KARLSRUHE, Germany, May 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- RapidSolution Software has published the new Videoraptor software for Windows XP and Vista as a free demo on the website http://audials.com. Videoraptor finds desired music video clips for the user and enables conversion to audio files.
Cell phones are developing into multi-function entertainment consoles.
Entertainment consoles are becoming multi-functional communication solutions. The Apple iPod offers 80 GB -- loads of storage space for music and videos. The cell phones from Sony Ericsson and Nokia also provide lots of entertainment, with music and videos in 320x240 resolution. After buying these high-end consoles, the customer's wallet is empty, and the search for content begins.
With the "web clips" function, Videoraptor automatically provides downloads of video clips viewed on the web. The main function, "music clips," provides unlimited entertainment with music video clips. With the currently connected portals, tens of thousands of music video clips are available to the user. In addition, the offer is constantly increasing through further connected portals.
The Web is full of freely available and legal content, which Videoraptor, a meta-search machine, tracks down and makes available to the user. The user simply enters the desired artist or song title in the "music clip" search field, and Videoraptor finds the best parts of freely-available music video clips, e.g. from MTV or other legal music portals.
The video formats can also be converted to MP3, WMA, OGG or WAV audio files, so that they may be played on standard MP3 players, or be burnt on CD to be played in car stereo systems.
Supported video resolution: 320x240 pixels. Supported video formats: WMV, MP4, MPEG4, AAC or FLV.
RapidSolution Software is a leading entertainment-software company. Solutions from RapidSolution are online at http://audials.com and available in international specialized stores. Among the well-known brands are Tunebite, Radiotracers and RS audials complete.


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Home Regional St Kitts-Nevis PM claims parliamentary majority
St Kitts-Nevis PM claims parliamentary majority
BASSETERRE, St Kitts — St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas said on Tuesday that his governing St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party administration holds a majority in the National Assembly.
During his weekly radio programme on Tuesday, Douglas dismissed the opposition's charges on this point as mere propaganda.
Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas
Douglas used the opportunity to point out that, during an appearance on Antigua's Observer Radio's 'The Snake Pit,' last night (Monday), he explained to the host of the programme that in the St Kitts and Nevis Parliament, there are ten members on the government's side and on the opposition side there are five members.
"Even if two of the ten on the government's side were to side with the opposition's five and vote, that would leave seven against eight, with the government's side still with the majority of eight and legislation therefore would have been passed," Douglas said.
"I dismiss the opposition charges on this point as mere propaganda," Douglas said, adding that it was important every now and then to set the record straight even on obvious points.
"It is important every now and then to set the record straight – even on obvious points, and it was important for me to do this, this morning," said the St Kitts and Nevis leader.
However, of the 15-member National Assembly, only 11 are elected members and a majority (six) of those members have written to the governor general indicating that they do not support Douglas and have called for a pending motion of no confidence to be debated.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Mike Kylon in Businesswoman
Jayde Nicole Phone Number, Fan Mail Address, Autograph Request Info and Contact Details
If you want to know about Jayde Nicole real phone number and also looking for Jayde Nicole email and fanmail address then, you are at the correct place! We are going to give you the contact information of Jayde Nicole like his phone number, email address, and Fanmail address details.
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REAL NAME: Jayde Nicole
NICKNAME:Jayde Nicole
DOB:19 February 1986
BIRTHPLACE:Scarborough, Toronto, Canada
BIRTH SIGN:Pisces
PROFESSION: Businesswoman
SIBLINGS:N/A
SPOUSE / HUSBAND:N/A
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jaydenicole/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/jayde_nicole
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jaydenicoleofficial
IAG Entertainment & Sports
5189 Argonne Court
Jayde Nicole Bio
Jayde Nicole (born February 19, 1986) is a Canadian businesswoman and model. She was Playboy′s Playmate of the Month in January 2007 and was crowned the men's magazine's 2008 Playmate of the Year in the June issue. She is the first Canadian Playmate of the Year in 26 years, and the third overall, with Dorothy Stratten and Shannon Tweed preceding her. Nicole began appearing for publications and fashion shows when she was six years old. Nicole's family relocated from Scarborough to Port Perry the next year. When she was 11, she stopped modelling for a while because she felt she was "too mature to be doing kid's jobs."
A scout from a Toronto modelling agency spotted her outside the Air Canada Centre as she was leaving a concert when she was 15 and offered her a chance to return to modelling. Nicole has since appeared in several periodicals and fashion shows. She founded and owns "A Touch of Class," a Port Perry-based firm.
Nicole graduated from Port Perry High School and then attended George Brown College in Toronto, where she studied hotel management before dropping out to pursue a modelling career.
Nicole's mother gave her the first edition of Playboy and suggested she pose for the magazine. Nicole was named Playmate of the Month in January 2007 and Playmate of the Year in 2008.
Nicole featured in a presidential election spoof video for FunnyorDie.com in October 2008. Fellow Playboy models Jo Garca, Grace Kim, and Christine Smith also appear in the video, titled "Playmates Heat Up the Presidential Debate." Footage was obtained from the Presidential town hall discussion on October 7, 2008, and digitally edited to show the women questioning Senators Obama and McCain.
Nicole made her feature film debut in the 2009 Italian comedy Un'estate ai Caraibi. Nicole appeared on Fox Sports' PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge in October 2009.
Nicole was named one of "The Girls of the 2011 Guitar World Buyer's Guide" in the September 2010 issue of Guitar World magazine.
Nicole co-owns Sugar Taco, a vegan Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles, California, with fellow Playboy veteran Jessica Hall.
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Betty J. Cavicchi, 81
MIDDLEBORO — Betty J. (Cookson) Cavicchi, 81, of Middleboro, died on Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, at her home comforted by her family, following a brief illness.
She was the wife of the late Edward G. Cavicchi Sr., who passed away in 1979.
Born in Boston, she was the daughter of the late Vera (Porteous) Cookson, and was a resident of East Bridgewater for more than 50 years and recently of South Easton and Middleboro. A graduate of East Bridgewater High School in 1946, she went on to graduate from Fisher College.
Betty enjoyed golf and was a member of the Brockton Country Club for many years. She loved to travel and had been to many destinations around the world, including cruises and cross country motor home trips. She was known for her interior decorating skills and gourmet cooking. She valued her time with her family and many friends.
She is survived by her three children, Dr. Edward G. Cavicchi Jr. and his wife Maryann of Plymouth, Lorraine (Cavicchi) Blute and her husband Kevin of Harwich, Peter M. Cavicchi and his wife Marie of Wareham. In addition to her children, she leaves six grandchildren, Andrea and Maria Cavicchi, Jacqueline and Patrick Blute, Peter and Andrew Cavicchi. She was the sister of Eleanor (Cookson) Hartley of Warren, N.H., Bruce Cookson Sr. of Leesburg, Fla., and the late Robert Cookson of Oregon.
Her services will be held on Monday, Nov. 2, at 9:15 a.m., from the Blanchard Funeral Chapel, Plymouth Street (Route 58 at the rotary) Whitman, followed by a funeral Mass, at 10 a.m., in the Holy Ghost Church, Whitman. Interment will follow in St. James Cemetery, Whitman. Visiting hours will be on Sunday, Nov. 1, from 1 to 5 p.m.
Donations may be made in her name to the Massachusetts Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 220 North Main St., Natick, MA 01760.
For online condolences and directions, visit www.blanchardfc.com.


Pandora is a personalized radio online, where the stations only play music you like. By typing in a favorite artist or song Pandora will make a radio station that explores just that part of the music universe. Anyone can use Pandora for free online or on your mobile.
I use pandora mainly at work or when I am doing homework online to drown out all the noise around me. If a song is played on the radio station that you thoroughly enjoy you can rate it or even bookmark it. I like to listen to Pandora because it is a way to hear new music because the radio blows now a days.
On Pandora you can search and invite friends to join the site. I invited my father and now I share new artists with him that I think he would enjoy, and we also leave little comments on each others page just saying HI and what not. A Pandora user can make a profile, share a current station with a friend and find other listeners. Also, this radio station online has a blog that I read sometimes. Pandora has also teamed up with the iPhone and iTouch, and about 30 other mobile phones with either AT&T or Sprint to listen on the go.
I WANTED TO POST ON PANDORA!!!
:D :D Pandora rocks doesn't it??


We are seeking a Criminal Justice Manager to help research, analyze, develop, and manage high-impact projects in the field of criminal justice, with a focus on reforming community supervision, prison policies, sentencing, release decisions, fines and fees, reentry, and reintegration. The Criminal Justice Manager will report to the Director of Criminal Justice overseeing this portfolio.
Develop content for internal and external purposes, such as funding proposals, issue briefs, research summaries, and annual reports for Arnold Ventures' Board, Vice President and Executive Vice President of Criminal Justice, and other members of the Criminal Justice Initiative.
If you are interested in this position, please send a resume, a cover letter that indicates how you learned about this position, two writing samples, and contact information for three references to jobs@arnoldventures.org. In the email subject line, please indicate that you are applying for the position of "Criminal Justice Manager, Corrections Reform." Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.


