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Posted On: Nov. 5, 2006 12:00 AM CST

'Some girls take my money'

A dissatisfied Rolling Stones fan who can't always get what she wants is going after what she says she needs: a refund.

When the legendary rock band canceled its Oct. 27 New Jersey concert

just hours before the show, Rosalie Druyan of Brooklyn filed suit accusing the Stones of fraud and bad faith for not notifying fans in time for them to cancel their non-refundable hotel bookings and airfares.

The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, seeks some $51 million on behalf of Ms. Druyan, who bought a pair of tickets on the Internet for $575 and reserved a $300 non-refundable room at the Trump Taj Mahal, and thousands of other fans who were stood up by the Stones.

Ms. Druyan charges that lead singer Mick Jagger sought medical attention for a sore throat before the concert and knew he would not be able to perform, but did not disclose that information in time for ticket holders to cancel their travel reservations.

Though not commenting on the suit, the Rolling Stones said the Atlantic City, N.J., concert had been rescheduled for Nov. 17 and Oct. 27 tickets would be honored.

The New Jersey show was one of a number of cancellations by the aging rockers during their 2006 Big Bang tour. A rare club appearance set for Halloween at New York's Beacon Theatre was delayed, the Stones said, on the advice of Mr. Jagger's doctor as were other gigs.

In August, two Stones shows in Spain were canceled due to Mr. Jagger's laryngitis. The European tour was already delayed several weeks so guitarist Keith Richards could undergo brain surgery after falling from a tree while vacationing in Fiji last April.


Call first; eat later

Not quite sure whether you're eating right? With the cell phone diet, you can snap a picture of your food--assuming your phone has a camera--and send it as a text message to a nutritionist, who will let you know whether to pick up that fork.

Unfortunately, your food might get cold or stale while you await the response, which generally takes about 24 hours.

Despite the wait, plan members aren't really expected to hold off cleaning their plates until they get the OK from their nutritionist, according to Mina Nguyen, a spokeswoman for the San Diego-based employee assistance program vendor that introduced GetFit Cell Phone Diet recently.

The idea is "to create an image or visual to see what they're putting into their bodies with the hope that they'll make better choices later on," she explained.

ACI Specialty Benefits Corp. created the cell phone offering to expand its AppleCore Wellness program product line, which includes health risk appraisals, disease management and onsite prevention activities.

Aside from nutritional content and an approximate calorie count of the food in the photo, cell phone dieters receive feedback on their food choices, as well as their body mass index and basal metabolic rate, both of which are determined in advance and stored in ACI's database.


Ink barely dry on law with a flaw

An Oklahoma law permitting tattooing doesn't come with any insurance provisions, but does include a $100,000 surety bond requirement--a clause one state Department of Health official referred to as a major flaw in the newly enacted bill's language.

Tressa Madden, the department's director of consumer protection, said lawmakers are planning to revise the bill, which went into effect Nov. 1, when they meet early next year. The plan is to replace surety bond language with that requiring tattoo shops and artists to purchase liability insurance.

Ms. Madden said there are many problems with the bond requirement. One main concern, she said, is that the bond is too low. For example, if someone needed a liver transplant because they were infected with hepatitis from a tattoo needle, the $100,000 would not cover a fraction of the medical bill, she said.

Despite the lack of insurance requirements in most states, insurance is a favored option for many tattoo businesses, said Susan Preston, president of the Professional Program Insurance Brokerage in Novato, Calif.

Ms. Preston said many tattoo operators obtain coverage because the industry is classified as high-risk. She said her business, which offers liability limits up to $2 million, has more than doubled in the past two years.

Ms. Madden said tattoo artists who apply for Oklahoma licenses would likely opt not to buy insurance because they still will have to foot the bill for the $100,000 bond.


Parallel tacks in branding

There are plenty of parallels between professional sailing and leading a financial services company, said Jan R. Carendi, member of the Board of Management of Allianz SE, Insurance NAFTA Markets.

Both require building a team with the right skills, state-of-the-art equipment and an ability to succeed in choppy waters.

That's part of the reason Munich, Germany-based Allianz Group found it appropriate to sponsor the Allianz Cup--the fifth stage of the World Match Racing Tour--that was held Oct. 25-29 in San Francisco, said Mr. Carendi.

Allianz also is a sponsor the BMW ORACLE Racing team, which Allianz says is "the only U.S. challenger for the America's Cup" in 2007.

Branding is another reason for Allianz's sponsorship of the match race and the BMW ORACLE Racing team. Sailboat racing attracts high net worth individuals. Their need for life insurance, annuities and other personal lines products currently represents an underserved market, Mr. Carendi said.

Both Allianz and Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., an Allianz subsidiary that enjoys greater U.S. name recognition than its parent company, provide products for those high net worth individuals.

Any doubt that competitive sailing attracts the wealthy? Larry Ellison, Oracle Corp.'s chief executive officer and member of the board of directors, is a BMW ORACLE Racing Team crew member.

Mr. Ellison ranks in the top 10 on Forbes' list of the wealthiest people in the United States.


Contributing: Roberto Ceniceros, Louise Esola, Joanne Wojcik