Insurance companies are pushing for lengthy delays in the enactment of a law that would require them to summarize the benefits plans they provide. According to the Affordable Care Act, health insurance providers must summarize their policies to within four pages of easily understood content. The law is meant to provide consumers with a better understanding of the benefits they will be receiving and what their policies do and do not cover. The Department of Labor, however, has announced that it will not be forcing insurance companies to be adhering…
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American commercial property coverage rates poised for increase
According to the insurance brokerage at Marsh & McLennan Cos., American businesses are likely to face higher property insurance rates following the significant losses that insurers faced as a result of the decline of investment income and the natural disasters in 2011. Following a survey performed by Marsh Inc., it determined that over half of the clients in the United States have said that the last half of 2011 included an increase in their cost of property insurance. Among the policyholders who were at the greatest risk of losses from…
Read MoreWillisWire report highlights the emerging risks facing the global insurance industry
The global insurance industry has been facing many threats in recent years, the majority of which coming from unpredictable natural disasters. The world is changing at a rapid pace in terms of technology, environment and crime and as each of these fields advances, new threats emerge that could destabilize the industry as a whole. Willis Group Holdings, one of the world’s largest insurance brokers, has launched a new website that seeks to document these risks. The site is called WillisWire and will play host to a number of surveys and…
Read MoreFederal Insurance Office report could have far reaching implications for state-based insurance regulations
The Federal Insurance Office (FIO) is scheduled to release a report at the end of the month that will have a dramatic impact on how insurance regulations are formed in the U.S. The agency, which is part of the Department of Treasury, has been working with insurers, consumer advocates and legal representative to determine how to modernize existing regulations. Insurers are eagerly anticipating the report as it may bring major changes to how the industry operates. The FIO expects that consumers may find favor with the report because it advises…
Read MoreStates without health overhaul plans contain 75 percent of uninsured Americans
According to an analysis performed by the Associated Press, three out of every four Americans who do not have health insurance are residents of states that have not yet established how they will be meeting the requirements of the healthcare overhaul. According to the same analysis, the largest medical coverage safety net in American history is progressing, but is doing so in sudden sharp leaps and pauses. At the moment, according to insurance coverage data provided by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan group, the country is in a truly patchwork…
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