes freeze. The faster you do this, the better your chance of preventing busted pipes. During extremely low temperatures, warm those pipes with heating tape.</p> <p><strong>Look for structural damage.</strong> Better yet, have a professional do it. Your home's small problems could turn into large-scale issues during the winter months. </p> <p>Note that basic home insurance policies don't offer flood insurance. So prevent snow-related flooding by getting plastic coatings for your internal basement walls and procuring a sump pump. It could save you a bundle come spring if the snow melts quickly.</p> <p><strong>Have someone watch your house.</strong> If you spend the winter in a more tropical milieu, turn off your water and have your system professionally drained. Hire someone to check on your home regularly to fix any damages before they become severe.</p> <p>Spending a little more on home insurance could actually save you money if any winter-related damages occur. So take a look at your home insurance policy now and make sure you have enough coverage. Then spend your money on a fun vacation, rather than a new roof! <br /> <br /> If you would like a quote on <a href="/health/insurance_quote.aspx">home insurance </a>click here</p>urn:uuid:9edc8078-87e3-42e9-bf7b-4b6d4ba8ace0Americans love their dogs. In many households, canines are considered part of the family, participating in daily and weekend activities, along with other family members. &nbsp; Though dogs can be loving and fun&mdash;and offer never-ending companions...Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:01:46 -0500<p>Americans love their dogs. In many households, canines are considered part of the family, participating in daily and weekend activities, along with other family members.</p> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">Though dogs can be loving and fun&mdash;and offer never-ending companionship&mdash;they can also be unpredictable: sweet and docile one minute, and aggressive and dangerous the next, depending on the situation. </div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">With risk like that, homeowners who are dog owners should carefully consider the dog/s they choose to be part of the family and consult with their insurance company before bringing those cute little canines home for good.</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;"><b>Insurers Getting Skittish</b></div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">Liability insurance covering dog bites and injury should be a part of every dog owner&rsquo;s financial portfolio. But for those who own certain breeds, finding an insurance company willing to offer coverage for dog bite or injury may be difficult. </div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">In fact, some insurers are beginning to: </div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <ol style="list-style-type: decimal; margin-top: 0in;"> <li style="text-align: left;">Deny coverage on certain types of dogs</li> <li style="text-align: left;">Opt not to cover dog bite or other damage dogs cause </li> <li style="text-align: left;">Limit the number of people in the household covered&nbsp; </li> <li style="text-align: left;">Limit coverage extending to particular animals with a history of aggression, or</li> <li style="text-align: left;">Non-renew the policies of those who purchase certain types of dog</li> </ol> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">Why is this happening? Consider these facts, provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and DogBiteLaw.com:</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <ul style="list-style-type: disc; margin-top: 0in;"> <li style="text-align: left;">One-third of all homeowners claims involve dog bites.</li> <li style="text-align: left;">Dogs bite nearly five million Americans every year.</li> <li style="text-align: left;">Children are the victims of most serious attacks.</li> <li style="text-align: left;">Almost one in five require medical attention, with reconstructive surgery often needed.</li> <li style="text-align: left;">Dogs cause approximately $1 billion in medical and insurance losses annually.</li> </ul> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">With statistics like those, you can see why insurers are becoming much more selective about insuring household pets&mdash;and why rates for dog owners often run much higher than for non-owners.</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;"><b>Insuring &lsquo;Problem&rsquo; Dogs</b></div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">Which dogs make getting insured most troublesome? The CDC published a &lsquo;most dangerous breed&rsquo; list, and insurers tend to use it to determine liability insurance rates, along with other factors like the dog&rsquo;s weight, age, gender and history. </div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">For those who own one of these top ten offending breeds, getting&mdash;or remaining&mdash;insured may present the most challenge:</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&mdash;Pit Bull Type</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&mdash;Rottweiler</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&mdash;German Shepherd</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&mdash;Husky Type</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&mdash;Malamute</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&mdash;Wolf-Dog Hybrid</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&mdash;Chow Chow</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&mdash;Doberman</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&mdash;Saint Bernard</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&mdash;Great Dane</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">If you own one of these breeds of dogs and are wondering what it&rsquo;ll cost to insure it, here&rsquo;s a general guideline: You can usually get about $100,000 worth of coverage for $700 to $1,000 per year. </div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">However, due to the inflated cost of medical care these days, many experts recommend you get at least $300,000 in dog bite coverage in case of severe injury. Otherwise, if your dog bites or injures someone, you&rsquo;ll be paying the difference out of your own pocket.</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">In addition, if your dog has a history of biting or seriously injuring someone else, you may pay 30 to 50 percent more for the privilege of owning and insuring it. </div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;"><b>Making Sure You&rsquo;re Covered</b></div> <div style="text-align: left;"><b>&nbsp;</b></div> <div style="text-align: left;">If you&rsquo;re not sure whether or not your insurance policy extends coverage to your dog, read the fine print or call your agent to find out. </div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">If you find out the dog isn&rsquo;t covered, you might want to consider purchasing a personal umbrella liability policy, which increases the amount of liability insurance your insurer will pay out on. This protects you from financial harm and devastation if your dog hurts someone and you&rsquo;re held liable.</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">No matter what kind of dog you own, we hope you enjoy it for years! Meanwhile, talk to an InsureMe agent to make sure your dog&mdash;and you&mdash;have the insurance protection you need.</div> <br /> If you would like a quote on <a href="/homeowners/insurance_quote.aspx">home insurance </a>click hereurn:uuid:55d13c83-4d76-422f-a66b-b896dd59d11fIf you think that policy non-renewal and cancellation is the same thing, think again. There's a substantial difference between these two. Generally an insurer hasn't the right to cancel a home insurance policy that is active for more than 60 days exc...Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:56:35 -0500<p>If you think that policy non-renewal and cancellation is the same thing, think again. There's a substantial difference between these two. Generally an insurer hasn't the right to cancel a home insurance policy that is active for more than 60 days except when:</p> <ul> <li>Your premium is not paid in time</li> <li>You have misrepresented or committed fraud on your policy.</li> </ul> <p>In case of a non-renewal it's either you or the insurer who decides to stop cooperation when the policy expires. In case it is your insurance company opting for non-renewal, you can contact their customer support to know the reason of such a decision. </p>urn:uuid:5f38c5e2-01da-44be-b35e-4dd305d5034eUnlike the situation with car insurance, you aren't legally required to own a home insurance policy to live in your house. But, in case you've used a mortgage to finance the purchase of your house the lender will most likely require you to purchase a...Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:55:09 -0500<p>Unlike the situation with car insurance, you aren't legally required to own a home insurance policy to live in your house. But, in case you've used a mortgage to finance the purchase of your house the lender will most likely require you to purchase a home insurance policy. The lenders thus protect their investments from the impact of damage your home may face during natural disasters or other unforeseen events.</p> <p>In case you purchase a home in an area with a high risk of flood or earthquake, the lender is likely to require the respectful type of coverage to be included in your home insurance policy. When you buy a co-op or condo, you are most likely to be required to purchase a home insurance policy by the board.</p> <p>When you have paid off your mortgage you are no longer legally required to have a home insurance plan. But it is recommended that you don't cancel your policy, because not having coverage in an exceptional case will cost you too much.