INSURANCE COMPANIES PROFITING OFF SOLDIERS DEATHS

Why are large life insurance companies profiting from billions of dollars they hold on behalf of the families of fallen military service members?

Bloomberg Markets magazine senior writer David Evans posed that question in an article in its September issue. The article, which took a close look at practices at Prudential Financial, has sparked sharp criticism from Cabinet members, reform proposals from U.S. lawmakers, and a fraud investigation by the New York Attorney General.

The U.S. Veterans Affairs Dept. and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners say they are reviewing military life insurance arrangements.

Fallen soldiers' families denied cash as insurers profit
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.."It's disgraceful on the part of insurance companies," Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), a onetime prisoner-of-war in Vietnam, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. "We'll obviously have to be looking into it."

Under scrutiny are so-called retained-asset accounts. More than 100 carriers use the accounts to earn income on $28 billion owed to beneficiaries. New York-based MetLife, the biggest U.S. life insurer, retains about $10 billion and was among the carriers subpoenaed by Andrew Cuomo, the New York Attorney General.

Many life insurance companies suggest to beneficiaries that as an alternative to taking a lump-sum payment of death benefits, they leave the bulk of the policy proceeds with the carriers.

The accounts were set up for beneficiaries such as Cindy Lohman of Great Mills, Md. Her 24-year-old son had been killed by a bomb in Afghanistan. Prudential and the other insurers give the recipients limited checkbook-like access to the funds and pay modest interest.


.Meanwhile, the carriers can invest the money, obtaining a far higher return than what they offer to beneficiaries. Families often receive misleading guarantees about the safety of the accounts, which are held in corporate coffers, not in federally insured banks, Bloomberg Markets found.

A half-dozen members of President Barack Obama's Cabinet sit on an advisory council overseeing life insurance for military service-members. The last time the council met, in November, none of the Cabinet members attended the annual meeting. Aides accustomed to handling the issue for their agencies go as representatives.

"The advisory council gets briefed on what's going on, how much money is going out, how many death benefits," says John Gingrich, chief of staff for Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.


Now, Shinseki and other Cabinet members have joined a growing number of lawmakers calling for an overhaul of insurer practices. Representative Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.), has proposed a measure to set new rules for insurance companies that profit from accounts held for dead soldiers and veterans.

Prudential, based in Newark, N.J., defended retained-asset accounts as helpful to survivors, especially the loved ones of soldiers.

"For some families, the account is the difference between earning interest on a large amount of money and letting it sit idle," company spokesman Bob DeFillippo told Bloomberg. Prudential follows the law, he added.

MetLife spokesman Joseph Madden says his company similarly adheres to legal requirements. Its customers appreciate its version of retained-asset accounts, Madden adds. Beneficiaries get "peace of mind and time to make an informed decision while earning interest in the interim."

CHIPPING AWAY AT OBAMA'S CABINET

It seems that the conservatives are chipping away at President-Elect Barak Obama's cabinet little by little. A federal grand jury is investigating whether a financial firm improperly won more than $1.4 million dollars in work for the State of New Mexico shortly after making contributions to PAC'S of Governor Bill Richardson. Mr. Richardson is President-Elect Barak Obama's nominee for Commerce Secretary.

NEWSPAPER DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE BARAK OBAMA AS PRESIDENT

On November 5th, 2008 ,the Petit Jean Country Headlight News in Morrilton, Arkansas did not print in their weekly edition the winner of the Presidential Election. The headline was "Voters Go For McCain".

The only mention of Barak Obama was that the Obama/Biden ticket received 3,144 votes in Conway County, Arkansas. When their subscribers reacted against it , the next week they put an article and picture in a small corner of the first page.

Arkansas is a red state. The paper chose not to let their readers on Wednesday morning know who the president was. This is a disgrace, that they did not recognize Barak Obama because he is black. I now know that the world knows that the Petit Jean Country Headlight News will not acknowledge President-Elect Barak Obama.

And to think I was going to spend the Christmas Holidays in Morrilton doing my genealogical research. Now I will have to make other plans. I will not contribute to their economy. I could spend less money if I went to Hawaii or Mexico.

FEMA CRITICIZED AT HEARING ON RESPONSE TO HURRICANE IKE

The Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee held a hearing in Austin Texas recently. The state leaders accused FEMA of insensitivity and foot dragging in delivering mobile homes to help victims.

Residents are living in tents and cars on their property. The vouchers FEMA gives them for motels can't be used because no rooms are available. FEMA had promised 300 trailers a week but they haven't received them.

There are 350 mobile homes on individuals properties awaiting sewer and power hookups. A site has to be inspected to verify a mobile home can be placed there.Jack Calley, the state's director of emergency management said he believes FEMA should be removed from the Homeland Security Department and placed under the president.

The lack of housing is causing a problem for refinery and chemical workers whose plants are expanding. FEMA is "running out the clock" for reimbursements on debris removal. So I guess that will be left up to President-Elect Barak Obama to solve the problems.

OBAMA DOES NOT WANT A REPEAT OF THE DEWEY ELECTION

Every one expected Thomas Dewey to win the 1948 election by a landside. Elmo Roper said he would take no further polls because he had something better to do. Harry Truman was called the " little man", he was the underdog, but he won anyway.

Truman traveled 32,000 miles and gave 355 speeches in six weeks. He traveled in his pullman car. The Chicago Tribune wanted to be the first to break the news and put on the cover a Dewey victory. The next morning Truman won. It was an upset.

That's why Barak Obama tells his workers to keep on pushing and don't give up. In 2004, 129,000 voters in Ohio were weary from standing in long lines, and they went home without voting.

BILL CLINTON IS A DETRIMENT TO BARAK OBAMA

Bill Clinton is not helping Barak Obama at all. His heart is not in it. And if anyone can read through the lines, they will know this is true. He should just back away.

He thought this was Hillary's time and Obama should step aside this year. I think this will backfire on him and hurt Hillary's legacy. People are really listening to him and watching his body language.

I don't think Obama needs him just like he didn't need Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.When Bill Clinton does go out on the stump, he only wants to talk about his new projects and not Barak, which is the reason he is there.