FDIC Insurance limits

100k is not a lot of money. When I used to be a broker people with over 100k spread their money around in different banks and I always wondered why. I just assumed these large known banks were safe. I was naive. IndyMac had 1 billion of uninsured deposits. If I ever had 100k in the bank I would use a brokerage firm that has private as well as FDIC insurance. Usually there are 25 and 50 million dollar options for private insurance. Which is more reasonable to me in 2008. And if you have more than that you need to diversify. I would diversify anyway.

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How insurance companies make money

So you think you know how insurance companies make money? Guess again. Most companies do not make a profit on the premiums they get from you, in fact many have an operating loss. Its all about something called the ‘combined ratio’. This is a measure of profitability from the core business. Many insurance companies have combined ratios of greater than 1.00, (1.07 for example) which means they in theory are paying out more than they earn.

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Cheapest Toyota to insure

What is the cheapest auto insurance model our of the Toyota brand? 4 Runner, Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Land Cruiser, Matrix ,Perunner, Prius, RAV4, Sequois,Sienna,Tacoma, Tundra are the models of Toyotas. Although insurance rates vary from company to company, state to state etc, the cheapest model of Toyota to insure can be the Avalon. For liability, safety and damage the Toyota Avalon, as excellent statistical ratings. For safety alone it can have a 30% discount because, not only is it built well but also the drivers of the Toyota Avalon car tend to be safety. Actually all the Toyotas ranked well, with perhaps the lowest being the popular Toyota Corolla being the lowest statistically for sfaty etc, because of its size compared to the bulkier Toyota models to insure. To drive, I prefer the Camry as it is more in my budget, but the Avalon is king when it comes to the cheapest Toyota to insure.

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Liberty Mutual insurance buys Safeco insurance

Liberty Mutual insurance company is a very well run insurance company, the management team is top. I believe Liberty Mutual’s objective for buying Safeco insurance is to create value from Safeco’s slack lines. Management at Liberty mutual is solid and I think it will not be hard for them to extract greater value from Safeco then the current management team in place now at Safeco. Safeco’s main weakness was from losses experienced in its auto insurance lines.

Liberty mutual will move from position six to position five in terms of property and causulaty insurance companies. I beleive that insurnace is going through a long term conolidation and similar to banking in the 80s, the insurance industy will find an equilibrium with more effciently run multi state insurance companies.

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Why CT and MA have so many insurance companies

The modern insurance arose mostly connected to shipping and trade. In the United states it is not coincidence that the insurance capital is in Harford, CT also with a strong presence in Boston, MA. This is because the English ships bringing trade to the colonies at the time needed a place to be insured against lost at sea. Boston and New England in general where the first stop from England and a go between point for the other colonies. Therefore, insurance was a natural growth from this trade.  It is further no coincidence that CT and MA are among the richest states in the USA, and has a lot to do with the Insurance industry.

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1.3 billion dollar payout for Russian Insurance wife

Although it is not directly an insurance payout, but rather a potential marriage dissolution settlement, it is insurance related none the less. Anna Khachaturova, the wife of Danil Khachaturov who is the head of the Russian Insurance empire Rosgosstrakh wants 50% of his insurance stock. Gosstrakh and its successor Rosgosstrakh was the first and is the biggest of the Russian insurance companies and succeeded in the Russian insurance industry because of brand name recognition. If this settlement is reach it will dwarf western settlements of this nature. Insurance is clearly a profitable business.

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