Does anyone know the options (other than taxi) of getting from MXP to the train station in order to get to Genoa? Which train station would be easiest to reach? I have checked Trenitalia time schedules, but am not sure of what train stations these abbreviations mean: Which stations are "C", "LE", "LAMB", "ROG" stations?????? We are scheduled to arrive at MXP about 11:30 a.m. Thanks.
Hi Arielle - Your best option is the Malpensa Shuttle bus to Milano Centrale.
the trip from the airport to the train station as Steve mentions, takes 45 minutes.
Thanks - this really helps. Does the Trenitalia time schedule abbreviaion "C" mean Milano Centrale?
"MI C. LE" for Milano Centrale. I don't know what brower you use, but using Firefox, when I hover my mouse over the name, the full name will come up.
Similarly, "MI ROG." shows "Milano Rogoredo"; and "MI LAMB" shows "Milano Lambrate".


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Cosmos » Earth » So that's what comes out in the wash
16 January 2020 /
So that's what comes out in the wash
Decisions in the laundry can keep microfibres out of the ocean.
Microfibres filtered from washing loads, viewed under a microscope. Credit: University of Leeds/P&G
Scientists have used science to determine how best to use our washing machines.
It's not just about helping clothes last longer – valuable as that information may be. They wanted to see if cycle choice affects how many microfibres break free and inevitably find their way into the ocean.
A team from the University of Leeds, UK, working with washing machine manufacturers, found that washing for a shorter time in cooler water can reduce the number of microfibres released by up to a half, while also cutting dye release by as much as 74%.
"Synthetic microfibres are released every time textiles are washed and account for more than a third of all plastic reaching the ocean," says Richard Blackburn, co-author of a paper in the journal Dyes and Pigments.
"But microfibres from cotton and other natural sources are found in even greater numbers in the sea, and we're worried about their impact too."
Tests were carried out on the garments and fabric squares, and the washing machine water was analysed. Chemical analysis distinguished individual dyes washed out of the clothing, and microfibres were collected and weighed.
The laboratory research was then repeated and validated with authentic loads of dirty laundry provided by the public.
Microfibre release was found to still be significant after 16 washes.
Originally published by Cosmos as So that's what comes out in the wash
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Exciting Australian discovery: the first complete dwarf emu egg


How does waterjet cutting compare to laser cutting?
Abrasive jets do not heat your part, thus there is no thermal distortion or hardening of the material.
Precision abrasive jet machines can obtain the same or higher tolerances than lasers, especially as thickness increases.
Abrasive jets can machine thicker materials. How thick you can cut is a function of how long you are willing to wait. 2" steel and 3" aluminium are quite normal, whereas lasers are limited to 20mm (high powered laser).
Material can be stacked in order to cut multiple thin parts simultaneously.
Abrasivejets don't create "scaley" edges, which makes it easier to produce a high quality weld.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Last week, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a Black History Month event and honored women who contributed to the civil rights movement. Panelists included Carlotta Walls Lanier and Charlayne Hunter Gault. Hunter Gault received a top honor? earlier this month from the Washington Press Club Foundation as well as a 2014 Freedom Award. Walls Lanier was a member of the Little Rock Nine.
?These women represent many different facets and eras of the movement,? the first lady said. ?But there is something that connects each of their stories, a common thread that animates their lives, and that is their hunger for and belief in the power of education.?
Sherrillyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; Chanelle Hardy, National Urban League senior vice president for policy and executive director of the National Urban League Washington Bureau; and Janaye Ingram, national executive director of the National Action Network were also on the panel.
The panel discussion was moderated by Essence Editor-in-Chief Vanessa K. De Luca.


From single spring to cartridge seals, we have the experience to assist with all mechanical seal applications.
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Pump and mechanical seal failure can cost £1000's in lost production. We offer a 24/7 call out service subject to contract.
We have been designing and manufacturing mechanical seals since 1999.
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Acumen Seals supply and refurbish a complete range of mechanical seals for rotating equipment, pumps, agitators, mixers, OEMs and service companies.
High savings can be gained by purchasing your pumps as well as your mechanical seals through Acumen Seals.
Acumen Seals also supply a complete range of O Rings ranging from standard elastomers through to more expensive chemical grades.
Acumen Seals offers a complete refurbishment service allowing customers to save money against buying new seals. It also good for the environment.
Acumen Seals offer a full mechanical seal design and install service at competitive rates.
Our technical knowledge and experience within the complete range of seal related industries, has been proven to be economically viable in reducing your mechanical seal expenditure and site efficiency.


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Nina Bunjevac, Meags Fizgerald, Connor Willumsen win 2015 Doug Wright Awards
From Connor Willumsen's "Swinespritzen"
The 11th annual Doug Wright Awards for Canadian Cartooning were presented at a ceremony as part of the Toronto Comics Arts Festival on Sunday.
Toronto artist Nina Bunjevac won the award for best book for Fatherland (Jonathan Cape/Random House), her graphic memoir of her ex-Serbian nationalist father.
Montreal-based Meags Fitzgerald won the spotlight award for Photobooth: A Biography (Conundrum Press), about the author's fascination with the near-obsolete technology.
And Montreal's Connor Willumsen won the Pigskin Peters Award for his experimental comic "Swinespritzen" (Breakdown Press), drawn in ball-point pen on pages torn out of a drugstore notebook.
In addition, Merle "Ting" Tingley, long-time editorial cartoonist for the London Free Press, was inducted into the Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame.
Graphica's next wave: Nina Bunjevac
Nina Bunjevac, Michael DeForge, Tamakis among 2015 Doug Wright Awards finalists
Q&A: Doug Wright Spotlight Award nominee Meags Fitzgerald
Tagged with: comics and graphica, Dough Wright Awards, graphica spotlight, TCAF, Toronto Comic Arts Festival


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Home » NORD celebrates 40th anniversary
NORD celebrates 40th anniversary
Photo courtesy of NORD.
By Holly Demaree-Saddler
WAUNAKEE, WISCONSIN, U.S. — With its headquarters in Waunakee, Wisconsin, U.S., NORD Gear Corp. is celebrating its 40th anniversary in the United States with its sixth expansion, adding 86,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space. NORD's main products include gear boxes, motors and frequency inverters as well as industrial gear units.
The global company began U.S. operations in 1979 in nearby Middleton, Wisconsin, U.S., sharing a building with Fristam Pumps — a continuing longtime customer.
NORD's newest expansion will help the company increase the company's capacity and ensure a continued short lead time delivery. The company currently delivers 22% of customer orders same day or next day, and 44% within five working days, including custom orders.
Expanding its U.S. production capabilities, NORD also added a $6.2 million building expansion and new paint line in Wisconsin last year.
"We continue to grow, so we almost tripled our capacity with our new paint line," said Torsten Schultz, president of NORD's U.S. operations. "On a daily basis, we currently assemble on average 650 gear units and 300 motors. We're also expanding our facility on Charlotte, North Carolina, by 15,000 square feet this year."
Schultz said one of the reasons for NORD's success is its strong engineering support and customer service. The company employs about two dozen engineers that help customers create solutions for their power transmission challenges.
"Our top business growth areas are in the warehouse logistics, airports, food and beverage industry, and the grain industry," Schultz said. "So whether customers are designing new baggage handling systems, conveyors for warehouses, or mixing tanks for food processing, NORD offers engineering support."
In Waunakee, NORD employs 325 people. Across the United States, NORD employs nearly 425 people.
"With our continuing growth, we're always looking for talented people to join our team," Schultz said. "Come grow with us. We offer a great work environment for customer service, administrative, sales, technical and production people."
Companies Suppliers Nord
Renewable fuels group to mark 40th anniversary
Sweet celebrates 65th anniversary
NAGC celebrates one-year anniversary
SCAFCO celebrates 60th anniversary
From daily reports on breaking news to weekly updates, World Grain has the grain, flour and feed industries covered. Subscribe


