Blog

NEW YORK Dec 31 (Reuters) – Four insurance groups have agreed to pay the state of New York nearly $120 million because their companies collected too much in surcharges related to workers compensation, the state Attorney General’s office said on Friday.

Under the settlements, the ACE companies, part of the Swiss ACE Ltd (ACE.N) group, have agreed to pay $70 million. The Zurich companies, part of Zurich Financial Services AG (ZURN.VX), agreed to pay $37.5 million.

The Pennsylvania Manufacturers companies agreed to pay $5.9 million and the CNA companies, part of CNA Financial Corp (CNA.N), will pay $5.75 million, the Attorney General’s office said.

Among the 10 Ace insurers are Pacific Employers Insurance Co and ACE American Insurance Co. The nine Zurich insurers include Northern Insurance Co of New York and American Zurich Insurance Co. The 14 CNA companies include Buckeye Union Insurance Co and National Fire Insurance Co of Hartford

The three Pennsylvania Manufacturers insurers are Manufacturers Alliance Insurance Co., Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association Insurance Co and Pennsylvania Manufacturers Indemnity Co.

The Workers’ Compensation Board charges annual fees to workers’ compensation insurers, who cover the fees by charging policyholders a surcharge on premiums.

Beginning in 2000, the board used a different calculation than the one used to determine the surcharges to policyholders. As a result, some insurers including ACE, Zurich, Pennsylvania Manufacturers and CNA collected too much from 36 of their member insurance companies.

A change in the law in 2009 and 2010 allowed the state to recover the excess funds that the insurers had collected.

The companies fully cooperated with the investigation, the Attorney General office said.

“These four groups of insurance companies have done the responsible thing by agreeing to resolve their disputes with the State,” Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, slated to be sworn in as governor on Friday evening, said in a statement. “Other insurers who still retain excess funds should follow their lead or they will be brought to justice.”

Representatives of ACE and Pennsylvania Manufacturers were not available for comment. A spokesman for Zurich in an email confirmed the agreement. A CNA spokeswoman did not immediately return a phone call. (Reporting by Ilaina Jonas; Editing by Gary Hill)

Source

Times are tough all over, even at the historically high-tone FDNY, where the fire poles are coated with gold, and all hoses spray Veuve Clicquot. To cope with the grinding budget crunch, the department has announced that starting in July it will start charging drivers $490 to respond to a crash or car fire involving injuries, $415 for a car fire without injuries and $365 for a basic crash without injuries. These charges will apply to every driver involved in the incident. What’s next, charging fifty bucks to kiss the Dalmatian?

“We are in a tight budget situation,” FDNY spokesman Steve Ritea tells the Daily News. “We wanted to relieve pressure on the taxpayer and place it on those at fault and their insurance companies. If there’s an act of God, if a tree falls on your car, the Fire Department has discretion. The intent here is to go after the insurance of motorists who are at fault.” Of course, there is a slight chance that the insurance companies might catch on to this and pass these costs onto motorists. “If insurers were to start providing coverage for additional accident response services, including police and fire, the cost of auto insurance would be likely to increase,” predicts Loretta Worters of the Insurance Information Institute.

The FDNY’s new policy follows in the footsteps other municipalities across the country which are charging drivers for emergency assistance, and even charging homeowners when they put out fires. The FDNY spokesman says the department isn’t “currently” considering going that far. The city will also start charging private hospitals as much as $1 million a year for hospital ambulances dispatched by the city’s 911 system, the Journal reports. At a press conference yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg showed his willingness to play hardball with the hospitals, telling reporters, “They like these ambulances to pick up patients because that’s the way they fill the beds. If they don’t want to have the patients in their hospitals, they won’t get ’em.”

A spokesman for AAA called the calls the crash tax “short-sighted,” telling the Journal, “We have concerns that some motorists might be less likely to call police to crash scenes, allowing drunk drivers, uninsured drivers, drivers with suspended licenses, and others to go undetected.” But the best quote comes from Queens resident Homer J. Simpson Barret Ramnath, who declares, “That sucks. Accidents happen, and you can’t be held responsible.”

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — American Insurance Group Inc. and its insurance affiliates have agreed to pay more than $100 million in fines and other penalties to resolve claims the insurer violated workers compensation regulations.

New York-based AIG also agreed to pay about $46.5 million in additional taxes and assessments.

The proposed settlement negotiated between AIG and insurance regulators in eight states would close out a probe into allegations the insurance giant under-reported some $2.12 billion of workers compensation premiums, Pennsylvania insurance officials said Wednesday.

State regulators accused AIG of reporting the workers compensations premiums as general or commercial automobile liability premiums. The violations occurred over a period of time, primarily before 1996, regulators claimed.

“Accurate company financial data is an essential ingredient of proper insurance regulation,” said Robert Pratter, Pennsylvania’s acting insurance commissioner.

