ConnectiCare said the federal and state regulatory environment since the Affordable Care Act passed has been “unclear, confusing and fluid” with thousands of pages of regulations.

“Many of these regulations are complex, vague, incomplete and even contradictory,” Neil S. Kelsey, vice president of ConnectiCare’s Actuarial Services, wrote in a May 17 letter included in the filing. “In a number of areas, regulations have not even been provided.”

Given the uncertainties, ConnectiCare reserves the right to withdraw or change its filings if a change in regulations pose a potential adverse risk to the company, Kelsey wrote.

ConnectiCare is proposing a base rate of $397 per month for individual plans, which doesn’t take into account adjustments for age and geographic area. Individual plans could be more expensive in Fairfield, New Haven, New London, Tolland and Windham counties. Rates could be lower in Hartford, Litchfield and Middlesex counties.

The proposed premium for small-group plans would be offered at a base rate of $716 per month, though it could be more expensive in Fairfield and Middlesex counties and less expensive in Hartford, Litchfield, New Haven New London, Tolland and Windham counties, according to the filing.

ConnectiCare offers individual and group plans on its own private exchange and through the Connecticut Business & Industry Association.

“ConnectiCare remains committed to Connecticut and the successful implementation of health care reform, which includes the state exchange,” Michael Wise, president of ConnectiCare Health Plans, said in a prepared statement.

ConnectiCare is only the second insurer to submit proposed rates to state regulators. Earlier this month, HealthyCT Inc., the newly formed Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan established by the Affordable Care Act, requested monthly rates averaging $445.63 for small-groups and $427 for individuals.

The state’s public exchange, Access Health CT, is slated to be an online marketplace available to consumers on Oct. 1.

The season will bring 13 to 20 named storms, of which seven to 11 will be hurricanes and three to six of those will be major hurricanes, according to a forecast released Thursday by the National Hurricane Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A named storm has sustained winds of at least 39 mph, and a hurricane has sustained winds of at least 74 mph. A major hurricane is a category 3 or greater, meaning it has sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

The seasonal average is 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

The forecast for an “active or extremely active” hurricane season is due to a variety of climate factors, said Kathryn Sullivan, NOAA’s acting administrator. The Atlantic Ocean began a period of greater tropical-storm activity in 1995 with warmer than average sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Near-average sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean means it is unlikely an El Niño feature will develop to suppress tropical activity in the Atlantic, Sullivan said. The factors combined produce lower wind shear, lower air pressure and conductive wind patterns coming from Africa, all of which produce more and stronger hurricanes, she said.

The National Hurricane Center does not predict how many storms will hit land or where a tropical storm might hit along the East Coast or Gulf Coast.

“Last year, to remind you, we had four land falling storms: Hurricane Isaac in the Gulf Coast, Sandy in the Mid-Atlantic region, and tropical storms Beryl and Debby in northern Florida,” Sullivan said in a conference call with media, adding that each one threatened areas farther inland with flooding and wind.

Parts of Connecticut are still in various states of disrepair or construction after a back-to-back walloping in the past two years — Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and Storm Sandy last year.

NOAA’s lead seasonal hurricane forecaster Gerry Bell said the path of any storm depends on conditions at the time. Generally speaking, the factors that lead to this season being active or extremely active also increase the likelihood that storms will track farther west than an average year, Bell said.

“And therefore, historically, we do tend to see more hurricane strikes along both the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Coast as well as the entire region around the Gulf and the Caribbean Sea,” Bell said.

Families, businesses and communities should get ready for the next big storm, said Joe Nimmich, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s associate administrator for Response and Recovery.

“Preparedness today can make a big difference down the line, so update your family emergency plan and make sure your emergency kit is stocked,” Nimmich said in a prepared statement. “Learn more about how you can prepare for hurricane season at www.ready.gov/hurricanes.”

The Atlantic Ocean hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. In addition to the National Hurricane Center, another closely watched forecasting entity is Colorado State University, which is in its 30^th year of predicting hurricanes in the Atlantic.

In early April, the Colorado forecasters said they expect 18 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes during the 2013 season.

A year ago, the Colorado forecasters predicted the 2012 season would bring 10 named storms, four hurricanes and two major hurricanes in the Atlantic. Also last year, the National Hurricane Center predicted in May that the 2012 season would deliver between nine and 15 named storms, or which four to eight would be hurricanes and one to three would be major hurricanes.

Last year, the hurricane season actually produced 19 named storms, 10 hurricanes and two major hurricanes.

“Today is a landmark day for us …,” Chairman and CEO Rodney O. Martin Jr. said during an earnings call Thursday morning.

Voya Financial became a separate, publicly traded company from the Dutch financial services giant and had its initial public offering of stock on May 2.

Operating earnings after taxes for the quarter were $166.8 million, or 73 cents per share, compared with $155.9 million, or 68 cents per share, during the same period a year ago.

The company had a net loss during the quarter of $212 million, or 92 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $505.2 million, or $2.20 per share, during the same period a year ago.

The 92-cents-per-share loss trailed an estimated 84-cents-per-share loss expected by BTIG analyst Mark Palmer. However, the company’s before-tax operating earnings of $285 million was within the range of $270 million and $290 million the company had announced earlier, Palmer wrote in a research note to investors.

The company’s retirement segment had net flows of $1.4 billion, and investment management had net flows of $3.2 billion. Net flows are a measure of funds into the business minus surrenders, or money taken out.

