The State Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization continues to be bogged down in a political struggle between the President and the Democrat led Congress. The House of Representatives failed to override the President’s previous veto and last Thursday passed a new bill H.R. 3963 that will go before the president.

The White house released this Statement of Administration Policy concerning the new bill reiterating their opposition unless significant changes are made. Meanwhile the former Vermont Governor and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean called on Congressional Republicans to support Democrats in opposition to President Bush’s veto.

At the heart of the struggle are the states ability to set the program’s income limits in determining who would be covered under the program. While both parties are in favor of expanding coverage, President Bush is vehemently opposed to a situation where families are migrating from privately funded health insurance programs to a publicly funded program.

Another key factor is that while the President recommends a $5 Billion increase in funding, Congress has authorized an additional $35 Billion for the program.  Currently the program covers about 6 million children with new bill expected to expand coverage to an additional 4 million by 2012.

Unless something drastic happens soon, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that reauthorization will occur before the end of the current Congressional Session.

Yesterday in the personal finance section, I talked about how the sub prime mortgage crisis is affecting the financial sector. Well it is also having a large affect on the insurance industry as the two are inter-related. Some analysts are predicting that you may see large losses being reported in the near future by some big insurance names.

Mortgage lending plays a large role in the insurance industry. They are an integral part of the underwriting business. Insurance firms are also some of the largest institutional investors out there and as part of their portfolios some have significant holdings in the securitized loans market.

Now typically an insurance company’s investment portfolio is made up of so called “safe” investments. But over the past year credit rating agencies have come under fire over their risk assessment of the mortgage backed securities industry. This has caused some companies to have an over exposure to amount of risk they would normally want to take on.

Now while no one is predicting imminent financial collapse for these companies this may have a significant effect on some individuals. Those with cash value life insurance policies and variable annuities whose values are tied to their company’s investments may not like what they see when they get their next statements.

Many parents will be in for a rude shock when they try to purchase auto insurance coverage for their teenager for the first time. That’s because most insurance companies consider this age group as very high risk. Statistics will back up this claim, as drivers under the age of 20 years have higher crash rates than any other age group.

Here are some things you can do to help lower their premiums. Try to encourage your child to do well in school with perhaps the incentive of getting them their own car. Most auto insurance companies will offer a good student discount that can be as high as 25%, if your child has a G.P.A. of 3.0 or higher. Choosing a high deductible can also significantly lower their premiums.

If you drive a very expensive car consider getting your teen a cheap used car as the value of the vehicle they drive is one of the determining factors in how high the premiums will be. Safer is always better and cheaper. Premiums for vehicles classed as sports cars will be much higher than those for safer models.

Most important is that parents instill their child with the responsibility of driving safely. Many states have started instituting a graduated driver’s license system that will place restrictions on young drivers usually until they turn at least 18 years of age.

As laws will vary from state to state it is very important that young drivers are aware of these restrictions and follow them to the letter as not only will they risk having their license revoked but their premiums could rise even higher. So as long as your teen is able to maintain a clean driving record you will find that the premiums will start to fall over time.