Insurance

While the Affordable Care Act remains a source of controversy one of its primary tenets, the creation of state-based health insurance exchanges enjoys considerable support, according to a new survey from the AARP.

A survey by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) finds health insurer Cigna’s health plans in healthy shape.

Financial consulting firm Deloitte has acquired mobile agency Übermind Inc., expanding Deloitte’s business, systems integration and enterprise technology capabilities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Conning, provider of asset management solutions, services and research to the insurance industry, made a one-year commitment to be as a strategic partner to the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI).

Securian Financial Group, a provider of insurance, debt protection, loan documents and marketing services, has purchased American Modern Life Insurance Co. (AMLIC) and its subsidiary, Southern Pioneer Life Insurance Co. (SPLIC), from American Modern Insurance Group.

The largest insurance company in the Czech Republic, Ceska pojistovna, is using IBM technology to help prevent IT issues and support core business functions, such as claims processing and customer management.

CIO stress, a Big Data mess and cloud trustworthiness: Five predictions for IT in 2012 and the years beyond.

Two groups focused on reigning in costs have established a primary care physician practice in North Carolina. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) and UNC Health Care announced Carolina Advanced Health to eligible BCBSNC customers last month.

A day after the Insurance Information Institute released figures declaring 2011 the costliest year for P&C insurers covering U.S. cat losses, Munich Re and I.I.I. announced global cat figures.

Allstate is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to claims service.

On Thursday, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. filed a lawsuit against J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and four other financial firms claiming that $200 million in residential mortgage-backed securities it purchased through the firms were now "junk."

Looking to round out its core system offerings, Cover-All Technologies Inc. has acquired BlueWave Technology for an undisclosed amount of cash.

Predicting the future can be a fool's game, but planning for it is an operational necessity for insurers.

Spurred by its $16.2 billion acquisition of American Life Insurance Co., MetLife Inc. moved into the top five while American International Group Inc. (AIG) slid from third to fifth in A.M. Best’s rankings of the top 25 global insurers based on nonbanking assets. UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint Inc., at third and eighth, respectively, were the only U.S.-based insurers to rank in the top ten based on net premiums written.

While expectations are not dwindling in the face of these challenges, respondents also complained that they are being given fewer resources to accomplish performance goals. According to a Towers Watson report, the bulk of 48 claims officers from small, medium and large insurers believe they have the authority to make a difference, but not necessarily "the range and depth of resources" to do so. To sidestep this detrimental trend, technology-in the form of electronic communications and processes-is being looked to as a bridge for the gap left by dwindling resources.

The United States set a record in 2011 in its declarations of federal disasters, and insurers are still playing catch-up with claims payouts. In fact, when all is said and done, insurers will have paid more than $32 billion in claims to help people rebuild homes and businesses damaged or destroyed by natural disasters in 2011, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

The ACE Group, an insurance and reinsurance company, has acquired Rio Guayas Compania de Seguros y Reaseguros, a general insurance company in Ecuador owned by Banco de Guayaquil, for about $55 million in cash.

Try as I might, some article assignments just don't elicit a very fevered response in me when first assigned (I'm looking at you, standards). This is never the case when it comes time to write about claims.

State Auto Financial Corp. (STFC), a P&C insurance holding company, says the proposed changes to the intercompany reinsurance pooling agreement for the State Auto Group received all necessary regulatory approvals from various departments of insurance. The pooling changes were made effective as of Dec. 31, 2011, and include changing the overall participation of the STFC Pooled Companies and the SAM Pooled Companies to 65 percent and 35 percent, respectively, from their current 80 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

Without previous levels of investment return, the industry's IT stance remained conservative.