All About Insurance

Venezuelan investor sues Willis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:13:00 +0000

Venezuelan investor has sued global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings Ltd. over the collapse of the Stanford banking empire, saying he relied on assurances from Willis that Stanford was sound. The lawsuit, filed as a class action in U.S. federal court in Miami Friday by investor Reinaldo Ranni, accused Willis of fraud, negligence, misrepresentation and violations of U.S. and Florida securities laws.

A similar lawsuit was filed against Willis in federal court in Dallas earlier this month by a group of Mexican investors. Willis is located in Bermuda and has large British and U.S. operations. Chicago's Sears Tower, the tallest U.S. skyscraper, was renamed Willis Tower last week. Stanford Financial was put under the control of a receiver in February when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued for civil fraud. Prosecutors brought criminal charges against founder Allen Stanford and others in June. Stanford enticed investors with promises of higher-than-normal returns on certificates of deposit. Investigators say the bank ran a $7 billion Ponzi scheme in which early investors were paid with money from new investors. Willis played an instrumental role in enabling Allen Stanford and his companies to perpetrate a massive multibillion-dollar fraud against scores of investors, largely Venezuelans and other South Americans, the lawsuit said. Investors relied on phony assurances their CDs were insured and that Stanford's bank could be trusted, it said. Willis supplied the proof for Stanford, the lawsuit said, by issuing safety and soundness letters to Stanford agents on Willis letterhead and signed by a Willis executive that identified the insurance policies underlying operations at Stanford International Bank in Antigua and Barbuda. The letter proclaimed SIB's employees to be first-class business people and claimed that SIB had undergone a stringent risk management review by an outside audit firm, the suit said. None of it was true.

TigerRisk, Karen Clark join to evaluate cat risks

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 08:10:00 +0000

Reinsurance brokerage TigerRisk Partners L.L.C. said it has entered into a partnership with catastrophe modeling and consulting firm Karen Clark & Co. to help insurers assess, price and manage catastrophe risks. The partnership aims to help insurers develop consistent metrics for evaluating catastrophe risk, according to a joint statement Monday.

The program includes an assessment of how companies capture and collect data, and a review of how firms dissect and validate catastrophe model output. Today there is an overreliance on cat models, said Karen Clark, president and chief executive officer of Boston-based Karen Clark & Co. There are ways to assess risk independent of catastrophe models and to apply that knowledge to more effective use of the models, she said. The Karen Clark partnership with Greenwich, Conn.-based TigerRisk will help organizations enhance the profitability of their portfolios without model bias, according to the statement.

Pennsylvania probing Blues' trade practices

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 08:00:00 +0000

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department is launching an investigation of the states four Blue Cross and Blue Shield Assn. affiliates to determine if any engaged in unfair trade practices. Even though Highmark Inc. and Independence Blue Cross withdrew their consolidation proposal earlier this year, anticompetitive dynamics remain at play in Pennsylvania health insurance marketplace, Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario said in a statement.
The purpose of these four examinations is to determine whether there are any anti-competitive practices that violate current law and, if so, to take steps under the law to remedy the effects on competition, Mr. Ario said. In addition to Highmark and Independence, other plans that will be investigated are Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania and Capital BlueCross. Investigators from Pennsylvanias Insurance Department will review each companys data and business agreements. Investigators also will study the states competitive dynamics to determine things such as whether the four Blues plans use their market power to unfair advantage in areas that include provider contracting. All four of the Blues plans said they would cooperate with the investigation, but three of them added they are disappointed the commissioner is pursuing such action at a time when momentum is building in Washington to reform health care. Those three plans Highmark, Independence and Capital BlueCross also issued statements saying the Pennsylvania market is competitive and that the examinations would put additional cost burdens on the plans that eventually would trickle down to plan members. Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania said it welcomed state regulators periodic reviews of market conditions, saying the public can only benefit from more information and understanding about how the insurance industry works in Pennsylvania, which is the only U.S. state with four Blues plan.

PartnerRe to buy rival Paris Re in $2 billion deal

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:34:00 +0000

Bermuda-based reinsurer PartnerRe said late on Sunday it will acquire smaller rival Paris Re in a $2 billion deal that catapults the company into the No. 4 spot among global reinsurers. PartnerRe Chief Executive Patrick Thiele said the financial and global economic crisis led the company to pursue the acquisition. "The world is in the process of change and reinsurers and insurers will likely have to change as well. We feel we will be more competitive with a larger amount of capital and diversification," he said in a telephone interview. PartnerRe will exchange 0.30 of its common shares for eachParis Re common share in an exchange offer that currentlyvalues the deal at $1.7 billion. In addition, Paris Re also plans to make a special cashdistribution to shareholders of $310 million, or about $3.85 ashare, prior to PartnerRe securing majority ownership. Paris Re's shares closed on Friday at 12.30 euros ($17.17). PartnerRe, which said it had already acquired about 6% of Paris Re's outstanding shares, intends to acquirefull ownership through a two-part exchange offer, including anagreement with a group of Paris Re's founding private equityshareholders to purchase about 57 percent of outstanding stockthrough a block transaction expected to close in the fourthquarter. The company said it expects to be able to acquire thebalance of outstanding shares by the first quarter of 2010. A final integration plan is not yet hammered out becausethe deal is still six to nine months from closing, said Mr. Thiele. PartnerRe, which was formed in 1993 in response to contraction in the property-catastrophe reinsurance marketafter Hurricane Andrew, bought Paris reinsurer SAFR in 1997, and Winterthur Re, the reinsurance operations of Winterthur Insurance Group, in 1998. The Paris Re acquisition is not expected to affectPartnerRe's financial strength ratings, added Mr. Thiele. PartnerRe, which derives nearly half of its premium volumefrom the European market, has a large operation in Paris. Mr. Thiele said that gives the two companies a "compatibleculture," and minimizes any risks in integrating Paris Re intothe company. He did not rule out job cuts. Paris Re has about 400 employees, and PartnerRe has about 1,000. Paris Re was formed in 2006 by a consortium of investorsled by Trident III, a fund managed by Stone Point Capital, theformer private equity arm of insurance broker Marsh & McLennan. Other investors included Hellman & Friedman, Vestar CapitalPartners and ABN Amro. PartnerRe Chief Financial Officer Albert Benchimol told Reuters the acquisition was expected to be modestly accretiveto PartnerRe's book value, and open up significant opportunities. In December 2006, Paris Re reached an agreement to assumethe reinsurance business of French insurer AXA. AXA still ownssome Paris Re stock and has agreed to the Partner Re exchangeagreement, said Mr. Thiele. In addition, AXA will remain responsible for maintaining reserves for any AXA Re liabilities prior to 2006, cutting therisk of prior-year claims. PartnerRe, based on shareholders' equity, currently ranksas the 8th largest global reinsurer, and expects to land in theNo. 4 spot after the acquisition, said Mr. Benchimol. The world's top three reinsurers are Munich Reinsurance Co., Swiss Reinsurance Co.,and the reinsurance operations of Warren Buffett's BerkshireHathaway.