Sales of individual life insurance totaled $29 million.

Voya Financial had total assets under management of $258 billion. The combined total of assets that Voya Financial manages and administers is $481 billion.

“Ultimately, the strong performance of equity markets benefits our business, our customers, and our other stakeholders,” Martin said. “This is important to us as we help Americans become retirement ready by addressing their asset accumulation, asset protection, and asset distribution needs.”

Voya Financial priced about 65.2 million shares of common stock at $19.50 during the initial public offering.

ING U.S. serves about 13 million individual and institutional customers in the United States. The New York-based company has 7,000 employees across the nation and provides retirement plans, IRA rollovers and transfers, institutional management, mutual funds, alternative investments, life insurance, annuities and other products and services.

The company has about 1,730 employees in Connecticut, of which about 1,650 work in the Windsor office. Others work at home.

Shares of Voya Financial were trading at $26.19, up 22 cents, Thursday morning.

Phoenix is restating financial statements for all of 2009, 2010, 2011 and the first two quarters of 2012. As a result, the company delayed filing its third quarter 2012 report, its 2012 annual report, and its first quarter 2013 report, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the bond trustee.

Phoenix also expects it may not be able to file quarterly reports for the second and third quarter of this year in a timely manner.

Phoenix first announced its intent to restate financial statements in November 2012. On Wednesday, the company said it had consent representing about 60 percent of the outstanding principal amount on bonds to delay its filings with the bond trustee.

“This regulatory action is intended to provide long-awaited relief for consumers who have a right to expect that their carrier will make good on contractual promises,” said Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas B. Leonardi, head of the state Insurance Department.

The settlement was with California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Cigna’s life insurance subsidiaries in those states are re-evaluating claims and have set aside $48 million in reserves for possible additional benefits as well as an additional $29 million for claims that are currently open.

“As regulators, we hold carriers accountable for adhering to laws and regulations of each state in which they conduct business,” Leonardi said. “This settlement resulted from market conduct exams and encompassed issues of serious concern. It is a solid example of regulatory cooperation in protecting the policyholders of Connecticut and other jurisdictions.”

The life insurance subsidiaries will be required to improve claim procedures and to benefit current and future policyholders, according to the Insurance Department.

At issue is Cigna’s determination of whether a person should become eligible, or remain eligible, for long-term disability payments. Regulators said Cigna was denying initial claims and ongoing claims that should have qualified for payment.

Cigna spokeswoman Amy Turkington said, “This regulatory settlement agreement grew out of a normal cycle of review by state regulators. As part of the settlement we are voluntarily agreeing to review an isolated subset of past long-term disability claim files from 2009 and 2010 — also from 2008 in California only — under updated standards. The enhanced standards are related to our procedures for gathering information and documenting decisions in our claim files and engagement between our clinical staff and health care professionals who provide care to our customers.”

The Bloomfield-based insurer will take part in a 24-month monitoring program conducted by insurance regulators in all five states with random sampling and on-going consultation, the state Insurance Department said. Cigna agreed to pay fines of $1.675 million, of which Connecticut will receive $150,000 to monitor the company’s compliance.

As part of the settlement, Cigna agreed to apply enhanced claims procedures to long-term disability claims that were denied or terminated, and which should have been approved or continued.

Turkington said, “As state standards for claims procedures have evolved over time, we have proactively and voluntarily updated our processes, for example, by more than doubling our clinical staff, hiring additional claim managers and expanding our training and audit programs.”

Cigna policyholders who have questions about having long-term disability claims re-evaluated are asked to call 855-625-5518.

AIR Worldwide said the replacement value of properties within a 0.4-mile buffer on either side of the tornado’s track — meaning a 0.8-mile wide path — is about $2 billion. Replacement value of properties within one-mile of the track — meaning a two-mile wide path — is about $6 billion.

The catastrophe-modeling company was careful to say that damage closer to the tornado would have been worse and the exposure a mile from the track would be less than properties within 0.4-miles of the tornado’s track.

“In all, this system produced 22 tornadoes on May 20, largely in Oklahoma, although tornadoes were also reported in Missouri, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, and Colorado,” said Tim Doggett, senior principal scientist at AIR Worldwide. “However, of these 22 tornadoes, the Moore event was by far the most damaging. Many localized hailstorms occurred in the region as well, with quarter-size hail noted in Missouri and baseball-size hail reported in Osage County, about 100 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.”

Doggett said, “An official estimate of the number of destroyed homes has not yet been released; however, the 1999 EF-5 tornado that followed a similar path to Monday’s EF-5 Moore tornado destroyed more than 8,000 homes.”

Phoenix Life Insurance Company had a $26.2 million net gain from operations, and a $38.9 million statutory net loss, for the three months ending March 31, according to materials submitted May 15 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

It’s not clear how first-quarter results compare with the same period in past years because Phoenix plans to restate financial statements for all of 2009, 2010, 2011 and the first two quarters of 2012. The company will provide an update on the timing of its restatement before May 31.

The company released the following unaudited metrics for the first quarter of the year:

• Annuity deposits were $177.9 million.
• Net annuity flows were $40.9 million for the quarter. This is a measure of deposits minus surrenders.
• Annualized premium for life insurance was $400,000.
• The company had $110.9 billion of gross life insurance in-force, meaning the total value of life policies issued or outstanding.

Property and casualty insurers are voicing concerns that longstanding tax exemptions for municipal bonds could be disrupted as part of a broader U.S. tax-code changes being considered by Congress.

