Archive for the ‘Insurance News’ Category
Cell phone store owner defrauds insurer of $700,000 in claims scheme
February 16th, 2012
The owner of a California cellular telephone retailer was sentenced to three years and four months in state prison for his involvement in more than 2,000 fraudulent insurance claims, costing more than $700,000.
The California Insurance Department said Andy Jungsik Kim, 37, of Studio City, Calif., who ows Skyland Cellular, will serve the sentence for grand theft, multiple counts of identity theft and for possession of a forged driver’s license.
Tags: Claims, Claims Scheme
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Study Examines Misconceptions Of Who Picks Up Tab When Patients Walk Out
February 7th, 2012
There are ways in which patients who leave the hospital against medical advice wind up paying for that decision. Being saddled with the full cost of their hospital stay, however, is not one of them.
Insurance companies know this. Patients who walk out may know this. But many physicians, according to a study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, do not.
A survey of general internal medicine doctors at the University of Chicago Medicine found that two-thirds of residents and almost half of attending physicians believe that when a patient leaves the hospital against medical advice, insurance companies will not pay for the patient’s hospitalization, leaving the patient liable for the full hospital bill. Full Post..
Tags: Patients, When Patients
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The Basics Of A Required Insurance Education
January 16th, 2012
Most people never think about the insurance education that is required for agents to begin providing policy coverage. Neither do they consider the continuing educational efforts that must be made to maintain licenses over time. For people who are thinking about getting into the industry, however, it is absolutely essential that these details be fully understood.
The requirements
It is important to understand that there is no legal requirement to obtain a college degree before obtaining a job as a brokering agent. However, the industry has its own standards and they currently require licensing and that includes at least a two-year Associates degree.
Tags: Education, Insurance Education
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Harmonized policy on the use of credit information in underwriting will not happen: CCIR
January 6th, 2012
The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) is currently reviewing the results of a consultation it conducted last year on credit scoring, but it doesn’t appear likely that a harmonized approach to credit scoring will be the outcome.
“Frankly, there will be no harmonized policy on use of credit information in underwriting,” CCIR chairwoman Danielle Boulet said in a Dec.
Tags: Ccir, Underwriting Happen
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GEICO to refund $7.5 million, pay $100,000 fine for Wash. overcharges
December 29th, 2011
GEICO was fined $100,000 by Washington State officials and ordered to refund about $7.5 million in overcharges to thousands of its customers in the state.
The Maryland-based national insurer must refund the overcharges, averaging about $300 per policyholder, to 25,267 of its policyholders in Washington State, according to the office of Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. GEICO must also include 8% interest in the refunds, officials said.
State officials said “a computer database error” caused the problem, which GEICO reported to state officials “promptly,” according to a statement from Kreidler. The computer error, resulting in 7% of the companys customers being overcharged between Aug.
Tags: Fine Wash, Wash
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Measles Outbreak in Europe Spreading to the US
December 10th, 2011
Technically, it isn’t an outbreak yet but there is a rise in measles cases across Europe. With the vast number of US travelers to Europe, it is of no surprise that measles cases are also increasing in the US. This is a major cause to get worldwide health insurance if you have any travel plans. At least with the inoculations required by international travel health insurance, you are not at risk of getting exposed and contaminated by the virus.
In October, London health officials pegged the measles cases at over 26 thousand and 9 deaths. In France, the reported number of cases for measles was 14 thousand.
Tags: Europe, Europe Spreading
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Ways to Opt for Life Insurance Online?
November 23rd, 2011
Online life insurance procuring is actually a preferred trend today. Simply because people prefer to shop by themselves time and do things in their own way, it just is sensible to offer a thing like insurance plan searching on the web. With a lot of corporations to choose from, nonetheless, it can speedily become overwhelming for many people today when it comes to determining which policies are greatest. Here are some pointers to assist you obtain the most from your web lifestyle insurance purchasing working experience:
-Always get started by choosing trustworthy companies that supply coverage in your own state. This tends to instantly slim your options greatly.
Tags: Life Insurance, Online
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York police arrest 14 suspects in passport fraud ring linked to staged auto collisions
November 15th, 2011
York Region police have arrested 14 suspects and laid 145 charges following a three-year investigation into a multi-million dollar fraud ring that allegedly staged auto collisions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC)’s vice president of investigative services, Rick Dubin, congratulated York Regional Police for slicing off “another major tentacle of fraud.”
“Organized insurance fraud is big business in Ontario and, specifically, the GTA,” said Dubin. “And their crimes drive up the cost of insurance for everyone.”
Investigators with the major fraud unit of York Regional Police, working in partnership with the Canada Border Services Agency and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, began their investigation in July 2011.
Police say members of the ring obtained legitimate government identification using forged foreign passports.
Tags: Auto Collisions, Collisions, Staged Auto, Staged Auto Collisions
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