Group Health Insurance!

A Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.-based insurance company acquired a Wakefield, RI.-based employee benefit consulting and brokerage firm specializing in middle-market businesses.

USI Insurance Services (USI) acquired Bluff Head Enterprises (BHE), its seventh acquisition this year.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Samuel B. Slade, current president of BHE, will be named president of the employee benefits division of USI, officials said.

All BHE staff will be retained, according to a USI spokesman.

“This acquisition strengthens our position as one of the leading insurance brokerage firms in Rhode Island and one of the largest benefit insurance brokerage firms in the United States,” said J. Tho

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First of all, if you discover that your wallet or purse is missing when you are travelling abroad, retrace your steps to see if you can retrieve your lost possessions. If you don’t find your wallet within a reasonable amount of time, call your credit card companies immediately. Here’s where international travel insurance is very useful. International travel insurance can help you recover what you lost.

Cancel your credit cards. If you lost travelers checks, call the bank that issued them. If you call immediately after the loss, the banks will be able to guarantee that you won’t be liable for any unauthorized use of the cards or checks.

If you can, go to the police station to file a report if you believe your possessions were stolen. This

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Allstate Insurance Company, a US-based publicly held personal insurer, has launched Claim Satisfaction Guarantee, a new feature to serve its policy holders.

With the help new feature, customers who are not happy with the service they receive on a paid auto claim will receive a credit to their auto policy premium from Allstate.

Under the feature, eligible customers who are dissatisfied in any way with the service on a paid auto claim can receive a credit to their premium if they express their dissatisfaction in writing within 180 days of the incident that triggered the claim.

Allstate said the feature is now available in 31 US states, and is planning to launch in addition states throughout 2012.

Allstate senior executive vice president of agency operations and chief marketing officer Mark LaNeve said the Claim Satisfaction Guarantee backs up the commitment to deliver a complete, positive experience for the customer, and this feature, furthermore, will be one more way in which the firm distance ourselves from competitors.

As of December, 13 states have functioning health insurance exchanges, two more have pending legislation to establish them, while another five states have plans to create the exchanges. Two states, Louisiana and Arkansas, have opted out completely.

Health insurance exchanges are a set of state-regulated and standardized health care plans from which individuals can purchase health insurance eligible for federal subsidies. They have been encouraged by the administration of President Barack Obama as a governmental or quasi-governmental entity to help insurers comply with consumer protections, and to compete in cost-efficient ways.

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If you’re one of the thousands of Britons jetting off this Christmas, you’ll have probably started a mental checklist of things to remember. After all, forgetting the presents would be a nightmare! But forgetting the travel insurance could be even worse. Here’s why.

Holiday costs are higher at Christmas. Protect your investment!

Like every other holiday period, flights and hotel rooms cost a little more at Christmas. It’s

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