Iowa News

It Figures

$105 The current per vehicle assessment charged by the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association to help pay claims of seriously injured accident victims. Michigan is the only state to offer unlimited lifetime medical benefits for people seriously injured in auto accidents. …

Areas with Flood Policy Sales Potential

The GAO compared the number of NFIP policies in a given area as of September 2006, with the total number of county flood declarations from January 1980 to June 2008, cumulative flood claims payments from January 1978 to April 2008, …

New Markets

The following markets were selected from the MyNewMarkets database of 25,000 coverages and programs. To find additional markets, or to submit markets, go to www.MyNewMarkets.com. Fire Protection Contractors Market Detail: McNeil & Co. brings agents the FireWatch Program. This is …

RiskProNet Elects Clarke as President

Richard G. “Dick” Clarke, senior vice president of J. Smith Lanier & Co. in West Point, Ga., has been elected 2009 president of RiskProNet International, a network of 25 independent insurance brokers in North America. Clarke is a veteran of …

How to Make Money on Property/Casualty Insurance Stocks

Investors have pummeled insurance and financial stocks lately, but a University of Iowa finance professor is actually making money trading them. Ty Leverty, assistant professor of finance in the Tippie College of Business, has been experimenting since last fall with …

Iowa Could Fine Drivers Caught Using Cell Phones

Some Iowa legislators have a message for cell phone users: stop talking or texting while driving. A measure being considered in the Legislature would fine drivers $30 if they used their phones while behind the wheel. “It doesn’t make sense …

Oklahoma Town Surveying Damage After Twisters Kill 8

Insurers such as Zurich and Farmers have announced they are sending catastrophe response teams to Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, areas pummeled by severe weather earlier this week. Especially hard hit by a cluster of tornados on Feb. 10 was Lone …

Former Iowa Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty to $1 Million Fraud

A former Iowa insurance agent accused of siphoning more than $1 million from clients has pleaded guilty to federal charges. Jack Straw pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and one count each of mail fraud, possessing a forged …

Iowa Insurer Lays Off 60 Employees

A Des Moines-based insurance company has announced it will eliminate 60 jobs as part of the company’s business plan. Officials with American Enterprise Group Inc. said that 51 of the layoffs will come from Des Moines and nine will come …

Parents of Iowa Teen Killed in Crash Sue Insurer for Underinsured Benefits

The parents of an Iowa teenager killed 10 years ago in a van crash in southern Wisconsin have filed a lawsuit seeking damages for their son’s death. Albert and Deanna Roberts of DeWitt, Iowa, filed the lawsuit against Iowa Mutual …