Search CompleteMarkets

Who doesn’t like to hear about tax breaks? State employment officials say businesses across Oklahoma can expect a break when it comes to paying unemployment insurance in 2014. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission announced that many businesses can expect to pay less because of record collections into the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The fund that is used to pay state unemployment benefits to qualified workers reached topped $1 billion earlier this month for the first time in 72 years. Agency economist Lynn Gray says because of improved conditions of the trust, the agency expects to see a “significant tax cut” for Oklahoma employers in 2014. While the overall condition of the economy will determine how large the cut will be, Gray says it could result in a decline of collections between $175 million and $225 million. Cited from: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2013/08/16/301975.htm

Hundreds of thousands of retired union workers are facing pension cuts that could slash their monthly payments in half — or even more. The proposed cuts are part of a desperate effort to head off insolvency at multiemployer pension plans, pensions that typically provide benefits for workers at several companies. It's an unconventional move: Pension law has long maintained that cutting the benefits of those already retired is off-limits. Current law allows troubled multiemployer plans to reduce the benefits that employees earn going forward, cut early retirement and disability benefits and hike employer contributions instead. But things have gotten so dire that a coalition of employers and labor unions is asking Congress to change the law. Multiemployer pension plans cover more than 10 million workers and retirees in the trucking, construction, retail, mining, manufacturing and other industries. Historically, the plans were considered more secure since multiple employers pay into the plans instead of relying on the fortunes of just one company. But in the past decade, many plans have struggled with supporting an aging workforce, and large employers have been pulling out of the plans. In addition, many are still dealing with significant losses incurred during the recession. What do you think about this? Cited from: http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/15/retirement/pension-cuts/index.html?iid=s_mpm

This is a question that many people ask on a daily basis… Settlements between state regulators and the insurance industry are calling into question whether life insurers are doing enough to make sure they pay unclaimed death benefits and whether they follow the “best practice” doctrines corporations so often preach. Wrapping up a lengthy investigation into unclaimed benefits, Benjamin M. Lawsky, superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), said that insurers should have used more up-to-date databases to cross-check life insurance policies, annuity contracts and retained asset accounts with insurers’ internal files. “Best practices should have required that insurers utilizing the Social Security Administration Death Master File or a database that is at least as comprehensive, to determine if any death benefit payments were due a as a result of unreported claims,” Lawsky said in a letter. To read more on this great article (cited from): http://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/2013/07/31/are-insurers-doing-enough-to-pay-claims-a-389010.html?topnews#.UgUOLpK1Ff8

Insured had a lapse due to late payment. Clean loss history, had a great mod for several years. Are there any companies other than SCIF and PEOs willing to write it? Premium is around 25K