BANGALORE: Battered by the current economic crisis, the Indian corporate sector is resorting to innovative methods to keep its balance sheet sound. One such method is scrapping of insurance benefits to the employees. Rising medical costs, slowdown and rising premium on employee health insurance policies are being attributed as the reasons, by the industry sources, behind the current decision. It is to be noted that healthcare cost is rising at an annual rate of 15 per cent in all metros and, consequently, premium for health insurance too.
An official of ICICI Lombard, which is the largest health insurance provider for the corporates, confirmed the development, “More than 75 big corporates have already asked for cancellation of group insurance policies.” The official who has to remain nameless, however, declined to name the companies owing to Lombard’s non-disclosure agreement with the companies. Another cost-cutting method that is slightly employee friendly is the co-payment method that has been introduced by the companies. According to this method, the employee will have to share 50 per cent amount. This scheme, however, cannot be availed by freshers among many other allowances that they are denied of owing to recession.
news source : http://www.expressbuzz.com/
The 44,000 Utahns who receive unemployment benefits will receive an additional $25 to $75 per week beginning Sunday, although the amount may not be reflected in their checks until sometime around mid-March, according to a statement Wednesday by the Utah Department of Workforce Services, which administers the unemployment insurance program in Utah.
The increase is part of the federal stimulus package and lasts from Sunday through Dec. 31, with a phase-out program until June 30, 2010. The state is required to enter an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to send out the money. In the meantime, Workforce Services is programming its systems to begin paying the extra money by March 16 and backdating money from Feb. 22.
Also part of the federal stimulus package is the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which authorizes up to an extra 20 weeks of unemployment benefits, not for each claimant but rather for the entire program through Dec. 31 with a phase-out provision until May 31, 2010. About 4,400 Utahns have exhausted their regular unemployment benefits and are receiving emergency unemployment compensation. Last year at this time, 16,400 unemployed workers were filing for unemployment.
news source : http://deseretnews.com/
Unemployment is rising sharply among the older segment of the working population. According to the Unemployment Insurance Fund, the rate at which over 56-year old workers are losing jobs is higher than during the depression of 90's. Compared to last year, twice as many have been shifted into early retirement plans.
Unemployment Insurance Fund Managing Director Heikki Pohja is critical of how many companies speak of pension arrangements for older workers, when it would be more honest to say that they are being fired. "In most cases, it is a matter of the employee losing his or her job and living on unemployment benefits for several years before it is time to get an old-age pension," points out Pohja..
The rise in firings of older employees is in conflict with the government's target of keeping people in the labour force as long as possible. The chairman of a committee that has been examining an overhaul of social welfare, Markku Lehto, has expressed fears that the same thing will happen as during the last serious economic downswing: the job market will lose skilled people and know-how that it will never get back.
"This is clearly a setback. Finland was just turning over a new leaf in appreciation of older people in the workforce. It will be very difficult to get them back into the job market, even if the situation changes within two or three years," argues Lehto. Matti Kokkinen, in Forssa, is being moved into early retirement this summer after 34 years of working at a house construction plant. As late as at the end of 2008, his job looked secure, but the situation changed rapidly. While the early retirement scheme is voluntary, he feels that he is being forced into it.
news source : http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/
A car manufacturer has launched a new model especially designed for those suffering from the current economic crisis, car insurance customers may like to hear. Citroen has launched the new C1 Splash, described as "the ideal city car to cruise through the credit crunch," as a bid to help motorists cut costs during the current crisis. According to the manufacturer, the new model offers 62.8 mpg and falls into insurance group one, providing its customers with both cheaper fuel and insurance costs.
The C1 Splash is cheap on road tax letting off 106 g/km CO2 emissions and it also includes air conditioning, central locking, side airbags and electric front windows with a choice of two colours- metallic Electra Blue or Lipizian White, which are exclusive only to this model. Prices for the C1 Splash model begin at £7,345. Meanwhile, Tayside police have ordered drivers to ensure they take adequate safety precautions during the weather conditions. Chief Inspector Sandy Bowman said: "Maintenance is key and ensuring that the vehicle is serviced correctly is extremely important…Brakes, tyres, lights, batteries, windscreens and wiper blades must be in good working order."
news source : http://www.onlyfinance.com/
SALISBURY -- A 20,000 square-foot call center for screening unemployment insurance claims is breaking ground --at an undisclosed Wicomico County location -- and construction can't come fast enough, says the director at the cramped Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations' regional office where the workload has reached record proportions.
