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INSURANCE NEWSCAST can be read online at www.insurancebroadcasting.com INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Tuesday, 03/18/08 Here is a quick look at the stories that will be in Tuesday's INSURANCE NEWSCAST.
As Credit Crisis Loomed, Insurance Industry Executives Among The Most Confident In Their Ability To Manage Risks And Opportunities, According To Towers Perrin/EIU Study STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Insurance executives were feeling very confident about their ability to manage risks and opportunities at the onset of the credit crisis, mirroring their counterparts in other industries, according to a new global study conducted by Towers Perrin in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit. In fact, insurance executives were among the most confident, which is not surprising, given that they are in the business of risk.
Bear Stearns Takeover Sparks Fresh Financials Rout HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - An emergency rescue of Bear Stearns Co Inc stunned the Wall Street bank's staff and pummeled financial stocks on Monday amid fears that few banks are safe from deepening financial market turmoil. Bear Stearns staff turning up for work found the value of their stock options in tatters and the future of their jobs up in the air.
Bear execs lack golden parachutes as stock plan crunched NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barring some unexpected boardroom generosity by JPMorgan Chase & Co, executives at Bear Stearns Cos may find that their walking away money has been crunched by the credit crisis. Bear stock soared to a record high of $172.61 in January last year as Wall Street's mortgage and buyout booms peaked, but those shares have plunged as the bank played a leading role in fueling a subprime mortgage crisis that continues to inflict damage on financial markets.
Carlyle Capital bankrupt, to wind up fund NEW YORK/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Investment company Carlyle Capital Corp (CARC.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Sunday its shareholders have voted unanimously in favor of a compulsory winding up.
Fed Wades Further Into Risky Waters WASHINGTON/ CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve is taking a risk by opening up its own balance sheet to the same poisonous securities that have strained banks to the limit. But the risk of doing nothing is far greater. The central bank seems to be wading further into shark-infested waters by the day as it looks to shore up a blighted credit market that threatens to prolong the pain for a U.S. economy that many analysts fear is already in recession.
Greenspan Sees Many Casualties From Crisis: Report LONDON (Reuters) - There will be many casualties from the unfolding financial market crisis, which will lead to a large-scale overhaul of international banking regulations, codes and risk management, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said. Writing in the Financial Times, the former Fed chief said much of the financial system's risk-valuation models failed, not because they were too complex but because they were "too simple to capture the full array of variables governing that drive global economic reality".
PMI Posts $1 Billion Quarterly Loss, Slashes Dividend (Reuters) - Mortgage insurer PMI Group Inc (PMI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reported its biggest ever quarterly loss, primarily due to losses from its investment in bond insurer FGIC Corp, and slashed its quarterly dividend by over 70 percent.
Spanish Broker Gaesco Sells Stake In Fund Manager MADRID, March 17 (Reuters) - Spanish brokerage Gaesco (GAES.BC: Quote, Profile, Research), which has put itself up for sale, said on Monday it had agreed to sell its 37.5 percent stake in fund manager Gesiuris SA for 4 million euros ($5.3 million).
US FDIC Leaves Bank Insurance Fees Rate Unchanged Fri Mar 14, 2008 4:08pm EDT WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp on Friday said it voted to keep the rates its charges banks and savings associations for deposit insurance unchanged for 2008, saying it needs to build up its fund for possible future bank failures. "Because we are anticipating more difficult times, it would be prudent to continue to build the deposit insurance fund," FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair told an FDIC board meeting.
Annuity Suitability Summit Explores How To Best Serve Consumers In A Well-Regulated Marketplace Washington, D.C. (March 13, 2008) – Yesterday a Summit Meeting in Washington, D.C. of state and federal regulators, consumer advocacy groups, life insurance companies, and those who sell and distribute products gathered to address the critical issues regarding the suitability of annuity sales to consumers and the challenges of coordinating regulatory approaches to best serve consumers. The Summit was convened by the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA).
RIMS Media Advisory: RIMS Comments on Standards & Poor's ERM Analysis Proposal In November 2007, Standard & Poor's (S&P) issued a request for comment from the risk community on plans for an Enterprise Risk Management Analysis for Credit Ratings of Nonfinancial Companies. On February 29, the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) provided feedback to Standard & Poor’s expressing conceptual support of the proposed ERM analysis, while providing concerns and recommendations regarding potential implementation and resource issues in applying the proposed framework.
RAA Releases Year-End 2007 Reinsurance Underwriting Results WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an analysis of reinsurers’ statutory underwriting results conducted by the Reinsurance Association of America (RAA), a group of 20 U. S. property casualty reinsurers wrote $22.7 billion of net premiums during the twelve-months ended December 31, 2007, a decrease of $3.1 billion from the same period in 2006. The combined ratio for the group was 94.7%, a slight improvement over the 94.9% combined ratio reported for the same period in 2006. The combined ratio is attributable to a 65.0% loss ratio and an expense ratio of 29.7 %. For the same period in 2006, the loss ratio was 67.1% and the expense ratio was 27.8%. Policyholders’ surplus at December 31, 2007 was $75.9 billion, compared to $74.5 billion for the same period in 2006.
ING Leads Firms Offering Annuities in Marketing of Products to Financial Advisors Says New Report from Corporate Insight NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Corporate Insight, the leader in competitive intelligence research for the financial services industry, recently examined the methods that ten firms offering annuities use to market products and product-related content to advisors online. The research focused on the two most-trafficked areas of a firm’s advisor site – the advisor homepage and annuity section. Collectively, the firms featured average product marketing content on the advisor website, leaving plenty of room for improvement.
