Axa Posts 2nd-Half Profit on Life-Insurance Business

February 18, 2010, 06:32 AM EST

By Fabio Benedetti-Valentini

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Axa SA, Europe’s 2nd biggest insurer, posted a 2nd half profit after a rally in financial markets support demand for policies linked to stock performance.

Net income reached 2.28 billion euros or $3.1 billion from a 1.24 billion-euro loss the year , according to the numbers on the Paris-based company’s Web site today. That surpassed the 1.62 billion-euro estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Axa, like the U.S.’s biggest insurer, MetLife Inc., returned to profit after equity markets recuperate following the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Chief Executive Officer Henri de Castries, is depending on the company’s life and savings division, whose profit exceeded analysts’ estimates in the quarter, to recapture growth.

“The outcome demonstrates that Axa’s life-dominated business model positions the group well in an economic recovery,” said Ralph Hebgen, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Ltd., in a remark to investors. He has an “outperform” stock rating.

Axa rose 0.5% to 15.64 euros in Paris trading at 12:22 p.m.. It has gained 43% in the last 12 months, giving the insurer a market price of 35.7 billion euros. The 29-member Bloomberg Europe 500 Insurance Index has climbed 39%.

VIA BusinessWeek

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Study: R.R.'s $5B Pension Gap is 4th Worst

PROVIDENCE Rhode Island has promised $12 billion to its public employees in pension, health and other retirement benefits but has only

allocated $6.8 billion to pay for them, according to a study released Thursday.

Rhode Island's pension plans had the 4th-largest funding gap in the nation as of June 2008, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts'

Center's report on the States. The state had allocated $6.8 billion to cover $11.2B in liabilities, or 61% of the total, down from 83% in

1999.

That was the lowest pension-funding level in New England, though it was not that far behind Connecticut (61.6%) and Massachusetts (63%).

Furthermore, Rhode Island has promised current and future retirees an additional $788.2 million in life insurance, health care and other

benefits, but no money has been allocated to cover those programs, Pew found.

The study found that nationwide, all 50 states had promised current and retired employees a total of $3.35 trillion in benefits as of June

2008, but only provided $2.35 trillion to pay the bills.

While the economic crisis and decline of the investments helped create it, the trillion-dollar gap is first the result of states'

inability to save for the future and manage the costs of their public sector retirement benefits, said Susan Urahn, managing director of

the Pew Center, in a statement.

If anything, the Washington-based nonprofit said, its numbers understate the problem because they only cover the fiscal year that ended

June 30, 2008, before the major investment losses that occurred in the 2nd half of that year.

The growing bill coming because of the states could have significant consequences for taxpayers less money for public services, higher

taxes and lower state bond ratings,� she added. “States need to start examining reforms.

According to Pew, only 4 states – Florida, New York, Washington and Wisconsin had fully funded pension systems as of June 2008.

Illinois had the largest funding gap for pensions, with the state having set aside enough funds to cover only 54% of its obligations. After

Illinois came Kansas, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

VIA PBN
Keyword: Life Insurance

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Cheap Health Insurance Quotes – Where Americans Are Finding Them

A new online petition being circulated by the political action committee, MoveOn.org is well ready to get the attention of America’s top health insurers. The petition demands that “Anthem Blue Cross must provide a complete explanation for their outrageous rate increases, or else roll them back immediately”.  The political action committee, who is well known for its progressive stance, claims that the health insurer has announced rate increases as high as 39% to individual plans.

Cheap Health Insurance Quotes – Where Americans are finding them

The health insurance debate has exploded into a political controversy with Democrats nearly passing a major health care renewal bill in congress, before they lost their supermajority in January.  President Obama has asked for a televised bi-partisan health care summit to be held on February 25th.   Although, many republican leaders think that the summit is “a trap”, there is a growing undertaking in congress to contain the soaring medical costs.

The year 2009 was the most profitable year for the health insurance companies,   meanwhile Americans are looking for the best deals, some organizations like MoveOn.org claimed.