Insurance companies rely on income from municipal bonds to cover claims paid to policyholders. Property and casualty insurers held $329 billion in outstanding state and local debt as of December, making them the fourth-biggest institutional holder after mutual funds, money-market funds and banks, according to U.S. Federal Reserve data.

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The majority of shareholders, however, sided with Aetna’s board in supporting its current board structure and disclosure policies related to political spending. One of the three shareholder proposals did pass — a resolution to require only “simple majority” on proposal votes and to eliminate “super majority” requirements.

The first proposal was a resolution to make the chair of Aetna’s board an independent director who is not a current or former employee and who has no professional, familial or financial connection to the company, the CEO or the directorship. The proposal was introduced by New York City Comptroller John C. Liu, trustee for the city’s employee retirement systems, which holds shares in Aetna. Liu’s office said in a written statement that it’s a conflict of interest to have a CEO who is also a board chair.

“There is an irresolvable conflict of interest when the overseen is in charge of the overseer,” Lee Bonta, speaking on Liu’s behalf, said at the meeting which was available via webcast. “The consequences can include higher executive compensation, lower shareholder returns, more aggressive risk-taking and ultimately less sustainable companies.”

A June 2012 study of 180 North American companies by GMI Ratings found that the median total compensation paid to a combined chair and CEO is $16.1 million, which is 73 percent greater than the $9.3 million paid to two people separately holding the positions of CEO and chair, Liu’s office said in a written statement to Aetna.

GMI’s methodology for executive compensation wasn’t available Friday afternoon, though it is likely different than methodology used by The Hartford Courant to calculate compensation.

By the Courant’s calculation, Aetna’s Chairman, CEO and President, Mark T. Bertolini, had a pay package last year that more than tripled his compensation in 2011. Bertolini was compensated a total of $36.36 million last year, not including $11.1 million in stock awards that vest later and are based on the company’s performance. In 2011, Bertolini was compensated $9.7 million, not including $7.3 million in stock awards.

Most of Bertolini’s pay last year was $34.23 million in value from stocks vested and options exercised in 2012. He also received a $977,159 salary, $892,800 in non-equity incentives and $256,971 in “other compensation.” This does not include an increase of $33,584 in his pension value.

The board opposed the proposal, saying in its proxy statement filed with the the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission “that the board should not be constrained by a requirement that the position of chairman be limited to a director who has not previously served as an executive officer. The company’s existing governance structure allows the board flexibility to make changes in the company’s leadership structure if and when the board believes that such actions are in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.”

The proposal was rejected.

A second proposal by John Chevedden of Redondo Beach, Calif., asked to eliminate requirements in the company’s charter and bylaws that called for more than a simple majority on votes. Chevedden argued that “super majority” requirements — or approval by two-thirds of shareholders — entrench a company in a behavior that could negatively affect performance. The board disagreed, saying that the proposal was unnecessary and would not enhance shareholder value.

The proposal passed.

The third proposal, submitted by Boston-based Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, was a resolution requiring Aetna to amend its policy to disclose political contributions to include items it currently doesn’t include.

“In our view, Aetna’s policy does not provide for strong board oversight of corporate political expenditures,” the association said in a written statement. “It states vaguely that ‘[a]ll corporate political contributions shall promote the interests of the company and will be made without regard for the private political preferences of company directors or officers.’”

The church association mentioned that Aetna gave $4 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for “voter education initiatives” – an attack on certain political candidates, the association said – and $3 million to the American Action Network, which sponsored ads regarding political candidates in 2011.

The board said in the SEC filing that Aetna “is an active participant in the political process at all levels of government and seeks to promote political interests that are aligned with the business interests of the company, its shareholders and its members. Given the importance of this issue to the company, the company recently expanded the information available on its website about its policies and procedures regarding political contributions and the related oversight of those activities.”

The proposal was rejected.

Aetna has been criticized in the past by Washington D.C.-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, CREW. The nonprofit organization’s executive director, Melanie Sloan, said Friday it is inappropriate for companies to be giving money through 501c(4) political groups.

“One of the important things is to see if there’s a connection between the donations these companies are making and the assistance they’re getting from Congress,” Sloan said.

“There are many other organizations pushing for this, and there are 500,000 comments, I believe, before the SEC,” Sloan said. “So, I think there’s a nationwide effort at forcing companies to disclose their political spending.”

Other Questions

Shareholder David Caccamise attended an Aetna annual meeting for the first time and described the security measures as unwelcoming.

Bertolini responded, “If you’d been at this meeting two years ago, you’d have seen a very violent meeting where people bust into the room and they actually tried to knock me off the stage in protest over Aetna’s role in health care reform. So, we’ve had to increase our security for the last three years as a result of that incident. We do get threats often, and, so, we measure those. And, hopefully, we’ll return to a level of civility in this society, we can hold annual meetings where people don’t have to be threatened by virtue of just getting together.”

Bertolini was referring to the 2011 annual meeting in Philadelphia, where protesters with bullhorns burst through the doors of the Le Meridien hotel meeting room, according to the Wall Street Journal. Two protesters were temporarily handcuffed outside the meeting, but police said there were no arrests, the Journal reported.

An Aetna retiree asked when the company’s annual meeting might come back to Hartford, to be closer to retirees living in New England.