<br /> <br /> If you would like a quote on <a href="/homeowners/insurance_quote.aspx">home insurance </a>click here</p>urn:uuid:29206526-a891-4e41-8c1d-2202502df019Buff up on current events Catch the news or listen to AM radio before you leave. Your awareness of what's new will come in handy during that long tunnel ride when the radio cuts out. Discuss costs upfront Generosity is king of the carpool lane. M...Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:45:29 -0500<strong>Buff up on current events</strong> <br /> Catch the news or listen to <a href="http://www.npr.org/" class="link" target="_blank">AM radio</a> before you leave. Your awareness of what's new will come in handy during that long tunnel ride when the radio cuts out. <br /> <br /> <b>Discuss costs upfront</b> <br /> Generosity is king of the carpool lane. Make sure there's no miscommunication regarding gas money, toll money, etc. When carpools are mutually beneficial and driving duties are split down the middle, there's typically no need for money to exchange hands. But it never hurts to ask. <br /> <br /> <b>Get to know your fellow carpoolers</b> <br /> Ideally, carpooling is a way to meet new people and find out what you have in common with the guy in the next cubicle. It's not always easy to be alert and friendly on a long drive, but when all else fails you can always crank up the tunes and hope you have similar tastes. Our friendly rideshare experts at <a href="http://www.zimride.com/" class="link" target="_blank">Zimride</a> call this phenomenon "to Gaga or not to Gaga." <br /> <br /> <b>Cut back on cologne or perfume consumption</b> <br /> A little splash goes a long way. Consider your fellow riders' proximity, and closely monitor how many windows are open. If it's way too cold/hot for that many open windows, it may be time to <a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_4562_wear-cologne-way.html" class="link" target="_blank">recalibrate your scent's potency</a>. <br /> <br /> <b>Be on time, all the time</b> <br /> This one's a no-brainer. You'll be a welcome addition to any carpool when the driver knows you'll be ready to go, like clockwork. <br /> <br /> Need an <a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance </a>quote click hereurn:uuid:4ae9a565-485f-48e0-9e2a-12dc09cdaa9aRegardless of how much time you have to react to a disaster, you can do things well in advance to prepare. A little advance planning could save your life. To prepare for any kind of disaster, pack a survival kit that includes: Water in non-break...Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:36:00 -0500<p>Regardless of how much time you have to react to a disaster, you can do things well in advance to prepare. A little advance planning could save your life.</p> <p>To prepare for any kind of disaster, pack a survival kit that includes:</p> <ul> <li>Water in non-breakable containers</li> <li>A first-aid kit</li> <li>Any necessary prescription medications</li> <li>Portable radio and flashlight with fresh batteries</li> <li>A portable cooking device</li> <li>Extra clothing</li> <li>Blankets</li> <li>A tool kit, including heavy work gloves and nails</li> </ul> <p>When all else fails that why you have insurance. If you would like to get a fast, free quote on <a href="/homeowners/insurance_quote.aspx">home insurance </a>click here</p>urn:uuid:c10a99a8-5ec7-48dd-a7f0-aa050e0c0a72 Q) If I let someone borrow my car and they are in an accident, whose (if any) insurance will apply? A) A good rule of thumb: "Liability follows the car." In most cases, the insurance on the vehicle will apply if the accident is sustained while the v...Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:19:39 -0500<div style="text-align: left; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;border: medium none;"> <p><strong>Q) If I let someone borrow my car and they are in an accident, whose (if any) insurance will apply?<br /> A)</strong> A good rule of thumb: "Liability follows the car." In most cases, the insurance on the vehicle will apply if the accident is sustained while the vehicle is being driven by someone with permission. In many cases, the liability insurance of the person driving the car will pay if the amount of the loss exhausts your policy's limits. </p> <p><strong>Q) If my child goes away to college with one of mom or dad's cars, are they still covered under my Personal Auto Policy?<br /> A)</strong> This is a very common scenario and may be viewed differently by different insurance companies. You should contact your insurance company and make sure the child is properly listed as a driver in order to avoid any future coverage disputes or prorated premium changes. </p> <p><strong>Q) My lender mentioned "<a href="gap-insurance-defined.aspx" class="PageLinks">gap</a>" insurance. Do I need it?<br /> A)</strong> As long as the value of your vehicle is less than what you owe, yes. If the balance of the loan is less than the value of the vehicle, no. </p> <p><strong>Q) My teenager is approaching driving age. How can I cover him without breaking the bank?<br /> A)</strong> Drivers under 25 pose the greatest risk of causing an accident. It is difficult to add someone in this age group to your auto insurance without seeing a major premium change. Keep in mind that it is more expensive to insure a teen if the only car(s) on the policy are a sports car, SUV, or other more valuable, attractive, expensive-to-repair vehicle. Consider purchasing a lower-end vehicle for your teen to drive and insure it separately in his name. </p> <p><strong>Q) I just bought a new car and have yet to tell my insurance company. Am I still covered?<br /> A)</strong> Coverage may apply for newly acquired vehicles, but you should notify your insurance company immediately. Most companies have strict limitations on the types of vehicles to which coverage will apply, the type of coverage that will apply and the amount of time that may lapse before coverage will not apply. </p> <p><strong>Q) My family is preparing for vacation and will be renting a car. Will my auto insurance apply?<br /> A)</strong> Many auto insurance companies will extend liability coverage to a non-owned vehicle when rented for personal use. However, restrictions may apply. Similarly, there may be restrictions to the coverage offered by the <a href="rental-car-insurance.aspx" class="PageLinks">rental car</a> company. Before taking your next trip, contact your insurance company to ensure that a restriction does not ruin your family vacation. <br /> <br /> Get an <a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance </a>quote click here</p> </div>urn:uuid:9bc426ff-2e6f-456f-b55d-df760ec0eb91Are you tired of your rates going up year after year on home and auto? Are they no longer writing in your zip code? Have they increased your deductible? Does it seem like State Farm, Farmers, Allstate, Geico, Progressive, Esurance&nbsp;&amp; Nationwi...Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:30:16 -0500Are you tired of your rates going up year after year on home and auto? Are they no longer writing in your zip code? Have they increased your deductible? Does it seem like State Farm, Farmers, Allstate, Geico, Progressive, Esurance&nbsp;&amp; Nationwide are always going up on their price. Send them a message that they are not the only game in town. Get a fast, free quote from us at <a href="http://www.reliableins.net/">www.reliableins.net</a> or call us at 713-227-7283. We have great rates on auto, home, life, business, motorcycle, flood and more!urn:uuid:8c9f1eaa-39b9-4000-ae8f-453c31e5210fAs I was driving down the road recently, a woman making a three-point turn backed into my vehicle. Her car was almost perpendicular, blocking the road except for the right lane. I tried to pass in that lane, and she hit me. The collision damaged my c...Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:38:06 -0500<p><strong>As I was driving down the road recently, a woman making a three-point turn backed into my vehicle. Her car was almost perpendicular, blocking the road except for the right lane. I tried to pass in that lane, and she hit me. The collision damaged my car significantly but caused little damage to her SUV. I took down the woman&rsquo;s license plate, driver&rsquo;s license number, and insurance info, but I did not file a police report. Now the other driver is trying to change her story, saying that she was pulling out with the front of her car toward the street and that I tried to squeeze by, hitting her. I have contacted my insurance about this matter, but they tell me there is nothing they can do because I failed to file a police report. Is there anything I can do?</strong></p> <h2>Answer</h2> <p>The best thing you can do for an issue of this magnitude is contact your local police. Explain what happened, show pictures of the damage to your car if you can, and tell them about the other driver&rsquo;s false account. You may also want to talk to an accident attorney. This will give you more clout in dealing with the other driver, and the attorney can get in touch with accident reconstruction and traffic accident investigation specialists to make your case. These professionals specialize in analyzing evidence to determine what happened and who was at fault in collisions.<br /> <br /> If you would like a quote for <a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance </a>click here.</p>urn:uuid:b42dfa45-699b-4c8b-8e93-b67338de2a16So you get pulled over, and you know you&rsquo;ve let your car insurance lapse. Johnny Law is walking up to your window, just aching to bust you for driving without insurance. But if you don&rsquo;t tell him that you don&rsquo;t have active insurance...Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:35:38 -0500<p>So you get pulled over, and you know you&rsquo;ve let your car insurance lapse. Johnny Law is walking up to your window, just aching to bust you for driving without insurance. But if you don&rsquo;t tell him that you don&rsquo;t have active insurance, he&rsquo;ll never know, right? Wrong. In some states, police officers now have instant access to a national database that is maintained and updated by the Motor Vehicles Department. This database allows officers to run a check on your license plate to determine if you have insurance. In this post, we&rsquo;ll explain more about this system.