April 24, 2008
Allstate Corp. said Wednesday that first-quarter net income dropped 77 percent, hurt by write-downs in its investments and larger-than-expected catastrophe losses. The insurer said it had to write down the value of fixed-income securities by $347 million because of turmoil …
April 23, 2008
Liberty Mutual Group has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Safeco Corp. for $68.25 per share in cash in a deal that will make Liberty Mutual the fifth largest U.S. property/casualty insurer and second largest surety …
April 23, 2008
Allstate’s 1,100 insurance agents in Florida are still in business, thanks to a mistake Monday by a Florida appeals court. Less than an hour after issuing an order denying Allstate’s appeal of a state-ordered suspension, the 1st District Court of …
April 23, 2008
A federal judge on Monday dismissed claims of fraud in a key Hurricane Katrina lawsuit that accused State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. of using different engineering reports to deny a Mississippi couple’s insurance policy after the storm. The ruling …
April 23, 2008
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its counterparty credit rating on Centene Corp .to ‘BB-‘ from ‘BB’ and removed it from CreditWatch, where it was placed on March 19, 2008, with negative implications. The outlook is now stable. “We …
April 23, 2008
Eastern Missouri residents are scrambling to get earthquake insurance after last week’s 5.2 magnitude trembler rattled windows and shook houses. But they are finding out there’s a waiting period for coverage, even as aftershocks shake the ground. The state’s biggest …
April 22, 2008
Murray State University officials expect emergency sirens to be operational on the Kentucky campus in about a month, part of an effort to enhance security procedures that can warn of violence or severe weather. President Randy Dunn said Murray State …
April 22, 2008
The Illinois Housing Development Authority and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation are sponsoring Homeowner Outreach Days to help residents avoid losing their homes through foreclosure. The events will provide one-on-one counseling sessions between borrowers and lenders, as …
April 22, 2008
Scientists say they know far too little about Midwestern seismic zones like the one that rumbled to life under southern Illinois Friday (April 18) morning, but some of what they do know is unnerving. The fault zones beneath the Mississippi …