Bertolini replied, “As you know, Mr. Lang, we’ve had the practice of moving our annual meetings around to places where a lot of our retirees live around the country. We continue to look at bringing it back to Hartford. I can tell you that before I leave, we’ll have one in Hartford.”

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., the insurance company pruning operations after an activist investor urged it to split up last year, hired Deutsche Bank AG to seek a buyer for its Japanese business, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The people asked not to be identified because the process is private. The Japan unit had about 400,000 variable annuities contracts invested in stocks and bonds worth $27 billion as of March 31, according to a presentation to investors on April 11. Hartford had another $67 billion of annuities in the U.S. and U.K., according to the presentation.  More>>>

The meeting was sparsely attended — a few dozen people — and short, with no comment from shareholders. Many shareholders clearly voted prior to the meeting.

CEO Liam McGee recapped highlights of the early part of the year, and said the company announced during its first quarter a $1.5 billion capital management plan.

The plan “includes reducing outstanding debt by about $1 billion by the end of 2014,” McGee said, standing on stage before 1 p.m. Wednesday in The Hartford’s tower office on Asylum Hill.

McGee said the essence of the strategy announced in March 2012 is to “build greater financial strength and flexibility; focus and profitably grow our business portfolio; reduce the size and risk of The Hartford’s annuity exposure; and transform into a more effective, customer-focused and efficient company.”

The number of dog-bite claims fell by 1.4 percent last year to 16,459 from 16,695 the year before, but the costs of settling dog-bite claims continued to rise, by 1.2 percent last year.

Dog bites account for one third of all dollars paid by insurers for homeowner liability claims. The average cost of a dog-bite claim was $29,752 last year compared with $29,396 the year before. Rising claim costs almost completely offset a decrease in the number of claims as total claims costs related to dog bites were down 0.2 percent last year over 2011.

The Insurance Information Institute said rising claims costs suggest higher medical costs for the person injured by the dog, and larger settlements, judgments and jury awards to plaintiffs.

In Connecticut, State Farm saw an increase in the number of claims, average price of claims and total cost of claims related to dog bites from 2008 to 2011. The numbers rose from 14 claims totaling $316,998 to 31 claims totaling $1.49 million between 2008 and 2011.

Last year, State Farm paid $628,860 on 17 claims in Connecticut. While State Farm saw a decrease in the total price of claims, number of claims and average price of claims last year compared with 2011, that  is not the case nationally.

State Farm was the fifth largest insurer of homes in Connecticut in 2011 after Liberty Mutual, The Travelers Cos., Chubb Corp. and Allstate Corp., according to data available from the Connecticut Insurance Department.

Nationally, the average dog-bite claims have increased 55.3 percent in 10 years, from $19,162 to $29,752 between 2003 and 2012, according to the institute and State Farm, the largest home insurer in the U.S.

Insurers costs related to dog-bite claims increased 51.4 percent in 10 years, from $324.2 million to $489.7 million between 2003 and 2012, according to the institute and State Farm.

The number of dog bites claims was 16,919 in 2003. The number of claims decreased for two years to a 10-year low of 14,295 in 2005, and claims generally increased, though not every year, through 2011.

The Insurance Information Institute recommends the following:

To reduce the chances of your dog biting someone, consider taking the following steps:

?       Consult with a professional (e.g., veterinarian, animal behaviorist, or responsible breeder) to learn about suitable breeds of dogs for your household and neighborhood.

?          Spend time with a dog before buying or adopting it. Use caution when bringing a dog into a home with an infant or toddler. A dog with a history of aggression is inappropriate in a household with children.

?          Be sensitive to cues that a child is fearful of or apprehensive about a dog and, if so, delay acquiring a dog. Never leave infants or young children alone with any dog.

?          Socialize your dog so it knows how to act with other people and animals.

?          Discourage children from disturbing a dog that is eating or sleeping.

?          Play non-aggressive games with your dog, such as “go fetch.” Playing aggressive games like “tug-of-war” can encourage inappropriate behavior.

?          Avoid exposing your dog to new situations in which you are unsure of its response.

?          Never approach a strange dog and always avoid eye contact with a dog that appears threatening.

?          Immediately seek professional advice from veterinarians, animal behaviorists, or responsible breeders if your dog develops aggressive or undesirable behaviors.

The average monthly small-group rate requested is $445.63, if HealthyCT’s rates are approved without change by the Connecticut Insurance Department. Details of the rates are available on the department’s website, which posts health insurance rate requests at www.ct.gov/cid

HealthyCT is requesting monthly prices ranging from $142 to $1,364 for individual plans, with an average price of $427.

HealthyCT is a newly formed Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan established by the Affordable Care Act. This is the first year it has sold health insurance, and, as a result, it doesn’t have data from medical claims to use in pricing its first ever health plans. Other insurers must say how much they want to increase prices compared with the previous year.

HealthyCT had no claims data to base its rates upon. It developed rates based on the 2012 Health Cost Guidelines by the consulting firm Milliman. Using data from 2012, HealthyCT applied an annual cost increase of 7.5 percent to price both individual and small-group plans for 2014.

Public health exchanges are part of federal reform and will operate for the first time this year as an online marketplace for individuals and small businesses to shop health plans. The exchange is for people who buy their own health insurance because they don’t have coverage through an employer or the federal government, such as Medicare or Medicaid. Enrollment starts Oct. 1 and the plans will be for the 2014 calendar year.

The state’s major health insurers had not yet filed rates as of Monday.