</p> <h2>How It Works</h2> <p>The states in which this database is accessible to law enforcement agents have laws that require insurance companies to notify the DMV when policies are opened or canceled. For instance, if you were to purchase a new policy, your insurer would automatically update the database to indicate that the vehicle has the appropriate coverage to comply with state law. If a policy were canceled because of overdue payments or other reasons, the insurer would likewise notify the DMV that coverage has lapsed on the vehicle.</p> <h2>The Consequences</h2> <p>If you live in one of the states with this database and are driving without insurance, you could face serious consequences if you get caught. You might have to pay steep fines, have your license or registration revoked, or even have your car impounded. The consequences of driving without insurance will vary from state to state.</p> <h2>The States without the Database</h2> <p>For those of you who live in a state without the DMV insurance database, don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;re out of the woods yet. A police officer can always pull you over and simply request that you present proof of insurance. The officer then has to verify the legitimacy of the coverage by calling the number on the insurance card or issuing the driver a citation if no proof of insurance is presented. If a citation is given, the driver would have to provide proof of insurance for the time of the traffic stop to a judge in court.</p> <h2>The Bottom Line</h2> <p>Whether they look it up in a database or just ask for proof of insurance the old-fashioned way, the police will find out one way or another if you have car insurance. Rather than risk the serious penalties that come with driving without insurance, you&rsquo;re better of finding an affordable policy that meets your state&rsquo;s insurance requirements. That way, you can comply with the law and protect yourself against massive financial losses.<br /> <br /> If would like a quote on <a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance </a>click here.</p>urn:uuid:6a6843a1-0c05-46e5-beeb-d88b077a5dfaI was in a car accident recently, and I showed the police officer an insurance card for a canceled policy. I knew the policy was defunct, but I didn&rsquo;t want the officer to know I didn&rsquo;t have car insurance. Could I go to jail for this? Answ...Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:29:16 -0500<p><strong>I was in a car accident recently, and I showed the police officer an insurance card for a canceled policy. I knew the policy was defunct, but I didn&rsquo;t want the officer to know I didn&rsquo;t have car insurance. Could I go to jail for this?</strong></p> <h2>Answer</h2> <p>The answer to this question depends on the laws of your state. With most states that require minimum levels of car insurance, you will typically only face fines for failing to provide proof of valid insurance. In some states, police officers have access to a database that allows them to instantly verify the validity of your policy. If your policy is canceled, your car could be impounded, your license could be revoked, or the title to your car might be suspended. The consequences for showing an invalid insurance card are primarily monetary, however. If you are on probation or parole and are caught driving without insurance, you could possibly face jail time, depending on your state.<br /> <br /> If you would like an <a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance </a>quote click here.</p>urn:uuid:48b59234-e0c2-475d-bcc6-5e1282c6d658My brother found a car that is a really good deal, but it has a salvage title. What does that mean exactly? Should I not buy the car? A salvage title is something that is issued by a state when a vehicle is severely damaged and the costs of repair ca...Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:26:59 -0500<strong>My brother found a car that is a really good deal, but it has a salvage title. What does that mean exactly? Should I not buy the car?</strong> <p>A salvage title is something that is issued by a state when a vehicle is severely damaged and the costs of repair can exceed the vehicle&rsquo;s value. Usually, this happens when an insurance company has deemed a vehicle covered by a policy a &ldquo;total loss.&rdquo; When these vehicles are salvaged, or repaired, the state issues a salvage title. Even cars that have been in floods or stolen can fall under the salvage title distinction.</p> <h2>How Can a Salvage Title Affect Me?</h2> <p>Regulations about salvage titles change from state to state. Some unscrupulous car sellers can transfer vehicles with salvaged titles over state lines, resulting in &ldquo;clean&rdquo; titles once the car is in a new state. A buyer does not immediately know the vehicle&rsquo;s history, and runs the risk of purchasing a &ldquo;lemon&rdquo; vehicle. But some cars with a salvage title can be good, affordable purchases. The circumstances surrounding the salvage title affect the value and durability of a car. Was it totaled, or was it stolen for a joy ride? Sometimes, you can assess the damage to the car by the resale price: If you&rsquo;re buying a $25,000 car for only $5,000, you know significant damage was done. Also remember that a car with a salvage title will be worth less at resale, and will be difficult to sell again.</p> <h2>Can I Insure a Car with a Salvage Title?</h2> <p>It can be difficult. Cars with salvage titles generally have had serious defects - structural and mechanical. They might not be reliable and could be unsafe, which an insurance company would consider a risk. Don&rsquo;t assume that your policy will cover a car with a salvaged title. Ask your carrier before assuming anything.</p> <h2>What Should I do to Protect Myself?</h2> <p>No matter the scenario, someone buying a used car should use a vehicle-check service. These computerized services track a VIN (vehicle identification number) for the entire history of a car. You&rsquo;ll find out when it was bought and sold, when it was serviced, and if it was in an accident or had a salvage title. Most important, you&rsquo;ll be able to make an informed purchase, and drive away with peace of mind. Regulations on salvage titles vary from state to state, so check with your local department of motor vehicles to learn how salvage titles can affect you.<br /> <br /> If you would like a <a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance </a>quote please clcik here.</p>urn:uuid:40655489-ed97-43c6-848c-0df0af36705fIf I file a claim for a broken windshield under my comprehensive coverage, will my insurance rates go up? Answer Typically, claims against your comprehensive coverage do not affect car insurance rates, but this practice will vary from insurer to insu...Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:24:40 -0500<p><strong>If I file a claim for a broken windshield under my comprehensive coverage, will my insurance rates go up?</strong></p> <h2>Answer</h2> <p>Typically, claims against your comprehensive coverage do not affect car insurance rates, but this practice will vary from insurer to insurer. Before you file a claim, you should contact your agent to find out if glass coverage is included in your policy, and, if so, how much your rates will increase if you make a claim. Some insurers offer glass coverage with a $0 deductible, but you typically have to pay slightly higher premiums for this coverage. On some policies, your windshield is protected under your comprehensive coverage, but your deductible still applies. In other words, if you have a $500 comprehensive deductible and your windshield only costs $400 to fix, it would make more sense to pay out of pocket and avoid filing a claim.</p>urn:uuid:e74ff75c-0d15-4d7c-8bdf-9a47accaf533What should I consider when choosing my deductible? If you carry collision or comprehensive coverage on your auto insurance, you will have to choose your deductibles when you set up your policy. Most insurers provide policyholders with four or five d...Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:23:15 -0500<strong>What should I consider when choosing my deductible?</strong> <p>If you carry collision or comprehensive coverage on your auto insurance, you will have to choose your deductibles when you set up your policy. Most insurers provide policyholders with four or five different deductible options from which to choose. The deductible you select is the amount you agree to pay without your insurer&rsquo;s assistance in the event of a covered loss. Although you are free to choose any deductible you wish, some deductibles may be inappropriate for your needs. Read on to learn more about setting your own car insurance deductibles.</p> <h2>Possible Deductibles</h2> <p>Every insurance carrier will offer different deductible possibilities to its policyholders. Most commonly, however, carriers offer auto insurance deductibles that range from $100 to $1,000. The typical increments are $100, $250, $500, and $1,000. Some insurance companies may offer $0 deductibles, while others offer deductibles of over $1,000. To an extent, you can set your own deductible by choosing any one of the possible deductibles offered by your carrier. However, you cannot pick a number arbitrarily. You will have to choose one of the predetermined deductible amounts offered by your auto insurer.</p> <h2>Why the Limited Options?</h2> <p>The level of your deductible will directly and profoundly impact the premiums you pay for your auto coverage. Insurers have adjusters perform complex calculations to determine an appropriate premium for each deductible level. For this reason, most insurers only offer four or five possible deductibles. Their adjusters have already computed the premiums for these figures, which makes it quicker and easier for your insurer to set your rates. If every policyholder had an unlimited number of deductible choices, the underwriting process would be prohibitively complex and laborious.