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Hampton Roads and the nation

0 Comments | The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA, Nov 17, 2009

Insurers receiving post-storm claims

Local insurers Monday were handling claims for damage to homes, businesses and vehicles.

At GEICO, a major auto insurer with a regional call center and office in Virginia Beach, “we’ve had over 900 claims so far,” said Matt Mitchell, assistant vice president of claims for the region. Eighty percent involved vehicles that weren’t drivable because of flooding or damage from fallen trees, he said.

Nationwide Insurance brought in 10 members of its national catastrophe team to help , spokeswoman Elizabeth Stelzer said. By Monday afternoon, Nationwide had received 1,700 claims involving damage to homes, 200 for automobiles and 43 for commercial damage, she said.

– Tom Shean, The Pilot

Northrop grumman gets navy contract

The Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News a $96.7 million contract for an array of work on Los Angeles-, Seawolf- and Virginia-class submarines as well as Ohio-class ballistic-missile and guided-missile subs . The contract includes options that , if exercised, would bring its total value to $635.2 million.

The work encompasses engineering, technical, design and modernization support, among other things.

Work will be performed in Newport News and is expected to be completed by September 2010.

If all of the contract options are exercised, the work is scheduled to conclude in 2014.

– Robert McCabe, The Pilot

retail sales increase more than expected

WASHINGTON | Retail sales rose more than expected in October largely because of a big rebound in auto sales.

Last month’s jump in sales followed a dismal September retail performance that was revised even lower by the government, and many analysts remain concerned about consumer demand going forward.

The Commerce Department said Monday that retail sales rose 1.4 percent last month. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a gain of 1 percent.

Excluding auto sales, retail demand rose 0.2 percent, half of the expected 0.4 percent rise. The government also revised the September results down to a 2.3 percent decline, from the 1.5 percent drop initially reported.

Post office was $3.8b in the red last year

WASHINGTON | The Postal Service reported a loss of $3.8 billion last year despite a reduction of 40,000 full-time positions and other cost-cutting measures.

The loss was $1 billion more than the year before despite job cuts and other efforts designed to save billions of dollars, postal officials said Monday.

The post office has been arizona auto insurance quotes struggling to cope with a decline in mail volume caused by the shift to the Internet as well as the recession . Total mail volume was 177.1 billion pieces, compared with 202.7 billion pieces in 2008, a decline of almost 13 percent.

Postmaster General John Potter is seeking permission from Congress to reduce mail delivery from six days a week to five .

Fed PROPoSES NEW RULES FOR gift cards

WASHINGTON | The Federal Reserve on Monday proposed new rules to protect consumers from unexpected costs or restrictions on gift cards.

More than 95 percent of Americans have received or purchased gift cards, the Fed said.

Under the proposed rules, consumers must have at least five years to use the gift cards before they expire. The Fed also said service or inactivity fees can be imposed only under certain conditions. Such fees can be charged if the consumer hasn’t used the card for at least a year, if the consumer is given clear disclosures about them and no more than one fee is charged a month, the Fed said. The Fed said the new provisions are slated to take effect on Aug