$30 billion to AIG

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:08:00 +0000

The U.S. Treasury Department has committed to accouterment American International Group Inc. with as abundant as $29.84 billion in added funds over the abutting bristles years, according to the insurer’s filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which confirms an acceding accomplished in March.

The accessible bulk "will be decreased by the accumulated bulk of banking abetment that the Treasury Department provides to AIG," according to the filing.

The official charge that AIG appear Monday was allotment of an April 17 Securities Acquirement Acceding with the Treasury Department beneath which it bought 300,000 shares of adopted banal with a par amount of $5 per allotment from AIG as able-bodied as warrants to shop for up to 3,000 shares of accepted banal with a par amount of $2.50 per share, according to the filing.

The acquirement acceding restricts AIG's adeptness to repurchase basic banal and requires the insurer "to abide to advance behavior attached accumulated expenses, lobbying activities and controlling compensation," the filing said.

An AIG agent could not be accomplished for comment.

Exxon Mobil plans

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:15:00 +0000

Exxon Mobil Corp., Irving, Texas, is expecting to contribute $4.6 billion to its worldwide pension plans in 2009, the company said this afternoon.

The company will contribute $3 billion to its U.S. plans and $1.6 billion to non-U.S. plans, according to its annual report, filed today with the SEC. Last year, Exxon Mobil contributed $52 million to its U.S. plans and $956 million to its non-U.S. plans. Fair value of the oil company's U.S. plans was $6.6 billion as of Dec. 31, down 37% for the year. Non-U.S. plans' fair asset value was $11.3 billion at the end of 2008, down 34% from a year earlier. This story was originally published by http://www.pionline.com, sister publication of Business Insurance.

Old Data to Manage Risk

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:22:00 +0000

Few insurers are application authentic and appropriate advice to abutment decisionmaking, and beneath still accept baffled book assay or accomplish approved accident stress-testing, according to a analysis by the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit.

And while insurers accept become adequate with the way they administer accident aural specific sectors, best accept not invested in enterprisewide methods of managing exposures, a address based on the allegation concludes.

The allegation were based on the responses of 58 allowance admiral who were allotment of a beyond 446-respondent common report, "Strengthening Governance, Accident and Compliance in the Allowance Industry." The survey, completed in January, was sponsored by SAP A.G., a Walldorf, Germany-basedcomputer application company.

The address declared that best insurers abide to administer "through the rear-view mirror," basing their accomplishments on old reports. They are, however, authoritative moves to improve their approach, according to the findings.

Alliant Consolidates

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:32:00 +0000

Alliant Insurance Services Inc. has consolidated all of its retail brokerage operations into a new single unit under the direction of Ralph Hurst.
Mr. Hurst, who formerly was one of several group operating presidents at Alliant, is now president of the national brokerage unit. In addition, the Newport Beach, Calif.-based broker also has consolidated all of its nonretail brokerage operations, such as third-party administration, into Alliant Specialty Insurance Services. ASIS President Sean McConlogue will be responsible for directing the nonretail operations and will continue in his role as president of Tribal First, Alliant's tribal nations insurance program. Mr. Hurst, who is based in Newport Beach, Calif., and Mr. McConlogue, who is based in Kearny Mesa, Calif., report to Alliant Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom Corbett. Greg Zimmer remains president and chief financial officer of Alliant, and Jerry Hall remains executive vp and chief operating officer.

Allianz Grows to $180 million

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:24:00 +0000

A accident band placed by German insurer Allianz SE has developed to $180 million, according to Goldman Sachs & Co., which abiding the transaction.

The bond, Blue Fin II, was initially placed aftermost ages for $150 million. It provides Munich-based Allianz with three-year aegis adjoin U.S. blow and convulsion losses.

Blue Fin II is the fourth accident band transaction to appear to bazaar this year. If successful, the alms will booty fresh arising so far in 2009 to $755 million.

The accord is accepted to abutting April 16. Fresh York-based S&P has assigned a basic appraisement of BB bare to the deal.

Last month, a accident band placed by Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group Inc. was added to $225 actor from $200 actor because of broker demand.

Experts say fresh accident bonds advancing to bazaar this year affection added structures and tighter accessory requirements, advocacy broker appetence for the deals.