</p> <h2>Setting Your Deductible</h2> <p>When you set your car insurance deductible, your main concern should be how it will affect your premiums. Although low deductibles may seem attractive, they will drastically raise your auto insurance rates. The less you&rsquo;re willing to pay in the event of a loss, the more your insurer will charge you for coverage.</p> <p>Usually, experts advise policyholders to set their deductibles as high as possible and then put what they save on premiums into a savings account. This way, you&rsquo;ll have a source of funds to turn to when/if you have to make a claim and pay your deductible. Remember that you don&rsquo;t know if you will ever have to file a claim, which means you may never have to pay your deductible. However, you do know that you will have to pay your car insurance premiums regardless, so it makes more sense to keep your deductibles high and your premiums low.<br /> <br /> If you would like to get an <a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance </a>quote click here.</p>urn:uuid:6efd24e4-3cdc-4148-87fd-6ecc6995683cWhat to do when you&rsquo;re being pulled over 1. Pull to the side of the road safely Use your turn signals and slow down. Move as far to the right-hand side of the road as possible so the officer won&rsquo;t have to worry about being clipped by pa...Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:59:17 -0500<h2>What to do when you&rsquo;re being pulled over </h2> <h2><strong>1. Pull to the side of the road safely</strong> </h2> <p>Use your turn signals and slow down. Move as far to the right-hand side of the road as possible so the officer won&rsquo;t have to worry about being clipped by passing vehicles. Then: </p> <ul> <li>Turn on your emergency flashers </li> <li>Turn off your radio </li> <li>Open the driver&rsquo;s side window </li> <li>Keep your hands in plain sight by placing them on the steering wheel </li> <li>Ask any passengers to remain quiet </li> <li>Turn on your dome light if it&rsquo;s dark </li> </ul> <h2><strong>2. Stay still and try to remain calm</strong> </h2> <p>When approaching a vehicle, officers look for movement or suspicious behavior inside the car. Shuffling through your wallet, purse or glove box for your license and registration may look to the officer like you&rsquo;re attempting to conceal something. Wait until you are asked for the documents. </p> <h2><strong>3. Remain in your vehicle</strong> </h2> <p>Unless you&rsquo;re told to step out, stay in your vehicle. This is for your safety, as well as that of the officer. </p> <h2><strong>4. Cooperate willingly and be patient</strong> </h2> <p>Not only will such behavior be appreciated, it may help you remain calm and collected. </p> <p>While you may explain your situation to the officer, trying to talk your way out of a ticket seldom works. If you disagree with the charge, take the ticket and contest it in court. Accepting the ticket does not admit guilt. </p> <h2>5. Make sure you have proof of auto insurance coverage </h2> <p>You&rsquo;re should now have a bit more confidence to handle being pulled over.. </p> <p>It&rsquo;s important to make sure your&nbsp;<a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance coverage</a> is up to date. In many states it&rsquo;s illegal to drive without insurance. If you aren&rsquo;t covered, get an&nbsp;<a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance quote</a> </p>urn:uuid:8a3ca974-4dc2-4269-8bc1-5d6b2be96dcaDrivers without a license may still be able to obtain an auto insurance policy through a carrier which accepts certain exceptions such as out of state or international licenses, permits or foreign license such as the common "Matricula" issued by Mexi...Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:53:56 -0500Drivers without a license may still be able to obtain an auto insurance policy through a carrier which accepts certain exceptions such as out of state or international licenses, permits or foreign license such as the common "Matricula" issued by Mexico. Other situations may include a suspended or restricted state license where an insurer may issue a policy pending licensing through an SR22 or other.<br /> <br /> Each carrier has their own set of guidelines which they follow and although some companies will insure individuals who are not licensed, have international licensing or have a Matricula Consular issued by Mexico and other South American countries, consumers should be aware of the policy details in order to prevent policy cancellations or declination of coverage.<br /> <br /> For example, if an individual has had their license suspended for operating an automobile without auto insurance, they may need obtain proof of coverage to have their licensing reinstated; in some cases, insurers will require these motorists to prove that they have become licensed within a certain timeframe. Other companies may accept those who are licensed internationally or have a Matricula Consular as sufficient proof of licensing while other providers may require foreigners to obtain a domestic driver's license within the term of the policy or at time of renewal. One must make sure that the guidelines are fully understood in order to comply with the insurer and avoid a cancellation or non-renewal.<br /> <br /> If you don't have driver's license or have a foreign driver's license and want an <a href="/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx">auto insurance </a>quote click here now!urn:uuid:6a6aa532-8299-4a7e-9a8c-b4c94ea4320dHere are a few good tips! The tires: Some tires lose air very slowly and a soft tire, although it might not be obvious, is a major safety issue. On a motorcycle, you have half the number of tires you do on a car making proper inflation twice as ...Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:30:42 -0500<p><strong>Here are a few good tips!</strong></p> <ol> <li><strong>The tires: Some tires lose air very slowly and a soft tire, although it might not be obvious, is a major safety issue. On a motorcycle, you have half the number of tires you do on a car making proper inflation twice as important. </strong></li> <li><strong>The fluid: It's always good to</strong> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBTV1LNJTRQ" class="link" target="_blank"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>check the various fluids</strong></span></a><strong>, including the engine oil, transmission oil, and brake fluid, etc. after an idle spell. They're easier to check after the bike's been sitting for a while and the fluids have settled to their lowest point. </strong></li> <li><strong>The air filters: Make sure they're clean, and check for small creatures (they can be crafty) in the housing. If you find that you need to replace a filter, </strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM7HzspqHvM" class="link" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: #000000;">it may not be as difficult as you think</span></strong></a><strong>. </strong></li> <li class=" hover"><strong>The battery: It's not unusual for the battery to be low or even dead after sitting for an extended period. Check the water in the battery and make sure there's enough charge left to start the bike. </strong></li> <li><strong>The lights: Make sure they're all working. Sounds obvious, sure, but that means it's also easy to forget. </strong></li> </ol> <p><strong>And of course, a big part of staying safe is making sure you have reliable </strong><a href="/motorcycle/insurance_quote.aspx" class="link" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: #1f497d;">motorcycle insurance</span></strong></a><strong>.</strong></p>urn:uuid:ceb9657c-4869-481d-8812-e79004f74ca1Enjoy the list! The Map Apps Google Maps. Let's respect our app elders and get this one out of the way. More than 3 years since its iPhone debut, the Google Maps app remains the most popular way to map a route and check out local businesses. It do...Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:23:35 -0500Enjoy the list!<br /> <br /> <b>The Map Apps </b><br /> <br /> <b>Google Maps.</b> Let's respect our app elders and get this one out of the way. More than 3 years since its iPhone debut, the <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/maps-compass.html" target="_blank">Google Maps app</a> remains the most popular way to map a route and check out local businesses. It doesn't hurt that it comes standard with every new iPhone. <br /> <br /> <b>Skobbler.</b> This free app features <a href="http://www.macworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=541373&amp;expand=true" target="_blank">voice-assisted turn-by-turn navigation</a>. Typically, apps with street-level functionality are on the pricier side, but Skobbler uses something called OpenStreetMap, an open-source mapping system that MacWorld calls "the Wikipedia of maps." The price is right, and so is the download size (just 2.3 megabytes). <br /> <br /> <b>The Useful Apps</b><br /> <br /> <b>Gas Cubby.</b> This is <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gas-cubby-mpg-car-maintenance/id295905460?mt=8" target="_blank">one practical app</a>. It tracks your car's gas mileage alongside how much you pay per gallon, and reminds you when it's time to rotate your tires or change your oil. We recommend downloading the free sponsored version to give it a test spin. <br /> <br /> <b>Where.</b> Like the Yelp and All Around Me apps, <a href="http://www.where.com/iphone/" target="_blank">Where</a> is essentially a database of what's around you. No matter where you find yourself, this handy app can guide you to the nearest gas station (and tell you the latest price per gallon), coffee shop, or movie theatre. The 3D map capability gives it a few bonus points, too. <br /> <br /> <b>Trapster.