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A cabin crew strike, the first in 13 years, cancelled some flights of the British company. The company confirmed the three days strike (March 20 to March 22) but British Airways said that « some flights will be operated. »

Passengers can cancel their tickets or remain covered. British Airways announced “if you have purchased BA travel insurance prior to any strike dates being announced you will remain fully covered, subject to the terms, conditions and benefit levels of the policy purchased.”

“If you buy BA travel insurance after any strike dates have been announced you will not be able to make an insurance claim in respect to the cancellation, curtailment, delayed departure or abandonment sections of the policy. All other sections of the policy (e.g. baggage, personal effects, medical etc) remain valid” added the company.

Passengers can visit the company website for more information about the strike.

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    US President Barack Obama said Sunday that Americans had answered the call of history, after Congress sent him a sweeping health reform bill he said answered the prayers of the uninsured.

    “This is what change looks like,” Obama said, in late-night remarks in the East Room of the White House, soon after the House of Representatives voted to pass his health care plan after months of cliffhanger politics. A tired, but triumphant Obama said that despite the predictions of pundits that it was not possible to pass the mammoth bill, Americans had risen above their differences, though the measure passed without a single Republican vote.

    “Tonight we answered the call of history as so many Americans have before us. When faced with crisis, we did not shrink from our challenge, we overcame it,” Obama said. “We did not avoid our responsibility we embraced it. We did not fear our future, we shaped it,” Obama said, with Vice President Joe Biden by his side. “Today’s vote answers the prayers of every American who has hoped deeply for something to be done about a system that works for insurance companies, but not for ordinary people,” Obama said.

    “It’s a victory for the American people and it’s a victory for common sense,” Obama said. Obama watched the House of Representatives vote on a bill that brings America closer than ever before to universal health coverage, with aides in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, his spokesman Robert Gibbs said. When the magic number of 216 votes needed to pass the bill was reached, he gave his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel a palm slapping high-five, and hugged other aides, at a moment of triumph after a trying political year.

    But as he prepares to sell the legislation to the American public in the run-up to mid-term congressional elections in November, Obama warned that the bill was not a panacea. “This legislation will not fix everything that ails our health care system, but it moves us decisively in the right direction,” Obama said in his televised remarks. “This is not radical reform, but it is major reform,” Obama said, saying the vote was another stone “firmly laid in the foundation of the American dream.”

    The Democratic-held House of Representatives earlier voted 219-212 to approve a Senate-passed bill aimed at extending coverage of tens of millions of Americans who currently lack it in the most sweeping social policy shift in four decades. Obama, who made the overhaul his top domestic priority, was to sign the legislation this week, even as his Republican foes warned Democrats would pay a steep political price in November mid-term elections.

    Together, the Senate bill and package of changes would remake US health care a century after then-president Teddy Roosevelt called for a national approach, extending coverage to some 32 million Americans who currently lack it.

    Washington, March 21, 2010 (AFP)

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      President Barack Obama Friday hailed this weekend’s “historic” congressional vote on his health plan as the culmination of a century of struggle, at a euphoric campaign-style rally.

      “Right now, we are at the point where we are going to do something historic this weekend,” Obama said, two days before a key House of Representatives vote on his sweeping reform plan.

      “The time for reform is right now.” The House was expected to vote on a Senate bill on Sunday and enshrine into law comprehensive health care reform, bringing coverage to 32 million Americans who currently lack insurance. The Senate is then expected to vote on a House-passed package of fixes to the bill which will amend that law.

      Fairfax, Virginia, March 19, 2010 (AFP)

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      Aon Consulting, the global benefits and human capital consulting business of Aon Corporation, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire J.P. Morgan Compensation and Benefit Strategies, a division of J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services, LLC.

      J.P. Morgan Compensation and Benefit Strategies is a leading provider of compensation, retirement and health care actuarial services, with significant expertise in compliance, financial modeling and other key actuarial-based solutions related to employee benefits plan designs. “Aon continues to invest in the industry’s best talent and innovative solutions to serve clients with distinction,” said Kathryn Hayley, CEO of Aon Consulting. “The combination of exceptional talent joining our firm and a strong client base makes this acquisition an ideal strategic fit for Aon Consulting.”

