Insurance Companies

This week is a bad week to commit insurance fraud in Baltimore, at least at the Stouffer Harborplace Hotel.That's where 375 of America's most aggressive fraud-fighters will gather, at the annual Insurance Fraud Investigation and Management Conference.The problem, which costs the nation's property/casualty insurers -- and therefore their customers -- an estimated $18 billion a year, will be the focus of attention at the hotel today through Wednesday. In 1992, the latest year for which figures were available, about $2.5 billion in claims were paid to Maryland customers who filed for property loss or because of accidents.

Insurance companies are expected to pay out nearly $1.3 billion in rebates this summer because they haven't complied with a provision under health care reform that they devote more money to health care and less on administrative costs and profit, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Marylanders will receive $37.7 million from four insurance providers, according to the report. Kaiser did not name the insurers, but said the average rebate for Marylanders will be $293.50.

Maryland drivers who canceled their auto insurance when they were called up for duty in the Persian Gulf can't be refused new insurance upon their return under a regulation issued by Maryland Insurance Commissioner John A. Donaho.The new regulation, which went into effect yesterday, also reinforces federal law by prohibiting life insurance companies licensed to operate in Maryland from terminating the life insurance policies of customers who are called to active duty in the military.That federal law was strengthened Wednesday when Congress passed legislation assuring that reservists serving in Operation Desert Storm will receive their health benefits when they return to work from the gulf conflict.

The Justice Department said yesterday that its antitrust division had dropped an investigation into efforts by the insurance industry to prevent banks from issuing annuities, a popular form of retirement savings.This means that life insurers and, in particular, their large trade group, the American Council of Life Insurance, can continue their campaign, attempting to persuade state insurance regulators and federal officials that banks should not be allowed to issue annuities.Banks have become rapidly growing players in the annuity industry, which has historically been dominated by insurance companies.

Nearly 2.3 million Marylanders with serious illnesses no longer have to worry about their insurance running out because of new provisions under health care reform. The Department of Health and Human Services said that because lifetime limits on insurance were elminated under health care reform that 872,000 women and 585,000 children in Maryland are no longer losing coverage because they can't afford to pay. Before health reform patients with serious illnesses such as cancer risked hitting the lifetime limit on the dollar amount their insurance companies would cover for their health care benefits.  Some plans provide coverage without dollar limits on lifetime benefits, but 105 million people across the country had plans with lifetime limits.

A seventh Baltimore police officer was sentenced Tuesday for his involvement in a towing kickback scheme, prosecutors said. Jhonn Corona, 33, of Rosedale, was given 2.5 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for directing cars from auto accidents to a particular towing company, Majestic, whose owners were paying police officers for each referral, according to a statement Tuesday from the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office....

The Maryland Insurance Administration denied an insurance industry request to exclude mold from homeowner and commercial policies but agreed to limit the coverage for the first time. The agency ruled late Tuesday that insurance companies may limit mold removal coverage to $15,000 and liability to $50,000. The state previously placed no limit on mold claims. Insurance companies had pushed for a full exclusion, saying rising claims nationwide have increased premiums during the past few years.

An estimated 125,000 to 150,000 Maryland homeowners are being hit with unusually large increases in their home-insurance premiums by Allstate Insurance Co. -- led by a 44 percent average rate rise in Howard County and a 40.5 percent rise in parts of Baltimore.The Allstate premium increases -- which went into effect in July for new policies and will go into effect Sept. 17 for renewals -- average about 17 percent statewide but vary widely by jurisdiction and even by areas within Baltimore, according to Allstate and state insurance officials.

While the lawyer for one Baltimore police officer warned of her client being judged too quickly after allegations surfaced that he helped cover-up a child's killing when the rifle was found in his car, another officer apologized for his own misdeeds in a kickback case. In the middle was Baltimore's embattled police commissioner, Frederick H. Bealefeld III, who came out swinging against bad cops and a perception that his department is full of them. It was a day full of dueling quotes.

Sandy is only just getting started. But it's still worth a reminder of what you should do if your car or home is damaged in the next couple of days. Here are tips from the Maryland Insurance Administration and insurance companies: -     Once the danger is over, contact your insurance company to report the damage. Keep a detailed inventory of the damage, including photos and video. -     Make temporary repairs so the damage doesn't get worse. That includes boarding up windows or holes in the roof.