</b> Speed-trap and hazard-avoiding apps are catching on quickly. And believe it or not, an app like Trapster actually encourages its 6.4 million downloaders to <a href="http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jun/20/app-helps-drivers-avoid-trouble-traffic-and-cops/" target="_blank">slow down and drive more safely</a>. We're keeping our eye on this somewhat counter-intuitive benefit. <br /> <br /> <b>The Music Apps</b><br /> <br /> <b>SoundHound (formerly Midomi).</b> Have a song stuck in your head but can't remember the words or the one-hit-wonder who recorded it? SoundHound can help. You can hum, whistle, or play a tune into <a href="http://www.cnet.com/8301-19736_1-20007745-251.html" target="_blank">this free iPhone app</a>, and you'll see the artist and song name displayed alongside available videos. And there's even a link to the lyrics. (SoundHound gets a slight nod over Shazam for its ability to respond to hums and whistles.)<br /> <br /> <b>Pandora.</b> In Internet years, Pandora is going on 100 by now, and a quick poll reveals that it remains the #1 iPhone music app in our office. Its playlist builder is perfectly suited to smart phones, and it only seems to improve over time. The app's latest version <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5568885/pandoras-ios4+compatible-version-31-app-arrives-bringing-multitasking" target="_blank">supports the new iOS4 multi-tasking feature</a>, which is a fancy way of saying that you can check directions without stopping the music.<br /> <br /> <b>The "I Need-a-Lift" Apps</b><br /> <br /> <b>Avego.</b> Plenty of apps are trying to make carpooling easy, which is <br /> <a href="http://www.esurance.com/welcome/landing/carpool/welcome.aspx">a cause we love to support</a>. By many accounts, <a href="http://www.avego.com/" target="_blank">Avego</a> is the furthest along, and we especially like the feedback and ratings feature.<br /> <br /> <b>Zipcar.</b> This <a href="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/zipcar-iphone/" target="_blank">free app</a> is a must for Zipcar members. It lets you find a Zipcar near you and make or change a reservation. Once you're near your rental, you can lock and unlock it through the app. You can also tap a button that makes it honk, just for kicks. <br /> <br /> <b>The Bonus Apps</b><br /> <br /> <b>Flashlight.</b> You'll never need this app until you really, really need it. <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flashlight/id285281827?mt=8" target="_blank">Flashlight</a> turns your entire screen a bright white color, so you can change a tire or find your wallet under the seat in no time. <br />urn:uuid:68c96a19-5dbd-4ca7-8f22-2c18e6601f27<img src='http://www.reliableins.net/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/houston-downtown-night.png' align='left' />Houston is the fourth-largest city by population in the United States and the largest city in the state of Texas. As of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a population of 2.3 million within an area of 600 square miles (1,600 km2).&nbsp; Hous...Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:31:59 -0500<img alt="" src="/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/houston-downtown-night.png" style="float: left;" /><strong>Houston</strong> is the<strong> </strong>fourth-largest city<strong> </strong>by population in the United States and the largest city in the state of <strong>Texas</strong>. As of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a population of 2.3 million within an area of 600 square miles (1,600 km2).&nbsp; Houston is the seat of <strong>Harris County</strong> and the economic center of the Houston&ndash;Sugar Land&ndash;Baytown metropolitan area&mdash;the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of 5.9 million.<br /> <br /> Houston was founded on August 30, 1836, by brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen on land near the banks of Buffalo Bayou. The city was incorporated on June 5, 1837, and named after then-President of the Republic of Texas&mdash;former General Sam Houston&mdash;who had commanded at the Battle of San Jacinto, which took place 25 miles (40 km) east of where the city was established. <br /> <br /> Rated as a beta world city, Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, transportation, and health care sectors and is a leading center for building oilfield equipment. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled.<br /> <br /> The Houston region is business-ready, with a sophisticated transportation&nbsp; system, excellent business climate, pro-business culture, world class work force and educational institutions to power the industries of tomorrow. Reliable Insurance Managers, located in Katy, just 30 miles west of Houston, is your one stop agency specializing in <strong>Houston Auto Insurance</strong> as well as home, business, life &amp; motorcycle insurance. Call us today at <strong>713.227.7283</strong> for a <a href="http://www.reliableins.net/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx" title="Free Auto Insurance Quote">free auto insurance quote</a>.<br /> <br /> (Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston" target="_blank" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia.org</a>, Photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.houstonproperties.com" title="Houston Properties">HoustonProperties.com</a>)urn:uuid:dae5d7dd-fb0b-4c31-af94-b13f90a8c5fc4th of July is about BBQ, fireworks and family. We here at Reliable Insurance wish everyone a safe and fun holiday. Just remember, if you are going to use fireworks many cities have rules about where you can set off fireworks. Many cities will have a...Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:14:48 -05004th of July is about BBQ, fireworks and family. We here at Reliable Insurance wish everyone a safe and fun holiday. Just remember, if you are going to use fireworks many cities have rules about where you can set off fireworks. Many cities will have a fireworks display. Police will be out in full force. So, don't drink and drive. <br /> <br /> If anyone you know could fin this article useful you can email or post this on many sites. Above is a tool to help guide you through the process.urn:uuid:5bac4902-b2be-4d2e-ba1b-5e87bd45c269It was a well played game by the boys in red, white and blue. In my personal opinion I think a lot of fouls against us were not called, a lot of fouls against other teams were called and&nbsp;legitimate goals were taken away. I think America showed g...Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:57:19 -0500It was a well played game by the boys in red, white and blue. In my personal opinion I think a lot of fouls against us were not called, a lot of fouls against other teams were called and&nbsp;legitimate goals were taken away. I think America showed great respect even after poor calls. They didn't flop on weak tackles (which is more than I can say for most countries). I truly believe the world or FIFA wants to see the USA advance in the World Cup.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> With that said, We now have 4 years to regroup. Maybe next time we can get the bid for the next World Cup up for grabs. If the MLS wants soccer to become a popular sport in the USA they need to pressure real hard to get that bid.<br /> <br /> USA USA USA!&nbsp;urn:uuid:00ac639c-04e8-457e-863a-64a0f8b1289cBP's recent oil spill disaster could prove more costly than even a large oil company can handle. Everyday that passes the amounts are ballooning. Clean up, fixing the pipe, fines, lawsuits and insurance cost are mounting. Federal regulation says th...Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:10:53 -0500BP's recent oil spill disaster could prove more costly than even a large oil company can handle. Everyday that passes the amounts are ballooning. Clean up, fixing the pipe, fines, lawsuits and insurance cost are mounting. <br /> <br /> Federal regulation says they can be fined $1,000 per barrel if found not negligent and $4,300 per barrel if negligent behavior. With an estimated 20,000 to 120,000 barrel per day,&nbsp;they are now on day 42 with no end in site. That is an estimated range of fines from $840 million to $21.6 billion if they cap it today.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Analyst have also estimated that the insurance cost could range from $3.5 billion to $12 billion. This will make their cost of insurance next year sky rocket, especially since they already have had previous claims in Houston and elsewhere.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Lawsuits from fisherman and tourism industries have estimated to be around $4 billion. This doesn't include the lawsuit from the family members of the people who died or were injured.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Their stock has lost 33% already. This amounts to around $62.7 billion. This could grow depending on how long this continues.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> The cost of clean up and fixing the leak has reached $1billion.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> The cost could range anywhere from $71&nbsp;billion to $101 billion if the leak was stopped today. However, the leak is not projected to be fixed for another 4 to 12 weeks.&nbsp;The foreseeable future for BP is uncertain. A possible corporate take over could happen.