      Through this deal, Aon Consulting enhances its benefits consulting intellectual capital in key areas, including pension actuarial and advisory services. This expertise extends nationwide, with offices in 13 markets, such as New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. “With this acquisition, we strengthen our geographic presence in key markets, adding approximately 150 new colleagues nationwide with deep technical knowledge, complementing our global team in providing employee benefit program solutions and services in areas such as complex union negotiations, benefit reimbursements for government contracts, and benefit issues unique to law firms and other professional services firms,” said Hayley. “This will be a seamless transition for current J.P. Morgan Compensation and Benefit Strategies clients, and will open up new opportunities and arenas of expertise for them and our existing Aon Consulting clients.”

      The transaction is expected to close by March 31, 2010. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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      The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has today announced that its Private Medical Insurance Group will broaden its remit to include areas such as income protection, critical illness, and group life insurance in addition to private medical insurance. The group will change its name with immediate effect to the Health Insurance Focus Group.

      BIBA is inviting large, medium and small members who are involved or specialise in healthcare insurance issues to join the Health Insurance Focus Group, to reflect the group’s new focus. BIBA aims to include a cross section of members to represent all issues of health care.

      BIBA Health Insurance Focus Group Chairman, Glen Smith, commented: “I’m looking forward to welcoming new members who have expertise in the areas that the group will now be covering.

      “By widening the remit of the group we will now be representing many more of BIBA’s members who have a healthcare focus and I look forward to engaging with them. The structure of the group means that any member who joins, large or small, will have an equal share of voice”.

      The group is currently formulating principles relating to transfer and reporting authority mandates and is seeking full claims transparency from insurers to enable brokers to undertake full broking exercises.

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      New claims for jobless insurance benefits in the United States edged down last week, according to Labor Department figures published Thursday.

      Some 457,000 Americans claimed benefits in the week to March 13 for the first time, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s figures. The figure was slightly higher than the 455,000 expected by analysts.

      Washington, March 18, 2010 (AFP)

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      Swiss insurance group Baloise on Thursday announced an 8.9 percent increase in annual net profit in 2009, just below analysts’ expectations despite strong business growth through the recession.

      The European-focused insurer said in a statement that annual net profit reached 421 million Swiss francs (290.2 million euros, 399.5 million dollars) last year. Analysts surveyed by business news agency AWP had predicted annual net profit between 421.9 million and 472 million francs.

      Baloise gave a cautious outlook on the years ahead because of the uncertain economic climate and financial volatility, despite its bullish mood after a “highly gratifying” growth in business volume last year.

      “Baloise has performed well in a recessionary environment, said chief executive Martin Strobel in a statement. “We have invested while others have restructured. We have a healthy core business with efficient business divisions. Our balance sheet is one of Europe’s strongest.”

      “These successes bring us a great deal closer to meeting our goal of becoming one of Europe’s most profitable and fastest growing insurers,” he added. Premium volume in 2009 grew by nearly a quarter over the previous year to 9.76 billion Swiss francs, well above analysts’ expectations.

      “In the coming years, Baloise anticipates continued volatility in the financial markets and general economic uncertainty. Baloise is therefore cautious in its forecasts,” the firm added. The firm’s share price fell 3.5 percent in early trading on the Swiss exchange.

      Geneva, March 18, 2010 (AFP)

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      A fierce Democratic foe of the White House’s historic health care overhaul said Wednesday he would vote for the bill, citing a fear that defeating the measure would destroy Barack Obama’s presidency.

      After an ardent courtship by Obama, including a ride Monday to his home district aboard the presidential Air Force One airplane, Representative Dennis Kucinich announced he would vote for the sweeping legislation. “We have to be very careful that the potential of president Obama’s presidency not be destroyed by this debate,” Kucinich, who represents a district in Ohio, told reporters.

      “Even though I have many differences with him on policy, there’s something much bigger at stake here for America,” said the lawmaker, who has voted “no” on other major Obama initiatives, including his plan to fight climate change. Kucinich’s change of heart was a significant symbolic win for the White House as it courted wavering Democrats needed to pass the bill in a make-or-break House of Representative vote expected this week.

      “That’s a good sign,” Obama told reporters in the Oval Office after talks with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen. “I told him ‘thank you.’ “Kucinich — who favours a universal health care plan in line with most major rich democracies — made no secret of his concerns, repeatedly saying “this is not the bill I wanted to support.” But, he said, “I have to make a decision not on the bill as I would like to see it, but as it is.”