All health insurance plans are regulated by the state Insurance Department, which has the authority to approve, modify or deny prices depending on whether they are justified by actuarial science.

In a typical year, insurers file rates in the summer for health plans that take effect the following calendar year. This year, the introduction of new public exchanges by the Affordable Care Act has moved the process earlier.

The Insurance Department wanted insurers to file rates by April 30, a week ago, for any health plan that would be sold on the public exchange. April 30, however, was a guideline, not a firm deadline, department spokeswoman Donna Tommelleo said.

The firm deadline comes at the end of July, when the state’s public exchange, Access Health CT, must report to federal health officials all of the health plans that will be available to customers starting Oct. 1. Until then, it is a relative poker game in which no health insurer wants to show their hand first, several people familiar with the process have said.

“We’re expecting it to be a busy month,” Tommelleo said of May.

Some government snags delayed the process a bit, said Kevin Counihan, CEO of Access Health CT.

“I think you have to look at this a bit nationally … the only states that I’m aware of that have received rates are Vermont, Rhode Island and Maryland,” Counihan said. “I think that all the health plans are challenged in part by the complexity of the rules, and sometimes the complexity of the guidelines provided by CMS [the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services].”

The health exchanges and insurance companies are trying to abide by rules that are evolving. And health plans sold on the exchange must adhere to very specific requirements about the benefits they provide and their “actuarial value,” which is an assessment of how much a customer will pay for medical bills if you factor in deductibles and copays.

A federal actuarial calculator, released earlier this year, had glitches early on, and it is the mechanism upon which insurers must base the value of their plans, Counihan said. Any plan sold on a public exchange has a rating, named for a precious metal, to illustrate its actuarial value. A bronze plan means the insurer pays 60 percent of expenses, silver is 70 percent, gold is 80 percent and platinum is 90 percent.

“That calculator was released in late winter … I think it was March,” Counihan said. “It turned out that when states and carriers started using it, they found out that it had a number of bugs. So, for example, you could raise the deductible and the actuarial value or richness of the plan would go up. Now, obviously that makes no sense. If you’re cost shifting more, the actuarial value would go down.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services fixed the calculator, though some problems remained, Counihan said. Aetna confirmed Monday that it has been waiting for final guidance regarding the actuarial value of standard plans before it can proceed.

Separately, some insurers said the computer system used for filing rates — known by the acronym SERFF — was not working efficiently. However, neither the state Insurance Department nor the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which oversees use of the SERFF system, noticed any problems with the system.

All around, the process is new and most agree that some delays are to be expected.

“There is a ton of work and resources being poured into getting this right from the plans’ perspective,” said Keith Stover, a lobbyist and spokesman for the Connecticut Association of Health Plans, a trade group for the health insurers.

As Counihan puts it, “These are very complex calculations and guidelines that the carriers have to abide by with sometimes incomplete and contradictory information.”

In January, nine health insurers wrote non-binding letters that they intend to offer either medical insurance or dental coverage on a state health exchange. That list included Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut, ConnectiCare, HealthyCT and UnitedHealthcare. Counihan said UnitedHealthcare notified him last week that they will not be taking part in the exchange. Cigna Corp. is not participating in Connecticut’s health exchange.

Insurers were relatively mum on the issue Monday, with both UnitedHealth Group and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut declining to comment.

Ken Lalime, the CEO of the new health insurance co-op HealthyCT, said his organization filed its rates late Friday.

“I think there’s some internal process that obviously has to take place before they push them up,” Lalime said, referring to the rates that are publicly posted on the Insurance Department’s website.

“They encouraged us to file as early as possible, all of us, and we got ours in. It was late Friday afternoon, but we did get it in,” Lalime said.

Net income was $57 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $371 million, or $1.28 per share for the same period last year. Net income was reduced by special items including $507 million related to Cigna’s discontinued reinsurance business. The company also took a $51 million charge on a regulatory matter related to its disability benefits business.

Operating income was $497 million, or $1.72 per share, compared with $359 million, or $1.24 per share, during the same period a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting $1.43 per share, on average.

Cigna reported revenue of $8.2 billion, up 21 percent from $6.75 billion during the same period a year ago.

Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Borsch said in a note to investors that Cigna’s first-quarter results indicate a strong start to the year.

The health insurer increased its membership in commercial health plans to 13.85 million customers as of March 31, up from 13.43 million customers a year earlier.

Membership in the company’s behavioral care benefits increased to 22 million from 19.8 million a year earlier. Dental benefits membership increased to 12.1 million from 11.3 million and pharmacy benefits membership was up to 6.9 million from 6.5 million.

Cigna saw a slight decline in membership in its Medicare Part D, prescription drug plans, to 1.21 million from 1.27 million.

During the first quarter, Cigna entered an agreement with Berkshire Hathaway to exit its run-off reinsurance business on Feb. 4, and this includes Cigna’s variable annuity business that provided guaranteed minimum income benefits.

Cigna’s outlook for the year includes operating income between $1.735 billion and $1.865 billion.

“On the core business, our results for the first quarter were extremely positive, both top-line as well as bottom-line, and that enabled us to increase our full-year operating outlook,” said Cigna CEO David M. Cordani.

Cigna purchased about $250 million of the company’s stock in the first quarter of the year and the Bloomfield health insurer has about $1 billion to $1.1 billion in surplus cash.

“We have a lot more structural and financial flexibility now in 2013 and beyond as a result of that divestiture exit, and that’s very positive for the company,” Cordani said of exiting the run-off reinsurance and variable annuity business.