&nbsp;<br />urn:uuid:9e93b0a2-5a7b-4f49-b43d-22638de14fda<img src='http://www.reliableins.net/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/teen_driver.jpg' align='left' />Parents face a confusing mix of emotions at every stage of their child&rsquo;s development, but none is as powerful as the concoction of fear, pride, excitement and dread they face as their child turns 16. For your child, 16 is a miraculous age that ...Thu, 27 May 2010 11:00:04 -0500<img alt="" src="/img/%7Ewww.reliableins.net/teen_driver.jpg" style="float: left;" />Parents face a confusing mix of emotions at every stage of their child&rsquo;s development, but none is as powerful as the concoction of fear, pride, excitement and dread they face as their child turns 16. For your child, 16 is a miraculous age that allows them an important insight into what real freedom is as they get their license and start driving. For you, 16 is a magical age because you get to watch as your child starts to evolve into an adult and all the hard work you put into raising them creates a smart, well-adjusted and very inexperienced teenage driver. It is at this point that a little bit of the fear and dread start creeping in. <br /> <br /> While insuring your inexperienced, new teen driver on your <a href="http://www.reliableins.net/automobile/default.aspx">auto insurance policy</a> is a no-brainer, there are some things you should consider before you do.<br /> <br /> <strong>All Limits, Coverages and Deductibles are Not Created Equal</strong><br /> <br /> When you add your teen driver to your insurance policy, do not just default them to the coverage you have for yourself. Consider who will be paying their deductibles and what that person can afford and think about how much their car is worth. Most teens start out with a used car which may not be worth as much as the car you drive and a lower limit will be appropriate. Additionally, while you might not carry collision coverage on your own car, carrying it on a new teen driver is almost a must-do.<br /> <strong><br /> Saving Money on Your Teen Driver</strong><br /> <br /> Insurance for teen drivers is expensive but that doesn&rsquo;t mean you are powerless to reduce the premiums you are charged. Here are a few ways you can drive that premium just a little bit lower:<br /> <br /> <ul> <li>Invest in a defensive driving course for your teen</li> <li>Increase the deductibles you choose (make sure you and your teen can still afford them).</li> <li>Buy a safe used car that is not one of the more expensive to insure.</li> </ul> <br /> Another way to save money (and prevent your teen&rsquo;s premiums from increasing) is to practice the following tips while you are insured:<br /> <br /> <ul> <li>Don&rsquo;t run every minor fender-bender claim through your insurer. Agree to a cost with the other driver and pay out-of-pocket instead. Make sure there are no injuries and that you are certain of all the damage before you agree because once you come to an agreement you&rsquo;ll no longer be able to involve insurance if you later find the situation was more serious than you initially thought. </li> <li>Limit the number of passengers your son or daughter is allowed to have. The more passengers there are the more distractions and the higher the likelihood of an accident.</li> <li>Do not allow a cell phone in the vehicle. The dangers of texting and cell phone use while driving may be difficult to impart on a teenager so consider taking them to the local arcade and having them &ldquo;drive&rdquo; a video game while chatting and talking. </li> </ul>urn:uuid:844ed670-609d-4d72-a5f7-37458b49d765I don't mind the government spending money. I just want them to do it wisely. This may not solve all the problems but it would help. All politicians should work for free. That would save a ton. If you love this country so much you should want to...Thu, 20 May 2010 18:31:01 -0500I don't mind the government spending money. I just want them to do it wisely. This may not solve all the problems but it would help.<br /> <ul> <li>All politicians should work for free. That would save a ton. If you love this country so much you should want to do it for free. &nbsp;Most politicians are already rich anyways. </li> <li>All bills should not be passed one by one. Many bills are passed by packaging bills. The theory is it makes Washington more efficient. Really what it does is create arm twisting, pork barrel spending. Basically, what happens is one representative says "I will vote for your bill if you vote for mine". While this happens it creates lots of spending for projects that are not properly monitored. Every bill should be passed on its own merits one-by-one. This will also slow Washington&nbsp;spending. &nbsp;And all bills should have to pass with a 70% vote, just like when you where in school.&nbsp;If it is good enough to pass, then it's probably worth spending on.</li> </ul> <p>Don't hold your breath waiting for this to happen. If you like this blog send it to a friend, family or your representative&nbsp;or mention on your social network.</p>urn:uuid:273d7e01-aa66-4f92-b3bd-a95507562afaThere are many things you can do to save money. We don't have all the answers but here are a couple. Don't use credit cards if you don't have to. Use cash or debit cards. Anything extra you can pay on any loans you have will help greatly. ...Thu, 20 May 2010 18:17:22 -0500There are many things you can do to save money. We don't have all the answers but here are a couple. <br /> <ul> <li>Don't use credit cards if you don't have to. Use cash or debit cards. </li> <li>Anything extra you can pay on any loans you have will help greatly. The sooner you pay it off, the less interest you pay.</li> <li>Refinance any loans you have.</li> <li>Do the work yourself. Mow your own lawn, cook your own meals, do your own home and auto repairs, clean your own house. If you don't know how, look it up on the internet or buy a book that will teach you. </li> <li>Use coupons</li> <li>Compare prices before purchasing.</li> <li>Review your bank statement every month. Quit spending on stuff you don't need. </li> <li>Live within your means. Why do you need 10 cars when there is only 2 drivers or a 10 bedroom house for 2 people. </li> <li>Set everything up on automatic bank draft. Most companies give you a discount for this.</li> <li>Negotiate. You would be surprised what you can negotiate.</li> </ul> <p>If you like this please publish on your site or if someone you know could use this email it to them.</p>urn:uuid:d322ebec-d77a-4751-8c15-c45b695cc658Here is the monthly Katy Insurance blog round up for all things related to Katy Texas and Insurance . On the heels of allegations last week by former employees of the Texas Department of Insurance&rsquo;s Division of Workers&rsquo; Compensation...Tue, 18 May 2010 17:05:57 -0500Here is the monthly Katy Insurance blog round up for all things related to Katy Texas and Insurance .<br /> <br /> <ul> <li>On the heels of allegations last week by former employees of the Texas Department of Insurance&rsquo;s Division of Workers&rsquo; Compensation that their higher-ups have failed to sanction or remove dozens of doctors accused of over-treatment and over-billing, Texas lawmakers are pledging to <a target="_blank" href="http://reliableinsurancemanagersinc.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/workers-comp-whats-next/">investigate the consequences</a> for patient care and the state&rsquo;s finances.</li> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://rnickels.typepad.com/blog/2010/05/texas-ranked-4th-in-suspicious-auto-accident-claims.html">Texas ranked fourth</a> in the country in the number of insurance claims related to staged auto accidents over the past three years, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reported.</li> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://reliableinsurancemanagersinc.blogspot.com/2010/05/texas-to-be-us-transportation-testing.html">Texas is about to become IBM's test subject</a> for a series of telematics transportation technologies with the blessing the U.S. Department of Transportation.</li> <li>Write a review for our Agency at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Reliable.Insurance.Katy.TX.1.281-647-6443">Merchant Circle</a>. </li> <li>While insuring your inexperienced, new teen driver on your auto insurance policy is a no-brainer, there are <a href="http://www.reliableins.net/blog/Insuring_Your_Teen_Driver.aspx">some things you should consider</a> before you do.</li> </ul>urn:uuid:7a915090-f70d-4dae-a066-e62382379db2Most people don't think about life insurance until they are older. What they don't think about is the older you get the most expensive the policy becomes. It is best to start a whole life policy right when you turn 18. You need life insurance to pa...Fri, 14 May 2010 11:29:25 -0500Most people don't think about <a href="/life/insurance_quote.aspx">life insurance</a> until they are older. What they don't think about is the older you get the most expensive the policy becomes. It is best to start a whole life policy right when you turn 18. <br /> <br /> You need <a href="/life/insurance_quote.aspx">life insurance</a> to pay for your funeral cost, pay any debts you may have and leave some money behind to help your family get back on their feet after we pass. This way they are not left with the burden of paying all these expenses on there on dime. <br /> <br /> So, how much coverage do you need? That is a question you have to ask yourself. Do you have any debt/loans and how much? How much will the funeral cost? How much will my children's college tuition be? How much do I want to leave behind as a gift? Add these up and round up to the nearest $10,000 to be safe to figure out the actual limit you need on life insurance. <br /> <br /> If you are looking for a <a href="/life/insurance_quote.aspx">life insurance</a> quote or know someone who is please click the button highlighted.urn:uuid:7d765a03-087c-476b-8079-e86aa0fe00c5So I have been using&nbsp;Twitter to get more traffic to my website. It has been working slowly but steady. I have learned some things the hard way. I want to catch you up to speed so you don't have to have that learning curve. Don't just add everyon...Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:33:22 -0500So I have been using&nbsp;<a class="ApplyClass" href="http://www.twitter.com">Twitter</a> to get more traffic to my website. It has been working slowly but steady. I have learned some things the hard way. I want to catch you up to speed so you don't have to have that learning curve. Don't just add everyone you can. This will get you a bunch of spammers and&nbsp;people who don't interact with you. You can add up to 2000 people initially, but after that you must have at least 80% of the number of followers as you are following. Then you can only add 10% more people to follow. Then you must reach the 80% follower to following ratio again before you can add more people again . Add people who have the same interest or are in your city/community.