July 19, 2008-Bismarck Tribune
07-19-2008: news-state
North Dakota Insurance commissioner rejects Blues rate increase
Associated Press
North Dakota’s insurance commissioner says he rejected a 14.8 percent rate increase request from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota for individual policies because the Blues misled his department and failed to provide enough information.
“Blue Cross Blue Shield did not substantiate this rate increase request, misled the Insurance Department concerning payments to health care providers, and stonewalled the department when it sought information. As a result, I denied this request,” Commissioner Adam Hamm said in a statement Friday.
Blues spokeswoman Denise Kolpack said the insurer did not mislead the Insurance Department and provided complete information. She said Blue Cross Blue Shield was notified of Hamm’s decision shortly before he issued his statement.
“We are surprised and disappointed by the announcement from the insurance commissioner this morning,” Kolpack said. “Once we receive specific written rationale about the disapproval, we will determine our next steps.”
Hamm said about 30,000 North Dakotans are covered through individual Blues policies. He said the 14.8 percent raise would have cost policyholders a total of about $11 million over the next year.
Last year, the Blues sought a 10 percent increase for the individual group. Then-Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman granted 9.4 percent. The previous year, Hamm said, the insurer sought a 4.2 percent increase and was allowed 2.9 percent.
July 9, 2008-Minot Daily News (Tornado in Rolla and Belcourt)
By ELOISE OGDEN, Regional Editor
ROLLA AND BELCOURT Sheri Leas said she really didn’t know where to begin, as she picked up pieces Tuesday of her home in Rolla that a tornado hit and demolished the day before, scattering much of it about the area.
On Tuesday, Leas, along with others in Rolla and the Belcourt area whose homes were destroyed or damaged, were trying to clean up the debris and save what they could from their homes.
“It’s quite the devastation,” she said.
Leas said they weren’t home when the tornado hit. They’re living at another place now “and cleaning up,” she said.
Tom Allard, Rolla chief of police, said Tuesday that six to eight homes in Rolla were destroyed and 20 homes were damaged. Allard was the first emergency person who arrived at the scene of the damage in that community Tuesday afternoon.
At Belcourt on the Turtle Mountain Reservation, about 19 structures were affected, said David “Doc” Brien, chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. That number was a preliminary assessment, and tribal officials were continuing their assessment of the area Tuesday.
Gov. John Hoeven and several other state officials visited the Rolla and Belcourt areas Tuesday to view the damage. During a news conference in the Rolette County Courthouse in Rolla Tuesday morning, Hoeven extended his sympathy and concern to those who have been impacted by the tornados.
The 19 structures in the Belcourt area included Martin Peltier’s home northeast of Belcourt, which was considered a total loss. The tornado’s force moved his home off the foundation. Peltier was trapped in the basement, rescued and then flown to Trinity Hospital in Minot where tribal officials said, to their knowledge, he’s in stable condition.
Another injury as a result of the storm was a firefighter in Rolla who sustained minor injuries when his vehicle was struck by a tornado when he was observing the storm approaching the city.
Brien said 18 people on the reservation were affected by the tornado’s damage and rooms were provided for them Monday night at the casino at Belcourt.
“To our knowledge there might have been three tornados that folks saw,” Brien said, referring to the west side of the reservation between Belcourt and Dunseith, although the number hasn’t been officially confirmed.
Brien told the group attending the news conference in Rolla that a grandmother with several grandchildren and a mom saw a tornado coming, went inside their mobile home and hid in the bathtub. “That’s actually the wrong thing to do,” he said. He said people die from being in mobile homes and cars. He said the tribe needs to work on warning people of approaching storms and also make sure people get the right advice on where to go and what to do.
He said that family’s mobile home was lifted up. The grandmother said it was “just like her guardian angel said, ‘no, you’re not taking that trailer’ and pushed it back down. We’re very grateful that family was not injured,” Brien said.
Anita Blue of tribal Emergency Management in Belcourt said all the homes that were destroyed or damaged on the reservation belong to people who are poverty stricken and have no insurance. She said officials were working on getting help for them.