      Asked whether his shift might sway others on the left flank of the Democratic party, the lawmaker replied: “Well, if I can vote for this bill, there’s not many people who shouldn’t be able to support it.” Kucinich quipped that he climbed aboard Air Force One as such a confirmed critic of top presidential initiatives that “I thought that proper attire would include a parachute.” And asked when he notified the president of his vote switch, he said the White House had learned “just now” in the press conference.

      “I’ve decided to cast a vote in favour of the legislation. If my vote is to be counted, let it count now for passage of the bill, hopefully in the direction of comprehensive health care reform,” he said. The bill aims to extend health coverage to at least 31 million Americans who currently lack it, end abusive insurance company practices, and curb soaring health care costs that already run double those of other rich countries.

      Washington, March 17, 2010 (AFP)

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      Public pressure prompted Bulgaria’s cash-strapped government on Wednesday to drop plans to raise health insurance payments and seek other ways to support its under-funded hospitals.

      Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s cabinet voted last week to increase monthly health payments for all citizens by 2.0 percentage points to 10 percent of their income in order to pump more money into healthcare. But unions and business associations slammed the move, saying it would not improve the quality of healthcare and would instead put extra strain on the private sector and hike unemployment.

      Finance Minister Simeon Djankov said the government would instead make some 150,000 public sector employees, including the army and the police, start making their own social security contributions. The reform would have to be adopted by parliament. The government currently pays all social security instalments for its civil servants, who are in turn banned from striking and taking second jobs.

      “Everyone should be equal before the law and pay for themselves,” Djankov said, adding that the new move would save the budget some 150 million leva (76 million euros, 105 million dollars). But the new measure, which will cut salaries in the public sector by 12 percent, also sparked an outcry, with army and police across the country vowing to stage peaceful demonstrations.

      Bulgaria has so far avoided big budget deficits, which experts see as dangerous for the stability of its currency board arrangement with the International Monetary Fund that ties the lev to the euro. But budget revenues have fallen sharply over the first two months of 2010, posing a serious strain on the government to balance the budget.

      Sofia, March 17, 2010 (AFP)

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      UniCredit bank, heavily involved in lending in eastern Europe, reported on Wednesday a halving of net profit for 2009, because of loan payment problems by customers hit by the economic crisis.

      The halving of profits went hand in hand with a doubling of charges for under-performing and devalued loans, but underlying operating profit jumped by 20.3 percent. UniCredit, the leading Italian bank with extensive activities in eastern and central Europe, reported a 57.6-percent drop in net profit, but even so outperformed analysts’ expectations. The net outcome was 1.702 billion euros (2.3 billion dollars). In the fourth quarter, the net figure on a 12-month comparison fell by 26.5 percent to 371 million euros.

      But that was far better than expected by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires who had expected 50 million euros. The bank booked a total of 8.313 billion euros in provisions and for the reduced value of its loan book for the whole of the year. This was more than double the figure for 2008 of 3.7 billion euros. However, operating profit rose by 20.3 percent to 12.248 billion euros. And net banking income, the difference between the cost of taking money in from depositors and the price of lending it out and a key measure of retail banking performance, rose by 2.6 percent to 27.572 billion euros.

      The bank said that it would resume paying a cash dividend for last year, of 0.03 euros per share. For 2008, it had paid dividend in the form of shares in order to conserve cash. At the beginning of last year the bank, which had decided not to accept help from the government, raised capital of 4.0 billion euros to strengthen shareholders’ funds. At the end of 2009, the so-called Tier One ratio shareholders’ funds to risk rose to 8.47 percent from 6.58 percent. The bank announced in a separate statement on Wednesday the sale of 2.84 percent of Italian insurance group Generali in line with requirements laid down by competition authorities.

      Milan, March 17, 2010 (AFP)

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      Safeco Insurance, a member of Liberty Mutual Group, today announced it has donated more than 800 works from the Safeco Art Collection to the Washington Art Consortium (WAC), an action that represents Safeco’s continued commitment to the Northwest community. The Safeco Art Collection is the oldest and most renowned corporate collection of exclusively Northwest art.

      The donation includes works of art from internationally known Northwest artists including Jacob Lawrence, Fay Jones, Morris Graves, Barbara Thomas and George Tsutakawa.