<br /> <br /> Here are some helpful sites:<br /> <br /> <a target="blank" href="http://dossy.org/twitter/karma/">Twitter Karma</a>: <strong>Twitter Karma</strong> is a tool for managing your Twitter friends and followers, providing ways of sorting and filtering them<br /> <br /> <a target="blank" href="http://mrtweet.com/">Mr Tweet</a>: Your Personal Twitter Assistant, suggesting great people and news to you regularly<br /> <br /> <a target="blank" href="http://www.socialoomph.com/">Social Oomph</a>: Twitter Tools That Help Boost Your Productivity On Twitter<br /> <br /> <a target="blank" href="http://www.twellow.com">Twellow</a>: A search directory of people by area of expertise, profession or other attribute listed in personal profiles on Twitter<br /> <br /> <a target="blank" href="http://www.tweetdeck.com/">Tweet Deck</a>: a simple and fast way to experience Twitter<br /> <br /> <a target="blank" href="http://www.localtweeps.com/">Local Tweeps</a>: Find and get found by <strong>tweeps</strong> near you; Search by City, ZIP and/or keyword; Post and browse <strong>local</strong> events and specials<br /> <br /> <a target="blank" href="http://oneforty.com/">One Forty</a>: Ratings and reviews of top Twitter tools for business and networking, Twitter apps for iPhone and Blackberry, Twitter clients for Windows and Mac and more<br /> <br /> <a target="blank" href="http://tweetadder.com/">Tweet Adder:</a> <br /> <ul> <li>Increase Twitter and Site Traffic to your event, charity, service, business, band, or website </li> <li>Find Like Minded Twitter Followers in Seconds </li> <li>Auto Follow Targeted Twitter Profiles </li> <li>Rapidly Increase Niche Twitter followers </li> <li>Multiple Accounts, Unlimited Twitter Profiles </li> <li>Automate Twitter Posts, Scheduled Tweets, Stay active in participation </li> <li>Automate Direct Messages </li> <li>Auto Unfollow, VIP Safe List </li> <li>Deletes Direct Messages </li> <li>Best Twitter Friend Search Capabilities <a href="http://topsy.com/"></a></li> </ul>urn:uuid:8f9354b4-9505-4530-98ed-a3a15b65405eCome get a free framed photo of you with the Gainsco formula one racing car. Bring the whole family. We will have drinks, games and prizes. It will be on June 9, 2010 from 9AM-6PM. We are located at 20025 Katy Freeway, Katy, TX 77450, at the intersec...Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:29:32 -0500Come get a free framed photo of you with the <a href="http://www.gainscoracing.com/" class="ApplyClass">Gainsco formula one racing car</a>. Bring the whole family. We will have drinks, games and prizes. It will be on June 9, 2010 from 9AM-6PM. We are located at <a href="http://www.reliableins.net/locations.aspx">20025 Katy Freeway, Katy, TX 77450</a>, at the intersection of Fry Rd and I-10. Come and have a great time. Look forward to seeing you there. urn:uuid:721ab4f7-650d-42c5-b3a4-cd2db7c8a50eEver wondered why are your friend&rsquo;s auto insurance rates are cheaper than your own? Factors like location, car model, and driver's age can all affect your insurance rates. Read the full article to learn more.Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:35:23 -0500Ever wondered why are your friend&rsquo;s auto insurance rates are cheaper than your own? Factors like location, car model, and driver's age can all affect your insurance rates. Read the full <a href="http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=2784751" target="_blank" class="ApplyClass">article</a> to learn more.urn:uuid:a448e866-8fb3-49f4-9cf4-ebc98efcde43The best safety measure is have your employees well trained in the procedures in case of a fire, earthquake, hurricane or terrorist attack. Fire drills should be performed at least once every 3 months, you should have planned escape routes and peole ...Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:05:21 -0500The best safety measure is have your employees well trained in the procedures in case of a fire, earthquake, hurricane or terrorist attack. Fire drills should be performed at least once every 3 months, you should have planned escape routes and peole in charge of notifying the fire department. It is also nice if you have a monitored fire alarm. You should also have drills of where to go and what to do in casr of an earthquake and terrorist attack.<br /> <br /> To prevent burglary, you should have these steps in place. The inside and outside of the business should be well light at all time. Burglat bars should be placed around all windows with secure locks. All doors should have a dead bolt. It is highly encouraged to have a monitored burglar alarm on all doors and windows. Having a monitored gas detector is a plus. Keep inventory well documented and have security cameras at all angles. Keep small amounts of cash in the office and make bank deposits at different, random times. <br /> <br /> There are many other ways to keep tragedy from happening. You can't always see and prevent them from happening. That's why you need business insurance. If you would like a quote for commercial auto, property, liability,worker's compensation please visit <a href="http://www.reliableins.net/">www.reliableins.net</a>. <br /> <br /> If you feel other people can find this article interesting you can email to friends or share on digg, facebook, twitter or any other RSS feed above. urn:uuid:6d6e436e-fd26-4c1b-a7e4-c2fe6ff7bc79The No-Fault concept is intended to lower the cost of auto insurance by reducing the number of lawsuits filed on auto accidents. This is done on the premise that each insurance company will compensate their own policyholder for the cost of minor inju...Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:20:22 -0500<p>The No-Fault concept is intended to lower the cost of <a href="http://www.reliableins.net/automobile/default.aspx" class="ApplyClass">auto insurance</a> by reducing the number of lawsuits filed on auto accidents. This is done on the premise that each insurance company will compensate their own policyholder for the cost of minor injuries regardless whether they were at fault in the accident. Most states that mandate no-fault coverage, known as Personal Injury Protection (PIP), have placed restrictions on when a lawsuit can be filed by parties injured in auto accidents. Typically the threshold whether or not a party can sue is determined by a monetary dollar of medical bills or the severity of the injury.</p> <p>Texas is considered an “optional” No-Fault state, meaning insurance companies offer PIP coverage but is not mandatory.</p> urn:uuid:0bfa42bd-4624-4f69-9729-44af9ef5d623Here are some insurance trivia facts you may not have known! Who was the first insurance company ever? In London in 1688, Lloyds of London organized the first protection for sailor's cargo against pirates, shipwreck, etc. While their main focus is s...Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:18:29 -0500<span style="font-size: 18px;"><strong>Here are some insurance trivia facts you may not have known!<br /> <br /> </strong><span style="font-size: 13px;"><strong>Who was the first insurance company ever?</strong><br /> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">In London in 1688, Lloyds of London organized the first protection for sailor's cargo against pirates, shipwreck, etc. While their main focus is still on maritime coverage for oil tankers and shipping cargo, it has expanded to auto, home, life, etc. <br /> <br /> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><strong>Where was the first auto policy sold in America? </strong><br /> The first auto policy was sold in Dayton, OH in 1897. <br /> <br /> <strong>How much in claims was paid in Hurricane Katrina?</strong><br /> Over $50,000,000,000 was paid from Katrina. Due to the massive amount of homes, cars, businesses and offshore damage, Katrina was the most financially devastating and deadly hurricane in US history. Over 1,400 people died.<br /> <br /> </span> <span style="font-size: 13px;">If you believe someone else would be interested in this trivia please pass it along. You can email or share it on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katy-TX/Reliable-Insurance-Managers/235708823968" target="_blank" class="ApplyClass">Facebook</a>, Digg, <a href="http://twitter.com/ReliableIns" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and many other social networking sites.</span><br /> </span> urn:uuid:51dcd3b2-f3e5-4d64-8008-289c82556184There are many ways for you to connect with me. So join me on one or all of them! Facebook Twitter Linked In Yahoo! Live Space Live Journal Typepad Blogger Yelp Youtube Wordpress MySpace Flickr Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:07:34 -0500There are many ways for you to connect with me. So join me on one or all of them!<br /> <br /> <a class="ApplyClass" target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katy-TX/Reliable-Insurance-Managers/235708823968">Facebook</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/ReliableIns">Twitter</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/reliableinsurance">Linked In</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/FOPIMB6RMA75OAWO2LWWNG2HQY">Yahoo!