Free Republic

California’s largest home insurance company tore into state regulators Monday as it faces potential multi-million dollar fines and a suspension of its license. “Wildfire survivors deserve real solutions — not a distorted picture of State Farm’s response. We strongly disagree with the Department’s characterization,” State Farm General Insurance Company said in a statement. The lengthy, strongly worded response came within hours of the state of California issuing a damning verdict following an investigation into the company’s handling of customer claims after the 2025 wildfires. “The threat to suspend State Farm General’s ability to serve customers over primarily administrative and procedural...

Polls show Americans are angry – and rightly so – at accelerating medical bills. Meanwhile, the insurers and hospitals keep raking in record profits. UnitedHealthcare just reported jumbo profits so far in 2026, and in 2025, it recorded revenues of more than $400 billion. It is raking in profits from the $1.9 trillion in federal healthcare programs. Two of the largest "nonprofit" hospital chains, Kaiser Permanente and HCA Healthcare, recorded nearly $200 billion in assets at the end of 2024. As Republican Rep. Jason Smith (MO-8), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, put it: "Hospitals are charging an...

On Mar. 6th, President Donald J. Trump issued, “effective immediately”, a directive ordering the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (“DFC”) to act as a federal “sovereign backstop” for qualified private insurance companies providing Hull & Machinery and Cargo coverage to shipping companies operating in the Persian Gulf. The backstop will take the form of a $20 billion reinsurance facility (“Reinsurance Facility”) available to qualified private insurance companies, as well as shipping lines. While the official list of qualified insurers has not yet been issued, Chubb, AIG, Liberty Mutual, and, significantly, Lloyd’s of London acknowledged active participation in negotiations with the...

The UNC Sheps Center, which tracks rural hospital infrastructure in the United States, has documented 195 rural hospitals that have closed or converted to outpatient facilities since January 2005. Six are in Pennsylvania. Closures have far outpaced the opening of new rural hospitals during this period. As a physician who has trained in rural communities and a researcher who studies community well-being and public health, we see that every rural hospital closure exerts a domino effect on surrounding communities and residents. This can be difficult to quantify but manifests as lost jobs and economic decline, poorer health and a pervasive...

When it comes to the California department of insurance, don’t poke the bear. That is the lesson three individuals in Los Angeles learned recently when they were sentenced to jail time for an insurance fraud scheme in which they staged attacks on high-end vehicles by having a person dress up in a bear costume – then pretending that person was an actual bear.

Multiple people in Glendale have been sentenced in a bizarre felony insurance fraud case involving a bear costume and luxury cars.

A generally good summary into some of the financial issues happening in the background of the dire Straits of Hormuz. Susan Kokinda highlights UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declining to join an American blockade and claims Britain has lost control of the choke point. She details financial actions targeting Iranian money flows, including UAE arrests of IRGC-linked money changers, Treasury Secretary Bessent using Patriot Act Section 311 against a Zurich bank, and scrutiny of London-based crypto exchanges and Santander UK. She cites a UK military chief admitting Britain’s war planning has lapsed since the Cold War and links fuel disruptions...

It didn’t matter that Eric Tennant’s oncologist had recommended the medication to shrink his tumors. The patient’s health insurance allegedly stood in the way — until it was too late. In early 2025, after more than two years of chemotherapy that hollowed him out from the inside, the frail 58-year-old was deemed a good candidate for histotripsy, a new treatment that could target the tumors in his liver with ultrasound waves instead of surgery. Tennant’s wife, Rebecca, had heard of histotripsy and brought the idea to her husband’s doctor. There was a relatively narrow window in which he could receive...

President Trump took aim at insurance giant State Farm and other providers by accusing them of abandoning Southern Californians devastated by last year’s wildfires. In a scathing Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump singled out State Farm, calling the company and others like it “horrendous” for failing homeowners who had faithfully paid premiums for years. “People have been paying them large premiums for years, only to find that when tragedy struck, these horrendous companies were not there to help!” the president wrote.

