Security risk

New CCHIT standards for electronic health records in 2011 could affect health insurers.

A.M. Best downgrades Canal Group, affirms Manulife.

The industry considers salivating over the huge China market, but it does so at the expense of our security.

The ambiguity surrounding the Obama Administration's proposed Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee is causing insurers consternation.

Looking to recoup taxpayer money used to bailout financial institutions, the Obama administration is proposing a “responsibility fee” on large financial institutions, possibly including insurers. Levied on the debts of financial firms with over $50 billion in consolidated assets, the fee is intended to deter financial companies from overleveraging themselves.

Health insurer Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Inc. will develop a pilot of the Food and Drug Administration's Sentinel System to better monitor the safety of regulated medical products. The one-year contract with four renewable years is worth a total of $72 million.

Health insurer Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Inc. will develop a pilot of the Food and Drug Administration's Sentinel System to better monitor the safety of regulated medical products. The one-year contract with four renewable years is worth a total of $72 million.

It’s no secret that the world’s problems in health, education and unemployment can largely be traced to the global fiscal crisis.

Though relatively unfazed by the financial crisis, a continuing soft market will present problems for property/casualty insurers, a new report finds.

The ongoing impact of the financial crisis, coupled with the specter of greater governmental oversight, will color the outlook for the life insurance industry in the year ahead, according to New York-based Ernst & Young’s Global Insurance Center 2010 U.S. Outlook.

A.M. Best, Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor's announced ratings updates. The following are some of the most recent:

Even to those tasked with understanding it, the insurance industry can seem opaque. After in-depth interviews with 43 financial analysts who cover the insurance sector, New York-based PricewaterhouseCoopers finds a widespread dissatisfaction with the current insurance financial reporting framework.

Fond du Lac, Wis.-based Society Insurance, a provider of commercial insurance to Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana, implemented Denver-based Valen Technologies Inc.’s UnderRight predictive analytics underwriting solution to improve its pricing strategies and profitability. Society is now using UnderRight for its workers’ compensation line of business to positively impact the company’s combined ratio by enabling improved underwriting decision consistency and efficiency.

The insurance industry is offering praise for retiring Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D – Conn.), who announced last week he would not seek reelection next year.

The good news is there are signs of economic improvement. The bad news is A.M. Best is maintaining its negative rating outlook on the life/health industry.

Trust representing homeowners asks for compensation for damages due to mold exposure.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Aetna and WellPoint are the first of a handful of insurers expected to certify for compliance with the initiative in Q1 2010.

Association commends retiring chairman’s leadership on insurance-related issues.

S&P withdraws its A+ FSR of Nationwide Life Insurance Co. of America and Nationwide Life & Annuity Co. of America, and Moody's assigns ratings to the multi-issuer, multi-seniority shelf registration of The Travelers Cos. Inc.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America seeks no-fault reform in New York, market-based solutions in coastal states and the preservation of credit scoring, among others, in the coming year.