Study Supply Chain Risk

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:22:00 +0000

Managing supply chain risk is an escalating concern among executives who say they do not have the proper tools for the job, a study by IBM Corp. reveals.
IBM's study, "The Smarter Supply Chain of the Future," surveyed around 400 supply chain executives in 25 countries. It found that 38% of the respondents manage risk and supply chain performance to some degree. The executives cited the lack of standardized processes, insufficient data and inadequate technologies as stumbling blocks preventing effective supply chain risk management. "As important as cheaper, faster, better is, this year, we are beginning to hear a new verse—a clear message about the overwhelming need for greater visibility and flexibility to manage risk," said Sanjeev Nagrath, global leader, supply chain risk management for Armonk, New York-based IBM's global business services unit, in a statement. Sixty percent of the respondents said supply chain risk is an escalating concern. The study is available at .

Market Crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:12:00 +0000

The accepted bread-and-butter crisis actual acceptable will advance to a adamantine bazaar with college premiums and a fundamentally stronger property/casualty allowance industry, concludes a address by New York-based Advisen Ltd.

The address belief the bread-and-butter crisis' aftereffect on P/C insurers said while the industry has had a history of adherence with little aberration about to the all-embracing economy, "this recession is different."

"Past recessions accept absolutely had somewhat of an aftereffect on appeal for insurance, as able-bodied as anon acquired losses to mount. The severity of the accepted recession will aggravate these abrogating impacts on the industry, authoritative way for a agitated 2009," the address said.

The accepted bread-and-butter altitude will "cause acknowledgment units to shrink, businesses to fail, and force companies to accede budget-cutting measures such as college retentions and lower limits," the address said.

It will additionally affect incurred losses due to fraud, added able lawsuits and college workers advantage payouts. "These capital-draining developments in affiliation with brackish basic markets" will actual acceptable advance to a adamantine market, the address concluded.

Working in Insurance Industry Drops

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:14:00 +0000

The unemployment rate among U.S. insurance industry companies--which includes both insurers and intermediaries--stood at 3.5% in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

During 2008, 580,000 people were laid off in the broader financial services sector, increasing the unemployment rate in the insurance industry, which had hovered around 3.0% throughout 2008, according to the BLS. Overall, the number of people working in the insurance industry was 2.3 million in January 2008, according to the BLS's seasonally adjusted statistics. For December, the agency predicts that number will have dropped to 2.2 million, and a further drop of about 2,000 employees is expected for January 2009. Across all nonfarm sectors, 598,000 people nationwide lost their jobs last month, according to the BLS. The U.S. unemployment rate rose from 7.2% to 7.6%, and the total number of unemployed people is approximately 11.6 million, the BLS said last week.

Dead Health Insurance Leads

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:56:00 +0000

Spending time on asleep bloom allowance sales leads is a bad abstraction for abounding reasons. As you can imagine, if a customer does not appetite to shop for from you they apparently don’t appetite to apprehend from you on a approved basis. So not alone are you crumbling your time, but you are accomplishing the aforementioned to the consumer. Instead of authoritative this mistake, do yourself a favor and abstracted abeyant bloom leads from those that accept no adventitious of axis into a sale. By accomplishing this you will save yourself a lot of time which you can again put appear accepting in blow with consumers who may be absorbed in what you are offering.

How can you acquaint if a accumulation bloom allowance advance or approved bloom advance is dead? The best way of accomplishing this is to ask the consumer. If they acquaint you that they are affective on or accept already purchased a action you can be blow assured that the advance is dead. You can acknowledge the customer for his or her time, and acquaint them that you are consistently accessible in the approaching if annihilation comes up. Don’t be abrupt or aweless because you never apperceive what is activity to appear in the future. You don’t appetite to bake any bridges alike if you anticipate that the advance is dead.

Bank Insurance Revenues

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:42:00 +0000

U.S. Bank Holding Companies' total insurance revenues increased to $43.7 billion in 2007, a 0.5% increase over 2006, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the Washington-based American Bankers Insurance Assn. and Radnor, Pa.-based consultant Michael White Associates.

During 2007, 637 bank holding companies—68.1% of those reporting—earned some type of insurance-related revenue, compared with 642 in 2006, according to the analysis. Bank holding company insurance brokerage fee income increased 1% to $12.3 billion in 2007. "Insurance brokerage fee income had been racing upward at a compound annual growth rate of 19.5% from 2001 through 2006," Valerie Barton, the ABIA's executive director, said in a statement, noting that the soft property/casualty market and other factors have slowed growth. "Insurance brokerage remains healthy, and the prospects for a resumption of growth in bank insurance revenues are very positive." Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., HSBC North America Holdings, BB&T Corp. and Bank of America Corp. were the top five bank holding companies in terms of total insurance fee income.

Insurance Industry Veterans

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:30:00 +0000

Insurance industry veterans Rod Fox and James N. Stanard have started a new reinsurance intermediary, Alpha Re, Mr. Fox said.

