The NRA Would Like to Insure You Now

In March 2012, Joe Balistreri was visiting his parents in Foster City, a suburban community on the San Francisco Bay. Early in the morning, he heard the front doorknob rattle, followed by a commotion around the side of the house. Someone had jumped the gate. Balistreri woke his father and asked for a gun. In the dark, he confronted a tall stranger who had entered the house through an unlocked garage door. Balistreri fired three rounds, one of which hit the intruder, Patrick O’Neil, high in the chest, between the clavicles.

Here’s What’s Really Going On With Obamacare Premiums

If you follow the news or listen to the Republican presidential candidates, then you’ve probably heard that premiums for some Affordable Care Act plans went way up last year.

But now the Obama administration is saying that, for the vast majority of people buying coverage through healthcare.gov, premiums are only 4 percent higher than they were last year.

Can both things be true? Is it possible that some insurers hiked rates, but most people buying through the Obamacare exchanges aren’t paying much more?

Insurer cancelling policies of UberX drivers

One of Canada’s largest insurance companies is cracking down on UberX drivers caught without proper commercial insurance, according to a company bulletin obtained by the Star.

“Driving for Uber is still considered commercial use and is unacceptable for personal vehicles,” says the internal Aviva Canada circular which reports weekly on examples of insurance fraud.

“It is therefore important that we continue to encourage our policyholders and applicants to be forthcoming and honest about the use of their vehicles. Without proper insurance, they are putting both themselves and others at risk.”

The Republican Crusade to End Insurance Coverage of Abortion

Last week, the GOP-led House of Representatives passed the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, a bill that would radically limit Americans' ability to buy private-sector health insurance that covers abortion. With the Senate under Democratic control and Barack Obama in the White House, the bill is doomed to fail. But abortion foes can rest easy. Although their momentum has stalled on Capitol Hill, there is a quiet campaign underway in states across the country to outlaw private-insurance coverage of abortion—and it's working.

Lawmakers in 24 states have already prohibited plans on the Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplaces from covering abortion. Now some states are going even further, targeting the tens of millions of women who receive health insurance from their private-sector employers. Nine states already have these broader bans, leaving 3.5 million women without insurance coverage for abortion. And since 2011, lawmakers in 10 more states have threatened the coverage of more than 9 million women, according to data assembled by the National Women's Law Center, a nonprofit legal foundation focused on women's rights.

Michigan 'Rape Insurance' Bill Passes Into Law

Michigan lawmakers passed a controversial measure on Wednesday that will ban all insurance plans in the state from covering abortion unless the woman's life is in danger. The law, which takes effect in March, will force women and employers to purchase a separate abortion rider if they would like the procedure covered, even in cases of rape and incest.

Supporters of the "Abortion Insurance Opt-Out Act" argue that it allows people who are opposed to abortion to avoid paying into a plan that covers it. Opponents have nicknamed it the "rape insurance" initiative, because it would force some women to anticipate the possibility of being raped by purchasing the extra abortion insurance ahead of time.

Climate Change Canada: Uninsurable Homes Crisis Coming, Blair Feltmate Predicts

OTTAWA - Millions of Canadians living in many parts of the country could find their homes declared uninsurable, as the insurance industry grapples with skyrocketing water damage claims.

That's the grim future predicted by Blair Feltmate, chair of the Climate Change Adaptation Project at the University of Waterloo.

Alberta flood victims mostly out of luck with insurance

Alberta homeowners who hope to make claims with insurers for flood damage will be out of luck in most cases.

That's because not all flooding is covered under most insurance policies.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says water that comes in through doors and windows — called "overland flooding" — is not covered.

Car-tracking devices spark privacy concerns

Privacy advocates are sounding alarm bells over a new device that can record certain driving habits of Canadian motorists. But one of the auto insurance companies offering the product says those fears are misplaced.

"It definitely has ramifications from a privacy point of view because it's a new technology that will involve the collection of new personal information that, up until now, hasn't been done," said lawyer Kris Klein, an expert in privacy law.

Flood Insurance Costs May Soar For Hardest-Hit Sandy Victims

TOMS RIVER, N.J. -- George Kasimos has almost finished repairing flood damage to his waterfront home, but his Superstorm Sandy nightmare is far from over.

Like thousands of others in the hardest-hit coastal stretches of New Jersey and New York, his life is in limbo as he waits to see if tough new coastal rebuilding rules make it just too expensive for him to stay.

Elizabeth Warren Insurance Deregulation Amendment Raises Federal Standard For Agents

WASHINGTON -- The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Thursday approved new bipartisan legislation to deregulate the insurance industry, but not before Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) snagged a small victory for consumers.

The deregulation bill, authored by Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), will create a new federal licensing program for insurance agents that would replace the current state-by-state system.

Oklahoma Disaster Insurance Payments May Be Inadequate

As people in central Oklahoma emerge from the wreckage of the tornado that flattened entire neighborhoods, some will face another bitter realization: Residents of Moore and neighboring areas may lack insurance coverage to compensate them for the loss of all of their worldly possessions.

About 98 percent of homeowners carry insurance, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Standard homeowner and business insurance policies cover wind damage from tornadoes and thunderstorms, but some individuals and companies choose to buy less insurance than they need to keep costs down. As a result, some Oklahoma homeowners and businesses will find that they lack enough insurance to fully rebuild, even though their policies may cover a portion of their losses.

ORNGE spent taxpayer money on $10M life insurance policy for Chris Mazza

ORNGE took out a $10 million life insurance policy on its highly paid former chief executive Dr. Chris Mazza in the latest example of excess at the troubled air ambulance agency, the Progressive Conservatives say.

Taxpayers footed a $450,000 one-time premium for the coverage, which the provincial government should terminate and salvage whatever cash value remains, Tory MPP Frank Klees (Newmarket—Aurora) told reporters Wednesday.