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POSTS TAGGED : History of Women
Women in Insurance – A History – the 1990s
posted inUncategorized on January 31, 2019 by melindasleadership with 0 Comment
Life Insurance advertisement circa 1995
The 1990s were generally a decade of peace and prosperity in the US, with some notable exceptions. The economy was in a relative state of expansion after the recession in 1990. The stock market was booming, and unemployment rates remained low for much of the decade.
Bill Clinton was in office for most of the decade after winning the election in 1992, taking over from George W. Bush who had been in office since 1989. Notable events during the decade include the official end of the Cold War in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the signing of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) that went into effect in 1994, and the formation of the WTO (World Trade Organization) in 1995. In addition, Operation Desert Storm (the First Gulf War) took place in 1991, the Rodney King trial was held in 1992, and the US suffered several high-profile bombings at the World Trade Center in 1993, the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, and the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta in 1996.
Technology advances exploded during this decade. The World Wide Web made its debut in 1991 and quickly took the world by storm. By the end of the decade, the dot-com boom was in full swing. Advances were also made in the area of genetics with the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first cloned animal. Both of these advances would have a significant impact on the life insurance industry.
In general, women were doing better economically than they had in previous decades. A Korn/Ferry study published in 1994 reported that 67% of companies responding to their survey indicated they had at least one woman appointed to their boards, up from 59% in 1989. The overall numbers, however, were still low – only 6.2% of the Fortune 500 company board seats were held by women in 1994.
A major national survey of working women conducted by the Women's Bureau in 1995 revealed important truths about women in the workplace at that time (Nussbaum, K., New York Times, 1995). Over 79% of the women reported liking or loving their job. Nearly all of the women, however, reported the need for improvements in several areas. These included:
Pay equality – women with similar educations were making 71.5 cents to every man's dollar
Access to male-dominated professions – 60% of working women were siloed in traditionally female dominated professions where the pay was significantly lower
Access to senior-level positions – over 95% of senior managers were white males
Retirement funds and other benefits – a vast majority of the positions held by women did not come with benefits
During the 1990s, life insurance sales declined. A report in 1992 showed that 46% of men and 40% of women carried life insurance, a significant decrease from past decades. In 1997, reports showed 11.1 million policies sold, a 37% drop from 15 years prior. According to an A.M. Best report in 1998, less than half of American households held coverage beyond the minimums provided by employers.
One new area of sales that opened up and grew quickly only to fall off dramatically near the end of the decade was the viatical sales market. In this market, viatical companies would purchase life insurance contracts from sick (often those suffering from AIDS) or elderly policy holders who either needed money right away for hospital or treatment costs, or no longer had a need for the policy death benefit. These companies would then continue the premium payments and collect the death benefit when the policy holder passed away. They were, in effect, gambling on the death of these individuals. On the flip side, this provided much needed money to those in need.
In 1996, there were roughly 60 such companies who bought between $400 million and $500 million worth of policies annually. Near the end of the decade, some traditional companies fought back against these viatical companies through their design of the Accelerated Death Benefit, a rider that offered policyholders a way to access their death benefit early when a doctor had certified that death was imminent.
The traditional life industry had become highly competitive, not just within the industry but from forces outside the industry. Mutual funds and other investments were diverting sales. In addition, the arguments over whether to buy term or permanent insurance raged on, with term winning in most advice columns during the decade due to the strong economy bringing lower premiums to the companies. Certainly, during this time of economic boom, higher returns were easily found outside of the permanent insurance space. In addition, people were living longer lives which in turn helped them to postpone thoughts on mortality and therefore purchases of life insurance.
The Life Insurance industry's reputation took a significant hit in the 1990s. This was largely due to the competitive pressures put on the sales agents by the economic forces in play. Life insurance sales representatives began relying on unscrupulous tactics to make their sales. Many resorted to the sales practice called "churning" where they used the cash value built up inside an insurance policy as a loan to buy another policy for their clients. These policies were sold as a "no cost" way to purchase additional insurance coverage. At the same time, these policies generated additional commissions for the agents and bonuses for their sales managers. Unfortunately for the client, often all of these policies would eventually run out of money, and all coverage would lapse leaving the client with no coverage at all. Or worse still, upon the death of a loved one, an insured would find that the loan on the policy would nearly (or entirely) eclipse any death benefit left, leaving them with little or no insurance.
Another common sales practice of the times was the "vanishing premium" policy. In this case, a life insurance sales representative would produce a policy illustration that showed the need to pay premiums on a policy for a set number of years. In reality, these illustrations were often based on unrealistic interest rates and returns, and policy holders would find themselves paying premiums for many years more than originally planned.
Due to the fallout from these sales practices, nearly every major company found themselves paying significant settlements to their customers. Metropolitan Life alone paid over $100 million in fines and restitution. This amount was increased to $1.7 billion in 1999. New York Life settlements were estimated at $65 million, State Farm at $200 million, Nationwide at $100 million, John Hancock at $350 million, and the list goes on. Quite obviously, these suits did significant damage to the reputation of the industry.
Near the end of the decade, the larger insurance companies took action to address the concerns of the public and organized the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association, a compliance organization built to address unscrupulous sales practices. Another measure many companies took was to severely reduce their sales forces. Prudential reported cutting from 20,000 agents down to 9,000.
Companies were also dealing with some significant high-profile harassment lawsuits. In one case in 1997, two female employees of CNA Life Insurance alleged significant harassment from the president of the company, who was then forced to resign along with his deputy. Comments from news articles at the time claim that just a few years prior, the company would have likely swept such an incident under the rug. Another major suit alleging rather sensational harassment claims was settled in 1997 against Monumental Life in the US District Court in Maryland.
Another byproduct of the slow-down in sales was a consolidation in the industry. This included mergers and acquisitions along with many insolvencies. In the first half of 1991, 12 companies went under including Monarch Life, Mutual Benefit, and Mutual Security Life, among others. Many companies sold divisions that were non-core businesses in order to focus their concentration. In 1995, over 20 deals were made involving non-core business sales. Analysts that year estimated that a full 20% of the 1500 companies in existence were facing consolidation.
As mentioned above, technology brought about a major change to the industry. Carriers began selling term life insurance on the internet. Several quoting engines popped up on the scene giving consumers the ability to shop for low-price term on their own. Suddenly the long-held belief that life insurance had to be sold, not bought, was put center stage and debated fiercely in the media. One of the biggest disrupters in this area was Charles Schwab, a company that introduced both online sales and a toll-free number customers could call to purchase insurance. Only a very few traditional insurers joined in the online sales in these early days, including USAA and Ameritas.
Women and Life Insurance During the 1990s
The number of women in the workforce continued to grow. In 1993 there were over 58 million women in the US workforce representing 45.6% of the labor force. This growth can be attributed to the changing desires of women who wanted to forge their own careers, the economic pressures on families, and the continued increase in the divorce rate.
Women-owned businesses were on the rise as well. Estimates made in 1998 showed that women were on pace to head 1/3 of all family firms by the end of the century. Only ten years prior, women would not have likely risen to the top of family owned businesses, instead seeing male relatives put into that position. In fact, women-owned businesses were the fastest growing segment of the US economy in 1998. Times were changing, which meant that more women needed insurance.
In order to bolster sales, the industry again turned to underserved markets, including the women's market. In 1993, the American College joined with the Life Underwriter Training Council to hold several seminars across the US to discuss the opportunities to be found in marketing to minority groups, referring to these groups as a "growing demographic trend." One study reported that only 14% of men pursued women as a market.
It was still the case that during the 1990s women were underinsured compared to men. An article from 1992 cites a LIMRA (Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association) study that shows that on average women were purchasing $52,000 of coverage while men were purchasing $103,000 of coverage.
American Demographics, Vol 18, Iss 1 (1996)
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company in 1994 launched a program called WINS (Women in Nationwide Sales) in an effort to recruit women as sales agents. The program intended to appoint women to at least 1/3 of new agency manager positions.
Several companies simply added female-targeted advertisements, including a Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance ad that read, "All the women who won't outlive their husbands don't need to read any further."
In 1997, Cigna rolled out their program, "Achieve: a Financial Independence Program for Women." The program included nationwide seminars and written materials intended to help women better plan for retirement.
A study in 1996 by the IIAA (The Independent Insurance Agents of America), conducted to understand the women's market, concluded that women were not confident when it came to making financial decisions causing them to often avoid the subject entirely. Less than half of the women surveyed indicated they had contacted a financial representative for help in the last year while 76% of them indicated that working with a professional would be beneficial. There is no data on how these numbers compare to the corresponding male population. Another omission of note – there is no data on how often these women were contacted by a representative offering advice.
An article in Best Review (Feb 1999) entitled "The 51% Niche Market," opens with the following sentence, "As life insurers continue to focus on ever smaller marketing segments, some are rediscovering the largest segment of all: women customers." The article details several new marketing efforts, nearly all of them less than two years old. The article quotes a sales manager from one company who is responsible for training on the women's market: "It was hard for the [sales agents] to pull back and look at something new. We asked them, 'How many women business owners do you currently do business with?' Many of them did not know."
This same article outlines the differences in working with women:
"Women use a different buying process. Men are transaction-oriented buyers while women are relationship-oriented buyers. They want to trust the person selling to them and know the relationship will continue after the sale.
Women covet information. They seek advice and insight from others such as a qualified agent, but will often stop to consider their decision before they commit. However, if the agent follows up, the sale is usually made.
Women are often more loyal customers, but that loyalty depends on maintaining a relationship."
Some other tips given to attract the women's market included:
"Don't tweak the product or put it in a new package and call it new and improved. Change how you create business relationships instead.
Don't think only female agents can reach this market.
Don't sell life insurance only to the husband; consider the wife as a breadwinner too;
After spending lots of money on advertising to attract the female market, make sure your organization treats them as economic decision-makers.
Don't assume all women are alike. That will get you into trouble." (Best's Review, 1999).
A LIMRA survey in 1996 indicated that 72% of life insurance companies felt that diversity programs were some of their most important objectives. Approximately 44% of life insurance companies stated that they had these objectives in written form. The reasons the companies gave for the creation of these objectives included it being the right thing to do and to help them increase their market share. Most of the programs shared in the survey targeted cultural minorities with bilingual services/non-English language marketing materials. None of the programs targeted women directly (Managers Magazine, 1996).
Women's fraternal societies were still in existence, serving the women's market directly when other companies struggled to reach this market. In 1997, Royal Neighbors was the largest with $548 million in assets and a board of directors that was exclusively female. Other women-focused fraternals included Loyal Christian, Women's Life, Degree of Honor, and Catholic Ladies of Columbia. Many of these fraternals credited their on-going success to their personalized service to the women they served, along with their ability to offer other services that built strong relationships with their members.
Women in Life Insurance Sales
Several surveys, including one conducted by LIMRA in 1995, showed that women in life insurance sales sold largely to women. This resulted in income disparity due to the fact that women, as mentioned above, were purchasing roughly half the amount of insurance as their male counterparts. It was also the case that in general, female producers did not sell to high-income earners, further reducing their incomes.
A study conducted in 1997 by the National Association of Insurance Women shared some insight into why this might be. Their survey concluded that "women working in insurance sales are more likely to be motivated by a need to meet the needs of their customers, than by the challenge of the job" or the pay afforded them in this career (Esters, 1997). The compensation women earned was significantly higher for those working in insurance compared to other vocations.
Women reported difficulty in making the important business connections in order to grow their businesses. In one article, women discussed the advice given to them by many men to "learn to play golf." These women found that even after learning to play, they still had trouble integrating with men in a meaningful business way at the sporting events. Women found it difficult, no matter what, to break into the old-boys network.
Despite the challenges they faced, the retention rates for women in life insurance sales were on the rise throughout the decade, with one-year retention rates often higher than those of men, and four-year retention rates nearing those of men.
At the turn of the century, women had made considerable in-roads into the life insurance industry, but still had a long way to go to reach parity with their male colleagues. The female side of the equation had once again been rediscovered this decade, but whether the attention paid to it would have meaningful results is something to be investigated in the next article.
Anonymous (1998). "A Rich Heritage Since 1989." Atlanta Daily World, Oct 18, pg 3.
Anonymous (1997). "Cigna pitches annuities to women as route to financial independence." Best's Review / Life-Health Insurance Edition,Vol. 98 Issue 5, p86.
Anonymous (1993). "Cultural Diversity and Its Impact upon the CLU/ChFC Movement." Journal of the American Society of CLU & CHFC. Mar1993, Vol. 47 Issue 2, p88-88.
Anonymous (1996). "Diversity the focus." Managers Magazine, Jan/Feb 1996, Vol 71, Issue 1, pg. 4.
Anonymous (1998). "Why Women are Different." US Banker, Feb 1998, pg 13.
Bailer, D. (1997). "Fast-Track Group Offers Help to Women." New York Times, Jan 12, pg WC4.
Bell, A. (1997). "Monumental settles harassment lawsuit." National Underwriter, Vol. 101 Issue 40, p52.
Bell, A. (1997). "Women's fraternals appeal to a niche within a niche."
National Underwriter, Vol. 101 Issue 14, p7. 2p.
Christensen, B.A. (1994). "A look at the relationship between income and insurance." Trusts and Estates, Mar 1994.
Esters, S.D. (1997). "Insurance women surveyed." National Underwriter Property & Casualty – Risk & Benefits Management. Jul 21, pg 4.
D'Ambrosio, M.V., Hinchcliffe, R. (1995). "Female producers." Managers Magazine, May 95, Vol. 70, Issue 5, pg 7-8.
Dunlap, D.W. (1996). "AIDS drugs alter an industry's path." New York Times, 30 July.
Geer, C.T. (1992). "Gender Gap." Forbes, March 16, 1992.
Gilbert, E. (1994). "Nationwide targets female market." National Underwriter Property & Casualty -Risk & Benefits Management, Aug 15, 1994.
Goch, L. (1999), "Marketing Traps to Avoid." Best's Review, Feb, pg 43.
Goch, L. (1999), "The 51% Niche Market." Best's Review, Feb, pg 40-43.
Hitchcock, C. (1992). "Why life insurance agents can't work for you?" Consumers Research Magazine, Oct92, Vol. 75 Issue 10, p17.
Myers, G. (1996). "She works without a net." American Demographics, Vol. 18, Issue 1, pg. 18.
Nelton, S. (1998). "The Rise of Women in Family Firms: A Call for Research Now." Family Business Review. Sep pg 215.
Nussbaum, Karen (1995). "Women in Business: Working Women: Unfinished Business." The Washington Post, Oct 17.
Quinn, J.B., Ehrenfeld, T. (1995). "Churn, churn, churn." Newsweek, Mar 6,
Vol. 125 Issue 10, p46.
Quinn, J.B., Wilson, V. (1991). "Is your insurance company really safe?" Newsweek, 7/29/1991, Vol. 118, Iss 5, pg. 38.
Quint, M. (1995). "In Sales Pitches, Life Insurers Revive a Focus on Death." New York Times, Sep 29.
Pasher, V.S. (1996). "IIAA spotlights cross-sale opportunities via survey." National Underwriter, Vol 100, Iss 27, pg 1-2.
Pitz, M. (1999). "Metropolitan Life Insurance Settles Suit Alleging Deceptive Practices." Pittsburg Post-Gazette, 8/19.
Ramirez, A. (1996). "Investing It: A way to cash in as insurers get the urge to merge." New York Times, 21 Jan.
Sherrid, P. (1996). "Enter the virtual agent." US News and World Report,
Shook, D. (1998). "Fraud Suits Make Life Difficult for Major Life Insurance Providers." The Record, 12/13/1998.
Treaster, J. B. "Death Benefits, Now for The Living." New York Times, 27 Sept. 1998.
Treaster, J. B. "Life Insurance Loses Ground As Investment Options Grow." New York Times, 8 June 1998.
Vatter, R.H. (1994). "Women in the labor force." Statistical Bulletin-Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, July-Sept 1994.
posted inUncategorized on August 27, 2018 by melindasleadership with 0 Comment
From the disillusionment of the 1970s, the 1980s moved America to the right with the conservative politics of President Ronald Reagan. Elected by an overwhelming majority in 1980, despite his conservative views, Reagan oversaw the nomination of the first female Supreme Court Justice (Sandra Day O'Connor), saw the first American woman to go to space (Sally Ride), and ushered in the end of the Cold War with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. When Reagan left office in 1989 he had the highest approval rating of any president since FDR.
Inflation that had risen significantly during the 1970s continued to rise in the 1980s. In 1982, the United States experienced the worst recession since the Great Depression. While the economy recovered rather quickly, another stock market crash on October 19th, 1987, highlighted to investors that the economy had entered a new era of volatility.
In terms of women's rights, the legal battles over discrimination continued. In 1984, the US Supreme Court found it illegal for clubs such as the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs to discriminate based on sex. In 1986, the Supreme Court found in the Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson case that sexual harassment was a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and as such was a form of illegal job discrimination.
In 1980, the first woman was elected to Congress without following a husband or father into the position. In 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court. In 1984, the first woman was nominated to be vice president on a major party ticket.
The 1980s saw the rise of the yuppie, the emergence of MTV, the introduction of the blockbuster film (E.T., Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, to name a few), and the birth of the 24-hour news cycle.
LIFE INSURANCE DURING THE 1980S
The demographics of the US were changing dramatically during this decade. The traditional family, with the husband as the primary (and only) breadwinner was gone, and in its place were single-mother families (approximately 33% of all households in 1984), divorcees, new immigrants, people who chose never to marry, married couples with no children, and retirees. The population had grown 60% since 1960 to 236 million people. These demographic shifts had a marked impact on an industry built on the foundation of the traditional family with a father who needed to protect his family.
Life insurance sales had been flat throughout the prior decade, and the trend continued into the 1980s. In 1960, 64% of all individuals in the US carried some form of life insurance; in 1984, it was 63%. In 1960, 72% of all households owned life insurance purchased through an agent; in 1984 this had dropped to 56%.