      A portion of the donated artwork will first be exhibited at the Wright Exhibition Space in Seattle this April. In the coming year, the seven WAC member museums will display artwork from the Safeco Art Collection to celebrate and share the gift.

      “Safeco has a rich legacy in art investment expanding more than 30 years, so it was important to find a donation partner that could preserve the collection in such a way that would honor the rich history of the Northwest and its art,” said Michael Hughes, Safeco President. “The Washington Art Consortium is our perfect partner, and we look forward to watching the collection come to life in museums across our state.”

      The donated artwork includes nearly 500 works on paper, 130 works on canvas and panel and more than 180 three-dimensional objects including glass, ceramic, bronze and mixed media. Well-known in the local art community for its strength in contemporary Northwest art, the collection represents diversity in philosophies, ideas and cultural backgrounds.

      “It’s an honor to be the stewards of an art collection that represents the Northwest’s rich artistic heritage,” said Stephanie A. Stebich, president, Washington Art Consortium, and director, Tacoma Art Museum. “This donation is unparalleled in its size, its importance and its impact on Northwest culture. The Washington Art Consortium is proud to accept the donation and keep the collection available to the community for generations to come.”

      Safeco will continue to display works of art from its collection in its Northwest offices for employees to enjoy.

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      Disasters killed 15,000 people and cost the world 62 billion dollars in 2009, but the insurance industry could face a financial bill five times higher this year because of major earthquakes and storms, reinsurance giant Swiss Re said Tuesday.

      Insurers covered damages of just 26 billion dollars for natural and man made disasters in 2009, a year of relatively low human and financial losses partly helped by a calm Atlantic hurricane season, Swiss Re said in a statement. But the huge earthquakes in Haiti on Janury 12 and Chile on February 27, as well as the European storm Xynthia, are already set to send damage payouts soaring this year, said Swiss Re chief economist Thomas Hess.

      Twenty-two billion dollars of the insured damage last year was caused by natural disasters. “The probability that we see natural catastrophe losses as low as those in 2009 is less than 35 percent,” he said. “We have already seen significant events in 2010 with winter storm Xynthia in Europe or the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti. The industry is therefore well advised to prepare for much higher losses,” said Hess. “Given their high volatility, losses could easily be three to five times what they were in 2009,” he added.

      Swiss Re estimated last week that economic losses from the earthquake in Chile could reach 15 billion dollars with the insurance industry set to pay up to 7.0 billion dollars in damages. By comparison, insurance cover is low in impoverished Haiti. Disaster damage is highly volatile from year to year but the overall trend has been growing over recent decades, according to Swiss Re. In 2005, insured losses soared to a record 120 billion dollars.

      “I would not be surprised if this record is broken in the not too distant future,” Hess warned. Swiss Re’s annual study on natural catastrophes and man made disasters showed that insured losses were highest in North America last year, accounting for just under half of the global bill. The death toll was highest again in Asia, which accounted for 9,400 of the 15,000 victims of catastrophes and 2.4 billion dollars in insured losses.

      Zurich, March 16, 2010 (AFP)

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        Survey Shows Men Embrace and Use Social Media Much More Often Than Women

        A national survey released today by Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project sheds light on what individuals deem responsible social media use in the workplace, in relationships, at school and as it relates to parenting. The survey is the first of its kind, studying personal online behaviors and responsibility. A key finding revealed that men are generally more accepting of social media activities and use social networking sites more than women.

        The Liberty Mutual “Social Media and Personal Responsibility Survey” uncovered that men are more lenient than women when it comes to Facebook in particular, and they tend to be more actively involved in social media across the board. Key findings on how differently men and women view social networking sites include:

        Forty percent of men consider things like “friending” a boss or co-worker on Facebook “responsible”, while on 29 percent of women believe the same.
        Men are more likely to think it’s acceptable for a CEO to “Tweet” about their company (51 percent of men vs. 37 percent of women).
        Twenty-five percent of men find it responsible to tag a friend in a Facebook photo without them seeing it first, while only 19 percent of women find it responsible.
        Men (57 percent) are more likely than women (50 percent) to have more than one social networking account.
        With the exception of Facebook, men are generally more likely than women to use other social media accounts at least a few times per week, particularly Twitter.
        – MySpace : 35 percent of men vs. 26 percent of women, LinkedIn : 25 percent of men vs. 16 percent of women, and Twitter: 53 percent of men vs. 38 percent of women.
        Dads are more likely than moms to have a MySpace account or a Twitter account, 43 percent vs. 29 percent and 50 percent vs. 32 percent, respectively.
        Liberty Mutual conducted the Social Media and Personal Responsibility Survey to initiate a dialogue about behaviors online. The survey is part of Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project, an online community that uses entertaining content, including short films, blogs, advertising and television programming, as catalysts for examining the decisions that confront people trying to “do the right thing.”

