Friday, May 22, 2009
Influenza A(H1N1) and pandemics
The Influenza A(H1N1) outbreak in Mexico and other parts of the world is clearly cause for concern, not least for those communities already directly affected. One of Swiss Re’s leading pandemic experts, Bob Howe, answers some key questions.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Health - Google News
Access up-to-the-minute reporting on the spread of influenza and measures being taken to combat it.
CDC - Influenza (Flu) U.S. Map, Summary
Weekly update on seasonal influenza. For H1N1 related news, visit http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
WHO | World Health Organization
You can check out the latest on the global spread of influenza here.
Gen Re Risk Matters: Swine Flu
The latest issue of Risk Matters takes a timely look at the possible impact of the current flu outbreak.
SCENARIOS: What the new swine flu might do
Although it is not yet a pandemic -- a global epidemic of a new and serious disease -- it could quickly start one. Here are a few ways the situation could develop.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Swiss Re: Swine flu and pandemics
The swine flu outbreak in Mexico and other parts of the world is clearly cause for concern, not least for those communities already directly affected. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) there is a significant increase in risk of a pandemic, but this does not necessarily mean that a pandemic is a foregone conclusion."
Monday, April 13, 2009
Moody's Strips Berkshire Hathaway Of Top Rating
Moody's Investors Service cut its credit ratings on Berkshire Hathaway Inc from Aaa, the top rating, saying the recession and investment losses at insurance operations of investor Warren Buffett's holding company reduced its ability to support funding needs.
Fitch: TARP for U.S. Life Insurers Positive for Financial Strength
Fitch Ratings believes that the possible inclusion of life insurers in the U.S. Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) could be a positive development for those eligible life insurers and therefore could temper future downgrades if more capital pressure develops than anticipated in current ratings. Fitch believes that government funding would provide a source of financial flexibility not currently available in the capital markets for life insurers.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Pardon me, Rush, but what's your expertise in the medical records technology arena again?
Despite what Rush Limbaugh would have us believe, the movement toward electronic medical records is not about some Orwellian plot. Hospitals' Electronic Wasteland looks at stimulus funds aiming to change a system largely devoid of in-depth electronic record keeping.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Systemic Risk in the Health Insurance Industry
Current instability in the financial markets has many wondering if a systemic failure could happen in other industries. American International Group’s (AIG) difficulties shifted the spotlight toward the insurance arena. Those that wish to see the insurance industry regulated on a national level are using the current economic crisis as an opportunity to revisit insurance reform legislation. Just last week, Therese Vaughan, chief executive officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), gave testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises regarding the role state insurance regulators play in mitigating system risk in the insurance markets. While most emphasis has been placed on the Life and Property/Casualty insurance industries, speculation on a system-wide crash of the beleaguered health insurance market is also receiving media attention.
Given the various linkages and interdependencies in the health insurance marketplace, is there a chance that if one player fails the entire market could crash? Mark Farrah Associates looked at the top three health insurers in the country, WellPoint, UnitedHealth and Aetna, to determine if a hypothetical failure of any one occurred what would happen to the rest of the marketplace. This brief also looks into the odds of a system wide crash of the health insurance industry.
Given the various linkages and interdependencies in the health insurance marketplace, is there a chance that if one player fails the entire market could crash? Mark Farrah Associates looked at the top three health insurers in the country, WellPoint, UnitedHealth and Aetna, to determine if a hypothetical failure of any one occurred what would happen to the rest of the marketplace. This brief also looks into the odds of a system wide crash of the health insurance industry.
New Study: 60 Million Americans Lack Access to Basic Medical Care
On Tuesday, March 24, at 9:30 a.m. EDT, health professionals from across the country will share their experiences and discuss a new report on the startling numbers of people struggling without access to basic health care during these tough economic times. The report, Primary Care Access: An Essential Building Block of Health Reform, will reveal that number of “medically disenfranchised” – people without a regular source of preventive and primary health care – grew from 56 million people to 60 million due to a host of factors that include a worsening shortage of primary care doctors in needy communities and a growing scarcity of providers willing to treat the uninsured or publicly insured.
Solvency II: A competitive advantage for European insurers?
