Chairman of Linkage Assurance Plc, mr. Babatunde Fatayi-Williams said the company has initiated merger talks with a reputable insurance company for the purpose of building capacity, increasing market share and providing value for its shareholders.

Addressing shareholders at the 17th Annual General Meeting hosted by the company in Lagos recently he said the move is for shareholders who have hitherto had to contend with their inability to pay dividends based on the prevailing economic situations and lack of capital with which to operate optimally and it is in furtherance of the approval obtained from shareholders at the 2008 AGM.

In his words “We have made reasonable progress with the merger exercise and are confident that it will prove to be the best way forward for all stakeholders.”

Meanwhile, the company settled claims to the tune of N377.11 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. this is a 9.91 per cent reduction in claims settled in the previous year which peaked at N418.59 million and an indication on better underwriting by the insurance company.

Last year, the company raked in gross premium written to the tune of N2.14 billion while its gross premium earned was N2.31 billion.  also its net earned premium for the year under consideration peaked at N1.77 billion.

In the same manner, the non-life insurer raked in commissions to the tune of N106.53 million with its total underwriting income rising to N1.88 billion. Linkage Assurance within the year under consideration, incurred net claims to the tune of 377.11 million, a 9.91 per cent shortfall from the 418.59 million it coughed out in the 2009 financial year.  Its underwriting profit last year was N573.74 million.

Also last year, the insurance firm raked in N19.04 million, N354.15 million and N59.56 million from its managed funds, investments and other sources respectively. the company also improved its bottom-line by as much as 606.38 per cent, reversing the N55.29 million loss before exceptional items and tax to end up with N279.98 million profit before exceptional items and tax.

The company also maintained its share capital and share premium at N2.55 billion and N729.04 million respectively in the last financial year while increasing its revaluations and contingency reserves by 25.15 per cent and 14.82 per cent respectively.

The firm grew its revaluation reserves from N351.85 million in the previous year to N440.36 million last year while its contingency reserve was raised from N432.36 million in 2009 to N496.44 million in 2010. Its shareholders’ fund peaked at N3.01 billion.

Short and long term investment maintained by Linkage Assurance last year stood at N1.25 billion and N1.13 billion respectively.  also its fixed and total assets last year were N707.49 million and N4.80 billion respectively.  Its insurance fund peaked at N681.62 million.

Fatayi-Williams lamented the ongoing legal battle between Linkage Assurance and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) over its fund that was trapped in Allstates Trust Bank Plc now under liquidation.

He said the company’s inability to recover the trapped funds four years down the line has remained a clog on the expansion wheels of the company and as such, the firm is exploring the merger option as a way out.

“Our company has in the last four years operated under great financial pressure as a result of our inability to retrieve our outstanding public offer proceeds of almost N1 billion from the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

We have however strived to keep our heads above water and continued to meet all our operating obligations in spite of this challenge. this situation as well as the harsh and unfriendly economic and financial climate currently in existence in the business world globally has regrettably made it difficult for us to pay dividends to our shareholders and we thank them for their understanding.”

Insurance companies, landlords and even Stanford Housing agree on a fundamental security measure for housing on campus: Strangers should not be allowed to enter. to realistically enforce this policy, the system that allows students to open their residence hall doors for visitors should be improved.

The DoorKing system is what currently lets students admit visitors into a building. the system conveniently allows residents to unlock their residence hall door when visitors call them by a phone located near the residence entrance.

However, only landline phone numbers can be programmed into DoorKing, and over 30 percent of students at Stanford lack landlines. this percentage is steadily increasing as cell phones, are becoming the norm for communication.

A frequent request from students is to enter their local cell phone number into DoorKing. when Residental Assistants had a conversation with Gene Awakuni, vice provost for Student Affairs, in the fall of 2003, they asked him if the DoorKing system could be changed to allow students to open their residence hall door without having to connect through the landline phone service.

In response, Awakuni said, “Student Housing staff has met with the Door King vendor about the capabilities for the upgraded software package that will be installed for fall 2004. new technology will allow for a certain number of local area codes to be programmed into the system so that visitors can call a resident’s cell phone (as long as it is within the designated area codes).”

However, this planned reform never materialized. one possible reason for this could be Residential Computing’s reluctance to create more incentive for students to forgo a subscription to a landline in their rooms.