In 1981, $371 billion in individual life insurance was sold. Group life insurance sales brought the total to $544 billion. Products shifted during this decade. The "family plan" policy that was popular in the 1960s virtually disappeared. Term insurance took on significant popularity. Due to the increase of women in the workplace, families covered by group life jumped by 12 million between 1976 and 1984.
One LIMRA study showed that replacement activity (dropping one policy in place of a new policy) jumped from 36% of all households in 1980 replacing a policy to 56% in 1984. This marked increase was attributed to agents working their existing market and neglecting new, hard-to-reach markets. Another contributing factor was the industry tendency to recruit existing agents that were more likely to sell to their existing customers rather than reach out to a new market.
Inflation continued to be a major issue for the industry. Loan activity was higher than ever, with policy holders able to earn significant gains by withdrawing their funds from their whole life policies and investing them elsewhere. This inflation along with the recession saw many consumers turning to term insurance and shunning the whole life policy that had been so popular for decades prior. Early in the decade, term insurance accounted for over half of the volume of life insurance sold.
Hotly debated during this decade was the tax-free build up of the accumulating cash value within life insurance policies. President Reagan's tax plan would have eliminated this provision, and the life insurance industry would have "died a slow death" (New York Times, 1985) as the value in purchasing cash value life insurance dried up. Fortunately for the industry, after all the debate, the cash value was protected from taxes.
In 1985 the news was dominated by the debate in the insurance industry over the use of gender to determine insurance rates. That year, the National Organization of Women filed a lawsuit against Metropolitan Life Insurance Company accusing the company of discrimination in both life insurance and disability insurance pricing. Organizations throughout the industry took sides, and legislatures across the country debated this hotly contested issue.
In March of that year, the American Council of Life Insurance took out a full-page ad in the Boston Globe and other newspapers across the country in order to defend the industry against NOW. The advertisement read: "Some people would charge women more than their fair share for insurance and call it equality. Sound like a good idea to you? We hope not." The implication here is that if unisex rates were to be implemented, women would have to pay more to compensate for the higher mortality rates of men. Advocates for the unisex rates and NOW's lawsuit claimed, "The insurance industry is the only industry that practices sex discrimination overtly [by setting rates based on gender]."
Montana was the only state to have implemented the unisex rates when the Massachusetts legislature began to seriously consider mandating unisex rates for all types of insurance. It is important to note that this issue was larger than just life insurance. At the time, women were paying higher rates than men for health, accident, annuities and disability income insurance, but lower life insurance rates. In the end, likely due to the intense lobbying efforts by the industry, Massachusetts did not include life insurance in the legislation it passed. In 1987, a similar law was struck down in New York.
In 1987, the AIDS epidemic hit center stage for the US and for the life insurance industry. In that year, a test was developed for life insurance applications, and rules were set regarding when and where such a test could be required. Companies added new questions to their applications regarding AIDS, and a new era of medical testing was introduced.
In that year, AIDS-related claims reached $487.2 million, a 67% increase over the year prior. This was thought to be an understatement of the effect on claims given that insurance companies rarely investigate the cause of death beyond the incontestability period (usually the first two years of the policy). In terms of claims counts, in 1987 1.2% of all individual life claims were attributed to AIDS, up from 0.9% the year prior.
The advent of AIDS introduced the industry to "living benefits," although the concept was already in the introduction phase when the epidemic hit. The ability and willingness to pay out a portion of the life insurance proceeds to aid a person who is terminally ill came about at the end of the decade. Initially these benefits were offered to those with cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease, and complications of AIDS. There were some initial concerns over this benefit, with many companies worried such a payment would be subject to taxation, that medical diagnoses could differ between doctors, and that some beneficiaries may disagree with the arrangements. Despite these concerns, this practice quickly became standard in the industry.
WOMEN IN LIFE INSURANCE DURING THE 1980S
In the beginning of the decade, over half of all adult women in the US were employed, and the vast majority of them were employed full time. The number of single women delaying marriage and/or having children was growing, as was the number of single mothers. This, in turn, meant that the number of female heads of households were increasing, reaching 7.7 million families in 1980. In 1981, women made up 54% of the workforce, and the numbers were increasing.
While women had started to climb the corporate ladder, they were well behind men in terms of pay. A study conducted near the opening of the decade showed that in the 1,000 largest industrial companies in the US, 28% of the officers were women. However, nearly two-thirds of these officers were earning less than $50,000 per year, and a third of them were paid less than $30,000 per year. The average business woman in 1982 earned $10,000 per year, while the average man earned $17,000 according to a report from a study done in Chicago. In 1984, 64% of the largest American companies still had no women on their boards, and only 8% had two or more women on their boards.
In the insurance industry, a study by the ACLI in 1987 showed that only 2% of the women working in this industry made more than $25,000 per year while 42% of the men did. Reasons given for this phenomenon included the possibility that men at the highest ranks of the companies had not yet grown comfortable with women in leadership roles, and that women in life insurance may have concentrated themselves in self-segregated groups, keeping them from the mainstream where jobs paid more.
One important issue causing trouble for working women was that childcare options were not keeping up with the change in women's status. As more moms went to work, they had to battle a system that simply had not kept up. The number of daycares was extremely low, many had inconvenient hours, and the cost, if a woman could find one, was prohibitively high.
As women continued to gain access and higher level positions in the work place, they were still, in terms of life insurance, underinsured or in many cases not insured at all. In 1980, 65% of all adult women held some kind of life insurance, but this was nowhere near the 80% of adult men who held life insurance. In addition, the average face amount for women's policies was $7,680 compared to men's at $29,000.
The Life Insurance industry continued to recognize the importance of the women's market. In one article the author stated, "Women are important enough as buyers and decision makers for insurance companies to be concerned with them" (Wexler, 1980). A marketing magazine suggested that the women's market was a "special" market, and as such, deserved "special treatment." Although what this treatment would entail is not defined, the author does indicate that there is a difference between single women and married women.
Nearly everyone was saying the same thing about the Women's Market – it was new, it was something separate from the "mainstream," and it was something worth paying attention to. The Boston Globe announced, "For the industry, there's the prospect of an almost entirely new market." A representative from Travelers Life stated, "We noticed the status of women had changed. Women were economically more valuable. They had a life insurance value" (Saltzman, 1980). Manager's Magazine wrote "The last great untapped market is the women's market" (Myers, 1983). Metropolitan Life was quoted as saying, "We think its [the women's market] going to be a tremendous market…Traditionally insurance companies would talk to the so-called head of the household, the breadwinner…but with more women in the workplace…the distinction between earner and dependent has often ceased to apply" (O'Connor, 1981). The Globe Mail stated "Many industry insiders still consider women an untapped market…It would be utter folly to ignore such a vast market potential" (Stinson, 1982).
Some strides were made in reaching the women's market. In 1981, John Hancock Mutual Life sold 32% of their policies to women, up from 20% in 1971. In 1989, AIG Life launched their Women's Group, a network of female agents challenged with reaching the women's market. While they do not present statistics on how effective the effort was, they did report that the first printing of their marketing material went out of stock extraordinarily quickly.
Sun Life introduced a product named HER, the main feature being that the rates were based on a separate mortality table for women instead of the setback method used in decades past. These new tables claimed to save women up to 40% on their life insurance premiums. Sun Life was not alone in adapting pricing for the new mortality gains recognized for women. Equitable Life Assurance developed a new classification for women based on new mortality tables, and Manhattan Life instituted discounts on the male 3-year setback for women.
An article in a 1983 edition of Manager's Magazine encourages salesmen to avoid female stereotypes such as (1) women are basically emotional; (2) successful women are tough, pushy and less than feminine; and (3) woman's place is in the home (Myers, 1983). Women were, in fact, looking at life insurance differently. A focus group in 1989 revealed that the main reason women purchased insurance was to help fund the education of their children. Women wanted more information on their options and how their life insurance would help them reach their goals.
WOMEN AS LIFE INSURANCE SALES REPRESENTATIVES
A prediction from an article in 1980 claims "During the 1980s, women will play a greater part in the distribution of insurance products…Currently the percentage of women in the agency forces has increased dramatically, due primarily to social and government pressures and good experience with women in sales" (Weech, 1980).
In some places, women were finally being seen the same as men. One author wrote, "Women will generally fail and succeed in the same ways as men, provided that they are selected in the same manner that is used to select males." The women that were successful reported great satisfaction with their jobs. One agent for Metropolitan Life, June Visconti, said insurance sales was "one of the most financially and personally satisfying careers a woman can embark on."
In 1980, Mutual of New York's Pittsburgh agency formed a Women's Unit, and found it to be a success. The company found that by capitalizing on the natural skills of women, including teaching, listening, nurturing and influencing, women were successful in reaching female customers. In 1981, 13% of the sales agents with both John Hancock Mutual Life and New York Life were women. In 1982, Sun Life of Canada, a company that had stepped up recruiting efforts in the women's market, boasted 24% women in their new recruits.
One report stated that in 1983, there had been a significant increase in US women selling life insurance. A LIMRA report from 1984 stated that 12% of the agency force was female at that time. By mid-1986, it had risen to 18%. The reasons given for the increase in the number of female agents included the fact that no particular education level was required for the profession, that the pay had no ceiling and was the same regardless of gender, and that life insurance was rewarding for those who were looking to doing something good for other people.
In the 1980s, the retention of women agents increased to equal that of men, however most of the women entering the field were new. According to the 1984 LIMRA report, 40% of the women agents that year were in their first year of selling.
There was recognition that selling life insurance to women would require a different approach. Women typically needed more information and more time to make decisions. Companies and agents alike were called on to provide additional information and services in order to attract the female market. Women also were believed to trust other women, and were believed to be the decision-makers in the home when dealing with financial concerns.
As we move closer and closer to present day, it will be harder to generalize on the women's market. We will try, however, to look at the 1990s next.
Allen, Frank (1980). "Women Managers Get Paid Far Less Than Males, Despite Career Gains." The Wall Street Journal, Oct 7, pg 35.
American Council of Life Insurance (1985). "Advertisement: Some People Would Charge Women More." The Boston Globe, Mar 25, pg 5.
Anonymous (1983). "Did You Know?" Atlanta Daily World, Jul 15, pg 3.
Anonymous (1989). "Life insurance cash for terminally ill." Chicago Tribune, Jun 15, pg 9.
Anonymous (1980). "The life insurance industry's relationship with women." PR Newswire, Sep 16.
Anonymous (1980). "Recruiting Women Agents." Manager's Magazine, 55(8), 32.
Anonymous (1981). "Rewarding career for women." New York Amsterdam News, Jun 13, pg 22.
Anonymous (1981). "Tells WLUC of Disparity in Cover for Women." National Underwriter, 85(37), 14.
Arndt, Sheril (1986). "WLUC Exec Says Role Models are Key." National Underwriter, Life & Health Insurance Edition, 90(40), pg 2.
Barnes, Don (1987). "The Woman in life Insurance." National Underwriter, Life, Health, Financial Services Edition, 91(2), pg 17.
Brostoff, Steven (1989). "AIDS-linked claims jump dramatically." National Underwriter, Life & Health – Financial Services Edition, 10, pg 1+.
Brozan, Nadine (1980). "Insurance: New Policies Toward Women." The New York Times, Sep 22, pg. A24.
Burrows, Julie A. (1987). "Start Selling to 50% of the Population!" Insurance Sales, 130(12), pg 20.
Gerstenberger, Paula P. (1981). "The Women's Unit." Manager's Magazine, 56(10), 29.
Jamison, Kent S., Retzloff, Cheryl D. (1987). "What the Numbers Show." Best's Review, 88(4), pg 36+.
King, Carole (1984). "Female agents: a progress report." Best's Review – Life-Health Insurance Edition, 85, pg 132+.
Kleiman, Carol (1982). "A Portrait of Chicago's Working Women." Chicago Tribune, Mar 7, pg J22.
Knox, Richard A. (1987) "AIDS test readied for life insurance." The Boston Globe, Sep 12, pg 17.
Landes, Jennifer (1989). "AIG Women's Grp. markets ins. to working mothers." National Underwriter Life & Health – Financial Services Edition, 50, pg 7+.
Lewin, Tamar (1984). "Women in Board Rooms Are Still the Exception." The New York Times, Jul 5, pg C1.
Lipson, Benjamin (1980). "Improvements coming in insurance for women." The Boston Globe, Nov 3, pg 22.
Myers, Ann (1983). "Selling to the Woman on Her Way Up." Manager's Magazine, 58(5), 34.
Myers, Ann (1983). "Selling to the Woman at the Top." Manager's Magazine, 58(4), 12.
Nussbaum, Karen (1983). "9 to 5: women's role has changed." The Boston Globe, Jun 28, pg 48.
O'Connor, Bob (1981). "Beneficiaries to buyers: Women are growing market for life insurance." The Baltimore Sun, Sep 27, pg T1.
Ross, Nancy L. (1987). "Women's Group Dealt Setback On Insurance." The Washington Post, Jun 25, pg F1.
Saltzman, Cynthia (1980). "Troubled Life-Insurance Companies Try Mass-Marketing tactics to Increase Sales." The Wall Street Journal, Dec 19, pg 50.
Stinson, Marian (1982). "Increasing Financial Clout of Women Attracts Insurers." The Globe and Mail, May 31.
Weech, C Sewell Jr. (1980). "Internationally Speaking…Women in Life Insurance Sales." Manager's Magazine, 55(8), 36.
Wessel, David (1985). "Insurers Battle to Stop Massachusetts From Adoption Gender-Neutral Rates." The Wall Street Journal, May 20, pg 20.
Wexler, Beatrice L. (1980). "Marketing to Women: Women Really Do Count as Buyers and Decision Makers for Insurance Companies." Insurance Marketing, 81(6), 26.
posted inWomen in Insurance on May 31, 2018 by melindasleadership with 1 Comment
Bina West Miller
Minnie M. Geddings Cox
I have been doing quite a bit of reading on the history of the life insurance industry in the US. This is due in large part to the fact that I work in this industry, but also because I find that it is fascinating story filled with countless inspiring individuals. I think we can find heroes anywhere if we just simply look, and the life insurance industry is no exception.
A few quick points on the early history of the industry to help orient you:
The concept of life insurance can be traced back to ancient Babylon where it is found in the Code of Hammurabi – the family of merchants killed by brigands were awarded silver1
1583 – The first recoded life insurance policy, a 1-year term policy that paid out a 400 pound sterling benefit2
1759 – The first life insurance company in the US is established in Philadelphia: The Corporation for Relief of the Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers and the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers
1839-1840 – States pass the Married Women's Property Act which allows, among other things, life insurance proceeds to be passed to a widow without being subject to the demands of the husband's debtors3
Women have played an important role in this industry from nearly the start. In this post, I'd like to share two important women from the early years of life insurance in the US.
The first is Bina West Miller.
Bina West Miller (1867-1954) was an incredible pioneer and entrepreneur. She saw a problem, understood how to fix it, and put her plan into action. She did this so well that the company she founded is still here today.
Bina began her career as a young school teacher in Michigan. Through her work, she witnessed first hand the struggles a family went through when the mother of two children passed away while the children were still young. The father carried life insurance on himself, but at that time, no company would cover women – in large part due to maternal fatality rates during childbirth. The father, left with no means to care for his children was forced to send his children to foster homes where they were sent out to work.
Bina saw the injustice in this situation and took bold steps to address it. In 1892, Bina founded the Women's Benefit Society in 1892. Her objective was to be "The Largest, Strongest, and Most Progressive Fraternal Benefit Society for Women in the World. Offers more opportunities to women than any other fraternal insurance society."5 Her organization offered women more than life insurance; it offered women a support network and a way to connect to their communities.
Bina successfully served as the CEO of her company for over 56 years. In 1996 the organization was renamed Woman's Life Insurance Society, (I have linked to the company page on their history) and remains in business today. There is quite a bit of research out there on Bina West – I will list a few sources at the end of the article and I highly recommend you take a look.
The second woman I would like to introduce to you is Minnie Geddings Cox. Minnie's story is rather different than Bina's, but like Bina, she was a pioneer, an entrepreneur, and an important leader in the history of the life insurance industry. Much of what Minnie is known for revolves around what is known as the Indianola Affair. Minnie, serving as the first African-American postmistress in Mississippi (serving in Indianola), was forced to flee her city due to racial tensions and personal threats. When she attempted to resign from her post, President Roosevelt refused to accept it, and instead closed the post office for more than a year. Eventually, Minnie did return to Indianola.
Minnie was born in Mississippi in 1869 to former slaves. She attended Fisk University, and initially set out to be a school teacher. After her return to Indianola in 1904, she and her husband opened a bank, the Delta Penny Savings Bank, only the second African-American owned bank in Mississippi.
Shortly thereafter (1908), Minnie and her husband started the Mississippi Beneficial Life Insurance Company, the first African-American owned life insurance company in Mississippi. This life insurance company and the bank were described by Minnie's husband as "monuments of protest to the injustices inflicted upon him and his wife."6
When Minnie's husband passed away in 1916, Minnie immediately stepped into the leadership role of the bank and the insurance company, and began improving the company. She expanded the company to nearby states, added training programs, and organized and held district meetings for her agents. Despite significant hurdles, Minnie was a rousing success. She passed away in 1933. The company no longer exists today, but was swept away in a variety of acquisitions by larger insurance companies.
There is an excellent paper written by Shennette Garrett-Scott on the story of Minnie Geddings Cox and her life insurance company, and I am linking it here. I encourage everyone to give this a read – you will not be disappointed.
To know that in 1892, a woman started her own life insurance company, and in 1916, an African-American woman was running her own life insurance company, should give us considerable hope for the future. We need to talk about these women, celebrate these women and recognize all of the female role models we have in this industry.
As always, keep it positive and smile!
1: Anonymous. "Life Insurance – It Goes Back a Long Way." Nation's Business, Jan 1975, p. 24
2: Walford, Cornelius FIA (1885). History of Life Assurance in the United Kingdom. History of Life Assurance, Jan, 114-133
3: Jones, Bernie D. (2013). Revisiting the Married Women's Property Acts. Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law, 22(1), 1-57
4: Anonymous. "Bina West: Founder of the Woman's Life Insurance Society." http://www.historyswomen.com/socialreformer/binawest.html Accessed 3 May 2018.
5: https://fee.org/articles/bina-west-miller-pioneer/
6: From the Mississippi Historical Society: http://www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/articles/421/minnie-geddings-cox-and-the-indianola-affair
Additional source on Bina West Miller:
From the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame website: http://www.michiganwomenshalloffame.org/Images/Miller,%20Bina%20West.pdf
Additional source on Minnie Geddings Cox:
From blackpast.org: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/cox-minnie-m-1869-1933