Claims for first-time benefits recently doubled in the last year at the Salisbury center, one of five opened a decade ago to consolidate walk-in unemployment insurance services in Maryland counties and enabling victims of unemployment to file claims by phone or on the Internet. Claims center director James Wolf isn't revealing the 3-acre location of the new call center ---- or the current one, either -- because the facility is structured to render services strictly by telephone or online.
"We've been on the phone system for 10 years; I don't discuss where we are," said Wolf, a 33-year veteran with DLLR. "We absorb a great percentage of the state workload, taking calls from where an operator is available." Southern Builders has won the contract to erect the single-story building in the Salisbury area. By this fall, the operation should be moving into a space that can comfortably accommodate its 60 workers, with room enough to increase staffing by 30 positions, Wolf said in an interview. Currently, the office rents space to field 20 percent of the state's unemployment insurance claims
Nationwide, applications for first-time claims are expected to rise as economic uncertainty continues. Since last year, the Salisbury center is handling more than 1,000 a week, Wolf said. The number reflects a national recession that last week alone added an additional 500,000 or more Americans to the ranks of the unemployed and further swelled the number of former workers eligible for unemployment insurance. By comparison, the Salisbury office, which consolidated six offices in Easton, Cambridge, Chestertown, Crisfield, Salisbury and Snow Hill, handles between 500 and 600 "during what I call normal times," Wolf says.
"We need more space and we need more people now," he said. "Whether we (hire to capacity) depends on economic conditions down the road, but that is our plan." Jobs at the Eastern Shore call center, for the most part, start as contractual with an opportunity to become full-time. Pay starts at $13.42 per hour for claims takers and $15.14 per hour for adjudication specialists, the bulk of positions. Many current workers were recruited with call center experience from former Call Center Services and Bar None, an auto loan center, Wolf said.
The new location becomes the last among the state's five centers pre-equipped specifically for call center functions, behind Baltimore, College Park, Cumberland and Towson, he said. "The rub now is that rented space is not enough to add additional staff; we've needed additional space for some time," he said. "We've had an unprecedented increase in the number of initial unemployment claims."
news source : http://www.delmarvanow.com/
Unlike other types of insurance like pet or health, this is one type of insurance you must have by law if you drive a car on the roads. The Road Traffic Act 1988 says that you must have some kind of insurance or protection against liability to third parties in the event that personal injury is inflicted upon them, or that their property is damaged, as a result of your use of the road. Quite simply, other people must be protected against any damage caused by using a vehicle. By being insured, the car driver protects innocent parties against costs due to injury, damage to their vehicle, and legal costs.
• Types of car insurance
There are three main types of car insurance:
• third party
• third party fire and theft
• comprehensive insurance cover
• Third party only
Third party is the minimum legal level of insurance you can take out. ‘Third Party Only’ insurance only covers damage or injury caused to someone else, including passengers. It doesn’t provide any cover at all for your own car or property. So if your own car is in an accident and needs repaired you’d have to either pay the repair bill yourself, if you are responsible (legally viable) or claim from the other party if they are responsible. You won’t get any money back if your car is stolen either.
• Third party fire and theft
‘Third Party Fire & Theft’ is similar to ‘Third Party Only’ but also covers your losses if your car is stolen or catches fire. Again, though, just like third party it doesn’t cover you against accidental damage.
• Comprehensive
Just as its name suggests, comprehensive car insurance provides a high level of cover and if your car is worth more than £5,000 then you’d have to choose this type anyway.
You will usually be covered for everything that a Third Party Fire and Theft policy would cover but even better. It will pay out, up to a certain limit, if you accidentally damage your own vehicle and lose or damage your personal belongings from the car. Broken/damaged windscreens will usually be covered too. You can also opt – or it is sometimes included – to add 'personal accident' or 'medical expenses’ cover to your policy.
news source : http://financialadvice.co.uk/news/
All-Type Insurance & Financial Services is an independent insurance and financial agency that provides comprehensive coverage in property and casualty, life, health (including group services) and financial products, notably 401ks, IRAs, retirement planning, rollovers, and college funding to individuals, businesses and institutions in Texas.
Between them, our principal officers and professional staff have over 60 years of professional insurance and financial experience. We are proud of our professionalism and constantly seek to upgrade, improve and enhance our knowhow and skills, to better serve our customers.
news source : http://www.all-typeinsurance.com/
BANGALORE: Battered by the current economic crisis, the Indian corporate sector is resorting to innovative methods to keep its balance sheet sound. One such method is scrapping of insurance benefits to the employees. Rising medical costs, slowdown and rising premium on employee health insurance policies are being attributed as the reasons, by the industry sources, behind the current decision. It is to be noted that healthcare cost is rising at an annual rate of 15 per cent in all metros and, consequently, premium for health insurance too.