Shaiyan Davis of Belcourt was at the Anishinabe Learning, Cultural & Wellness Center north of Belcourt, attending a cultural camp there when a tornado hit Monday afternoon. She said about 20 kids, 20 mentors and 10 more adults were there at the time. “It just came out of nowhere,” she said. She said it had been sunny but then got really dark. She said the noise was like big gusts of wind and then complete silence. Davis took cover with others in the main building. A straw-insulated building on the property was damaged.
Hoeven and other officials Tuesday commended all the emergency responders for their coordination and short-notice actions Monday afternoon.
Agencies including Red Cross officials from Minot and Bismarck were on the scene to help with the work, along with other people.
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Rolla has been set up as a relief facility. Erma Mickelson said the American Legion Auxiliary is using the church as a site to serve food. The auxiliary had served supper Monday night and was serving meals Tuesday to those whose homes were destroyed, she said.
As the cleanup gets under way in both communities, Adam Hamm, North Dakota Insurance commissioner, said people need to take steps to prevent further damage, to take photographs or videotape of their property and save all receipts of work, which will help to expedite insurance claims.
May 30, 2008-Bismarck Tribune
05-30-2008: news-local
Gov. Hoeven ahead in raising funds
By JONATHAN RIVOLI
Bismarck TribuneRepublican Gov. John Hoeven raised nearly four times as much money as Democratic opponent Tim Mathern over the last five months, according to campaign finance reports filed Thursday.
Hoeven raised $263,665 to Mathern’s $71,095 from the beginning of the year through May 21. This effort comes on top of a 2007 fundraising effort that netted Hoeven more than $1.2 million, giving him about that same amount in cash on hand, compared to $82,190 for Mathern.
The governor’s race was emblematic of other big-money statewide races - public service commissioner and insurance commissioner -where Republicans outraised their Democratic opponents. In smaller money races - state auditor and state treasurer - Democrats outraised their Republican opponents.
Thursday’s pre-primary finance filing deadline provides one of two glimpses into the campaigns’ financial health between now and the election. The second one will come in October.
In the governor’s race, the cash advantage has allowed Hoeven to employ a small full-time staff and have television commercials already up on the air. His advantage came from a wide range of mostly individual contributions, as opposed to business or nonprofit entities, and events such as an early April fundraiser held in Minneapolis with Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Hoeven campaign manager Don Larson said the campaign is right on target with its fundraising goals, and will continue raising “whatever we need” to get Hoeven’s message out to voters.
“We’re going to continue fundraising as aggressively as we know how,” he said.
Mathern said his fundraising take exceeded his goal and that he’s undeterred by his opponent’s large financial advantage.
“I am going to overcome that with hard work, better ideas and the people deciding that they need new leadership,” Mathern said.
Here are the highlights for other statewide races with candidates reporting Thursday:
n In the insurance commissioner’s race, Republican Adam Hamm raised $72,440, outpacing Democratic opponent Jasper Schneider, who raised $35,986.
n In the public service commissioner’s race, Republican Brian Kalk raised $45,701, outpacing Democratic opponent Cheryl Bergian, who raised $19,680.
n In the state treasurer’s race, Democrat Mitch Vance raised $12,841, outpacing Republican incumbent Kelly Schmidt, who raised $4,413. Vance’s campaign has $9,225 cash on hand, compared to $6,928 for Schmidt.
n In the state auditor’s race, Democrat Daryl Splichal raised $8,895, outpacing Republican incumbent Bob Peterson, who raised $200. Splichal’s campaign has $5,616 cash on hand, compared to $1,706 for Peterson.
n In the superintendent of public instruction race, Democrat-backed Wayne Sanstead raised $11,330 and has $10,921 cash on hand. Independent candidate Max Laird did not have a report filed as of 5 p.m. Thursday, but had until the end of Thursday to have his filing postmarked
May 25, 2008-Bismarck Tribune
05-25-2008: news-state
Injunction sought against Fargo agent
North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm is seeking an injunction to restrict a Fargo insurance agent accused of fraud and his wife from disposing of their assets.
