By Stephen Ohlemacher, July 17, 2014 WASHINGTON–The Senate voted Thursday to extend a program that would cushion the blow to insurance companies in the event of a massive terrorist attack. The program was enacted in the aftermath of Sept. 11, when insurance companies were reluctant to provide coverage for terrorist attacks. It is due to expire at the end of …

By Jenna Levy, July 10, 2014 WASHINGTON, D.C.–The uninsured rate in the U.S. fell 2.2 percentage points to 13.4% in the second quarter of 2014. This is the lowest quarterly average recorded since Gallup and Healthways began tracking the percentage of uninsured Americans in 2008. The previous low point was 14.4% in the third quarter of 2008. The uninsured rate …

By Jess Seabolt, June 25, 2014 A bill prohibiting insurance policies and health maintenance organization contracts from providing coverage for abortions will go into effect July 1. House Bill 1123, authored by Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, prohibits insurance companies from covering abortions, unless there is a specific circumstance, such as cases of rape, incest or the health of the mother. …

By Mary Thompson, July 1, 2014 Earlier this year, New York City-based staffing agency Clarity bought cyber-insurance for the first time. This spring it added more coverage. “We were actually hearing about it from our clients,” said Elizabeth Wade, Clarity’s operations manager. “They were asking us about it and in order to prevent being behind the eight ball we felt …

By Ilya Marritz, July 3, 2014 If terrorists were to attack a U.S. city again, who would pay for catastrophic damage? In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York, Congress provided the answer: the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. While most ordinary people will never have need of it, Douglas Durst, one of New York’s real estate …

The Financial Express, June 30, 2014 With the election handing a decisive mandate to the new government, now is the time for concrete steps to revive the economy. Budget 2014 is a critical platform wherein the government should announce macro and industry specific measures to enable the economy to return to the growth path. The general insurance industry is among …

By Joan Biskupic, June 30, 2014 WASHINGTON—A majority of Americans oppose letting employers, based on their religious views, exclude certain contraceptives from workers’ insurance coverage, says a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision expected on Monday. In one of the most closely watched cases of the year, the nine-member court will weigh whether for-profit corporations may …

The Associated Press, June 26, 2014 More than 960,000 New York residents signed up for insurance under the state’s new health plan marketplace during its first enrollment period, according to a state report issued Wednesday. The analysis shows that 55 percent of the individuals enrolled in Medicaid and 38 percent — or 371,000 people — signed up for private insurances …

The Associated Press, June 19, 2014 The group most directly affected by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s insurance markets — those who buy insurance on their own directly from an insurer or through one of the exchanges — is a difficult group to survey. Those who purchase their own insurance make up just 1 in 10 people under …

By Ashlea Ebeling, June 11, 2014 Most families say they want enough life insurance to cover 14 years of lost income should the breadwinner die, but they have enough to cover only three years, according to a Life Insurance Gap survey put out by New York Life. That stark difference between perception and reality puts families at great financial risk, …