</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://reliableinsurance.spaces.live.com/default.aspx">Live Space</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://reliableinsuran.livejournal.com/">Live Journal</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://rnickels.typepad.com/blog/">Typepad</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://reliableinsurancemanagersinc.blogspot.com/">Blogger</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://reliableinsuran.yelp.com/">Yelp</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ReliableInsurance">Youtube</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://reliableinsurancemanagersinc.wordpress.com/">Wordpress</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.myspace.com/reliableinsurance">MySpace</a><br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/people/reliableinsurance/">Flickr</a><br /> <br /> urn:uuid:0b67e6dc-b7cd-42e3-ba5a-dd1d701a9455EFT stands for electronic funds transfer. This is when you allow a merchant to withdraw a specific amount on on certain date from your bank account. This can be very convenient. For one, many companies will give a discount for allowing them to do thi...Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:18:59 -0600EFT stands for electronic funds transfer. This is when you allow a merchant to withdraw a specific amount on on certain date from your bank account. This can be very convenient. For one, many companies will give a discount for allowing them to do this. Two, you don't have to worry if your payment is going to be late or if you forgot to send a payment. This is a growing trend that almost all companies provide. <br /> <br /> If you would like us to explain in more detail or if you would like us to set up your account on EFT you can call us at 713-227-7283. <br /> <br /> You cn also get a quote for auto, home, life and business insurance at <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a> or call us at 713-227-7283. urn:uuid:1d1f427b-b863-4333-86e5-8d8cad4ae572As we enter December, Reliable Insurance would like to wish you all a happy holidays! We all enjoy spending time with family and getting together for great homemade food. Don't forget about all the bowl games coming up on January first. GO LONGHORNS!...Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:40:06 -0600As we enter December, Reliable Insurance would like to wish you all a happy holidays! We all enjoy spending time with family and getting together for great homemade food. Don't forget about all the bowl games coming up on January first. GO LONGHORNS!<br /> <br /> We would also like o take this time to make you aware of all the capabilities of our website. Did you know you can quote <a href="/wfrmAutoQuote.aspx">auto</a>, <a href="/module.aspx?ref=900">home</a>, <a href="/module.aspx?ref=207">commercial</a>, <a href="/module.aspx?ref=600">life</a>, <a href="/module.aspx?ref=1100">flood</a>, <a href="/module.aspx?ref=300">motorcycle</a> and <a href="/category.aspx?id=QUOTE">much more</a>. Just click on the word for the type of quote you would like to get. You can also request a change on your policy. You can <a href="/payments.aspx">make a payment </a>to many but not all of our companies. You can visit our blogs for all types of helpful information or find out how to <a href="/contact.aspx">contact us</a>.  <br /> <br /> Please visit our website at <a href="http://www.reliableins.net">www.reliableins.net</a>. urn:uuid:b9885607-30fc-42c5-b82c-fc5427cd85baMany people don't realize that their mortgage company has placed coverage for them. Whether you are escrowed or not, you have the option of choosing who you want for your insurance company. However, if you don't provide your own insurance the mortgag...Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:38:48 -0600Many people don't realize that their mortgage company has placed coverage for them. Whether you are escrowed or not, you have the option of choosing who you want for your insurance company. However, if you don't provide your own insurance the mortgage company will place their's for you. The mortgage company's policy only covers the house not your personal property. It also is usually twice as expensive as you could get it yourself. It usually doesn't cover the amount you need in case the house is totally destroyed. It usually only covers the loan amount. This policy is not in your best interest. The good news is you can have them take their policy off as soon as you provide them with your own policy. You auto finance company has the same ability as well.<br /> <br /> If you feel the mortgage company is charging you too much and not providing you with the right coverage please click <a href="/module.aspx?ref=900">here</a> for a free, fast quote or call us at 713-227-7283. urn:uuid:b2339d0a-8ba1-4992-8f3f-05781acee77eBoth have their good  and bad points. Isn't there some middle ground? So lets talk about both sides. Internet companies are available 24/7 for quotes, claims, make payments and to make changes. However, they usually have so many customers and employ...Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:50:50 -0500Both have their good  and bad points. Isn't there some middle ground? So lets talk about both sides.<br /> <br /> Internet companies are available 24/7 for quotes, claims, make payments and to make changes. However, they usually have so many customers and employees you never talk to the same person twice. Then you just become a number.<br /> <br /> On the other hand, agents you get do get to develop that personal relationship. But, most agents don't have the 24/7 ability like the big companies.<br /> <br /> What if there was someone that could do both? Reliable Insurance can do it! Our website allows you the 24/7 access to handle your policy and we have the professional, friendly staff. We don't like being handled like a number, so we don't want you to feel that way either. We are the new and upcoming age of insurance. Call us today for a fast, free quote or click <a href="/category.aspx?id=QUOTE">here</a>! urn:uuid:f1cd40ca-c93a-4e0b-be4b-185f36cc0035Congradulations to the Tigers on a 35-17 victory over the west coast powerhouse Bellvue. I would just like to say "Welcome to Texas football". Next week Katy plays another tough opponent against FM Marcus. The game will be held in Waco ISD Stadium on...Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:09:30 -0500Congradulations to the Tigers on a 35-17 victory over the west coast powerhouse Bellvue. I would just like to say "Welcome to Texas football". Next week Katy plays another tough opponent against FM Marcus. The game will be held in Waco ISD Stadium on 9/19/09 at 1 pm. It looks to be a showdown between two tough teams. It's always fun to watch a Dallas area team play a Houston area team for bragging rights. Go Katy Tigers! urn:uuid:6dc5db72-fed3-40f3-be33-7a8fef4d9c38Would you rather be treated like a number at a fast food restaurant or like a family member? It's a simple question and answer. Whenever you talk to big companies you may never get to talk to the same person twice. You never get to develope that rela...Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:52:30 -0500Would you rather be treated like a number at a fast food restaurant or like a family member? It's a simple question and answer. <br><br>Whenever you talk to big companies you may never get to talk to the same person twice. You never get to develope that relationship. When you make these connections with them you are more likely to get exceptions or longer grace periods on payments, etc. <br><br>Big companies also have big expenses. They pour money into tv, radio, internet, yellowpages, stadium sponsorship, etc. Then they also have corporate jets and lobbyist money, as well as having to pay out large sums for lawsuits. We don't spend money on any of those things. All our business is generated by word of mouth referrals because people want to share news of our great service and rates.<br><br>Obviously, the small company approach is better. So become a member of the Reliable Insurance family!urn:uuid:681c68c9-b56c-4d86-97f9-9319e2904196A lot of insurance companies will over and under value home, or not provide you with the best type of policy for your needs (eg&nbsp; A, A+, B). This could be a recipe for disaster. At the least, you pay too much for insurance; at the worst case scen...Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:42:45 -0500A lot of insurance companies will over and under value home, or not provide you with the best type of policy for your needs (eg&nbsp; A, A+, B). This could be a recipe for disaster. At the least, you pay too much for insurance; at the worst case scenario, your claim isn't covered. Do they have replacement cost coverage or burst of water pipes? So many questions and you don't know who to rely on. Call us and we can give you a fair essesment of your circumstances at 713-227-7283.<br><br>On auto, companies can charge you PIP (personal injury protection). This is health insurance but only when you get into a car accident. Did your agent ask if you have health insurance or did they just automatically add it causing your rates to go up? Your health insurance already covers auto accident, falling down stars, etc. So why do you need PIP if you already have coverage? Plus, PIP usually only covers $2,500 which is not much coverage for the amount of premium companie want. <br><br>There are so many what if's in insurance. That's why you need someone like Reliable Insurance to review you policy and make sure you covered to your specifics. If you would like a quote on any type coverage please <a href="/category.aspx?id=QUOTE">click here</a>!urn:uuid:d1b11b9b-0323-4fb5-9388-495449521b85The 4th of July is coming up soon. That means fireworks, barbeque and beer. Please remember to drink responsibly before driving. Police&nbsp;will ramp up efforts to catch drunk drivers. If you get caught a DWI will cost your auto insurance rates to s...Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:02:19 -0500The 4th of July is coming up soon. That means fireworks, barbeque and beer. Please remember to drink responsibly before driving. Police&nbsp;will ramp up efforts to catch drunk drivers. If you get caught a DWI will cost your auto insurance rates to sky rocket. Please have a designated driver or stop drinking with plenty of time to be below the Texas legal limit of .08. <br><br>Have a great 4th of July!<br><br>Call us today for a home, auto or commercial insurance quote at 713-CAR-SAVE (227-7283)