Jailed: Former broker sentenced to 4 years for insurance fraud
A former insurance agency operator from Georgia has been jailed for four years for insurance fraud. John Paul Kill, who operated Appeal Insurance Agency of Norcross, GA, admitted in a plea agreement to selling/brokering $3.7 million worth of fictitious cargo insurance policies. Landline reports that Kill’s actions left hundreds of truckers out of pocket and without the insurance coverage they thought they had.
U.S. Attorney John Horn said in a press release announcing the verdict. “His scam tricked clients into believing they had proper insurance coverage and endangered small businesses operating in more than 20 states.” Kill could have been jailed for 10 years but his plea reduced that to four. He will also forfeit his assets, shown in court papers as more than $725,000.
Uber under fire as Canadian city imposes fines
Uber is rarely out of the headlines these days as many cities worldwide take action to change the firm’s operations or stop them all together. In London, Ontario city officials are fining drivers $500 under a ‘bylaw blitz’. Enforcement manager Orest Katolyk told lfpress.com that the drivers do not come up to the standards expected of the city’s taxi companies which allows them to undercut prices of other operators: “When you’re not getting insurance, when you’re not doing the little things taxis have to do for safety and consumer protections, perhaps your prices could be lower.” Uber says it is disappointed that the city has taken the action.
Indian life insurance sector worth $400 billion in 2020 says MetLife
MetLife executive vice-president Maria Morris says that the life insurance industry in India could be worth as much as U$400 billion by 2020 if growth hits the predicted 12-15 per cent. The sector saw a 20 per cent rise in premiums during the three months from April to June 2015. North American insurers such as MetLife are now able to increase their investment in India’s insurance businesses up to 49 per cent with regulatory approval after the previous cap was raised.
European insurers’ assets increased 9.4 per cent in 2014
The insurance trade body Insurance Europe said Tuesday that its members’ assets grew by 9.4 per cent in 2014 to 9.9 trillion euros (U$11.1 trillion). Gross written premiums increased 3.7 per cent with life insurance leading the gains. Reuters reports that the European market is currently the largest in the world with a 35 per cent share, followed by North America at 29 per cent and Asia at 28 per cent. There are 4,860 insurance companies in Europe.
