Mutual of Omaha may have had its own "aha moment." The Omaha, Neb.-based insurance company has decided to settle its lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey's production company over rights to the phrase. Jim Nolan, a spokesman for Mutual, and Angela DePaul, a spokeswoman for Winfrey's Chicago-based Harpo Productions Inc., would only say that the case was resolved amicably. Documents filed last month in U.S. District Court in Omaha do not outline details of the settlement. Mutual and Harpo began sparring earlier this year after Mutual starting using the slogan "official sponsor of the aha moment" in a national advertising campaign. Harpo asked Mutual in a letter to stop using "aha moment" to promote its insurance and financial products because it didn't want confusion about whether there was a relationship between Mutual and Winfrey. Winfrey's representatives argued in April that the phrase was synonymous with Winfrey and her show. Mutual responded with the lawsuit and documents showing it had obtained preliminary approval of a federal trademark. The insurance company said it conceived its slogan in February 2008 and unveiled the Web site Mutual originally asked the court for a legal declaration allowing it to use the slogan and pronouncing that Mutual has not infringed on Harpo's or Winfrey's rights. Harpo never filed a formal response to Mutual's lawsuit. Mutual asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed last month, and the judge entered his ruling Oct. 22. As part of its ad campaign, Mutual sent a crew on a 25-city tour to collect video stories of people describing a turning point in their lives when they realized something important. Visitors to Mutual's Web site helped the insurance company pick ten of the "aha" stories to appear in television commercials starting next year.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Aha! Mutual of Omaha and Winfrey Settle Lawsuit
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Moody's: AIG Likely Able to Repay Government Bailout Funds
American International Group Inc. has made tangible progress on its restructuring plan and will likely be able to repay the government's loan and much of its preferred equity stake, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday. The restructuring plan still relies heavily on government support, but if AIG's operations and global financial markets continue to stabilize, the company can likely generate enough value to repay the government, Moody's said in a statement. AIG, the giant insurer bailed out by the U.S. government, posted its second straight quarterly profit last week, helped by a recovery in the value of its investments, though its underlying business remained weak. The quarterly results "show continued stabilization of the core insurance operations despite challenging market conditions,'' Moody's said. With the government now likely to recoup its investment, it has incentive to continue supporting AIG and its various creditors, Moody's said. The agency affirmed AIG's long-term rating of A3, the seventh-highest investment grade, with a negative outlook.
Monday, November 9, 2009
IRS to Audit Large Companies on Tax, Independent Contractor Issues
U.S. tax authorities will start to audit 6,000 randomly selected companies to focus on employment tax issues ranging from executive compensation to fringe benefits, Internal Revenue Service officials said. The audits will begin in February 2010 and stretch across all types and sizes of companies. The exams will be deeper than typical audits, and also look at the use of independent contractors and other worker classification issues, a spokesman for the IRS said on Friday. IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman has said the agency will focus on the wealthy and large corporations as it seeks to recover billions that go unpaid in taxes each year. About $345 billion goes uncollected from individuals and corporations from U.S. tax authorities each year, according to the U.S. government. "A significant portion'' of this so-called tax gap comes from unpaid employment taxes, Faris Fink, an IRS deputy commissioner told an accounting conference this week. Asked how many years the IRS would look at when conducting an audit, Fink said there was no defined time period. The IRS has not zeroed in on employment tax issues for two decades, according to Anne Batter, an attorney who previously worked in the office of chief counsel at the IRS. Although the program has not officially started yet, Batter says some of her clients who are large employers have begun to get document requests from the agency. "The first round of questions we got in this last audit involved deferred compensation, equity, all these fringe benefits,'' said Batter, now with law firm Miller Chevalier, defending clients before the IRS. "We have definitely had some taxpayers out of the blue (who) have gotten these really big, cumbersome requests for information about their compensation,'' she said.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Hartford Reports 3Q Loss
The Hartford Financial Services Group reported a third quarter net loss of $220 million, compared with a net loss of $2.6 billion in the year-ago period.