Larry Atkins is accused of failing to repay money that he borrowed from insurance clients. Hamm ordered Atkins to stop selling insurance in late April.
Hamm says he wants to protect assets owned by the Atkinses that could be used to repay any victims in the case.
April 26, 2008-Bismarck Tribune
04-26-2008: news-state
Fargo insurance agent accused of fraud
North Dakota’s insurance commissioner has issued a cease and desist order against a Fargo insurance agent.
Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm says Larry Atkins is accused of defrauding clients in eastern North Dakota. Atkins is accused of failing to repay money that he borrowed from insurance clients.
State law prohibits a licensed insurance agent from soliciting or accepting a loan from any person with whom the agent has had an insurance relationship within the last 10 years.
March 7, 2008-Bismarck Tribune
03-07-2008: news-local
Study suggests insurance department regulate WSI
By CRYSTAL R. REID
Bismarck TribuneThe state insurance commissioner and his opponent now have support from an independent review of workers’ compensation, which says the agency should be regulated by the insurance office.
The review also said leadership in human resources was poor, and that a whistleblower’s actions as internal auditor were inappropriate. Further recommendations suggested a complete restructuring of the executive management team.
The Conolly &Associates’ human resources and management review of Workforce Safety and Insurance suggested the agency become licensed and then be subject to the regulation of the North Dakota Department of Insurance.
Both Jasper Schneider, Democratic candidate for the insurance commissioner, and Adam Hamm, current commissioner, agree on the idea.
“This recommendation reinforces the proposal that I made in early February,” said Hamm in a news release. “It makes sense to use the existing regulatory structure, expertise and authority that exists in the department to oversee what is essentially an insurance company.”
Hamm has asked the Legislature to consider a proposal that would allow his office to regulate the agency, a move that the governor’s office has supported, although they also continue to push for the agency to be returned to the control of the governor.
Schneider said in a news release: “There is a consensus building that the insurance commissioner should have a regulatory role over North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance. That is a good thing.”
Among other review suggestions: revisit the role of Kay Grinsteinner, the internal auditor, and the leadership in human resources, as well as a restructure of the management team.
“We frankly have a serious problem,”Conolly said of Grinsteinner. “Not with the whistleblower type issues … but with respect to the November letter to the board, and the suggestions made in that letter, and the way it was done and delivered …”
Conolly was referring to a letter and e-mail in which Grinsteinner called some claims’ processes WSI’s “dirty little secret.”
“Our problem is that job requires, to be effective, the trust of the organization,”he said.
Further, Conolly said he thinks the executive management team should be pared down from seven to five, retaining employer services (interim director John Halvorson’s former role), injury services and law positions, then adding a chief financial officer and an administration officer. The communications and human resources executive positions would be middle management and report to the administration officer, and the strategic planning role also would be middle management, under the CFO.
As for human resources, Conolly said WSIstaff don’t seem to trust the human resources department.
“We think we need strengthening of leadership there, and some more attention paid to established credibility to their staff, which, in different corners of the organization, that is not the feeling right now,”he said.
He described the department as not responsive and not helpful, adding that there’s a leadership issue that requires direct attention.
February 14, 2008-Bismarck Tribune
02-14-2008: news-local
Northwood gets check for school
Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm said the final payment has been sent to the Northwood School District to finalize the insurance claim made for property and contents damage caused by the Aug. 26 tornado.
The amount of the final check was $3,466,663.89. An earlier check was sent to the district to cover the initial repairs to the school, as well as an advance payment on the final amount. The total claim amount was $7,971,435.
The payment was made through the insurance department’s Fire and Tornado Fund. The Fire and Tornado Fund is a state-run insurance entity housed at the insurance department. It insures the building and contents of most of the state’s political subdivisions.
February 5, 2008-Bismarck Tribune
Feb 05, 2008 - 04:05:28 CST
Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm says his office should have the authority to review the finances of the state workers’ compensation agency.
Hamm announced a proposal Monday that should work with the initiated measure to put Workforce Safety and Insurance under the governor’s control; with the proposal, the state insurance department would review the agency’s financials every two years and monitor its financial statements monthly and quarterly.