        “Liberty Mutual created the Responsibility Project to initiate organic discussions about personal responsibility and what it means to each individual,” said Paul Alexander, senior vice president, communications, Liberty Mutual Group. “As social media continues to permeate our society, there are many situations in which people just don’t know the right way to act online. A lot of people are figuring it out. This survey taps into the opinions and mindset of American adults who are active online, particularly when it comes to work, education, relationships and parenting.”

        The survey also shed light on social media users’ opinions of what is considered responsible and irresponsible when it comes to online behavior. In particular, Liberty Mutual questioned respondents about social media in the workplace, in a relationship, during school and parenting. Key insights from the survey include:

        1. In the Workplace: Facebook and blogs are considered irresponsible but checking personal email is viewed as acceptable. An overwhelming 73 percent of people think it’s unacceptable to update a Facebook page or read a blog unrelated to work while at work. However, 66 percent believe checking personal email is acceptable at work. When asked to identify the most unacceptable online activity at work, 82 percent said uploading a personal photo to a social media profile.
        2. Relationship Etiquette: Post break-up; it is viewed as irresponsible by most (54 percent) to “friend” an ex’s family member on Facebook. However, 60 percent of respondents believe “un-friending” an ex is completely responsible and 51 percent are okay with “un-friending” an ex’s family or friends.
        3. Classroom Controversy: Social media users are split on whether or not it’s responsible for social media and schools to mix.Forty-six percent of respondents believe it’s inappropriate for a teacher to have a public social media profile, while 43 percent believe it’s appropriate. When it comes to disciplining a child for inappropriate behavior that occurs out of school and that is broadcast online, 77 percent think it is unacceptable to punish that student at the school. The majority of social media users (81 percent) think it is irresponsible for teachers to “friend” current students (ages 5-18) on Facebook.
        4. Parents Speak Out: Most parents who allow their child(ren) to use social media say they monitor their child’s social media activity until 18 years of age (72 percent). Social media has become a way for parents to interact with their children; 69 percent of parents are “friends” with their child(ren) online. In addition, those parents who monitor their child’s account are more likely to be “friends” with their child online – 82 percent compared to only 35 percent of parents who do not monitor their child’s account.

        Other Notable Survey Findings
        Despite common misperceptions, grandparents are active online and use social media. The Social Media and Personal Responsibility Survey asked 100 grandparents across the country how they currently use social media. Interestingly, 93 percent of grandparents said they use Facebook to connect with friends, while 89 percent use it to connect with family.

        Staying in touch with friends is by far the most common reason for social media users to use their accounts. Ninety-five percent of Facebook users say they use it to stay in touch with friends, while 81 percent of MySpace users connect with friends on that network, 55 percent of Twitter users use it to connect with friends and 52 percent of LinkedIn users connect with friends on that network.

        Pets and social media don’t mix according to the survey. Seventy-two percent of social media users view this negatively, saying it is “egotistical,” a “waste of time,” “absurd” or “inappropriate” to develop a social media profile for a pet.

        Individuals are encouraged to join the conversation and voice their opinion about social media by visiting The Responsibility Project Web site and online community at www.ResponsibilityProject.com .

        About the Survey
        The “Social Media and Personal Responsibility Survey” was fielded for Liberty Mutual and The Responsibility Project between January 12-15, 2010, reaching 1,000 adults nationwide. Oversamples of 100 additional 18-24 year old social media users and 100 additional grandparents who are social media users were also reached. The base sample has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

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        Thousands of students in Florida believe that safety belts save lives and dozens of them throughout the state captured their artistic vision of how that happens when they entered GEICO’s annual Safety Belt Poster and Video Contest.

        One of those students, Michael Franck of Miami-Dade County, even turned out to be a national grand prize winner in this year’s competition and earned a cash award for himself in the computer-generated category.