In a Daily article published earlier this year (“Landlines losing out to cell phones,” Oct.1, 2004), Ethan Rikleen, Residential Computing Network and Systems administrator, mentioned that as fewer and fewer people get landline phone service from ITSS, it collects less and less money to cover the network infrastructure cost. As a result of fewer people subscribing to landlines, the costs for having a landline connection went up this year.

Rikleen said that 60 percent of the in-room fee goes to Networking Systems at ITSS, which manages the residential network in partnership with residential computing. if landlines ceased to exist on campus and cell phones became the norm, Networking Systems and ITSS would lose a great deal of revenue.

However, we hope Student Housing is not linking essential services to outdated technologies — in this case, the landline. Loss of revenue for Networking Systems and ITSS would not be a justifiable reason for a delay in the implementation of the upgraded DoorKing system that would allow cell phones to let in visitors.

Some students are even willing to pay for this expanded DoorKing functionality. In fact, a small fraction of students keep their landlines simply for access to DoorKing. if Networking Systems and ITSS charged students for linking their cell phones to the DoorKing system, they could probably generate more revenue than they are with the current system. this situation would be win-win for both students and the University, as students would have improved access to a valuable security service and the University could upgrade their outdated DoorKing system while making more money on a service students need.

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The wait for the shingles vaccine continues, and figures to get even longer, as word spreads that the Food and Drug Administration has approved its use in 50- to 59-year-olds.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet incorporated the FDA’s March 24 announcement into its recommendations. the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which makes vaccine recommendations to the CDC, is expected to discuss the topic next month.

Many facilities and insurance companies say they will wait for CDC approval to make the vaccine available to the 50-59 age group. the vaccine costs $180 to $220. Medicare part D covers it, but some insurance companies do not.

An estimated 1 million Americans a year — 200,000 of them between the ages of 50 and 59 — battle the painful, blistering condition known as shingles. It is a disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is part of the herpes family and is the same virus that causes chickenpox.

After an attack of chickenpox, the virus lies dormant in certain nerves in the body. for reasons not fully understood, the virus can reappear in the form of shingles, “more commonly in people with weakened immune systems and with aging” the FDA stated in a March 24 media release.

”the likelihood of shingles increases with age,” said Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “the availability of Zostavax to a younger age group provides an additional opportunity to prevent this often painful and debilitating disease.”

”We get calls every day for it,” said Kristin Campbell, office manager at Lima’s Pharmacy in McKinleyville. “It’s back-ordered until June.”

Campbell said she has 25 people on her waiting list and 20 vaccines due to arrive next month.

Costco pharmacist Derby McLaughlin said his list numbers 119.

”We’ve been out of it for maybe four or five months,” he said. “We just got it back in stock now — maybe 40 vaccinations — and we are constantly trying to re-order.”

Cloney’s pharmacist Richard Spini said more than 200 names dotted his waitlist last fall.

”the 20 vaccines we just got is a release from about four months ago,” he said. “That’s how far behind Merck is. We have orders in, but they tell me they aren’t going to fill them for another four months.”

”Manufacturing issues” is the reason Merck gave for the backlog, according to other news reports.

Since 2006, a vaccine called Zostavax has been available to people age 60 and older. It was credited with a 55 percent reduction of people developing shingles and a 67 percent reduction in pain at the site of the rash that can persist for weeks, months or years.

”now that they’ve lowered the age, a lot more people are eligible and it is apparently more effective when given at a younger age,” Spini said.

The FDA announcement to lower the age of approval was based on a multi-center study of 22,000 people ages 50 to 59 conducted in the United States and four other countries. Half the group received Zostavax and half a placebo. Participants were monitored for at least one year to see if they developed shingles.

”Compared with the placebo, Zostavax reduced the risk of developing shingles by approximately 70 percent,” the FDA stated.

Shingles is characterized by a rash of blisters that tend to develop in a strip around one side of the body, usually in the upper quadrant of the head, along the shoulder and upper back or around the abdomen.

Pain, or in some cases a burning sensation or itch, usually appears one to five days before the blistering rash. other symptoms include upset stomach, fever, headache or chills.

The rash scabs over in 10 days and clears up within two to four weeks, but one in five people will develop serious, long-term pain known as postherpetic neuralgia.

Other complications may include blindness, skin infections and neurological problems associated with hearing, balance, facial paralysis or brain inflammation.