The company has not said how much of its surplus cash it might designate for acquisitions or stock repurchases.

Shares of Cigna were trading at $68.23, up $2.85 on Thursday morning.

MetLife’s net income for the quarter was $956 million, or 87 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $174 million, or 16 cents per share, during the same period last year.

Operating income was $1.63 billion, or $1.48 per share, up from $1.46 billion, or $1.37 per share, during the same period a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected $1.30 per share, on average.

Net Investment income was $5.13 billion, up 1 percent from $5.08 billion. MetLife’s investment portfolio had net gains of $161 million after tax compared with net losses of $145 million last year.

Revenue from premiums was up slightly to $9.15 billion for the quarter, compared with $9.11 billion during the same period last year.

Revenue from universal-life and investment-type product policy fees was up to $2.21 billion for the quarter, up from $2 billion in 2012.

“MetLife had a very strong first quarter as all three of our business regions contributed to a 12 percent increase in operating earnings over the first quarter of 2012, and we generated an annualized operating return on equity of 12.7 percent,” MetLife Chairman and CEO Steven A. Kandarian said in a prepared statement.

MetLife accounts for its global business in continental summaries. In the Americas, operating earnings were up 12 percent to $1.3 billion and revenue was up 4 percent to $8.6 billion.

In Asia, operating earnings were up 11 percent to $333 million and revenue was up 2 percent to $2.5 billion for the region. MetLife had growth in Korea and Australia. The company noted volatility in Japan offset sales gains elsewhere, such as India.

MetLife consolidates its businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which on the whole had stronger results from emerging markets, such as Russia and Turkey. Total earnings were $87 million, up 21 percent, and revenue was $685 million, down 11 percent due to MetLife’s exit from businesses in the United Kingdom.

The company reported earnings after equity markets closed Monday. Shares of MetLife were up 1 cent at $38.41 in after-hours trading.

Sterne Agee analyst John Nadel says today in a note to investors:

Not only has HIG fully hedged its VA [variable annuity] equity and Fx exposure, declaring Talcott capital self-sufficient even under severe stress, but the timing helped drive a material increase in Life Co Stat capital that appears permanent. We believe this, coupled with the emergence of a true free cash flow story (in which run-off will no longer require but instead should release capital), will lead to an improving capital mgmt story. HIG remains our top pick as 1Q results affirm our positive view.

Aetna announced plans in August 2012 to pay about $5.6 billion to acquire Coventry and the Hartford-based company agreed to take on Coventry’s debt, driving up the transaction price to $7.3 billion.

Aetna reported first-quarter net income of $490 million, or $1.48 per share, compared with $511 million, or $1.43 per share, during the same period last year. The company reported $24.6 million in costs related to its purchase and integration of Coventry.

Operating income for the quarter was $495.4 million, or $1.50 per share, compared with $477.4 million, or $1.34 per share, during the same period last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting $1.39 per share on average.

One closely watched metric since the Affordable Care Act took effect is the medical-loss ratio, which is the percent of premiums paid by customers that the insurer spends on medical expenses. Federal health care reform requires that large-group health plans have a medical loss ratio of at least 85 percent. Small-group and individual health plans must have a ratio of 80 percent or more.

Medical-loss ratios are calculated in different ways and the method used for federal law is not the same as the method used when insurers report earnings.

Aetna’s reported medical-loss ratios for the quarter were as follows: 89.3 percent for Aetna’s Medicaid business, 87.8 percent for Medicare business, 78.9 percent for commercial health plans.

Aetna’s customer base improved year over year from 17.9 million at the end of March 2012 to 18.3 million people in March 31, 2013. Membership grew the most in Aetna’s Medicare Advantage plans, from about 434,000 a year ago to 628,000 this year, and in Medicare Supplement plans, which were up to 313,000 from 171,000 a year earlier.

“Operating revenues increased for the company, and we grew membership for the fourth consecutive quarter fueled by strong growth in our Medicare business,” Aetna Chairman and CEO Mark T. Bertolini said in a prepared statement. “We also introduced Healthagen, a new business brand that combines our population health management solutions and health information technologies to help improve care quality, costs and patient engagement.”

Membership in the company’s dental health plans declined from 13.61 million a year ago to 13.48 million during the first quarter of this year.

“During the quarter we continued to aggressively deploy capital to create shareholder value, repurchasing $184 million of Aetna’s shares and paying a dividend totaling $66 million,” Aetna’s Chief Financial Officer Shawn M. Guertin said in a prepared statement.

Aetna employed 6,450 in Connecticut and 34,800 companywide as of March 31

Magellan reported net income for the quarter of $28.1 million, or $1.01 per share, up from $20.8 million, or 75 cents per share, during the same period last year.

Revenue was up 6.3 percent to $821.8 million for the quarter, compared with $773.2 million during same period last year.

Barclays analysts Joshua R. Raskin and Jack Meehan said, “…the quarter was particularly strong, with upside seen in almost all segments driven by favorable development and better cost trends. … Historically, the company has a strong track record, and tends to be somewhat conservative with its guidance. In fact, Magellan is the only company in our coverage universe that has been able to show actual results above initial guidance in each of the last 7 years.”

Magellan, headquartered in Avon, is a specialty health insurer with major business segments in behavioral health, radiology and specialty pharmaceuticals.

