Moodys downgrades U.S. health insurers outlook to negative
As a result of the continued uncertainty of Affordable Care Acts impact, Moodys changed the outlook for U.S. health insurers to negative from stable.
By
Carrie Burns
Carrie Burns
Skewed HIX enrollment: 2 big challenges for health insurers
The recent news that 70 percent of Obamacares customers are 35 years of age or older poses challenges, specifically related to those in the 18-34-year-old age group, Moodys says.
By
Carrie Burns
Kaiser Permanente extends premium deadline
In response to consumer confusion about deadlines related to the Affordable Care Act, insurer says it will extend the deadline and accept payment online.
By
Carrie Burns
Insurance executives: Its who you know
Business opportunities come from getting to know new people and their interests, and this takes time. This was a common response from 82 insurance executives participating in a new Inter-Company Marketing Group survey.
By
Carrie Burns
Studies: Target couples for life insurance
Thirty-nine percent of U.S. adults do not have life insurance, according to survey results released by InsuranceQuotes.com. And many of the 2,000 Americans surveyed who do have life insurance appear to be underinsured and not as knowledgeable as they should be about their policies.
By
Carrie Burns
MassMutual to pay $400 million for The Hartford’s retirement plans business
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company has entered into a definitive agreement with The Hartford to purchase its Retirement Plans business for $400 million, subject to adjustment at closing.
By
Carrie Burns
NAIC CEO to resign
Citing family obligations and the desire to revise a textbook, Therese (Terri) Vaughan will step down as CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Her effective resignation date in the first quarter of 2013 has not yet been determined.
By
Carrie Burns
Gens X and Y more open to buying life insurance from a bank
Consumer awareness of bank-sold life insurance has improved, and much of this improvement can be credited to generations X and Y, according to a report from LIMRA. The periodic report, "Bank on It! Opportunities With Today's Bank Customer, found the majority of generations X and Y would consider buying life insurance policy from their banksignificantly higher than members of the older baby boomer and silent generations, where only about a third of these consumers say they would consider it.
By
Carrie Burns
Fitch: Life insurance industry to experience modest improvement
Active management of crediting rates on spread-based business, improved fee income driven by growth in assets, ongoing expense management, favorable investment results and selected acquisitions are all driving modest earnings improvement in 2012 for U.S. life insurers, according to Fitch Ratings.
By
Carrie Burns
U.S. life insurance activity increases 2.1% in June
In the first half of the year, the MIB Life Index is up 2.8% year-to-date (YTD) compared to the same six months last year.
By
Carrie Burns
Life insurance CFOs wont let low interest rate environment Inhibit growth
Life Insurance CFOs primary business concern is the current low interest rate environment, according to Towers Watsons recent survey. However, according to the survey, they are more optimistic about improvements in their financial results.
By
Carrie Burns
Health insurance execs: Industry changes coming
There is no shortage of opinions when it comes to the future of health insurance in the United States. And, opinions were readily shared this week at Americas Health Insurance Plans Institute 2012 in Salt Lake City. Connecture Inc., a sales automation technology provider in the health insurance space, conducted a survey of the health insurance executives at the conference, and made a number of conclusions, including:
By
Carrie Burns
Teleworking triples over the last decade
While teleworking rates remain highest among child care workers, writers/authors and sales representatives, the fastest growth has been seen in technology-related positions and others reliant on remote access to technical systems, according to recent research.
By
Carrie Burns
More than half of all advisers pushing VAs
Life insurers may want to take a closer look at their annuity offerings. The 2008 financial crisis has changed a lot of financial advisers minds about insured retirement solutions, namely variable annuities, according to a new survey by AllianceBernstein L.P. and the Insured Retirement Institute.
By
Carrie Burns
Insurers among “most admired” on Fortunes list
Fortune Magazines list of the 50 Most Admired Companies only includes one insurer, Berkshire Hathaway, at No. 7. However, the news outlet ranked insurers separately in their own categories: Property and Casualty, Life and Health and Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care.
By
Carrie Burns
Customer experience: Insurers improving
Insurers have spent years and years enduring negative criticism. Consumers may be changing their tune, at least according to 10,000 U.S. consumers surveyed for the 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings.
By
Carrie Burns
U.S. households investigating but not buying life insurance
New research by Cheryl Retzloff, senior research director of LIMRA Markets, has identified a market that is largely untapped by life insurers the single-household. According to LIMRAs 2011 Life Insurance Buyer/Non-buyer study that found only 39% of U.S. households recall having an opportunity to buy life insurance in the past two years, only 26% of single people recall having an opportunity to buy life insurance. This is compared to the 74% of married people.
By
Carrie Burns
4 insurers make Fortune’s ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ list
FORTUNE magazine released its 2012 list of "100 Best Companies to Work For," which contained four insurers and a handful of vendors and consultants that play in the insurance space.
By
Carrie Burns
Wellpoint, Northwestern Mutual, State Farm top customer satisfaction index
According to data from ACSI LLC, P&C insurers are improving customer satisfaction, while life insurers are steady and health insurers are slightly declining.
By
Carrie Burns
IIABNY reaches out to future insurance employees
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York hosted more than 50 high school students participating in insurance industry classroom-to-career education program.
By
Carrie Burns