“This is a unique agency that we’re talking about,”he said. “There are challenges and issues that need to be worked on.”
His department has no statutory authority over WSI; his proposal aims to change that.
“Because our examinations of insurance companies focus on consumer protection and company solvency, we would bring a new perspective to the review process of WSI,”he said in a news release.
Hamm suggested three functions his department would oversee:market conduct reviews, two-year financial evaluations and ongoing financial analysis.
He said he plans to bring his proposal to Thursday’s Industry, Business and Labor committee meeting.
“I would very much hope there would be a bipartisan support of this issue,” he said.
Ryan Bernstein, legal counsel for Gov. John Hoeven, said the proposal provides more accountability.
“We think WSI needs to come back under the governor’s office,”he said. “This will help provide additional oversight.”
Hamm, a Republican, is running for election this year; he was appointed to the position after his predecessor, Jim Poolman, left the office to pursue private consulting work.
Jasper Schneider, the Democrat running against Hamm, also has advocated change in the oversight in WSI; in fact, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party pointed out that the Republican Party criticized Schneider last fall for using WSI as an issue, saying he needs to learn more about the job because “the insurance commissioner has no more authority over WSI than the secretary of state.”
Schneider said today in a news release that he’s glad both he and Hamm agree the office could help fix WSI.
Hamm said, if enacted, the office would have to outsource the task of overviewing WSI. That could cost up to $150,000 for the financial evaluations. Eventually, he said, the insurance office could hire two more employees as the office became more comfortable with WSI and its intricacies.
February 1, 2008-Bismarck Tribune
Feb 01, 2008 - 04:05:53 CST
The state Insurance Department says it has settled a claim for $7.9 million for damage to the Northwood school from the Aug. 26 tornado that ripped through the community.
The department’s Fire and Tornado Fund provides property insurance for buildings owned by state political subdivisions.
Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm said the settlement “will allow Northwood to move forward in their efforts to build a new school.”
The state Insurance Department says it issued a $4 million check in November to the Northwood School District in advance of the final settlement announced Thursday.
Hamm said the balance of the settlement would be sent to the school district in about two weeks.
November 12, 2007-Bismarck Tribune
Nov 12, 2007 - 04:04:36 CST
FARGO (AP) - A new business here offers to bring home people who have been drinking, and their vehicles, too.
But North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm is advising consumers to do a little homework before giving Sober Guy a call.
Jason Casavan, 23, who works as a bill collector by day, started the Sober Guy business. For $17, two employees will pick up someone who has consumed alcohol. One employee serves as the designated driver and drives the customer home in the customer’s vehicle. The second employee then picks up his co-worker.
Casavan said he got the idea after getting tired of leaving his car behind after an evening at the bar, and having to figure out how to get a ride to his vehicle the next morning.
Employee Zachary Delorme, 22, of Fargo, got hit by a drunk driver in a collision last year. He now drives 25 to 30 hours per week for Sober Guy to try to make a difference.
Many customers praise Sober Guy the entire ride home, said Delorme, a college student.
To use the service, customers must have car insurance, Casavan said. Sober Guy and its drivers also have insurance, he said.
Still, Hamm suggests people contact their insurance company to ask what coverage issues there might be if an incident occurred. Consumers might also want to get more information about Sober Guy’s insurance policy.
“We want to encourage folks to not drive under the influence,” Hamm said. “It’s just you want to be careful before you get into one of these situations then find out there’s no coverage if something unfortunate happened on these drives.”
Fargo Police Lt. Pat Claus agreed with Hamm’s advice, but said the department does not have an official position on the Sober Guy business.
City of Fargo and Moorhead officials say Sober Guy doesn’t fit under taxi cab or limousine regulations since it does not provide its own vehicles. Therefore, the business doesn’t have permits with either city.
Since he doesn’t fall under city regulations, Casavan said he has made extra efforts to make sure his business is credible, including offering workers compensation and unemployment insurance.
“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to get shut down,” he said.