Brit profits plummet to £6.8m
July 24, 2011 by Timothy Wilkes · Leave a Comment
Brit Insurance saw first-half 2011 pre-tax profit plummet to £6.8 million, from £77.5 million a year earlier, having faced an unprecedented number of catastrophe events in the first six months of the year.
The re/insurer recorded a 2.1% rise in gross written premium, to £845.3 million, and its combined ratio stood at 104.8% (30 June 2010: 96.5%) including 15.5 percentage points for major claims (30 June 2010: 7.1%).
The firm achieved a rate increase of 0.9% (30 June 2010: 1.1%) and a return on investment of 1.5% (30 June 2010: 1.6%).
Underlying management expenses were reduced by 11.8%, to £75.4 million, and Brit says it maintain a strong and continuing focus on key areas that drive performance, i.e. und Full Article…
Viewpoints: The Effects Of The Debt Debate; Medicare’s Birthday; N.Y. Drug Plan
July 24, 2011 by Timothy Wilkes · Leave a Comment
Plan To Save On Medicare Drug Costs Would Hurt Seniors — And Maryland’s Economy
In the scramble to cut the nation’s debt burden, President Obama, congressional Democrats and even some Republicans have proposed squeezing money out of Medicare by changing the way it pays for prescription drugs. They claim this would save $112 billion over 10 years. But if passed it would be a disaster, costing hundreds of thousands of jobs in the biopharmaceutical industry — an important contributor to the Maryland economy — driving up drug prices and discouraging drug innovation (Renée Winsky, 7/25).
State Roundup: Maine, Minn. GOP Want Insurance Changes
July 23, 2011 by Timothy Wilkes · Leave a Comment
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Maine Gov. Touts Market-Based Health Care Solutions For Rural America
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) told an enthusiastic crowd at the Heritage Foundation on Monday that his Republican administration thinks “taking off the shackles” from insurers is the way to keep healthcare costs low for rural residents. LePage is among the state leaders who have vowed to repeal Democrats’ healthcare reform law and replace it with market-based solutions, such as allowing people to buy cheap insurance that’s not as comprehensive as called for in the law.
Insurers ready for commercial space race
July 23, 2011 by Timothy Wilkes · Leave a Comment
After 135 missions, the NASA space shuttle programme has come to the end of its life, but commercial firms are already champing at the bit to enter the space race.
Underwriters at Lloyd’s are also looking at providing such firms with the unusual insurance they will need for appropriate coverage in space.
In the interim astronauts will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) via Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but NASA has awarded contracts to firms such as Space X and Orbital Sciences with a view to delivering first cargo and then people to the ISS.
Simon Clapham, space underwriter at Liberty Syndicates, has said that the increasing presence of commercial firms in space will eventually mean more business for insurers.
Earlier this month Aon Risk Solutions announced the Hong Kong opening of its space insurance practice, International Space Brokers (ISB).
State Roundup: Ore. Cuts Insurer’s Rate Increase
July 22, 2011 by Timothy Wilkes · Leave a Comment
News outlets report on a variety of state health issues.
Oregon Insurance Division OKs 12.8 Percent Health Insurance Rate Increase, Rejects 22 Percent
The Oregon Insurance Division will allow the state’s largest health insurer to raise rates on individual premiums an average 12.8 percent, far lower than the 22.1 percent the company had requested. The division announced its decision Tuesday after a public hearing in June on the request by Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, the first such hearing in more than two decades. The reduced rate increase will affect about 59,000 residents who buy from Regence individually or for their families rather than through employers (Graves, 7/20).