Mississippi Business Journal » MBJ Focus

Michigan lawmaker looks to deal death blow to NFIP

Ted Carter — Sun, 08 May 2011 06:00:35 +0000

Reform federal flood insurance? No, kill it by the end of 2012, insists Rep. Candice Miller, a Michigan Republican who is angry that Michiganders must help cover billions of dollars in flood losses on the Gulf Coast. Miller has introduced legislation to dismantle the National Flood Insurance Program by the close of 2012 and replace [...]

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Talking to Congress about flood insurance reform:

For the MBJ — Sun, 08 May 2011 06:00:14 +0000

“We are exploring community-based flood insurance, whereby risk assessments would be performed on individual buildings and the insurance premium payment would be made by the community. As part of this option, the federal government would continue to back flood insurance contracts in exchange for the adoption and enforcement of minimum floodplain management standards and would [...]

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Insurance industry watching a few key bills

Lynn Lofton — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 06:00:41 +0000

Health insurance exchange, surplus lines and the uninsured motorists instant verification bill are high on the watch list With the Mississippi State Legislature in full swing, the insurance industry — like all others — is carefully watching procedures at the capitol. However, insurance executives say the state budget is the big factor this session and [...]

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A man of many hats

Lynn Lofton — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 06:00:34 +0000

Shumaker must be versatile at the state rating bureau Joe Shumaker has had a long career with the Mississippi Rating Bureau, where he began working at age 20. He currently wears three hats as manager of the three separate entities at the bureau. There’s the Mississippi Rating Bureau, established by state law in 1924, which [...]

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Number Crunching

Lynn Lofton — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 06:00:30 +0000

Actuaries provide a valuable service for insurance, other sectors What is an actuary and what do they do? These mainstays of the insurance industry are not crunching numbers with a magical twist; they’re grounded in mathematics, logic and statistics. They’re also listed on job-rating lists as one of America’s top 10 best jobs. Furthermore, the road [...]

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Maintaining the status quo

Lynn Lofton — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 06:00:04 +0000

Mississippi Association of Self Insurers’ members thriving Self insurers in Mississippi are alive and well. In spite of a recovering economy and some employment problems, these not-for-profit insurers and members of the Mississippi Association of Self Insurers are thriving, according to Dan Gibson, executive director of MASI. “Our members are doing well even though it’s [...]

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Meridian Symphony Orchestra celebrates 50 years of classical performances in a country music town

Becky Gillette — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 06:00:45 +0000

When the Meridian Symphony Orchestra formed, most people in the area were far more into country rather than classical music. After all, Meridian is the birthplace of Jimmie Rodgers, who is known as “the Father of Country Music.” “This was a country music town in 1962,” says Shirley Stodard, who played violin with the Meridian [...]

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Old and new, Coast restaurants pleasing all palates

Lynn Lofton — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 06:00:23 +0000

Naming the best restaurants on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is a subjective thing. Everyone’s tastes are different, but fortunately for visitors and residents, the variety and choice of restaurants here continue to increase. Veteran favorites such as Vrazel’s and The Chimneys in Gulfport and Mary Mahoney’s in Biloxi never fail to please. Of these three [...]

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Commercial Realtor group unifying for a new decade

Ted Carter — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 06:00:57 +0000

The Mississippi Commercial Association of Realtors turned 10 years old last year, having experienced the exuberance of a new decade, the challenges of helping to restore economic vitality after Katrina and the uncertainties of a sustained real estate slump. Through the ups and downs and in-betweens, the emphasis has been on unity and cooperation, said [...]

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Coast homeowners not likely to see insurance rate increase in 2011

Amy McCullough — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 06:00:47 +0000

Coast residents want people to understand that their high homeowners’ insurance rates affect everyone. And now that the state of the economy ensures that no more federal and state subsidies are likely, residents dependent on the state’s public insurance program called the Wind Pool could eventually face a rate increase. As studies have pointed out, [...]

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