Alpha Re, which may change its name later, began operations on Feb. 1, focused primarily on catastrophe business. "But we will not limit ourselves to any line of business..." Mr. Fox said. "We expect to build a high-end, private boutique reinsurance brokerage firm and focus on a small group of clients, and provide a very high level of expertise and capabilities to those clients." He did not disclose expected revenues for the operation. Alpha Re now is headquartered in Shelton, Conn., but eventually will be based in Greenwich, Conn., Mr. Fox said. It also has offices in San Antonio and Minneapolis. Messrs. Fox and Stanard are financing the privately held firm primarily through Greenwich, Conn.-based F&S Ventures, their privately held investment company, Mr. Fox said. Late last year, the two announced they had set up a separate operation, New Asset Class Management, an underwriting management firm in Greenwich, Conn. Mr. Fox, who previously was CEO of New York based Praetorian Financial Group Ltd. and a reinsurance brokerage executive before that, is chairman and chief executive officer of Alpha Re. Mr. Stanard will act as a consultant and advise Alpha Re's clients, but have no formal title, said Mr. Fox. Mr. Stanard served as chairman and chief executive officer of Pembroke, Bermuda-based RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. Another industry veteran, Ted Blanch Jr., formerly chairman and CEO of E.W. Blanch Holdings Inc., is vice chairman of Alpha Re. Other partners in the firm, which has nine employees, include Larry LaMere, who built Dallas-based E.W. Blanch Holdings' backroom operation, said Mr. Fox. Also on board is Marc Lauricella, Praetorian's former chief marketing officer. "We have formed a partnership with the BMS Group in London" to provide services including claims handling, contract writing, catastrophe modeling and a "London intermediary capability," Mr. Fox said. "To us, that's worked very well, and we're excited about our partnership with them," which has "really enabled us to get off the ground very quickly and begin doing business." Mr. Fox said one factor behind Alpha Re's formation is "some dislocation in the market with management changes at various brokers. There are brokers out there getting out of the business." Another is "employees that want to work in a private firm rather than in a public firm. The brokerage business, frankly, is more conducive to a private firm, and we see clients that are looking for experienced capability from an advisory perspective," he said. "I think it's well-understood that...most people can place transactions in this marketplace, but we think we can deliver a higher level of solutions to the customers out there," he said. Prospective clients and employees' initial response to Alpha Re "has been great. I think people are looking for answers, and they're looking for a fresh perspective," Mr. Fox said.

Austrian Insurance Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 09:28:00 +0000

The Austrian insurance industry saw a modest 1.9%rise in premium income in 2007, to €15.8 billion ($23.4 billion), according topreliminary figures released by the Austrian Insurance Assn.

The growth rate for 2008 is expected to be about the same as lastyear, according to the Versicherungsverband Osterreich, based inVienna. The relatively moderate growth rate in 2007 was due largely to thedecline of single premium payments in life insurance, the VVO said. Onthe claims side, there was an increase of 10.7%, to €10.7 billion ($15.9 billion),because of higher payments on expiring life insurances, according tothe association. Premium volume in property and casualty insurance grew in 2007 to €7.2 billion ($10.7 billion), an increase of 3.1%. Insurance benefits paid in the sector last year totaled about€4.7 billion ($7.0 billion), an increase of 1.3%. Growth in the property and casualty sector in 2008 is forecast to beabout 2.6%, the VVO reported.

Insurers Lag Customers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:13:00 +0000

Insurers are assuming signs of aggravating to acclimate their business models to issues accompanying to altitude change, but added assignment needs to be done as ecology liabilities increase, according to a address by the Boston-based Ceres broker coalition.

"From Risk to Opportunity: Insurer Responses to Altitude Change 2008," outlines 643 climate-related activities that 244 insurers from 29 countries put in abode over the accomplished year to accord with growing exposures consistent from altitude change. According to Ceres, insurers "have amorphous to embrace a added adult access to altitude change," but the industry is "still in its infancy" as far as artefact development, casework and coverage.

"In abounding ways, insurers are still communicable up to their customers, who are rapidly alteration the way they assemble buildings, architecture products, and aftermath action in acknowledgment to altitude change," Evan Mills, the report's columnist and a scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, said in a statement.

Property/casualty insurers are dictating abundant of the industry's altitude change-related action in offerings of auto, homeowner and bartering coverage, articles and services, according to the April 2 report. Some bartering offerings accommodate advantage for wind and solar ability assembly shortfalls, exceptional discounts for energy-efficient architecture renovations, carbon abduction and accumulator insurance.

Life and bloom insurers, however, lag "far behind" added allowance segments, the address states; there has been little to no action in assertive segments, including adopted property, aerodynamics and ocean marine, the address said.

European insurers annual for 40% of all altitude change-related activities and U.S. insurers annual for 37%, the address said. Asian and Australian insurers accounted for the aggregate of changes for the actual 23%. Altitude change activities accommodate announcement accident prevention, crafting avant-garde allowance products, architecture acquaintance and accessible action participation, and advice carbon risks.

The address acclaimed that U.S. allowance brokerages accept apparent "significant leadership" in instituting altitude change allowance initiatives.

Insurance Reform Bill Tackles Systemic Risk

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:34:00 +0000

MOMENTUM CONTINUES TO BUILD for some anatomy of federal allowance regulation, and that absolutely is a acceptable thing.

As we address on folio 1, Reps. Melissa Bean, D-Ill., and Ed Royce, R-Calif., accept alien a new—and, we believe, improved—version of the allowance authoritative ameliorate bill they alien in the aftermost Congress. That bill would accept accustomed insurers and producers to accept whether they would be adapted by accompaniment or federal authorities.

We say the National Allowance Consumer Protection Act is an advance because it takes into annual allotment of the acumen for the bread-and-butter agitation of the accomplished few months by removing the aspect of best for insurers accounted to be systemically important. Those insurers would be federally regulated, period.

And that's the way it should be. Anybody knows what happened to American International Group Inc. back authoritative blank bootless and, what Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke so memorably declared as a barrier armamentarium aloft of an insurer, about destroyed the basal allowance company. Such a bearings can never be accustomed to appear again.

By agreement some—and allowance are not actual many—insurance companies beneath a federal regulator who would alike with a abstracted systemic accident regulator, the affairs of addition AIG-type near-collapse should be abundantly diminished. That's a ambition anybody should support, and we accept a well-crafted federal authoritative anatomy is the best way to accomplish that.

