The majority of insurance agency owners say they will not be giving bonuses or gifts to their employees to celebrate the holidays or the end of the year, according to the latest IFAwebnews.com poll.

While state officials have already scheduled a hearing on the matter, one of New Jersey’s representatives in Congress also wants a closer examination into the compensation package for executives at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield.

The president and chief executive officer of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey received a 59% pay hike from 2008 to 2009, taking home $8.7 million last year.

A bill prohibiting specific uses of funds from the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund may not have been acted upon this year, but the anger by state legislators is likely to result in the matter being revisited in the next General Assembly session.

An “enterprise-wide transformation” is one step closer for Conseco Inc. with the approval of its shareholders of a new name.

Comparing Maryland’s auto insurer of last resort to big Wall Street banks who used federal bailout money for bonuses and other extravagances, a state Senate panel grilled the state agency over how it uses its funding provided by policyholders.

Set to dole out $195 million in bonuses to its current and former employees, American International Group is holding back $21 million owed to employees of its Financial Products unit, according to Reuters.

The executive director of the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund said there is “a misunderstanding” among the sponsors of a state Senate bill that would restrict the use of funds by the state’s auto insurer of last resort.

Employees at American International Group are accepting a bonus reduction of $20 million, nearly a year after their bonuses received national attention, prompting a U.S. House of Representatives’ subcommittee hearing.

A day after the New York Times claimed former AIG chief executive officer Maurice “Hank” Greenberg was steering talent to his new firm, Greenberg fired back, saying employee departures could have actually been avoided under a plan he advocated.