Written premiums for The Hartford's property/casualty operations in the third quarter were $2.4 billion, down 6 percent from the third quarter of 2008 largely as a result of weaker economic conditions, the company said. The Hartford, however, did say it is seeing momentum in new business submissions in all segments, but particularly in personal lines and small commercial.
The property/casualty operations saw a net income of $190 million for the third quarter, compared with a net loss of $774 million the year-ago period.
The combined ratio for ongoing operations in the third quarter of 2009, excluding catastrophes, was 93.8, compared with 91.8 in the prior-year period. The third quarter of 2009 included $135 million, or 5.5 points, of net favorable prior year development primarily related to small commercial and middle market workers compensation, professional liability, personal lines auto liability and middle market general liability claims.
Personal lines written premiums for the third quarter of 2009 grew 2 percent to $1 billion. Written premiums in the company's agency business rose 4 percent in the third quarter. New business premium increased 26 percent over the third quarter of 2008, while the number of policies in force grew 2 percent year-over-year as investments in new products and increased consumer shopping continued to drive new business submissions.
During the quarter, the company continued its successful launch of its AARP product through agents, with the product already in 14 states, and 6 additional states rolling out in the fourth quarter.
The third quarter 2009 current accident year combined ratio, excluding catastrophes, was 94.5, compared to 88.3 in the prior-year period. The increase in the combined ratio was largely due to current accident year reserve strengthening, in response to an uptick in auto frequency and lower average premium. The third quarter of 2009 included 9.1 points of current accident year catastrophes related to significant hail and windstorms in the Midwest and Colorado.
Written premiums for small commercial were $626 million for the third quarter of 2009, compared with $652 million in the prior-year period. New business premium was up 20 percent over the prior-year period as product enhancements made in 2009 had a positive impact and the company capitalized on policyholder shopping.
Third quarter 2009 profitability continued to be very strong, with a current accident year combined ratio, excluding catastrophes, of 86 as compared to 87.7 in the third quarter of 2008. The third quarter of 2009 included 2.9 points of current accident year catastrophes.
Written premiums for middle market were $496 million for the third quarter of 2009, compared with $571 million in the year-ago period. The third quarter 2009 current accident year combined ratio, excluding catastrophes, was 97, compared with 98.4 in the prior-year period. The third quarter of 2009 included 1.2 points of current accident year catastrophes and $52 million, or 10.1 points, of net favorable prior year development largely related to workers' compensation and general liability.
In specialty commercial, written premiums for the third quarter of 2009 were $266 million as compared to $345 million in the year-ago period. Premiums were driven lower by a combination of the effects of the economic downturn, the sale of First State Management Group, which contributed $14 million of premium in the third quarter of 2008, and lower net premiums resulting from changes in a reinsurance treaty.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
IRS to Audit Large Companies on Tax, Independent Contractor Issues
U.S. tax authorities will start to audit 6,000 randomly selected companies to focus on employment tax issues ranging from executive compensation to fringe benefits, Internal Revenue Service officials said.
The audits will begin in February 2010 and stretch across all types and sizes of companies. The exams will be deeper than typical audits, and also look at the use of independent contractors and other worker classification issues, a spokesman for the IRS said on Friday.
IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman has said the agency will focus on the wealthy and large corporations as it seeks to recover billions that go unpaid in taxes each year.
About $345 billion goes uncollected from individuals and corporations from U.S. tax authorities each year, according to the U.S. government.
"A significant portion'' of this so-called tax gap comes from unpaid employment taxes, Faris Fink, an IRS deputy commissioner told an accounting conference this week.
Asked how many years the IRS would look at when conducting an audit, Fink said there was no defined time period.
The IRS has not zeroed in on employment tax issues for two decades, according to Anne Batter, an attorney who previously worked in the office of chief counsel at the IRS.
Although the program has not officially started yet, Batter says some of her clients who are large employers have begun to get document requests from the agency.
"The first round of questions we got in this last audit involved deferred compensation, equity, all these fringe benefits,'' said Batter, now with law firm Miller Chevalier, defending clients before the IRS.
"We have definitely had some taxpayers out of the blue (who) have gotten these really big, cumbersome requests for information about their compensation,'' she said.