        “Florida’s Click It or Ticket campaign that’s going on right now emphasizes how important wearing safety belts is,” said George Rogers, GEICO’s regional vice president in Lakeland. “We’re so pleased to see that so many students are well aware of that and are eager to promote that idea through their art.”

        Franck used his graphic design skill to create a poster depicting a seat belt angel with outstretched wings. His poster stood out in the computer-generated category with the most clear and focused message of safety.

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          The business benefits of the Government’s new “Fit Notes” scheme is being called into question by a new 360 degree study of UK businesses and their employees. The “early intervention prevention” study by Aviva UK Health shows that business owners and workers are dubious about how Fit Notes will be brought into effect in April 2010, and question the initiative’s power to reduce employee absence rates and get employees back to work sooner.

          The launch of the new Fit Note means that instead of giving patients a sick note saying they are too ill to work, GPs will have to decide whether a person may be fit for work with some support, and what employers can do to help them return. This includes a phased return to work, altered hours, amended duties or workplace adaptations.

          The initiative is designed to encourage employers to be more responsible regarding employee rehabilitation. It aims to help reduce the impact long term sick leave has on UK businesses, which is estimated to cost the UK economy £17.3 billion2. However, Aviva’s research indicates that both employers and their workforce currently remain to be convinced of the benefits of Fit Notes.

          Among the 500 employers questioned, just 5% said they thought Fit Notes would reduce absence rates. One in 10 thought they would be hard to administer and 68% had little or no knowledge of the change and how it would work for them. On the employee side, the majority of the 1,000 respondents (57%) did not think their doctor was in a position to say if they are fit enough to work1. This is a view shared by GPs with nearly two thirds (64%) feeling ill-equipped to provide Fit Notes for the UK workforce. A further 15% were non-committal3.

          Aviva’s early intervention prevention study suggests that there is a major communications issue to address before Fit Notes can begin to have a positive impact on absence rates. Success of the scheme hinges on GPs being prepared to comment on the functional impairment that their patient has, as well as employers being flexible to adapt the role or the workplace in the short-term. However, the study suggests there is little evidence that this is currently the case.

          The research also indicates that employees who don’t have a full understanding of the process may feel Fit Notes could be used to get them back to work too early or even as grounds for dismissal. If left unchecked, this could foster a culture of suspicion or lead to an increase in workplace presenteeism.

          Dr Hugh Laing, chief medical officer for Aviva UK Health and a practising GP, comments: “Any move on behalf of the Government to get people back into the workplace is commendable. However, we are concerned by the apparent lack of awareness of Fit Notes among employers and their workforce.
          “The move from sick notes represents a big change for businesses and will take time to embed. What’s more, we will only reap the long term benefits of this move if the right support and training is in place. Whilst Fit Notes will encourage employers to act more responsibly towards employee rehabilitation and perhaps more importantly help prevent ill-health in the first place, the initiative doesn’t give them the tools or knowledge to do so.

          ”Employers are often well placed to spot the warning signs in an employee before they go off sick. They therefore have a vital role to play in the success of Fit Notes, so it’s important they are given the appropriate training to enable them to do this. They also need to have access to expert rehabilitation support. This is where providers such as Aviva can help through their broad experience of occupational health, group income protection and private medical insurance.
          “When it comes to making Fit Notes work in practice, the Government is missing an important trick by ignoring the important role group income protection and occupational health services could play in the success of Fit Notes.

          “Currently occupational health practitioners are the missing piece of the jigsaw but could perform a potentially crucial support role in bridging the knowledge gap between employers, HR, managers, GPs and workers. Without this engagement, the introduction of Fit Notes may cause more problems than it solves.”

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          The campaign, realized by the advertising agency UK MWO, shows the arrival of Axa in online insurance market in United Kingdom.

          Axa UK will target aged drivers who feel that others brands are not interested of them. Axa will offer a large advantage of 90 percent discount on car insurance. A new advertising video shows pedestrians who are not civilized each others in the downtown of a large city. We can listen on this video : “You are not in this way when you walk so why are you like this when you drive?”

          Axa wants to prize respectful drivers with this sentence : “Axa drivers get up to 90% discount on their car insurance. Disrespectful drivers don’t.”
          TV celebrity Charley Boorman also will be in this campaign to help Axa. A website will be created to get what consumers think about this program. “This campaign will show the value that we give to the experience of drivers and we are ready to prize it with a special policy of Axa”, said Axa marketing manager Tina Shortle.

