Cervical cancer can cost a woman her life. But for some people, the cost of preventing it is still beyond their means.Crider Health Center is trying to remove money as an obstacle by offering young women free vaccines to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer."People's perception used to be that HPV wouldn't affect them," said Crider spokeswoman Annie Schulte. "But now we know that almost one in five teenage girls have HPV."In a study released March 11, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in four (26 percent) American teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease. The most common was HPV, infecting 18 percent of girls.Of the 30 HPV strains, only two cause cervical cancer, Schulte said. But the infection is responsible for more than 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, she said.The American Cancer Society projects that cervical cancer will kill about 3,870 women in the United States this year.Using a grant from the Missouri Foundation of Health, Crider obtained 100 doses of Gardasil HPV vaccine.

China Life profit up 42%

HONG KONG (Reuters)�China Life Insurance Co., China 's largest life underwriter, posted a 42% gain in second-half profit on strong investment returns, topping analysts' expectations, but said it faces a more turbulent market environment in 2008.

Investment returns at China Life, which leads rival Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., benefited from a near doubling in China's benchmark domestic share index last year, but stock markets have tumbled since peaking in October.

"In 2008, the company will face further challenges in view of the keen competition in the insurance industry and the uncertainty of the capital markets," Chairman Yang Chao said in a statement.

Shanghai's stock market, on which China Life depends for a sizeable portion of its investment income, has dived more than 30% since the start of the year on expectations of slowing income growth and rising interest rates to combat inflation.

AIG Group Management Division Launches Group Life Product That Expands . Employee Benefit Capabilities in the European ...

Employee Benefit Capabilities in the European Union 25/03/2008 14:30:00 Business Wire AIG Group Management Division, a division of the life insurance subsidiaries of American International Group, Inc.
(AIG), announced today the launch of a group life insurance product package that will be offered to businesses located in 15 countries of the European Union (EU).
Administered and underwritten by AIG Life (Ireland) Ltd., and managed by the AIG Global Benefits Network, the new employee benefit product suite aligns to the Freedom to Provide Services provisions of the European Commission s Third Life Directive.
"Through a new group life product administered by a single AIG operation throughout the Union, we are highlighting the power of one: One company, one policy, one contact for employees in Europe," said Gustavo Covacevich, president of the AIG Group Management Division.