It Figures

22

The number of Mississippi lawsuits stemming from Hurricane Katrina damage settled by State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. The question was whether State Farm officials denied claims in areas hit by the storm surge without thorough investigations. State Farm has maintained the company investigated each claim and covered independent wind damage.

$1 Million

The insurance policy limits that Wachovia Bank has asked Calhoun County, Georgia officials to buy because the bank is concerned that a proposed sign to mark Hall of Fame baseball player Ty Cobb’s time in Anniston, Ala., may obstruct the view of motorists and cause accidents. Calhoun County Commissioner Eli Henderson said the bank also wants the county to sign a no-fault clause. Officials decided to move the sign to city land a few feet away from the original site in a less obstructive location.

5

The number of consecutive years that Florida workers’ compensation rates have gone down, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, which recently approved an overall rate reduction of 18.4 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2008. The newest rate reductions will give Florida businesses a cumulative decrease of 51.4 percent since legislative reforms were enacted in 2003.

$13,110

The fine that the owners of a Charleston, S.C. furniture store that burned down and killed nine firefighters agreed to pay while admitting no wrongdoing. The Sofa Super Store was initially fined $32,775 for three violations in the June 18, 2007, blaze, the nation’s greatest loss of firefighters since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. The store was fined for having padlocked doors and cited for fire doors that did not work. The business was also fined for not having an emergency action plan in place for its employees.

$43,500

The amount in fines raised by West Virginia’s insurance department from five market conduct examinations during 2007. The companies fined included State Auto Property and Casualty Co., Municipal Mutual of West Virginia, West Virginia Insurance Co., Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield and Panhandle Farmers Mutual Insurance Co.