AIG to sell personal auto unit

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:44:00 +0000

American International Group Inc. has agreed to advertise its 21st Century Allowance Group claimed auto allowance assemblage to Zurich Financial Services Group's Farmers Group Inc. subsidiary, the companies said Thursday.

Under the acceding of the agreement, Farmers is to pay AIG $1.9 billion in banknote and basic addendum for Wilmington, Del.-based 21st Century, which comprises AIG's U.S. claimed auto business. Farmers additionally will accept 21st Century's $100 actor in outstanding debt.

The transaction, which does not accommodate AIG's Private Client Group that provides allowance to high-net-worth individuals, is accountable to authoritative approval.

"We are actual admiring to ability acceding on a $2 billion transaction, abnormally in this bazaar environment," Edward Liddy, AIG's administrator and arch controlling officer, said in a statement. "In addition, we are affective advanced with discussions for several added transactions, and we abide to appraise how best to assure the connected backbone and success of all of AIG's businesses."

"This will badly transform the allowance mural by accession Farmers as the arch multiline, multichannel insurer in the United States," Robert Woudstra, CEO of Los Angeles-based Farmers Group, said in the statement.

About Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:51:00 +0000

Put basically, allowance enables those who ache a blow or blow to be compensated for the furnishings of their misfortune. The payments appear from a armamentarium of money contributed by all the holders of alone allowance policies. In added words, alone risks are affiliated and shared, with anniversary policyholder authoritative a addition to the accepted fund.

The addition is accepted as the premium. Premiums are paid to insurers - these are institutions which accrue the money into the armamentarium from which claims are paid. The blow is in actuality paid for by the policyholder authoritative the affirmation and by all the added policyholders who accept not suffered in the aforementioned way.

Insurers are able blow takers. They apperceive the anticipation of altered types of blow happening. They can account the premiums bare to actualize a armamentarium ample abundant to awning acceptable blow payments. Clearly, alone a admeasurement of policyholders will crave advantage from the armamentarium at any one time.

So two important factors appear back artful the premium. Firstly, the accepted likelihood that a blow will occur. Secondly, whether the accurate policyholder is aloft or beneath boilerplate in risk.

Take three examples. In motor allowance a adolescent being with a aerial powered car, or a disciplinarian with a continued history of accidents will pay a college exceptional than a complete and accomplished disciplinarian with a bashful alehouse who has been blow free.

Similarly, the buyer of a angle and dent boutique will pay a college exceptional for his blaze allowance than, say, the buyer of an office. The blow is greater, so the exceptional is higher.

Someone who is young, fit and in a certain job will acquisition it easier to shop for activity insurance, and will pay lower premiums than addition who has a affection action or is in a chancy occupation.

Two kinds of Insurance

There are two different kinds of insurance - life insurance and general insurance. With life insurance you don't renew your policy each year. Instead, you agree to pay a fixed premium for a set number of years. In other words you enter a long-term commitment when you buy a life insurance policy.

What is the Difference?

General insurance pays out:
if a car has an accident or is stolen;
if a house catches fire or is burgled;
if a holiday has to be cancelled;
if someone is careless and damages other people's property.

Most life policies, on the other hand, pay out when an event happens;
when someone dies;
when someone survives beyond a specific date.

Anyone can buy life insurance but, of course, the premium will depend on your age, your health, and your occupation.
Husbands and wives can insure each other's lives. However, you cannot insure the lives of other people unless you have a financial involvement in their life. This principle of insurance is called "insurable interest".

Insurable Interest

Insurable interest is a fundamental principle of insurance. It means that the person wishing to take out insurance must be legally entitled to insure the article, or the event, or the life. In other words, the happening of the event insured against, or the death of the life insured must cause the policyholder financial loss. Mr Smith would not be able to insure Mr Brown's house because its destruction would not cause Mr Smith financial loss. Similarly, you cannot insure the lives of other people unless you have a financial interest in the life being insured. The principle of insurable interest demonstrates the difference between insurance and a wager or bet.

General Principles

Other principles apply to all kinds of insurance.
Insurance can provide compensation only for the actual value of property. It cannot cover the loss of sentimental value, for example.
There must be a large number of similar risks so that the likelihood of a claim can be spread among other policyholders. It must be possible for insurers to calculate the chance of loss so that a premium can be set which matches the risk.
Losses must not be deliberate and not inevitable. Clearly, you could not buy fire insurance for a house which was already burning nor life insurance for someone on his or her deathbed.
Lastly, there are some risks which have financial implications so vast that they can be dealt with only by the state. These risks (mainly those arising from war or the major escape of nuclear or radioactive material) are normally not insurable.
Insurance takes the risk away from people's lives and businesses. It brings peace of mind to the policyholder. In return for paying premiums the policyholder knows that, if the unexpected happens, financial compensation will be available from the fund of premiums.

Inurance Benefit

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:26:00 +0000

Insurance Benefits encompass the facilities associated with buying of insurances. Insurance is mainly a instrument used by consumers for hedging the future contingent risks related with life, health and non-life general issues. Insurance benefits help the policy holder or beneficiary in combating with the losses or hazards associated with him/her.

The policy holder buys the insurance to hedge against the future perceived losses by paying a regular amount to he insurance company known as the Premium. Insurance companies ensure financial reimbursement of the insured losses to the policy holders or his/her beneficiary. This is the most coveted Insurance Benefits.

But with time, more and more insurance companies have cropped up and consequently the competition among them has increased. Every company is trying to woo all the customers into its fold and in a way offering more and more innovative Insurance Benefits to the consumers.

Affordability of Insurance
The foremost insurance benefit in todays world is the low insurance rate and premium one has to pay. While choosing a insurance policy, every customer looks at this rate first and then to the other associated benefits. The lesser the insurance rate, the more affordable the insurance becomes. Thus, among all the insurance benefits, low insurance rate and premium is the most coveted one.

