Claims

Two vehicle customizing firms, West Coast Customs of Inglewood, Calif., and Unique Autosports of Uniondale, N.Y., have been fined a total of $21,000 for the removal of drivers' side air bags.

Although stories about unsuccessful fraud attempts and inept would-be scam artists often are amusing, insurance fraud is a serious crime that costs consumers a lot of money.

As president of the CPCU Society, I have seen what education means to our nearly 28,000 members.

In November 2002, the federal government enacted the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act creating a temporary federal reinsurance program to limit insurance companies' risks of financial loss from terrorist attacks.

Auto insurance was the topic of most of the 281 property and casualty-related bills enacted by state legislatures around the country last year.

United States property and casualty insurers paid a record $27.3 billion for insured property losses to homeowners and businesses from 22 catastrophic events last year.

In a continuing effort to enhance disaster response, FEMA has launched a $6.7 million program that will allow its Disaster Medical Assistance Teams to respond to disasters within 12 hours.

Bonnie, Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne are names that property and casualty carriers will not soon forget.