”I’ve known people whose lives were destroyed by it,” Dr. Alan Glaseroff told Tri-City Weekly in a story posted online March 1.

In younger people, Glaseroff said, it tends to be “the rash, a couple of weeks of pain, the memory of it and then it’s over. in old people, it can be a lifetime of pain.”

The CDC reports one out of every three people in the United States will develop shingles.

Half of all shingles cases occur in men and women age 60 and older and half of all people living to age 85 will ultimately deal with it, the CDC says. yet only 10 percent of the over-60 age group took advantage of the vaccine in 2009.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa wasn’t among them. the 66-year-old was reportedly diagnosed with shingles by the Mayo Clinic early in may. the appearance of his right eye and head — and the obvious pain and discomfort visible at press conferences — raised awareness of the disease in the Midwest and may help some determine the wisdom of vaccination.

”in the case of shingles, a picture is indeed worth a thousand words,” said Cindy Denbo, executive director of Area 1 Agency on Aging.

——

Carol Harrison is a freelance journalist commissioned by Area 1 Agency on Aging to produce this column twice a month.

this question is for those only who have been in renal failure, please dont give me and copy/paste from webmd, i can do that.

what were your first symptoms? did you have alot of nausea, and what finally made you decide to get checked out. im particularly interested in those who have polycystic kidney disease.

thanks in advance, if you could share your story it would be greatly appreciated. if its more comfortable please email me, i need to know and would be so grateful for any experience you share.

I am a nurse. if you think you have a problem, you should get checked out ASAP. Don't put it off. Call the public health department and ask about free or low cost clinics if you do not have health insurance.

early symptoms are not very noticeable.
i worked in a vet clinic, for older dogs and cats, there is a blood test and urine test too.
protein in the urine is one of the signs.
constant thirst and constant peeing is a bad sign:the kidneys cant concentrate the urine.
nausea and weight loss is when the animal is in kidney failure:you will see animals and people with the eyes turn yellow(white part of the eye)
very skinny, dehydrated,the skin wrinkly looking.
refusing to eat, due to bad nausea from byproducts in the blood.
ultrasound of the kidneys will show polycystic kidneys.

I'm getting a scope done in a few weeks. What are the symptoms during and after the scope? Do they give you any medication? Does it hurt? Any nausea or vomiting during or after it? how much does it cost? (Don't know if my insurance will cover it) I'm really concerned and I would like answers. Thank-you so much!

I went through the whole process of getting tested for herpes earlier this year and it cost a fair bit of money so id rather avoid doing it again.
This morning I woke up with a headache, swollen throat, slight dry raspy cough and feeling naseau all day. I was hungry so I had food so am not experiencing loss of appetite. My boyfriend has gential herpes. we are careful as possible. is it possible these are early warning signs of herpes II? also I have a small cut down there, not a bump or lesion and Ive had a cut like this down there before and it went away. Doesnt really hurt at all. thank you.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes

Read that.

Just so you know, my first herpes outbreak was a small cut and occassionally when I have outbreaks, they come in the form of cuts. Don't you have insurance where you can go get tested? The sickness you experienced sounds like the flu, but if you are going to obsess over if you have herpes or not, maybe you shouldn't date a guy with herpes because as careful as you two are, he can still spread it.

go to the doc herpes consist the site of out break is a tingly hurt feeling then a out break of bumps hurt and itchy u always get a tingly feeling b4 an out break

Question

Recently, a friend of mine attended the funeral of one of her former students.  The little girl died of diabetes.  Her parents thought she had the flu.  They didn’t take her to the doctor.  She went into a coma at night and never woke up. my heart goes out to her parents.  their pain is unimaginable. my question is: is there any way to tell when child has diabetes when there has been no other sign or warning?  This little girl got sick on the weekend and was dead on Tuesday. our health insurance put out a very slick book about when you should and shouldn’t take your child to the doctor.  It’s designed to keep costs down.  Even our pediatricians office has a similar booklet for parents. I usually take the wait and see road, myself, when either I, or my children are sick.  now, though, I’m not waiting for anything.  I’m scared. does any one know the symptoms of the onset of juvenile diabetes?