Despite the fact Solvency II in its current form will apply only to the European Union, North American insurers are encouraged to pay attention to the factors underlying its development. If, as anticipated, Solvency II leads to markedly lower capital charges for EU-based companies, then the Europeans will have a significant competitive advantage over North American companies.
A Look at Reinsurance Collateral Requirements
From the October '08 edition of The ReSource, Canada Life's newsletter.
Economic Woes Threaten Insurance Data Security - Opinion - Life and Health Insurance News
No one wants to be the first insurance company to suffer a major data loss that endangers the privacy of multitudes of customers—customers who trusted the company with their most sensitive information.
Penn Treaty Aside, LTC Reinsurance Market Is Viable - Companies/Financial - Life and Health Insurance News
Despite the experience of Penn Treaty Network America in Allentown, Pa., which was recently put into rehabilitation, experts say reinsurance is available for long term care carriers.
What’s Next For AIG? - Companies/Financial - Life and Health Insurance News
The ultimate viability of American International Group’s currently healthy life insurance units is a race against time, according to industry analysts and AIG officials.
Get The Mortality Accurate - Core Protection Products - Life and Health Insurance News
The insurance industry is in the business of controlling threats to life. It has invented new mortality gadgets, and now it needs to control them properly despite today’s tough times.
AIG Mess Boosts Odds for Federal Insurance Charter
The drive to create a federal regulator for insurance companies gained steam Tuesday in the wake of public outrage over American International Group's bonus packages and a growing concern among lawmakers that the states' oversight is insufficient.
Long-Term Care Insurance Tax-Deductibility Rules
Recognizing that government can't pay the bill for long-term care, federal and a growing number of state tax codes now offer tax incentives to encourage Americans to take personal responsibility for their future long-term care needs. (The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance)
2009 Long-Term Care Insurance Sourcebook Published
The 2009 Long-Term Care Insurance Sourcebook, a compendium of the most current relevant research and data regarding long-term care and insurance products, has been published by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (http://www.aaltci.org/).
The Future Burden of Heart Attack - How Changes inDiagnostic Criteria Affect the Number of Claims Under Critical Illness
From the March 2009 issue of Gen Re's Risk Insights.
CI Cover for Children in Different Parts of the World - from Individual Policy to Automatic Inclusion
From the March 2009 issue of Gen Re's Risk Insights.
Term Assurance for HIV Positive (HIV+)
Hannover Life Re believes that we should all be looking to offer cover to as many individuals as we can and that as far as possible insurance should strive to be inclusive. The company also feels it is right to challenge ourselves to continue to change cultural attitudes and encourage inclusive behaviour.
NCOIL To Dodd: State Regulation Works, OFC Would Not
The National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) today reinforced its strong opposition to insurance optional federal charter (OFC) proposals, and asserted that there is limited support for this approach. In a letter to U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT), NCOIL Officers wrote that, “If the ongoing financial crisis has taught us anything, it is that state-based insurance regulation continues to safeguard American consumers and the insurance industry.”
Insurance-Linked Securities Reaching Critical Mass
Despite the financial crisis, the ILS market has more than held its own and appears poised for further growth. This Towers-Perrin article appears in the 2009/1 issue of Emphasis.
ACLI Welcomes Chairman Frank's Support for Creation of Federal Insurance Regulator
Read ACLI president and CEO Frank Keating's March 5, 2009 statement in response to news reports of comments by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) in support of the creation of a federal insurance regulator for the life insurance industry.
ACLI Life Reinsurance Treaty Sourcebook
The Life Reinsurance Treaty Sourcebook is a unique reference tool developed by experts from life insurers and life reinsurers, to assist the industry with the building blocks of life reinsurance contracts. It offers sample contract terms and exhibits together with options and discussion points, a glossary of reinsurance terminology, and a statutory reference table of pertinent state laws and regulations.
ACLI Life Insurers Fact Book 2008
The 2008 Fact Book provides statistics and information on trends in the life insurance industry. Specific topics covered include assets, liabilities, income, expenditures, reinsurance, life insurance, and annuities.
State-Specific Prevalence and Trends in Adult Cigarette Smoking --- United States, 1998--2007
To update 2006 state-specific estimates of cigarette smoking, CDC analyzed data from the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey and examined trends in cigarette smoking from 1998--2007. Results of these analyses indicated substantial variation in current cigarette smoking during 2007.