Accessibility Of Insurance
The easy accessibility of a insurance is the next most coveted Insurance Benefits that the customers look for. The online access to insurance companies and their policies has made them more lucrative to the customers. Now-a-days, customers can search, compare and select their insurance coverage through the click of a mouse from their own residence. This has been observed that through online services, the insurance companies have been able to reach more number of customers and consequently their customer base has also mopped up significantly.

Some of the other Insurance Benefits are :-

Basic benefits of the insurance policy. That is, the person enrolling for the policy is entitled to receive the financial compensation in case of actual occurrence of the loss/hazard/damage.

Optional Insurance Benefits are also given by the companies to their policy holders in order to entice them to access their insurance package. These optional benefits include

health and dental insurance of the family, life insurance of the spouse and the child,

accidental death policy for the policy holder in addition to the actual insurance for which he/she has enrolled for,

long term and short term insurance plans against disability of the policy holder

unit linked insurance schemes meant for appreciation of the accumulated capital during the life span of the same, managed by an experienced and well-learned fund manager

Pre-tax insurance benefits
These benefits are an added advantage to the insurance holders because they help them in saving a large portion of their tax payment. When the tax-payment gets curtailed then consequently their disposable income increases leading to more enjoyment out of a secured life.

What is Insurance ?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:48:00 +0000

Insurance in its basal anatomy is authentic as “ A arrangement amid two parties whereby one affair alleged insurer undertakes in barter for a anchored sum alleged premiums, to pay the added affair alleged insured a anchored bulk of money on the accident of a assertive event."

In simple agreement it is a arrangement amid the being who buys Insurance and an Insurance aggregation who awash the Policy. By entering into arrangement the Insurance aggregation agrees to pay the Policy holder or his ancestors associates a agreed sum of money in case of any adverse accident for a agreed anchored sum payable which is in accustomed appellation alleged Insurance Premiums.

Insurance is basically a aegis adjoin a banking accident which can appear on the accident of an abrupt event. Insurance companies aggregate premiums to accommodate for this protection. By advantageous a actual baby sum of money a being can aegis himself and his ancestors financially from an adverse event.

For Example if a being buys a Life Insurance Policy by advantageous a exceptional to the Insurance aggregation , the ancestors associates of insured being accept a anchored advantage in case of any adverse accident like death.

There are altered kinds of Insurance Products accessible such as Life Insurance , Vehicle Insurance, Home Insurance, Travel Insurance, Health or Mediclaim Insurance etc.

To apperceive added about altered blazon of Insurance Products amuse appointment our folio Learn Insurance.

Private Health Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:30:00 +0000

Above every added health-care goal, Democrats this year appetite to convention a "public option" -- an allowance affairs financed by taxpayers, managed by government and accessible to everyone, abundant like Medicare. This fresh common alms is the best important agitation in Congress this year, because it absolutely is the aftermost angle for annihilation akin clandestine bloom insurance.

This accessible advantage will allegedly "compete" with clandestine alternatives. As President Obama brand to put it, those who are blessed with the allowance they acquire now can accumulate it -- and if they appear to adopt the government offering, well, gee whiz, that's the chargeless bazaar at work. The absoluteness is far different. Not abandoned will the fresh affairs become the absence advantage for the uninsured, but Democrats intend to bold the arrangement to accelerate -- or if allegation be, beset -- an departure to government from clandestine insurance. Soon enough, that will be the abandoned "option" left.

A accessible affairs won't attempt in a way that any accustomed business would recognize. As an entitlement, Congress's conception will get pleasure potentially absolute admission to the Treasury, after incurring the risks or ambiguity adjoin losses that clandestine carriers do. As bodies approach to "free" or heavily subsidized care, the accordingly atomic costs will be covered in allotment with added outlays to accumulate premiums artificially low or alike action added benefits. Lacking such aborigine cash, clandestine allowance ante will escalate.

Much like Medicare, all-embracing spending in the accessible advantage will be controlled over time by advantageous beneath for medical services, drugs and technology. With its monopsony purchasing power, below-market fees will be dictated on a take-it-or-leave-it base -- an action hospitals and physicians won't be able to refuse. Medicare's accepted agreement behavior pay hospitals abandoned 71% of clandestine rates, and doctors 81%, according to the Lewin Group.

In a contempo analysis, Lewin estimates that acceptance in the accessible advantage will adeptness 131 actor bodies if it is accessible to anybody and pays Medicare rates. Absolutely 119 actor bodies will about-face out of -- or lose -- clandestine coverage. Everything depends on the acquittal levels that Congress adopts, as able-bodied as the admeasurement of the acceptable pool. But alike if a accessible advantage accessible to all takes the awful doubtful footfall of advantageous at some mean amid clandestine and Medicare rates, about 68 actor bodies will still be awash out of clandestine insurance. The adjacent table summarizes Lewin's agitative findings.

This accessible advantage would be the best abolitionist change in the way American bloom affliction is financed -- and appropriately provided -- in at atomic 44 years, and maybe ever. About 170 actor bodies currently acquire clandestine insurance, which is already pressured by the amount controls of Medicare and Medicaid. A cogent allotment of government underpayments are artlessly transferred to the clandestine sector, abacus tens of billions of dollars every year to customer bloom bills.

A 2006 abstraction in the annual Bloom Affairs concludes that about 17 cents of every dollar in about reductions in Medicare payments to clandestine hospitals are confused assimilate clandestine patients -- and that such cost-shifting accounts for absolutely 12.3% of the absolute access in clandestine payer prices amid 1997 and 2001.