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          Following the recent earthquake in Chile and with continuing aftershocks, Stephen Jackson, Managing Director Latin America, Cooper Gay, comments today on the likely impact on the (re)insurance markets.

          “Current estimates of the anticipated insured losses range from between $2 billion to $8 billion. If, as seems likely, the losses come in at between $3 – $5 billion then the earthquake will comfortably overtake Hurricane Wilma in 2005 as the most expensive insured event ever to hit Latin America. “Hurricane Wilma was very specific to the Cancun region in Mexico and largely affected coastal, hospitality related properties. Chile on the other hand has been hit by an earthquake that covers a much wider area (900 square miles) and has destroyed a much broader spectrum of property. Chile is also one of the most developed nations in Latin America with relatively high insurance penetration and a high percentage of homeowners buying specific quake insurance for their properties.

          “From a (re)insurance perspective, Wilma inflicted large local losses to the insurance industry but the knock-on to the reinsurance industry was restricted to a few treaty programmes only with little FAC bought. “Chile however, with up to 75% of the event reinsured, will see significant FAC and treaty losses. With a developed insurance market, international insurers have a big presence in Chile and we could potentially see their global programmes hit. Whether it’s a market changing event will depend on whether losses creep up. If $8 billion becomes the final figure, we could see an impact on regional Latin American programmes, while if the estimates remain at the lower end ($2 billion) it’s likely to be a more localised impact.

          “The imperative now is to get money to where it is needed very quickly. This is an opportunity for the reinsurance industry, and particularly Lloyd’s and London, to show what they can do. If an insurer’s primary layer has been significantly exceeded, we shouldn’t be wasting time flying out loss adjusters to assess loss levels, we should be paying claims quickly. Supporting cedants in this difficult time and demonstrating the experience and quality of Lloyd’s and the London market is not only the right thing to do but it will once again underline the strength, experience and capacity of this market.”

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            Air France’s insurance company Axa on Friday said it will appeal a Brazilian court ruling ordering the French carrier to pay compensation to the family of a victim in a major jet crash in 2009.

            “We will appeal this decision. This ruling cannot constitute a precedent,” french insurer Axa said in a statement, adding that the Brazilian judgment did not meet certain criteria for receiving compensation. A Rio de Janeiro state judge on Thursday ordered Air France to pay 1.15 million dollars (836,000 euros) to the family of a state official who died in the crash of an Air France passenger jet in the Atlantic.

            Former state attorney general Marcelle Valpacos Fonseca perished along with 227 other passengers and crew of the Airbus A330 that crashed en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1.

            Paris, March 12, 2010 (AFP)

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            Top aides to President Barack Obama confidently predicted Sunday that his signature health care overhaul would finally pass through Congress this week, after a year of costly political wrangling.

            “I think we will have the votes to pass this,” said David Axelrod, Obama’s senior advisor, as their Democratic Party allies in the House of Representatives prepared the final push for the reform legislation. Obama Friday delayed a trip to Asia by three days, until March 21, in hopes the plan that would extend health coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans could be voted into law and reach his desk for signature before he left. Democratic leaders in the House are struggling to garner the 216 votes needed to adopt a measure already passed in the Senate, even though they hold more than 250 seats in the 435-member chamber.

            “We don’t have them as of this morning, but we’ve been working this thing all weekend, we’ll be working it going into the week,” said Democratic House “whip” James Clyburn tasked with rallying lawmakers from his party to vote for legislation. “I’m also very confident that we’ll get this done,” Clyburn told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. Obama’s spokesman, Robert Gibbs, was also confident. “I think the House will have passed the Senate bill a week from today,” he said on CBS’s Face the Nation program. Equally resolute opposition Republicans, however, vowed to pull out all the stops to ensure that Democrats’ health overhaul plan fails. “I’m doing everything I can to prevent this bill from becoming law — plain and simple,” said top House Republican John Boehner, who said he strongly doubts that Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has even garnered sufficient backing to pass the bill.

            “If she had 216 votes, this bill would be long gone,” Boehner told CNN television. “They tried to pass it in September, October, November, December, January, February. Guess what? They don’t have the votes,” he said. And Republican Senator Lamar Alexander, who called the bill “a political kamikaze mission for the Democrats,” vowed they would pay a heavy price in November’s midterm elections if they prevail. “It will define every Democratic congressional race in November — and it will be a political wipeout for the Democratic Party,” Alexander told CBS television. Opposition Republican lawmakers unanimously oppose Obama’s health overhaul plan, saying it would push up medical insurance costs for consumers, expand the government’s reach unnecessarily and add to the country’s skyrocketing debt.