Revenue in Magellan’s commercial managed-care segment improved to $187.8 million from $180.5 million. Revenue from public-sector managed care was up to $406.6 million from $388.9 million. Radiology benefits management was up to $90.3 million from $76.8 million for the quarter, and the pharmacy business segment was down to $58.2 million from $60.9 million.

The company suffered a setback earlier this year when it lost a state-awarded contract in Arizona worth $3 billion to $5 billion to manage a behavioral health system in the Phoenix region. The three-year contract is worth $1 billion each year with two optional one-year extension and funding comes from Medicaid as well as other federal and state funds. At stake is the contract to manage a behavioral health system that includes mental health, substance-abuse services and crisis services for 720,000 adults and children in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and surrounding towns.

“During the quarter, we were disappointed about the award of the Maricopa County, Arizona contract to another vendor for the period beginning October 1, 2013,” Magellan CEO Barry M. Smith said in a prepared statement. “In response, we filed a formal protest regarding the state’s decision as well as a lawsuit against one of the sponsors of the winning vendor. Our initial protest was denied, and we intend to file an appeal. As we pursue those avenues, we continue to serve the people of Arizona with the highest standards of service. It’s important to put this one contract in perspective and assess it in light of our future growth opportunities.”

Magellan has decreased its outlook for the year. The company now anticipates net revenue of $3.3 billion to $3.5 billion and net income between $90 million and $108 million. The company had expected net revenue of $3.56 billion to $3.74 billion and net income of $91 million to $109 million.

“The decrease in our guidance is driven primarily by the assumption that our contract in Maricopa County does not extend beyond September 30, 2013, partially offset by the impact of favorable prior year care development and cost trends,” Magellan’s chief financial officer Jonathan N. Rubin said in a prepared statement.

Magellan employs 82 people in Connecticut and 5,472 people companywide.

And it helped that this was a lighter year than 2012 for tornadoes, hail storms and other disasters.

The property-casualty insurer, however, reported a net loss for the quarter as it took two charges: $541 million related to expanded hedging on the company’s variable-annuity in Japan, and $138 million from paying off $800 million in outstanding debt.

“Our go-forward businesses delivered core earnings growth of 19% across Property and Casualty, Group Benefits and Mutual Funds. …Group Benefits core earnings of $30 million were significantly improved from last year and gross sales for Mutual Funds were up 34% over first quarter 2012,” The Hartford’s CEO Liam E. McGee said in a prepared statement. “We are pleased with the progress we are making with these businesses, as well as their outlook for profitable growth.”

The Hartford reported a $241 million net loss for the first quarter, or 58 cents per diluted share, compared with a net income of $96 million, or 18 cents per diluted share, during the same period in 2012.

Core earnings for the quarter were $456 million, or 92 cents per diluted share, compared with $426 million, or 87 cents per diluted share, during the same period last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting 82 cents per share on average.

The Hartford’s property-casualty business improved its core earnings by 12 percent for the quarter, up to $318 million from $284 million during the same period in 2012. Revenue was down slightly for the quarter to $2.52 billion from $2.55 billion in 2012. The Hartford, and the property-casualty industry in general, have increased prices and become more shrewd in underwriting.

An insurer that raises prices and toughens underwriting — meaning the company becomes more selective about customers that are high risk — will invariably lose some customers, reducing revenue, though profits generally improve.

The company’s losses from catastrophes, such as tornadoes and hail, were $32 million for the quarter, before tax, compared with $71 million during the same period last year.

The Hartford explained at an investor day in early April that it has secured sufficient hedge investments to counter the losses of its variable annuity business. The runoff annuity business — called Talcott Resolution — is now capital self-sufficient, meaning it won’t lose money that had to be covered in the past by The Hartford’s more profitable property-casualty business segments.

“During the quarter, we executed a major portion of our capital management plan and effectively eliminated the currency and equity market risk of the Japan variable annuity block with an expanded hedging program,” Chief Financial Officer Christopher J. Swift said in a prepared statement. “Talcott Resolution is now capital self-sufficient, the company’s capital flexibility is significantly enhanced, and our capital generation outlook is improved.”

The Hartford’s variable annuity business has been in runoff since March 2012, when the company stopped selling new policies in the U.S. The Hartford stopped selling annuities internationally in 2009.

The company has worked in recent years to reduce the size and risk of its annuity business — which is primarily in Japan and the U.S. At the end of the first quarter, the total value of variable annuity accounts was $94.2 billion, with 1.3 million contracts, of which 68 percent are in the U.S., 31 percent are in Japan and 1 percent are in the United Kingdom.

The annuities were sold with either a 10-year or 15-year accumulation period, to build wealth, followed by a payout period. The total number of contracts is expected to decline by 50 percent by the end of 2017, helped in part by people surrendering policies, which is to say, cashing out sooner than the payout period.

The Hartford is a much leaner operation than it was a year ago. with about 2,600 fewer workers in Connecticut and about 4,400 fewer employees companywide.

The company had about 7,700 employees in Connecticut as of late February, the most recent figures available, compared with about 10,300 in March 2012. It wasn’t immediately clear late Monday how many of the 2,600 work for units that were sold to other insurers and how many are no longer working for the company for some other reason, such as attrition. Companywide, The Hartford had about 20,000 workers in February compared with about 24,400 in March 2012.

Lawyers for Phoenix shareholder Robert Strougo are seeking class-action status on behalf of anyone who bought Phoenix securities between May 5, 2009, and Nov. 6, 2012, according to the lawsuit filed last week.

