Posted on July 12th, 2010 by Michael Cessna
As of this week, Americans who have been denied health insurance coverage by an insurer because of a pre-existing health condition can apply for insurance through high-risk insurance pools. Officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have said they might shift funding among states if the new program to cover the uninsured runs out of money more quickly in some states than in others.
In Missouri, for instance, $81 million has been approved for the state’s high-risk insurance pool. The Missouri Health Insurance Pool will begin accepting applications for the pool in mid-July via its website or by phone. Costs will be supplemented by premiums paid by policy holders.
Kansas will also create a state-based high-risk insurance pool, and…
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Posted on May 12th, 2010 by Michael Cessna
The potential financial impact of the April 20, 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico may well eclipse the financial impact of the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, which resulted in a $3.5 billion dollar settlement and $5 billion in legal and financial settlements. As efforts to contain the oil spill continue without success, the insurance ramifications of the disaster loom large.
The explosion led to the deaths of 11 crew workers and the loss of the $560 million dollar drilling rig. Reportedly, the well is gushing 5,000 barrels of oil a day, forming a 600-mile oil slick, which threatens to cause extensive environmental damage to the coastline of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The claim…
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Posted on March 15th, 2010 by Jennifer McAdam
In an insurance coverage action, the Eighth Circuit determined two policy exclusions unambiguously precluded coverage for a poultry processor under its property and business interruption insurance. George’s Inc. v. Allianz Global Risks US Ins. Co., 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 5108, *1-2 (8th Cir. Ark. Mar. 9, 2010).
Following a power outage caused by ice storms, poultry processing company, George’s Inc. (“George’s”), brought an action against its insurer, Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Co. (“Allianz”), seeking indemnity for business expenses and personal property losses. Id. at *1, 2. The electrical outage disrupted production, resulting in a loss of business income and leading to the premature deaths of chickens stored in a holding shed. Id. at *2. Allianz conceded coverage of certain lost business income…
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