text:
Carli Velocci
Carli is a Staff Editor across Mobile Nations sites, but she uses poor Techno Buffalo as her personal stomping ground for her love of pop culture.
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Sarah Connor 'is back' in new trailer for Terminator: Dark Fate
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We learn a few things about the new Terminator film in the new trailer, which was released Thursday night.
The MCU goes on
Marvel announces Phase 4, including Shang-Chi, Blade, and more at SDCC
Shang-Chi gets its star, Doctor Strange 2 gets a title, and Blade is confirmed at San-Diego Comic-Con on Saturday.
No more friendly neighborhood Spider-Man
Spider-Man: Far From Home review: An Endgame sequel first
Carli Velocci 1 year ago
Far From Home is a delightful romp with everybody's favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but can it stand on its own?
Streaming questions
So, what's going on with DC Universe?
DC Universe is one of the more fascinating streaming experiments out right now, but do recent troubles signal the end of the service? Here's everything we know.
The Bad Place?
The Good Place will end after Season 4
The half-hour sitcom about the afterlife is set to end after Season 4, the showrunner announced on Twitter.
DC Universe patrol
Now is the best time to pick up that DC Universe subscription
It may have gotten off to a rocky start, but the DC Universe subscription service is now ready for the big league thanks to one of the best new superhero shows this year.
Not rising from the ashes
Dark Phoenix review: Good riddance
Is Dark Phoenix, set to be the final movie in Fox's X-Men franchise, good enough to be the studio's swan song? Fans, get ready to be disappointed.
For the love of Winterfell, please let Game of Thrones die
Game of Thrones was lightning in a bottle, so why is every network and streaming service trying to replicate its success? That's just how it's always been.
Finally finale
Here's what happened in the Game of Thrones finale (Contains spoilers!)
Did the Game of Thrones finale live up to the hype? Was it able to redeem itself from last week's horrible episode?
Tell it to stop pooping
Tamagotchi, your favorite childhood digital pet, is set to return this summer
The Tamagotchi On is the classic digital pet you remember, but with some new features.
Is it over yet?
Here's what happened in Episode 5 of Game of Thrones (Contains spoilers!)
We're no longer watching characters we've been following for eight years. We're watching a network set a show on fire just to get to the end.
Somebody really wanted our initials to spell SHIELD
The agents search through space in new clip from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is set to return for its sixth season in May and there's a lot to catch up on. Here's what we know.
Road to Borderlands
2K's Borderlands 3 preview event featured Moxxi bartenders - and we're not fans
Here's why those Moxxi bartenders at the Borderlands 3 event made a lot of us feel uncomfortable.
Party on young Padawan
Everything you need to throw the best May The Fourth Be With You party
Can you believe we live in an age where there's an entire day just for Star Wars? Here's how to celebrate May the Fourth.
May the 4th be with you...
Every Star Wars movie you can get as a Steelbook
Steelbooks are a great collectible for movie fans, so if you're interested in something a little different for your Star Wars collection, check out these metal editions.
The night is too dark
There's a lot wrong with Episode 3, but does it matter when the final cathartic blow is so great?
Spoilers ahead!
How does Avengers: Endgame set up the future of the MCU?
Now that you've seen Avengers: Endgame, what's next for the MCU? We can look into Endgame for some clues.
I don't feel so good
You need to Google 'Thanos' and click the Infinity Gauntlet right now
Even Google is getting into the Avengers spirit with an Easter egg.
Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 2 recap: 'Jenny's Song'
The world of Game of Thrones is built around the concept of stories, so it makes sense that this episode is full of them.
Read up
9 Marvel comics you should read before Avengers: Endgame
It's a daunting task to get into Marvel Comics in 2019 thanks to decades upon decades of history. If you want to read up on some classic Marvel before Avengers: Endgame, check out these stories.