In November 2012, the company’s managers concluded that Phoenix’s financial statements for 2009, 2010 and 2011 and the first two quarters of 2012 had errors, according to a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Phoenix’s stock declined by $2.68 to close at $25.31 on Nov. 8, 2012, the day Phoenix said it would have to restate financial documents, according to the lawsuit.

Phoenix executives knew the company’s financial statements were false and misleading, or they acted with reckless disregard for the truth by failing to recognize the errors, the plaintiff’s lawyers claim. The plaintiff seeks money to cover damages, attorneys’ fees and other court related costs.

“While we will not comment on this case specifically, lawsuits of this type are not unusual when a company is restating its financial results, and we intend to vigorously defend against the allegations in the complaint,” Phoenix spokeswoman Alice S. Ericson said in a prepared statement.

Restatement Delay

On Wednesday, Phoenix told federal regulators the company needs more time to restate its financial performance.

The company said in November it planned to restate its financial reports by the deadline for its 2012 annual report. Phoenix pushed back that deadline last month, saying they would update bondholders April 30. On Wednesday, the boutique life insurer and annuity company asked its bondholders to agree to another extension.

Phoenix has made “significant progress” toward restating its financial performance and will provide another update by May 31, the company said in a filing Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

However, Phoenix might not be able to file quarterly reports on time for the first three quarters of this year, according to the SEC filing. The company is asking bondholders to consent to its delay. Phoenix says it expects to file a third-quarter 2012 report, an annual report for last year and quarterly reports for the first three quarters of 2013 by Dec. 31.

Hemsley’s pay package was $34.7 million last year, not including $7 million in stock awards that will provide value in the future. His compensation includes a $1.3 million salary, $12.49 million in value realized on exercising options, $15.3 million in value realized on stocks vesting, $5.3 million in non-equity incentive pay and $287,443 in “other compensation.”

In 2011, Hemsley’s compensation was $48 million, not including $7 million in stock awards that provide value in the future.

UnitedHealth Group, based in Minnetonka, Minn., employs about 4,200 people in Connecticut, including at its subsidiaries Optum and UnitedHealthcare.

Chief Financial Officer David S. Wichmann was compensated $38.15 million last year, not including $4.5 million in stock awards that will provide value in the future.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Gail K. Boudreaux had a pay package worth $20.7 million last year, not including $4.5 million in stock awards that will provide value in the future.

Optum CEO Larry C. Renfro’s compensation last year was $15.15 million, not including $4.5 million in stock awards that will provide value in the future.

UnitedHealth Group’s executive vice president of human capital, Lori Sweere, was compensated $9.68 million, not including $2 million in stock awards that will provide value in the future.

UnitedHealth Group’s executive vice president, Anthony Welters, had a pay package worth $19.49 million last year, not including $4 million in stock awards.

At issue is the way Anthem interpreted new medical billing codes issued by the American Medical Association that took effect on Jan. 1.

Anthem was criticized last month by three doctor groups — the Connecticut Psychiatric Society, the American Psychiatric Association and the Connecticut State Medical Society — which claimed Anthem responded to the annual change in medical-billing codes by covering only visits for an evaluation or management of medical issues, and not psychotherapy as a separate equal category when provided during the same visit.

As a result, medical providers of psychotherapy either were not paid for the service, or the customer was faced with covering the extra cost for psychotherapy, the doctor groups said. Anthem said last month the company was covering applicable behavioral health services, including psychotherapy, in accordance with its members’ benefit plans.

“Through the department’s regulatory oversight of Anthem claims payment practices it was determined that Anthem had to revisit the way it was applying a new set of medical billing codes for reimbursement of claims and make the proper adjustments,” Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas B. Leonardi, head of the Insurance Department, said in a prepared statement. “As a result, the carrier has now provided the department with a remediation plan that will make the fair and correct adjustment for providers for all affected services on or after January 1.”

Anthem is reprocessing about 28,000 medical claims since the start of the year.

Anthem spokeswoman Sarah Yeager said “ … first and foremost assure our members and participating providers that Anthem continues to cover all behavioral health services, including psychotherapy, in accordance with our members’ health benefit plans.”

“Earlier this year, we adopted a new behavioral health fee schedule for psychiatrists and APRNs [advanced practice registered nurses] as a result of the American Medical Association issuing a new set of billing codes for them,” Yeager said in a prepared statement. “In close cooperation with our regulator, the Connecticut Department of Insurance, as well as with input from the Office of the Attorney General, we are making certain adjustments to that fee schedule.”

The property-casualty insurer announced three web-based seminars in May for employers to learn about state and federal laws regarding absences, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.

The insurer’s pitch to employers is that businesses will be able to use the software to spot trends in absenteeism and eventually reduce costs related to disability leave and workers compensation.

“Research has shown employers, who integrate absence programs and short-and long-term disability, have a potential cost savings,” The Hartford’s vice president of Group Benefits, Mike Fish, said in a prepared statement. “It’s approximately 11 percent savings in lost time, direct costs, and return-to-work rates, according to Spring Consulting Group’s 2009/2010 Employer Survey of Integrated Disability, Absence & Health Management.”

For details, visit http://www.thehartford.com/absence-insights

An interesting aspect of this report: Sociologists have a better hiring outlook than human resource managers?

And newspaper reporter is considered the worst job, (perhaps to get newspaper reporters to notice the report).