This allotment would be far college were government acquittal ante not bound to the aged and the poor but imposed over the absolute system. This will abandoned accelerate the flight to government. Meanwhile, administration baby and ample will acquire every allurement to dump their affairs and alteration their workers to the accessible rolls. The aftereffect will accordingly be a avalanche of failures or withdrawals from the bazaar by bartering insurers, with the accessible advantage as the abandoned advantage for the diaspora.

Congress will accomplishment the job with authoritative changes. Under the advocacy of a akin arena field, all clandestine affairs will be affected to action annual bales agnate to those in the accessible option. They will additionally be appropriate to acquire all comers, behindhand of above-mentioned conditions, and additionally be affected to action agnate ante to all enrollees, catastrophe the adeptness to administer accident through underwriting. Any clandestine plan will about become a accessible annual area government decides what articles it allegation action and how abundant it can charge.

Democrats couldn't be clearer on this point. House baron Pete Stark -- who anticipation HillaryCare was too abstinent and has continued advantaged Medicare for all -- said at a contempo audition that currently "We acquire no apparatus to anon advance the clandestine area to do commitment arrangement ameliorate and abode ascent costs." But the accessible option, he added, would force clandestine insurers to "modernize," which seems to be his appellation for automated policy.

Under this model, the anniversary political warfare over Medicare acquittal behavior would be alien to what is larboard of the clandestine sector. Once government takes over the majority of U.S. health-care liabilities, it can either accommodate every annual at huge and growing cost, or it can allowance services. Bodies who allegation an MRI or hip backup or whatever will face cat-and-mouse lines. Medical addition will be at the benevolence of the amount controls hashed out in Washington.

Proponents of a accessible advantage point to the Federal Employees Bloom Allowances Affairs to abolish such criticism, but that affairs is offered abandoned to a detached population. Mr. Obama's angle would be accessible to anybody and necessitate a huge abiding access in government spending as a allotment of the economy. Medicare and Medicaid abandoned annual for 4% of GDP today and will acceleration to 9% by 2035, according to the Congressional Budget Office. CBO estimates that alone and accumulated assets tax ante would acquire to acceleration by about 90% to accounts the projected access in spending through 2050 -- after the fresh common entitlement.

Proponents will say we are exaggerating, but the after-effects we call are assured back government bulldozes into a market. Democrats appetite to advertise their "public option" as a bashful and affordable ameliorate that won't affect anyone's clandestine insurance. It isn't true. Republicans, abnormally those in the Senate who appetite to cut a accord on bloom care, should accept that a accessible advantage is the alpha of the end of clandestine bloom insurance.

All About Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 23:06:00 +0000

Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a potential loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium. Insurer, in economics, is the company that sells the insurance. Insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount, called the premium, to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.

I. Principles of insurance

Commercially insurable risks typically share seven common characteristics. A large number of homogeneous exposure units. The vast majority of insurance policies are provided for individual members of very large classes. Automobile insurance, for example, covered about 175 million automobiles in the United States in 2004. The existence of a large number of homogeneous exposure units allows insurers to benefit from the so-called “law of large numbers,” which in effect states that as the number of exposure units increases, the actual results are increasingly likely to become close to expected results. There are exceptions to this criterion. Lloyds of London is famous for insuring the life or health of actors, actresses and sports figures. Satellite Launch insurance covers events that are infrequent. Large commercial property policies may insure exceptional properties for which there are no ‘homogeneous’ exposure units. Despite failing on this criterion, many exposures like these are generally considered to be insurable.Definite Loss. The event that gives rise to the loss that is subject to insurance should, at least in principle, take place at a known time, in a known place, and from a known cause. The classic example is death of an insured on a life insurance policy. Fire, automobile accidents, and worker injuries may all easily meet this criterion. Other types of losses may only be definite in theory. Occupational disease, for instance, may involve prolonged exposure to injurious conditions where no specific time, place or cause is identifiable. Ideally, the time, place and cause of a loss should be clear enough that a reasonable person, with sufficient information, could objectively verify all three elements. Accidental Loss. The event that constitutes the trigger of a claim should be fortuitous, or at least outside the control of the beneficiary of the insurance. The loss should be ‘pure’ in the sense that it results from an event for which there is only the opportunity for cost. Events that contain speculative elements, such as ordinary business risks, are generally not considered insurable. Large Loss. The size of the loss must be meaningful from the perspective of the insured. Insurance premiums need to cover both the expected cost of losses, plus the cost of issuing and administering the policy, adjusting losses, and supplying the capital needed to reasonably assure that the insurer will be able to pay claims. For small losses these latter costs may be several times the size of the expected cost of losses. There is little point in paying such costs unless the protection offered has real value to a buyer. Affordable Premium. If the likelihood of an insured event is so high, or the cost of the event so large, that the resulting premium is large relative to the amount of protection offered, it is not likely that anyone will buy insurance, even if on offer. Further, as the accounting profession formally recognizes in financial accounting standards (See FAS 113 for example), the premium cannot be so large that there is not a reasonable chance of a significant loss to the insurer. If there is no such chance of loss, the transaction may have the form of insurance, but not the substance. Calculable Loss. There are two elements that must be at least estimateable, if not formally calculable : the probability of loss and the attendant cost. Probability of loss is generally an empirical exercise, while cost has more to do with the ability of a reasonable person in possession of a copy of the insurance policy and a proof of loss associated with a claim presented under that policy to make a reasonably definite and objective evaluation of the amount of the loss recoverable as a result of the claim. Limited risk of catastrophically large losses. The essential risk is often aggregation. If the same event can cause losses to numerous policyholders of the same insurer, the ability of that insurer to issue policies becomes constrained, not by factors surrounding the individual characteristics of a given policyholder, but by the factors surrounding the sum of all policyholders so exposed. Typically, insurers prefer to limit their exposure to a loss from a single event to some small portion of their capital base, on the order of 5%. Where the loss can be aggregated, or an individual policy could produce exceptionally large claims, the capital constraint will restrict an insurers appetite for additional policyholders. The classic example is earthquake insurance, where the ability of an underwriter to issue a new policy depends on the number and size of the policies that it has already underwritten. Wind insurance in hurricane zones, particularly along coast lines, is another example of this phenomenon. In extreme cases, the aggregation can affect the entire industry, since the combined capital of insurers and reinsurers can be small compared to the needs of potential policyholders in areas exposed to aggregation risk. In commercial fire insurance it is possible to find single properties whose total exposed value is well in excess of any individual insurer’s capital constraint. Such properties are generally shared among several insurers, or are insured by a single insurer who syndicates the risk into the reinsurance market