Image Title: Double Cove Lighting Cornice By Eleni In Led Plan 8. Post Title: Led Cove Lighting. Filename: double-cove-lighting-cornice-by-eleni-in-led-plan-8.jpg. Image Dimension: 555 x 417 pixels. Images Format: jpg/jpeg. Publisher/Author: Vance Armstrong. Uploaded Date: Tuesday - October 09th. 2018 23:05:19 PM. Category: Architecture. Image Source: home-designing.com. Architectural Linear LED Lighting Systems Commercial Cove With Led Plan 3. LED Cove Lighting Green Luminaire Lights Throughout Led Decorations 10. UltraBright Architectural Series LED Strip Light Kit With Wall Regard To Led Cove Lighting Plan 12. MICROLINE COVE LED Full Surface Integrated Lighting Within Led Cove Inspirations 9. RGBW Cove Lighting SIRS E Regarding Led Plan 16. SGi LED Cove Lighting For Led Remodel 19. LED Cove Light At Rs 200 Piece Bhera Enclave Delhi ID Pertaining To Led Lighting Remodel 17. Lumilum Warm White LED Strip Lights Use In Cove Lighting For Led Remodel 11. Led Cove Lighting Profile Drywall For Stick Inside Design 15. LED Strips Cove Lighting At Rs 35 Meter ID With Regard To Led Decor 0.