Release of 1999--2005 United States Cancer Statistics Web-Based Report
CDC and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have combined their cancer incidence data to produce United States Cancer Statistics (USCS): 1999--2005 Incidence and Mortality Data, a web-based report. The report is produced in collaboration with the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.
Data from population-based central cancer registries that meet selected quality criteria are included in this web-based report, which provides annual state-specific and regional data for cancer cases diagnosed during 1999--2005 and for 2001--2005 combined. The data from 2005 are the most recent year for which incidence data are available. The report also provides cancer mortality data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Data from population-based central cancer registries that meet selected quality criteria are included in this web-based report, which provides annual state-specific and regional data for cancer cases diagnosed during 1999--2005 and for 2001--2005 combined. The data from 2005 are the most recent year for which incidence data are available. The report also provides cancer mortality data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged 20--64 Years with Periodontitis,* by Smoking Status and Sex --- National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, United States, 1988--1994 and 1999--2004
From the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Review.
"Walk in My Shoes" Underwriting Case Clinics
Presentation at 2009 MUD Group Meeting by Bill Moore (Swiss Re), Judy Hecht and George Reilly (MetLife).
Mortality: To Die or Not to Die
Presentation by Rick Bergstrom and Anna Hart at the 2009 MUD Group meeting.
Older Age Mortality Selection and Pricing
Presentation by Transamerica Reinsurance's David Wylde at the 2009 MUD Group meeting.
The Older Age Insurance Market: Cognitive Function Mortality Results
Presentation by Transamerica Reinsurance's David Wylde at the 2009 MUD Group meeting.
Towers Perrin Expert Series: How Is the Financial Crisis Impacting the Insurance Industry?
The insurance and financial services industry is at a crossroads. In the midst of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, the combination of volatile economic conditions and a rapidly changing competitive landscape has many firms facing a challenging future.
As the situation continues to evolve, Towers Perrin experts offer their insights into the current state of the insurance industry, and how developments on Wall Street and around the world will impact insurers in both the short and long term.
As the situation continues to evolve, Towers Perrin experts offer their insights into the current state of the insurance industry, and how developments on Wall Street and around the world will impact insurers in both the short and long term.
2009 Insurance outlook Europe: Ernst & Young
Financial services and insurance companies face enormous challenges in 2009 as they manage through the economic downturn and respond to market shifts and consumer expectations.
2009 Insurance outlook Far East: Ernst & Young
The expansion of western European and US insurance companies into Asia will continue but at a slower pace. Read more.
2009 insurance outlook: US life insurance: Ernst & Young
The US life insurance industry will be dealing with the multiple lingering after-effects of the global financial crisis and deepening recession. Read more.
In shifting sands: UK Life and Pensions outlook 2009: Ernst & Young
This paper seeks to leverage our knowledge, insight and industry experience to identify the key challenges for the insurance sector in 2009.
US life insurance industry outlook 2009: Ernst & Young
The US life insurance industry will be dealing with the multiple lingering after-effects of the global financial crisis and deepening recession.
2008: The Value of Reinsurance Revisited
The life insurance industry enters 2009 facing an economic environment and a business outlook that are profoundly different from one short year ago. While every year presents catalysts for change, 2008 will go down as one of extreme, involuntary change as companies dealt with the suddenness and severity of the financial crisis. What is more, the traditional playbook does not appear to offer many options on how to manage through the challenges.
Risk Communication - The Illusion of Certainty
How do we picture probability? How can a patient deciding on a course of drugs be expected to translate “a 7% chance of dying” or “a 20% likelihood of negative side-effects” into a meaningful image?
The Risk Manager's View: Swiss Re
Swiss Re's Chief Risk Officer, Raj Singh, answers some key questions about the current Financial Crisis.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
New Study Shows Health Care Costs Put U.S. Workers at Significant Disadvantage Compared with Global Competitors | Business Roundtable
According to the Business Roundtable Health Care Value Comparability Study, a new measure of the “value” (cost and performance) of the U.S. health care system relative to our competitors’ systems on a weighted scale, the workers and employers of the United States face a 23% “value gap” relative to five leading economic competitors and a 46% “value gap” compared with emerging competitors.
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