The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved more than $250 million in low-interest disaster loans to Iowa businesses and residents due to damage caused by floods, tornadoes and storms this year. In comparison, the SBA approved $112 million in loans as a result of the 1993 floods. The breakdown this year shows that 3,111 homeowners and renters received $157.3 million and 655 businesses and nonprofit organizations received $92.8 million. The deadline to apply for assistance due to property damage has passed. However, small businesses and many nonprofit organizations can apply for economic injury disaster loans. For more information, call (800) 659-2955 or send an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.org. The filing deadline is Feb. 27.

The latest Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans found that the median individual deductible for health insurance coverage required by employers offering preferred provider organization plans rose to $1,000 this year, compared with $500 in 2007. The move has come as health savings accounts have increased rapidly. The survey also found that the average cost per employee for health insurance coverage rose 6.3 percent in 2008 and that employers expect a similar increase in 2009 along with changes in health plans. For more information on the report, go to www.mercer.com.

Wachovia Corp.’s 10 top executives could walk away with $98.1 million in severance pay after Wells Fargo & Co. acquires the company, Reuters reported. The severance pay will be under their employment contracts if the merger closes by Dec. 31, as expected, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The 10 executives do not include Robert Steel, who replaced Ken Thompson as CEO in July and does not have an employment agreement. Wells Fargo agreed to buy Wachovia for $15.1 billion in stock on Oct. 3, but since then, the merger value has fallen to about $9.3 billion because of a fall in Wells Fargo’s share price.

Wells Fargo Insurance Services Inc., a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co., has acquired the assets of Doeren Mayhew Risk Management LLC. The Troy, Mich.-based company provides insurance and risk management services in areas of property and casualty, workers’ compensation, professional liability, disability and personal lines. The deal is expected to increase Wells Fargo Insurance’s products and services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Wells Fargo Insurance is the fifth-largest insurance brokerage and the largest bank-owned insurance brokerage in the United States.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., parent company of Johnston-based Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., will host a “2009 update call” at 10 a.m. on Dec. 4, which has one analyst questioning whether the company’s estimates will be adjusted due to the automobile industry’s problems, the Associated Press reported. Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Edward Yang slashed his 2009 earnings estimate on DuPont by 26 percent to $2.19 per share, and said in a note to clients that he thinks the announcement will show that the largest car paint maker in the world is not immune to the economic crisis. A DuPont representative would not say whether the call would directly address its guidance.

Gov. Chet Culver will be one of the keynote speakers at the American Council on Renewable Energy’s Phase II Policy Forum on Renewable Energy in America, which will take place in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 4. The forum is designed to make policy recommendations for the incoming administration and to discuss how to finance growth in the renewable energy industry during economic turmoil. Other keynote speakers are former Sen. Tom Daschle, who has been nominated by President-elect Barack Obama to become secretary of health and human services, and Thomas Friedman, foreign affairs columnist at The New York Times and author of the best-selling book, “The World Is Flat.” For more information, go to www.acore.org.

American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. has declared a cash dividend of 7 cents per share on its common stock, payable on Dec. 19 to shareholders of record Dec. 1.