II. Types of insurance

- Assets & revenue insurance

To protect your assets and revenue-generating capacity, here are some of the types of insurance available : Building and contentsCovers the building, contents and stock of your business against fire and other perils such as earthquake, lightning, storms, impact, malicious damage and explosion. BurglaryInsures your business assets against burglary, and is most important for retailers or a business which maintains an unattended premises. Business interruption or loss of profitsCovers you if your business is interrupted through damage to property by fire or other insured perils. Ensures your ongoing expenses are met and anticipated net profit is maintained through a provision of cash flow. Fidelity guaranteeCovers losses resulting from misappropriation by employees who embezzle or steal. Machinery breakdown Protects your business when mechanical and electrical plant and machinery at the work site break down. Motor vehicleIt is compulsory to insure all company or business vehicles for third party injury liability. Many different types of policies are available, so make sure you understand the options before making a decision. There are four basic options : Compulsory third party (injury) - covers you for claims made against you for personal injuries and legal costs arising from the use of your car. You must obtain this insurance to register your car. Third party property damage - covers your liability for damage to another person or to the property of others and your legal costs. It doesn’t include repairs to your own car if you caused an accident. Third party, fire and theft - covers you against the events covered above, as well as fire and theft. It also insures against damage caused if your car was stolen. Comprehensive - covers you for all of the above plus damage caused to your own car by you in an accident. If you're buying a car on an installment basis, financiers will usually insist on this cover.

- People insurance

Insurance cover for you and your employees : Workers CompensationYou must provide accident and sickness insurance for your employees - workers compensation - through an approved insurer. Workers compensation is covered by separate state and territory legislation. Personal accident and illnessIf you are self employed you won’t be covered by workers compensation, so you need to cover yourself for accident and sickness insurance through a private insurer. There are several types of life insurance. Some are investment-type funds where you contribute over a certain time and get back your investment plus interest earnings at the maturity date. Others are designed to cover risk - things that could happen to you. Income protection or disability insurance - covers part of your normal income if you are prevented from working through sickness or accident. Trauma insurance - provides a lump sum when you are diagnosed with one of several specified life threatening illnesses.Term life insurance or whole of life cover - provides your dependents with a lump sum if you die.Total and permanent disability insurance - provides a lump sum only if you are totally and permanently disabled before retirement

- Liability Insurance

Types of liability insurance you need to consider : Public LiabilityPublic liability insurance protects you and your business against the financial risk of being found liable to a third party for death or injury, loss or damage of property or pure economicâl loss resulting from your negligence. Professional Indemnity Professional indemnity insurance protects you from legal action taken for losses incurred as a result of your advice. It provides indemnity cover if your client suffers a loss - either material, financial or physical - directly attributed to negligent acts. Product LiabilityIf you sell, supply or deliver goods, even in the form of repair or service, you may need cover against claims of goods causing injury or damage. Product liability insurance covers damage or injury caused to another business or person by the failure of your product or the product you are selling

III. History Of Insurance

Early instances of insurance.—Forms of insurance were known to the Romans and to some extent were practiced among the Collegia. In certain respects these bodies resembled our benefit societies. For example, they provided for burial and also made some form of provision for promotion among the soldiers in their organizations. In reality, then, they were based on the insurance principle since they accepted from their members a certain stipulated sum and in return agreed to perform certain services. Demosthenes describes marine loans made to the ancient Greeks ; we also have record that insurance existed among the Chinese 2500 years ago. In none of these early instances, however, did insurance reach anything like large proportions. In fact, so far as we know, it entirely disappeared, many centuries passing before there was a revival. It is true that certain laws among the Romans governing annuities necessitated a mortality table, but it was, however, for this sole purpose and apparently not in any sense an insurance matter. Present forms of insurance.—The business of insurance is divided into four main branches : marine insurance, fire insurance, life insurance and casualty insurance. The first three state the form of disaster against which insurance is provided. The fourth—originally accident insurance—includes all forms not embraced in the other three. An idea of the variety of events against which insurance is offered. Marine insurance antedates every other form, its history dating back over seven centuries. It appears to have been practiced in the Mediterranean, and at least one old policy has come down from the thirteenth century, proving that marine insurance was an established practice among the commercial countries of that time. A broad gap exists between that period and the continuous history running back now some four hundred years, but since that time insurance has been an established business among those engaged in maritime adventures. Fire insurance, the second oldest form to become permanently established, dates from the great London fire of 1666. Life insurance followed a little later, although not until 1760 was a company founded on a modern basisCasualty insurance owes its origin to the application of steam to railway travel; its more common name of accident insurance was due to the fact that the first events to be insured against were those of accidents to the person on a railway journey. It originated in England in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Privacy Policy

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 01:46:00 +0000

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