If you are searching for lower rates you may want to check first if you are eligible through COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) to receive your previous employer’s health insurance, are qualified for Medicare or Medicare or can join a State High Risk Health Insurance Pool.

If you don’t qualify into one of those categories, many have found the internet to be one of the best resources to find affordable rates for all types of insurance.  Online agents can collect your information in one place and reach out to more than a couple of providers to shop for the lowest rates for you.
Customers are searching for specific plans most of the time. Find that by going directly to the insurer they are able to find the lowest rates themselves.

Let us know where you found your cheap health insurance quote.

VIA BREAKING GLOBAL NEWS

Keyword: Health insurance

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IRS Helping Some With Health Insurance

DETROIT, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Thousands of qualified workers in Michigan who lost their jobs or retired have signed up for an IRS program to bear health insurance costs, a money manager estimated.

The Health Coverage Tax Credit pays 80% of health premiums for those who lost their jobs to outsourcing or whose pension plans dismissed.

The Detroit News reported Monday, "Thousands of Delphi employees" have signed up for the program, said David Kudla, chief executive officer of Mainstay Capital Management in Grand Blanc, Mich.

The News said, For some people, the tax credit means the IRS will pay $15K of their healthcare premiums this year.

Unless it is reapproved, the program will return to paying 65% of healthcare premiums after this year. It was expanded to 80% as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

For this year, "it has literally made a lot of difference for people who were bankrupt or foreclosed upon, where they have a opportunity to survive economically," said Den Black, spokesman for a Delphi Automotive LLP salaried workers retirement group.


VIA Business News


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Bloomberg

Sun Life Fourth-Quarter Earnings More Than Double

By Sean B. Pasternak

(Bloomberg) -- Sun Life Financial Inc., Canada’s third-largest insurer, said earned more than doubled as stock markets bounced back.

Outcomes benefited from rising equity markets during the last 3 months of 2009, including a 3.1% rise in the benchmark Standard & Poor’s or Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index. Manulife Financial Corp. and Great-West Lifeco Inc., Canada’s 2 biggest insurers, plan to report 4th quarter results later today.

Chief Executive Officer Donald Stewart said “Our plan of diversifying across products, distribution and geographies and a strong focus on risk management has allowed us to develop and build on earnings through a difficult period for the financial-services industry,” Sun Life rose 54¢ to C$31.36 in trading yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The shares gained 3.7% this year through yesterday, the best-performing stock on the 6 company S&P/TSX Life & Health Insurance Index.

VIA Business Week

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Health insurance costs break through earth orbit
4:13 pm February 15, 2010, by ctucker
From Associated Press:
Consumers in at least 4 states who purchase their own health insurance are getting hit with premium increases of 15% or more — and people in different states could see the same thing.

Anthem Blue Cross, a WellPoint Inc. subsidiary, has been hounded for a week by regulators and politicians for notifying some of its 800,000 policyholders in California that it plans to raise rates by up to 39% March 1.
The Anthem Blue Cross plan in Maine is asking for an additional 23% rate hike this year for some individual policy holders. Last year, they raised rates up to 32%.

And in Oregon, several insurers were given rate hikes of 15% or more this year after increases of around 25% last year for customers who bought individual health insurance, rather than receiving it through their employer.
Premiums are far more unstable for individual policies than for those purchased by employers and other large groups, which have bargaining influence and a sizable pool of consumers among which to spread risk. As more people have lost their jobs, many who are healthy have decided forego health insurance or get a bare-bones, high-deductible policy, reducing the amount of premiums insurers get.

High rate increase in this sliver of the insurance market — about 13m Americans, as of 2008 — have popped up randomly for years. Some experts see them becoming increasingly common.
Sandy Praeger, the chairwoman of the health insurance and managed care committee for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, predicted Friday, “You’re going to see rate increases of 20%, 25%, 30%” for individual health policies in the near future, (h/t, Karen Tumulty, Swampland)

VIA blogs.ajc.com

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