] After a decade of cost controls in the 1990s, insurance
] premiums have resumed their rapid growth - 11
] percent in 2001, 13 percent in 2002 and 14 percent in
] 2003, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
]
] Ford spent $30 billion in 2002 to cover insurance costs
] for 560,000 workers, retirees, dependents and surviving
] spouses, said Ford spokeswoman Brenda Hines. In 2003, the
] figure jumped $2 billion, adding nearly $1,000 to the
] cost of every Ford vehicle produced in the United States.

The generation storm begins to brew...