Aboriginal Cultural Tours are a new highlight of expanding knowledge sharing programs. From learning about didgeridoo making to bush tucker and Wiradjuri Aboriginal language, you will experience my passion as I share what I can with those who want to learn more about the oldest living culture on the planet.
such as Didgeridoos, Coolamons, Boomerangs, Clap Sticks and more.
I also share Wiradjuri Language through many publications that are distributed through this web page.
Also I have created School Based Programs as well as Aboriginal Culture Awareness Training Packages where I go to many towns to talk, teach and share what I'm learning about Wiradjuri and Aboriginal culture.
We protect and love our Ngurambang (country) very much. In my art and Aboriginal cultural tools I tell stories about who Wiradjuri and Aboriginal people are. Where we come from and where we are going !
In learning and sharing we all grow strong and informed!


So I was out for a walk this afternoon and got to thinking a little more about memory, and about the various ways in which we are called back to some previous event or feeling, especially through scent (a certain combination of rotting orange peels and other vegetation takes me right back to the market in Dar es Salaam, and sun on pine needles takes me back to our summer hideouts in the woods) or music, which is so much easier to remember than prose. I think especially of the song, "In the Still of the Night," which I can sing verbatim, because when I was in junior high we used to take class field trips from White Plains to NYC and sing it all the way there.
It's all got me thinking about what is it that takes you back, and where it takes you – and, most importantly, how this remembering feels holy? "In the Still of the Night" wasn't holy, exactly, but it represented community, a whole busload of kids singing together, getting beyond the teenage cliques and the need to be popular or cool. There are other memories that take me directly to the holy – dark vaulted rafters, from a church in Philadelphia where I went for a youth conference. Sitting in the Sunday morning service, I had my first real experience of the presence of God in those rafters – as a total agnostic, if not atheist at that point in my life. Or standing on a mountain trail in the sunlight, totally alone feeling the immensity and the holiness of the moment, the glory of the mountains and the vastness of the sky. All of them are memories that have enormous power in my life still.
Which makes it all the more sad that throughout much of our history, we Unitarian Universalists have not been overly nice to memory. We've given it the label, "tradition," and treated it mostly as something that holds us back. Tradition, we say, cuts us off from a direct experience with the holy and tries to shape us rather than allowing us the freedom to shape ourselves. This attitude has left us, as a faith, wary of the past, depicting it simply as a place where one gets stuck.


