Electric Insurance Company - Massachusetts

Electric Insurance Company, a national provider of auto insurance, homeowners, condominium, and renters insurance, announced that the Massachusetts Division of Insurance has approved Electric Insurance’s new rate structure, discounts and base rates for use beginning April 1, 2008.

Under the rate filing, Massachusetts customers of Electric Insurance will experience an average rate decrease of 9%, while some could experience up to a 30% rate decrease, and none will experience a rate increase greater than 10%.

Discounts and Product Enhancements

Electric Insurance Company will provide Massachusetts consumers the following new discounts and product enhancements, including:

• Increased multi-car discount of 15% for insuring more than one car with Electric Insurance Company.
• Multi-car discount to households with company cars, in addition to a personal auto.
• Expanded low mileage discount to vehicles driven up to 16,000 miles per year.
• New 5% multi-policy discount for policyholders who also write their homeowners, renters, or condo insurance with Electric Insurance.
• “Automatic Vehicle Replacement Coverage” available at no additional cost to policyholders in the event of a covered total loss or a covered theft loss, for any vehicle with an odometer reading at the time of loss of 7,500 original miles or less, and purchased within the past six months.
• Continued offering of the GE exclusive discount for Massachusetts employees of General Electric.

Univerasal Health Insurance

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vowed to continue pressing for legislation that would provide health insurance to the uninsured in California.

The health care bill had been closely watched across the United States because of California's size and the rising anxiety among Americans about the escalating cost and lack of availability of affordable health insurance.

Nearly 47 million Americans, or 16 percent of the population, were without health insurance in 2005.

Health care has become a major issue in the presidential campaign, with leading candidates acknowledging that changes are needed, and some advocating plans to expand coverage.

Most Americans Back Mandatory Health Insurance

As health care generates debate in this year's presidential campaigns, about 68% of Americans say individuals should be required to have health insurance, with government help for those who cannot afford it.

The problem of how to provide health insurance coverage to all Americans is one of the top campaign issues being confronted by Democratic and Republican candidates.

While both leading Democratic and Republican candidates want to expand health insurance coverage through the private insurance market, there were several key differences:

None of the Republican candidates would require that people have health insurance.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards would require that all Americans eventually have coverage. Sen. Barack Obama would require that children have coverage.

Children's Health Insurance Programs

Last Saturday, President George W Bush finally got the bill he wanted and signed legislation to extend the children's health insurance program. The signing was buried in the back pages of newspapers so you might not have read about it.

The president and a majority of Congress waged a political war over expanding the health insurance program to cover millions of children nationally who remain uninsured. After twice vetoing bipartisan bills to expand the program, President Bush prevailed with legislation that extends health insurance coverage with a small boost in funding through March 2009.