Policy adminstration

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners voted to exclude broker commissions from calculations of medical loss ratio required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

MetLife Inc. is reorganizing its business from a U.S./international business structure into three broad geographic regions to better reflect the company’s global reach. MetLife says it significantly grew its global footprint in 2010 through the $16.4 billion acquisition of Alico. The three new business regions, each of which will have its own president, are the Americas, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and Asia.

Here's a lesson on how to assess IT performance by connecting it with business results...

Alleghany Corp. and Transatlantic Holdings Inc. have entered into a definitive agreement to combine Transatlantic with Alleghany. Under the terms of the transaction, the stockholders of Transatlantic will receive aggregate consideration, currently valued at $59.79 per share in stock and cash, or about $3.4 billion.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued its first rebuke to an insurer under the federal rate review provision of the Affordable Care Act.

Outsourcing is still a multi-billion dollar industry, but the future is getting cloudy as the market braces for a transitional phase.

Cigna, a health services company, and TTK Group, an Indian conglomerate, have signed a joint-venture agreement to sell a range of health, wellness and insurance products across India. Cigna says the agreement makes the insurer the first to apply for entry into India as part of a stand-alone, joint-venture health insurance company.

With the insurance industry seemingly starved for some good news about itself, it can take solace knowing that more than 4,000 insurance company volunteers were willing to provide time and labor to various nonprofit groups across the nation last week.

As technology evolves, it may be that smartphone-toting field personnel are capable of doing their job anytime, anywhere.

Document output management product boasts ability to provide businesses with customized, automated correspondence.

Former American International Group CEO Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg is seeking $25 billion in damages from the federal government for the manner in which it bailed out the insurance giant in 2008.

Liberty’s new Irish company will trade under the name Liberty Insurance.

Integration of the two companies creates Morgan Keegan Quick Life.

Surveys and studies show that insurers are actively implementing new policy administration systems. In September, Celent released its “Policy Administration System Vendors, North American Commercial P/C Insurance 2011” report. And this month, the analyst and consulting firm released a similar report for the life, health and annuities industry.

Through conducting a survey at 2011 Professional Liability Underwriting Society’s Annual International Conference in San Diego earlier this month, global specialty insurer Torus set out to identify key issues affecting the management and professional liability insurance market. The results reveal a professional lines market in flux with widespread concerns over pricing uncertainty in 2012, a heightened awareness of the current regulatory environment and fast-emerging new risks for small businesses. Thirty percent of the 102 insurance professionals surveyed, among them brokers, agents, insurers and risk managers, affirmed that the changing pricing environment is a major cause for unease, viewing it to have the biggest overall impact on the market over the next 12 months. Respondents also note that an increase in market competition (25 percent), the current regulatory environment (23 percent) and the creation of new products (17 percent) were also major concerns.

As 2011 winds down, few would dispute the centrality of mobile communications to the insurance industry.

Staying connected while away from the office is taking on increasing importance to insurers, according to a new survey. Conducted in September by technology solution provider FirstBest Systems Inc. as part of Market Scout Entrepreneurial Insurance Symposium in Dallas, the survey queried 67 respondents from the carrier/MGA/MGU area, 94 percent of whom primarily represented commercial lines and 46 respondents from the agent/broker area, 90 percent or so representing commercial lines.

As President Obama grapples with a complex series of geopolitical issues during his state visit to Australia, he can take solace in the knowledge that his family will be provided for if he is attacked by a man-eating crocodile.

With catastrophe damage creating insured losses across the country, property and casualty insurance carrier results suffered in the first half of 2011.

State Farm Insurance has put a new spin on why people living in the United States should be grateful this Thanksgiving—they are less likely to be burned or have their homes catch fire as a result of cooking a turkey.