Non-life insurance company, Combined Insurance Co. of America has received fines totaling $8.7 million in the United Kingdom and Ireland due to a number of regulatory breaches. The insurer sells its products via agents affiliated with the company, and is required to pay a fine of $4.36 million to the Central Bank of Ireland through its Combined Insurance Co. of Europe Ltd. division. Separately, the company received a fine worth $4.34 million from the U.K. Financial Services Authority as a result of a failure to manage its selling processes, as…
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Global insurance and banking regulators call for more oversight in the industry
As the world’s economy continues to sputter ever onward, global insurance and banking regulators are setting their sights on financial institutions that provide insurance products. These institutions contributed to the global recession in varying degrees, and regulators now want to ensure that a similar crisis does not form due to lack of oversight. Regulators have drafted a new set of rules that aim to assess whether banks selling insurance products are managing their liquidity and capital levels as they are meant to. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International…
Read MoreAmerican car insurance risk starts to rise following record breaking low
The proprietary Auto Insurance Risk Index from TransUnion has reported a tiny rise by 0.03 percent at the end of 2011’s third quarter, following four consecutive declines in the previous quarters. The score at the end of the third quarter was 98.85, which, when compared to the second quarter, is three basis points higher. Equally, though, it remains 31 basis points below what it was at the same time in 2010. The peak of the recession in the second quarter of 2009 was 73 basis points higher than it is…
Read MoreTowers Watson report shows the cost of claims continues to outpace the rise in insurance pricing
Towers Watson, a global professional services firm, has released a new report showing the rising prices in the commercial insurance industry. The report shows that commercial insurance prices have grown for the second consecutive year by an average of 2%. Property insurance and workers compensation are the two fields where the increases in pricing are most apparent. The property insurance market is being bolstered by a number of natural disasters that occurred throughout the year, which prompted insurers to raise rates and prices for new policies. While prices are rising,…
Read MoreHHS upholds medical loss ratio provision, changes some aspects of the overarching law
Despite daunting opposition, the Department of Health and Human Services has remained firm on the medical loss ratio provision of the Affordable Care Act. The medical loss ratio provision requires that insurers pay no less than 80% of premium money on improving medical care. The provision has gained rabid opposition from the nation’s health insurance companies, who have been fighting to have administrative expenses and independent insurance broker fees removed from the mandate. The HHS, however, has issued a final ruling on the matter, claiming that most of the nation’s…
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