When the seven P&I clubs belonging to the International Group issued 72-hour cancellation notices for war risk coverage in the Persian Gulf on March 5, they did not just raise costs. They made transit impossible. P&I clubs insure roughly 90 percent of the world’s ocean-going tonnage. Without their coverage, ships cannot sail. Port authorities will not let them dock. Banks will not finance the cargo. Charterers will not book the vessel. The entire system, from loading berth to discharge terminal, is underwritten by a chain of contracts that begins with a club in London, Oslo, or Tokyo. When the clubs...

Insurance giant Chubb will be the lead underwriter for a U.S. government-led program to provide insurance to ships making the risky transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Chubb will work with the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., or DFC, as part of a $20 billion plan to help get oil tankers and other commercial traffic moving again amid risks from the Iran war, the agency said. Oil prices have spiked since the war began at the end of February. Brent crude traded above $91 a barrel midmorning Wednesday. Oil prices have stayed relatively high despite an announcement Wednesday that the...

Donald Trump has promised cheap insurance for ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz in a challenge to Lloyd’s of London. The US president said he had ordered America’s international investment body to insure ships travelling through the Persian Gulf at a “very reasonable price” after the outbreak of fighting in the Middle East led insurers to cancel polices and dramatically raise rates. Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime...

Here’s something nearly everyone can agree on: healthcare in the United States is too expensive. Private health insurance premiums rise inexorably well above the rate of inflation, and so do the costs of government subsidized healthcare like Medicare and Medicaid. And if you face a big medical issue without insurance, the bills could well come to more than you could ever pay. So what’s the answer? To the Left, it’s easy: a “single payer” system, sometimes called “Medicare for all.” In simple terms, the federal government pays for all the medical expenses of everybody. The money comes out of the...

On local Twin Cities radio this morning a representative of an unnamed business said the liberal upheaval in the state is causing some businesses to rethink expansion in Minnesota. The individual, who did not want to be identified, said businesses and industry are seeing job recruitment as more challenging due to sanctuary city policies and unruly protests. Red states are more attractive.

Surprise medical bills have bludgeoned most Americans. In fact, about half of insured Americans face unexpected charges every year. In 2020, Congress passed the No Surprises Act, which banned out-of-network billing rates for some services. It also entitled patients who aren’t using health insurance to a “good faith estimate” of out-of-pocket costs before receiving care. But there’s a catch that stacks the deck against patients and taxpayers: final bills within $400 of the original estimate are legally collectible. After stinging GOP losses in November, health care “affordability” is all the rage. Voters are frustrated that every other medical appointment brings...

President Donald J. Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan is a broad healthcare initiative that will slash prescription drug prices, reduce insurance premiums, hold big insurance companies accountable, and maximize price transparency in the American healthcare system. This plan will deliver money directly to the American people, not insurance companies, big pharma and special interest groups—putting patients over industry leaders’ profits, just as he promised. The Great Healthcare Plan also builds on the successes of his first term by promoting competition, eliminating wasteful spending, and putting consumers back in control. President Trump Announces The Great Healthcare Plan:“I am thrilled to announce my...

I've seen ads regarding car/home insurance and how you should NOT get it through an agent but get it "direct". Does anyone have info or experience? I'm retiring soon.

Thousands of immigrant truck drivers are breathing a sigh of relief after California said Tuesday it’s preparing to reissue commercial licences it planned to revoke after federal pressure. State transportation officials confirmed that the Department of Motor Vehicles will start reissuing the contested licences to 17,000 immigrant drivers who were sent 60-day cancellation notices on Nov. 6.

Donald Trump is backing a GOP proposal depositing $1,500 checks into the health care accounts of millions of Americans. The legislation, which is being led by Republican Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy and Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, gives qualifying Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollees a $1,000 deposit for those aged 18 to 49, as well as recipients aged 50 to 64 for $1,500. While speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Tuesday, the president

As federal health care subsidies barrel toward expiration, a bipartisan group of 35 U.S. lawmakers is calling on leaders in the House and Senate to hold a vote on extending the benefits before the end of next week. The group includes Rep. Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican who has been pushing for a renewal of the subsidies, known as the enhanced premium tax credit. The subsidies, passed by Democrats in Congress during the COVID-19 pandemic, helped lower insurance premiums for plans purchased through Affordable Care Act marketplaces, but are now slated to expire on Dec. 31. Many Coloradans have...