Milliman Announces New Long Term Care Claims Management Initiative SEATTLE, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Milliman, Inc., the international firm of consultants and actuaries announced today that its STEP Solutions(R) team is working with STA Group LLC (STA) to offer customers the ability to design, build and implement a next generation Long Term Care Claims processing platform. Milliman and STA will leverage the STEP-FAST technology developed by Milliman to provide a straight-through solution for the origination, issue, underwriting, claims and policy administration of insurance products. STEP- FAST is a unique technology platform that incorporates Milliman's deep product and industry knowledge into its core architecture.
BestWeek: Privatizing Publicly Traded Affiliates Offers New Way to Manage Capital, Add Flexibility for Insurers OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the last year, some insurance holding companies, including mutual insurer Nationwide Mutual, have opted to privatize their publicly held affiliates. These defections from the public market may be motivated by a general sense among the companies that they can manage capital, integrate operations and reduce regulatory reporting requirements better by being a private entity, experts told BestWeek U.S./Canada.
Travelers Commercial Property Coverage Goes Green HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In support of the growing trend toward more efficient and environmentally friendly building practices, Travelers (NYSE:TRV) Commercial Property Division today launched its Green Building Coverage Enhancements for mid-sized businesses. An endorsement to the standard Deluxe Property Coverage, this new product highlights Travelers' ability to keep pace with the evolving sustainable building practices.
Greater New York Insurance Group to Offer Excess and Surplus Lines Coverage Through GNY Custom Insurance Company NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warren Heck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GNY Insurance Companies, announced today that GNY Insurance Group’s newly formed GNY Custom Insurance Company will begin writing Surplus Lines Property & Casualty business. GNY Custom has an A.M. Best rating of A+IX.
Population Growth in Small Florida Markets Poses Opportunity for Health Plans NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that population growth in several smaller Florida markets is creating opportunity for local and national health plans. According to the latest Florida Health Plan Analysis, Aetna and Humana, along with the dominant Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, have developed strategies to capitalize on the population growth in these up-and-coming markets.
EquaTerra and Human Resource Executive® Magazine Study Addresses the “Is HR Strategic?” Question HOUSTON & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EquaTerra and Human Resource Executive® magazine today announced they have completed a comprehensive study that assesses what “strategic HR” actually means to HR executives, and explores how talent management and alternative service delivery models such as outsourcing can enable strategic HR. The study surveyed approximately 450 HR leaders, primarily based in North America, 29 percent of whom were vice presidents of HR and 53 percent of whom were HR directors or managers. The two organizations jointly conducted a similar study in 2005.
Eric Raymond, CLU, Corporate Synergies Contributed to Inside the MindsTM “Employee Benefits Best Practices” MT. LAUREL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Corporate Synergies, a full-service independent employee benefits consultant and brokerage firm, today announced Eric Raymond, CLU, CEO of Corporate Synergies, wrote a chapter for the new book, “Inside the Minds: Employee Benefits Best Practices” published this month by Boston-based Aspatore Books, America’s largest publisher for C-level corporate executives.
Harmonic Announces Tentative Agreement to Settle Shareholder Class Action SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT), a leading provider of broadcast and on-demand video delivery solutions, today announced that it had reached a tentative agreement for the settlement of a securities class action filed against the Company and certain of its officers and directors in 2000.
UnitedHealthcare the First National Health Benefits Company to Receive NBCC Endorsement WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) has named UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) company, as the first-ever health benefit provider of choice for its nearly 100,000 member businesses.
Allianz Life Introduces New MasterDex Plus Annuity Series; Offers Guarantees, Potential Interest and Control MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) has announced the launch of the new Allianz MasterDex PlusSM annuity series. The new, fixed-index, deferred annuity series revamps the existing MasterDex portfolio by adding new options – including the Income Plus Benefit rider on the Allianz MasterDex 5 PlusSM for an additional cost, giving the opportunity for consumers to receive lifetime payments that can grow every year with indexed interest.
Conseco Declines Partnership's Request for Board Seats; Review of Strategic Alternatives Underway CARMEL, Ind., March 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Conseco, Inc. (NYSE: CNO) today announced that it is declining a request from Steel Partners II, L.P. to nominate two of its representatives to Conseco's board of directors. Conseco also announced that it has been reviewing strategic alternatives and has engaged the investment banking firm of Morgan Stanley as its strategic advisor.
Builders Insurance Group Declares 12th Consecutive Dividend ATLANTA, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Builders Insurance Group today announced that member company Builders Insurance (A Mutual Captive Company) will distribute a dividend of approximately $1.6 million to its qualifying Georgia policyholders in the second quarter of 2008. This payout marks the Company's 12th consecutive dividend since 1997 and will bring the total amount of dividends paid to more than $42 million.
Horizon NJ Health Chooses HealthTrans To Provide Pharmacy Claims Processing And Adjudication Services GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Horizon NJ Health has contracted with HealthTrans, a national pharmacy benefits administrator, to provide pharmacy claims management and reporting services for its more than 300,000 members, effective May 1. HealthTrans expects to process nearly three million claims annually.
NAMIC Members Prepare to Descend on Capitol Hill Armed with 2008 Legislative Agenda WASHINGTON (March 17, 2008) – Hundreds of members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives will meet with their constituents in the insurance industry, as the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies’ (NAMIC) Congressional Contact Program gets underway next month. Representatives of NAMIC member companies from New York will be the first delegation on Capitol Hill this year.”
Shallow Quake Rattles Island South Of Tokyo TOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 jolted islands south of Tokyo on Saturday, a government agency said, but there were no immediate reports of damage and a tsunami was not expected.
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