| Allstate Ordered To Cut Car Insurance Rates In California
Allstate has been ordered to cut its car insurance rates by nearly 16 percent in California. State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner took the action because he believes Allstate's rates are too high. Poizner said the rate cut will mean an average savings of $124 per car, effective April 14. .
Progressive Insurance funding $10 million X-Prize for 100-miles-per-gallon car
Progressive Insurance announced Thursday that it will fund a $10 million prize to the team that builds the best 100-miles-per-gallon car. Best known for awarding $10 million to the first team that launched a private spaceship into orbit in 2004, the X-Prize Foundation plans to hold a series of road tests and races in 2009 and 2010 to determine the winner of the automotive contest. Chuck Jarrett, Progressive's vice president and chief legal officer, said the company will spend $12.5 million to support the Progressive Automotive X-Prize: $10 million for the prize itself and $2.5 million to help support the races and the foundation. The total prize amount could climb if other sponsors put up money. The U.S. Department of Energy has pledged $3.5 million to the foundation, pending congressional approval.
Fewer Coloradans sought jobless insurance in Feb.
The number of Coloradans who filed for unemployment insurance dropped to 326 in February from 654 in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The bureau said the number of mass layoffs, defined as 50 or more layoffs from a single employer, declined to four in February from seven in January. .
N.J. child health insurance program may get big boost from Congress
Congress has signaled it's prepared to dramatically expand a children's health insurance program that helps NJ FamilyCare cover nearly 205,000 people and has broad, bipartisan support among Garden State lawmakers. If the Senate goes along with a House proposal to add $50 billion over five years to the State Children's Health Insurance Program, NJ FamilyCare would be able to cover 100,000 additional kids, said Ray Castro, an analyst at New Jersey Policy Perspective, a think tank. The Senate has proposed adding $35 billion over the same time period. That was the same amount the chamber proposed last year, but President Bush vetoed the measure twice, saying $5 billion over five years is sufficient. Even though Bush has since proposed a $20 billion increase for SCHIP over five years beginning in 2009, Democrats say they will likely play it safe by bringing up their more ambitious SCHIP expansion plans next year after Bush leaves office to avoid another potential veto.
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