            The bill extends health coverage to uninsured Americans and would bar insurance companies from refusing coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions. But Democrats point to independent analyses which show the plan would lower health insurance premiums for most people and reduce the federal budget deficit, say the Republican opposition is simply aimed at wounding Obama politically ahead of key midterm elections in November. The plan under consideration faces opposition not just from Republicans, but also from some House Democrats who say it doesn’t go far enough in reining in private insurers.

            Others want safeguards to ensure the health insurance cannot be used to pay for abortions. To drag the bill over the finish line, the White House and its allies have devised an intricate plan that would have House Democrats pass a Senate version of health reform — one that is less far-reaching than an earlier House bill, and which includes some controversial spending designed to attract votes from key senators. Obama would sign the bill into law before leaving for Asia, and then both chambers would pass “fixes” to the legislation demanded by the House Democrats.

            That process, known as “reconciliation,” would let Democrats frustrate Republican filibuster obstruction tactics in the Senate and allow the health care overhaul to be finalized before Congress goes into recess on March 26. Some House Democrats have expressed doubts that Senate Democrats can be counted on to follow through with the game plan, but the number two Senate Democrat Dick Durbin tried to allay those concerns. “We’re in the process of actually contacting every single Democratic senator,” he said on “Meet the Press.”

            “When Nancy Pelosi goes before her House Democratic caucus, it will be with the solid assurance that when reconciliation comes over to the Senate side, we’re going to pass it,” he said. Analysts said that after investing so much political capital, failure to pass some type of health reform would be a disaster for Democrats and would call into question their capacity to govern, given their control of the House, Senate and the presidency. Obama also would see his credibility compromised and likely would struggle to pull together coalitions on climate change, immigration reform and other political battles that lie ahead.

            Washington, March 14, 2010 (AFP)

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              More than 10,000 people who worked in the toxic chaos of New York’s Ground Zero after 9/11 could receive compensation totaling 657 million dollars for health problems under a deal reached Thursday.

              Thousands of plaintiffs, mostly firefighters, police and construction workers, have sued the city for what they say are health problems connected to work in the debris of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. On Thursday, the head of an insurance company that was funded with federal dollars to insure New York City against claims by many of the plaintiffs related said a potential deal to pay out up to 657 million dollars (479 million euros) had been reached. “We have reached a settlement that is fair under difficult and complicated circumstances,” said Christine LaSala, president of WTC Captive Insurance company, which holds one billion dollars in federal funds set aside for health related claims stemming from the clean-up, recovery and restoration efforts.

              “This agreement enables workers and volunteers claiming injury from the WTC site operations to obtain compensation commensurate with the nature of their injuries and the strength of their claims, while offering added protection against possible future illness.” The WTC Captive insurance firm was created with a one billion dollar federal government grant to insure New York City and its debris removal contractors in the aftermath of 9/11. City officials had been unable to secure an adequate coverage in the commercial insurance market for the World Trade Center site rescue, recovery and debris removal work. LaSala, who hailed the plaintiffs’ “heroic efforts in the rescue, recovery and debris removal work” said the goal of the insurance fund had been to find “a pathway to a just solution” for more than 10,000 people who filed lawsuits.

              City leaders in New York also hailed the deal. “The resolution of the World Trade Center litigation will allow the first responders and workers to be compensated for injuries suffered following their work at Ground Zero,” said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “This settlement is a fair and reasonable resolution to a complex set of circumstances. “Since September 11th, the city has moved aggressively to provide medical treatment to those who were present at Ground Zero, and we will continue our commitment to treatment and monitoring,” the mayor added. To recover funds under the settlement, each plaintiff will have to submit proof that he or she was present at and participated in the rescue, recovery and debris removal operations.

              Officials said they will have to provide specific medical documentation and a physician’s diagnosis confirming their illness or injury. The company said Thursday that 95 percent of plaintiffs must sign off on the preliminary deal for the money to be paid out. Plaintiffs, who must submit sworn evidence of their injuries or illness, have 90 days to review the settlement and decide whether to accept.

              New York, March 12, 2010 (AFP)

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