Answer

My mom has seen various friends of my brothers’ come down with juvenile diabetes, and after the first one, she suspected it well before the kids’ mother did. what she noticed was an incredible thirst, like downing 3 consecutive glasses of milk. The reason for this is that sugar in the blood rises and rises (as the pancreas cannot make insulin to keep up with this normal occurrence), and the reaction is to get thirsty in an attempt to dilute the sugar. of course, water would help (maybe), but juice or milk simply increases the blood sugar further, so the problem is exacerbated. With diligence and education, it is possible to live a long and healthy life with juvenile-onset diabetes, even though the body produces absolutely no insulin (unlike adult-onset diabetes, where pancreatic function is impaired to varying degrees).

Associated Juvenile Diabetes Symptoms Question: In responce to Aleta’s request of juvenile diabetes symptoms. Frequent urination, no energy, weight loss are the most common symptoms. I’m not suprised that it wasn’t caught in time, many doctors seem to think everytime a kid is ill that he/she has a cold and do nothing about it. I was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes in 1966 at the age of 5. it took them a while to figure out what was wrong with me and as a result I slipped into a coma. my parents didn’t have any idea, I guess parents don’t famaliarize themselves with the condition if its never struck a family member before. The Canadian Diabetic Association have an active ad campaign right now that state over half of the countries diabetics don’t even know they have the disease. In this add they give out some of the common symptoms. This is probably why diabetes is still up in the top five for leading cause of death. many don’t even know they have it.

• Answer: The same with my parents.  I wasn’t complaining about anything, and so I had about 6 weeks of onset before they took me to a hospital one night about midnight.  I was 15. Symptoms over the past month included:  greatly reduced grades at school — from 4.0 to 2.0 work;  radically changing vision (i.e. day to day, my optometrist missed it, and apoligised later for not realizing that the vision chance was because of diabetis); and of course the request urination and thrist. Once at the hospital, I was so dehydrated that it took a couple tries to get a needle into my arm.  OTAH, they diagnosed me in about an hour.  I agree with Scott — parents don’t think that such diseases will hit their children if there is no family history, and we were all quite blind to the symptoms that were indicating that _something_ was  wrong until I was almost in a coma.

Heartburn / indigestion symptoms?
Please tell me what this feels like and the longest it has lasted with you. I have had sore chest pain on and off for about 4 hours now just wondering if anyone else gets this when the have heartburn or indigestion. I have no burning sensation so im just not sure . thanks

Special diets (food restrictions) do not work for heartburn at all. Heartburn is a symptom of acid reflux disease. Refluxing acidic material burns open sores which many people have on the surface of their esophagus.

So, you need to have a treatment for acid reflux disease. It may be due to gastritis. If you have severe gastritis, you may have reflux whatever you eat. a doctor should decide it after a diagnosis.

Some people, on the other hand, claim that medical treatment does not cure acid reflux disease and they prefer some alternative remedies. They do not believe in antacids or other medications. Such a claim exists at banishacidreflux.com I really cannot comment on these claims.

But, I think it is a good idea to visit a doctor first. If you have insurance, have an endoscopic diagnosis to learn the situation in your stomach. It would reveal a lot.

so i thought it was an std, but i’ve been to a clinic and got antibiotics for chlymidia and still after 4 days am having problems. the pain comes all the way from my prostate too. and it feels like my prostate randomly aches thruout the day. and theres pain when i have a bowl movement.

i don’t show any other symptoms for an std, no discharge or swelling. and no other symptoms for a kidney infection.

i don’t have insurance so getting to a doctor is gonna be hard.

Admin answers:

Just go to a walk in clinic not sure where u are but here doctors are free, so not sure , never heard of having to pay to see a dr, the med u got prob is not working and u just need something stronger, keep taking it till u see dr, and then get a higher dose, and also goggle the std u have and read about it its affects to make sure the sickness u are having are from that.

I have had fatigue, constant neck pain and headaches, blurred vision, and overall have just felt so horrible almost every day that I can barely get through the day. I have had fleeting chest pains the past couple of days. The other symptoms have been going on for several months. I did an internet search and the only thing that seemed to match is high blood pressure. I haven't had it checked lately because I don't have insurance and have not been to the doctor. I also have type 1 diabetes. (I am 26)

well i have a feeling that it isn't high blood preasure not that your bp wouldn't be high at this time though. you know you can always go to your local drug store and most have an automatic blood preasure cuff near the pharmacy so you can check it for free that way.

i think you may have hyperthyroidism.
check out these symptoms.
if you think this could be it you really need to have it checked with blood work.
webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hyper…