Mutual Of Omaha Plans To Eliminate 1,200 Jobs

OMAHA, Neb. - Mutual of Omaha Cos. said yesterday it would cut more than 1,200 jobs, or 12 percent of its work force, by the end of the year because of a decline in its health-insurance business.

About 250 jobs outside of Omaha will be cut, company spokeswoman Kathy Olson said. Mutual of Omaha has six sales and service offices in Washington, and Olson said the layoffs could have a direct impact on them. She said it would be two or three months before the company decides exactly which jobs will be eliminated.

The company cited an 8.5 percent decline in health-insurance sales last year. It said state laws in Washington, California, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, New York and Vermont forced it to stop selling major medical and small-group insurance in those states.

Since 1992, Mutual's annual income from premiums in those states has fallen to $17 million from about $72 million.