Under the terms of the settlement, AIG insurance companies will have to file restated financial statements by March 1 to reflect the reallocation of the $2.1 billion in premiums.

The company also must submit to periodic monitoring by the states for a 24-month period and agree to pay a fine of up to $150 million if it fails to meet the terms of a compliance plan.

In addition to Pennsylvania, state officials in Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Rhode Island participated in the probe.

But insurance regulators in all 50 states and the District of Columbia will split the $100 million in fines.

The deal must be adopted by at least 35 additional states by March 1.

A call to an AIG spokesman was not immediately returned late Thursday.

AIG became a household name in the U.S. after the recent financial crisis and received the largest government rescue of any financial company. Its lifelines from the Federal Reserve and Treasury were worth $182 billion.

It got into deep water after helping banks invest heavily in risky mortgage bonds by offering insurance-like protection against losses on those bonds. When the bonds lost value, AIG could not afford to pay the banks. The government covered the losses to prevent panic from spreading.

AIG’s chairman said recently the company will repay its bailouts and is developing a strategy for growth.

Its shares fell $1.43 to close Thursday at $54.33.

Few life choices are fraught with more peril than the decision to shovel snow.

Yes, shoveling is a killer workout — except, of course, when it actually kills. And then there are the legal ramifications. Many municipalities require residents to clear walks and driveways. But some homeowners refuse because someone at some time said shoveling actually increases a homeowner’s liability in slip-and-fall accidents. It’s an enduring and convenient excuse, only it’s not true … most of the time.

But first things first. Before deciding to shovel, are you even able? Shoveling snow is excellent exercise, burning about 400 calories per hour. But the cold constricts blood vessels, and shoveling spikes your heart rate. That could lead to a heart attack. Barnes-Jewish Hospital cardiologist Edward Geltman recommends folks in questionable health work slowly and take breaks.

“Don’t do anything that makes you breathe hard and prevents you from speaking in full sentences,” Geltman said. “But if you can, shoveling is a total-body workout, like cross-country skiing. You’re using your shoulders, your arms, your back.”

Even if you can shovel, must you? Most municipalities say yes.

In Columbia, a city ordinance on clearing sidewalks says all residents must keep sidewalks in front of or adjacent to property they own or occupy clear of snow and ice. Failure to do so is considered a misdemeanor offense.

What does Missouri law say on the question? The state does not explicitly require homeowners to clear their drives, but St. Louis University law Professor Peter Salsich says Missouri common law suggests otherwise. He calls the shoveling-lawsuit link an urban myth.

“I guess some people think, ‘If I do nothing, then it’s someone else’s problem. They see it’s icy, and it’s their responsibility to be careful,’ ” Salsich said. “But it’s clear that you cannot allow your property to pose a danger.”

But what if you clear your walk and a litigious neighbor still slips? It depends on what conditions are like in the surrounding areas. Say, for instance, you wake up to falling snow. The law does not demand you skip breakfast and clear snow as it falls.

“They don’t call that an act of God, but it is the same concept. No person is responsible for general natural accumulation,” said Evans & Dixon attorney John Michener, who defends property owners against personal injury cases.

But once the condition starts to change — say repeated trips walking back and forth has turned the snow into uneven patches of ice — then the homeowner is liable for the walk’s altered condition.

“That may take three hours or three days, but the snow is no longer in that natural state,” Michener said. “Then there is the duty to clear it. The standard is what would a prudent person do. You don’t have to wave a wand and get to the concrete. You don’t have to do an extraordinary job, just what a reasonable person would do. Of course, 12 jurors may argue about what that means.”

For instance, in one landmark Missouri case, a plaintiff successfully sued a restaurant after slipping on a lot the day after it was cleared. Personal injury attorney K. Lindsay Rakers of the Cagle Law Firm explains the condition of the property was more dangerous than surrounding areas.

“A thorough investigation of the facts leading up to the fall is absolutely crucial in these fall cases,” Rakers said.

Clearly, these cases are complicated. But Michener can think of one example when, yes, you should leave the shovel in the garage: ice topped with snow.

“At that point, you have the natural accumulation and no legal duty. But if you do go out there and expose a sheet of ice under 3 inches of snow, then you’ve made it worse,” Michener said. “Good intent doesn’t matter in cases of negligence.”

It’s enough to give your brain frostbite. You could keep a legal and medical team on retainer. Or you could just shovel the darn snow. That’s what Jim Camoriano, a spokesman for State Farm Insurance Cos., does. The insurance company does not track snow-related slip-and-falls, but Camoriano said the region hasn’t faced a rash of claims. He recommends policyholders do what they can to keep their walks safe. After all, it’s the neighborly thing to do.

“I’ve heard that too, that once you maintain” your walk “then your liability increases,” Camoriano said. “But don’t you want to do what you can to make things as safe as possible for your neighbors and your mail carrier, not to mention yourself? To me, it seems like common sense.”