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According to the New York State Department of Insurance, as a result of reforms to the state’s workers comp statute enacted earlier this year, employers will save about $1 billion in workers compensation insurance premiums during the upcoming fiscal year. New York State Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo ordered a 20.5% rate decrease for the fiscal… Continue reading Comp Reforms in NY to Save $1B Annually

Europe’s largest insurer, Allianz SE, said it aims to increase profit and revenue in growth markets such as China and India by at least 10% annually. According to management board member Werner Zedelius at a conference held in Munich today, the carrier plans to increase net income from those markets including Russia from 539 million… Continue reading Allianz Looking to Increase Profits in Growth Markets by 10%

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco signed into legislation a bill introduced by the state’s House Speaker Joe Salter requiring insurance companies to give discounted rates to homeowners who build or renovate their homes to meet the new statewide building code or retrofit the structures to lessen the chances of storm or hurricane damage. Although the bill… Continue reading LA Governor Signs Legislation for Homeowners Discounts

According to a preliminary analysis by ISO’s Property Claim Services (PCS) unit, P/C carriers in the United States are expected to pay homeowners and businesses an estimated $2.175 billion for second-quarter property losses resulting from a total of six catastrophes in 25 states. This amount ties the record for the second-lowest number of catastrophes in… Continue reading ISO Estimates Carriers to Pay $2.18 Billion in Second-Quarter Cat Claims

UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest insurer, has begun to offer new policies to midsize employers that reward individuals for health results. These new policies are currently available to employers in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Colorado, and the company may launch them nationwide in 2008.     “We’re going to reward individuals for health results, not… Continue reading Insurer Looks to Reward Healthy Employees

The Solvency II proposal that would bring new risk-based capital regime for European insurers and reinsurers was accepted by the European Commission yesterday. The regime is expected to be fully implemented by 2012. The Comité Européen des Assurances, which represents European insurers and reinsurers, said it welcomed the initiative which it said would modernize solvency… Continue reading European Commission Adopts Solvency II Proposal for EU Insurers

At an industry conference held in Berlin on Monday, PartnerRe CEO Patrick Thiele announced that U.S. catastrophe reinsurance prices held up better than had been expected during critical contract renewal discussions. The renewal discussions were held in May and June, when many insurers with exposures in the hurricane-prone southeastern United States renew their annual risk… Continue reading Disaster Reinsurance Prices “Better than Expected”

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) has strengthened the ethical standards for financial planners who are authorized to use the CFP® certification designation, in an effort to ensure that consumers have access to competent and trustworthy financial advice. According to the CFB, Americans face increasingly complex financial choices, and they can rely… Continue reading CFB Board Raises Ethical Bar for Financial Planners

New European legislation to be unveiled today could spark a wave of merger and acquisition activity in the insurance industry, experts predict. Known as Solvency II, the legislation will overhaul the rules that determine how much buffer capital insurers must hold. Its goal is to better match the capital the risks insurers face today, and… Continue reading Legislation Proposed in Europe May Result in More M&As

According to a recent on-line survey about P/C insurance technology conducted by Fiserv, Inc., a provider of information management systems and services to the insurance and financial industries, nearly all insurers acknowledge the need to improve their underlying technology to compete more effectively and better serve their customer base. Although many insurers already serve customers… Continue reading Carriers Acknowledge Need to Improve IT Services