Breaking News:

• New Insurance Could Reduce Borrowers' Costs (Washington Post)...
  Last week, I described a proposal for a new type of mortgage insurance called mortgage payment insurance, or MPI.
  
  [more]
• Fla. lifts ban on Allstate selling new insurance policies (AP via Yahoo! Finance)...
  Allstate Corp.'s subsidiaries can resume selling new car insurance and other policies in Florida after the insurer turned over documents showing how it sets homeowners rates, the state said Friday.
  
  [more]
• Credits can cut home insurance premiums (Seattle Times)...
  Premiums for homeowners insurance can be cut as much as 10 percent for those who renovate. And that's only one of the credits that can bring down the size of the bills.
  
  [more]
• State lifts ban on Allstate selling new insurance policies (Chicago Tribune)...
  Allstate Corp.'s insurance companies can resume selling new car insurance and other policies in Florida, the state's insurance regulator said Friday.
  
  [more]
• Little insurance for damages (Miami Herald)...
  The most powerful earthquake in China since 1950 shows the nation's insurance industry is decades behind those of the world's other biggest economies.
  
  [more]
• AMASSURANCE LAUNCHES INSURANCE PRODUCTS FOR WOMEN (Bernama via Yahoo! Malaysia News)...
  KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 (Bernama) -- Insurance service provider AmAssurance Bhd aims to achieve at least 10 percent of the life new business premium target of RM77 million from its newly launched product for women, AmBeautiful.
  
  [more]
• Why do I need mortgage insurance? (Louisville Courier-Journal)...
  A: Private mortgage insurance, also known as PMI, is often required if your down payment is less than 20 percent of the home's purchase price. As the value of your home rises and you pay down some of the loan amount, your equity may surpass 20 percent of its value. In that case, you can apply to drop the insurance coverage.
  
  [more]
• State allows Allstate to sell new insurance policies (Daytona Beach News-Journal)...
  TALLAHASSEE -- After receiving assurances Allstate has complied with investigative subpoenas, Florida's top insurance regulator Friday allowed the company to resume selling new policies in the state.
  
  [more]
• Fla. lifts ban on Allstate selling new insurance policies (Naples Daily News)...
  Allstate Corp.'s subsidiaries can resume selling new car insurance and other policies in Florida after it turned over documents showing how it sets homeowners rates, the state said Friday.
  
  [more]
• Buffett pulls out of RBS insurance sale: report (Reuters via Yahoo! News)...
  Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) has pulled out of the bidding in Royal Bank of Scotland's 7 billion pound ($13.62 billion) auction of its UK insurance business, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
  
  [more]