text:
L'Epitaffio di Altamura è un monumento commemorativo della città di Altamura. Secondo lo storico Ottavio Serena, esso sarebbe stato eretto subito dopo la visita ad Altamura, il giorno 8 aprile 1807, di Giuseppe Bonaparte (fratello maggiore di Napoleone Bonaparte), che era da poco divenuto re di Napoli (1806-1808). Secondo ricostruzioni più recenti, l'epitaffio sarebbe invece stato costruito in occasione della visita dei reali Ferdinando IV e Maria Carolina d'Austria nella città di Altamura nell'anno 1797. L'epitaffio commemorativo è situato nell'omonimo "largo Epitaffio", ed è tradizionalmente chiamato epitaffio, sebbene non sia un'iscrizione funebre, bensì un monumento commemorativo.

La ricostruzione di Serena
Secondo quanto tradizionalmente riportato da Ottavio Serena, Giuseppe Bonaparte proveniva da Taranto e stava seguendo il suo tragitto di ritorno a Napoli, donde era partito il 21 marzo dello stesso anno. Il Municipio e la cittadinanza di Altamura andarono incontro e accolsero festosamente Giuseppe Bonaparte, il quale si fermò a salutare i rappresentanti della città nel largo che da allora si sarebbe chiamato "largo Epitaffio". Giuseppe Bonaparte in quell'occasione fece molte promesse, alloggiò ad Altamura in casa del conte Viti e in seguito ripartì. Il 9 aprile era a Venosa e il 12 aprile era già tornato a Napoli.

La lettera a Napoleone
Giuseppe Bonaparte, nello stesso giorno della visita ad Altamura, scrisse una lettera a suo fratello Napoleone Bonaparte:

La ricostruzione di Marvulli
Secondo studi più recenti dello studioso locale Michele Marvulli (1996), l'epitaffio in questione risalirebbe all'anno 1797, allorché i reali Ferdinando IV e Maria Carolina d'Austria visitarono la città di Altamura, come testimoniato da varie fonti. A supporto di ciò, la cronaca di Vitangelo Bisceglia (sconosciuta a Ottavio Serena) riporta come nel 1799 fu dstrutta, in contrada San Martino (il toponimo dell'area dell'epitaffio), l'"arma reale" posta due anni prima in occasione della visita dei reali:

Come ulteriore conferma di questa ricostruzione, nella cronaca di Michele Rotunno (relativa ai fatti del 1799 ad Altamura), viene citato l'epitaffio per indicare la direzione verso la quale erano diretti i fuggiaschi nell'anno 1799.

Caratteristiche
Il monumento inizialmente conteneva un'iscrizione, l'aquila imperiale e lo stemma reale. L'iscrizione fu cancellata e gli stemmi resi irriconoscibili in seguito al ritorno sul trono di Ferdinando I di Borbone, nel 1815. L'iscrizione non è più leggibile e gli stemmi sono in parte irriconoscibili.

Galleria d'immagini

Note

Bibliografia

Voci correlate
 Corte d'Appello di Altamura
 Mantello di Murat
 Altamura

Altamura
Architetture di Altamura

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I cannot thank you guys enough for doing such a splendid job on our wedding. Just love the way you guys can turn a simple click into something so beautiful. Thank you Abhijit da, Gaurav and of course Rig for making our memories look so damn gorgeous. Keep up the great work.


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At the top of first page of the exam paper, you shall see a statement shown below about "the declaration of honesty" policy that all students taking the exam are supposed to read and sign. Otherwise your paper will NOT be graded.
Please submit your student ID to SIS-119 interface in order to display records consisting of information such as section, exam rooms, exam score, etc.


Getting dressed up to go out is a real treat and at this time of year invitations come from all directions. School mum night outs, blogger night outs and girly night outs plus others. Now that I am that bit older I know what suits my skin and also what make up looks I like. My preferred look is quite natural and I tend to focus on my eyes rather than my lips. I also love a green eyeliner and often get comments about how fab it looks. I wear Provoc Gel Eye Liner which does not smudge and lasts for hours, it is my make-up must have and a great price at only £10. I would not use anything else now.
This week due to blogging I was in London and on the TV, sometimes I also have photo shoots, and I often do my own make-up. However you all know I like a bargain or freebie too! Therefore I am always looking out for make up samples. I often buy magazines just to get the 'free gift' because it is a great value way of trying products. I mix up using some expensive products and some cheaper products. This time of year is great for stocking up as there are many offers on make up sets or samples are given away when you buy products.
This advent I have aso treated both Chloe and myself to beauty advent calendars. I bought the Marks and Spencer one for me and the Benefit one for Chloe. They both offer excellent value for money.
Magic Freebies have put together a celebrity make-up on a budget guide which reveals the where the likes of Beyonce, Zoe Saldana, Taylor Swift get there looks from. They are sharing the penny-pinching beauty must-haves, and you can find out how to recreate these hot looks this festive season.
Beyonce's look can be recreated for under £100 and she shares one of my favourite mascara's which is the Mac extreme dimension mascara. Chloe wears Mac foundation and lipstick too which she stocks up with via Christmas presents from grandparents!
Which make up look do you like? The guide can be seen here and will give you the product options needed to recreate the looks.
Here Chloe is wearing Mac foundation which leaves her young skin flawless. You can get the look with the same products.


text:
'use strict';

var util = require('util');

module.exports = github;

/**
 * Stringify a GitHub project URL.
 *
 * **Example**
 *
 * ```js
 * github('assemble', 'verb');
 * //=> 'https://github.com/assemble/verb'
 *
 * github('assemble', 'verb', 'v0.6.0');
 * //=> 'https://github.com/assemble/verb/tree/v0.6.0'
 * ```
 *
 * @param  {String} `user` Github user or org.
 * @param  {String} `repo` Project name
 * @param  {String} `branch` Optionally specify a branch.
 * @return {String}
 * @api public
 */

function github(user, repo, branch) {
  if (user && typeof user === 'object') {
    var params = user;
    user = params.user;
    repo = params.repo;
    branch = params.branch;
  }

  if (typeof user !== 'string') {
    throw new TypeError('stringify-github-url expects `user` to be a string.');
  }

  if (typeof repo !== 'string') {
    throw new TypeError('stringify-github-url expects `repo` to be a string.');
  }

  var url = 'https://github.com/%s/%s';
  if (typeof branch === 'undefined' || branch === 'master') {
    return util.format(url, user, repo);
  } else {
    url += '/tree/%s';
    return util.format(url, user, repo, branch);
  }
  branch = typeof branch === 'undefined' ? '' : branch;
  return util.format(url, user, repo, branch);
}

/**
 * Stringify a github tarball URL.
 *
 * **Example**
 *
 * ```js
 * github.tarball('assemble', 'verb');
 * //=> 'https://api.github.com/repos/assemble/verb/tarball'
 * ```
 *
 * @param  {String} `user` The github user or org.
 * @param  {String} `repo` The repository
 * @param  {String} `branch` Branch, defaults to `master`.
 * @return {String}
 * @api public
 */

github.tarball = function (user, repo, ref) {
  return format('tarball', user, repo, ref);
};

/**
 * Stringify a github zipball URL.
 *
 * **Example**
 *
 * ```js
 * github.zipball('assemble', 'verb');
 * //=> 'https://api.github.com/repos/assemble/verb/zipball'
 * ```
 *
 * @param  {String} `user` The github user or org.
 * @param  {String} `repo` The repository
 * @param  {String} `branch` Branch, defaults to `master`.
 * @return {String}
 * @api public
 */

github.zipball = function (user, repo, ref) {
  return format('zipball', user, repo, ref);
};

/**
 * Utility for generating URLs.
 */

function format(type, user, repo, ref) {
  if (user && typeof user === 'object') {
    var params = user;
    user = params.user;
    repo = params.repo;
    branch = params.branch;
  }

  var url = 'https://api.github.com/repos/%s/%s/' + type;
  if (ref) url += '/%s';
  return trim(util.format(url, user, repo, ref || ''));
}

/**
 * Trim trailing whitespace from a string.
 */

function trim(str) {
  return str.replace(/\s+$/, '');
}