blukorinsurance

InsWeb sells majority of assets to Bankrate

2011-10-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

InsWeb Corp. InsWeb Corp. Latest from The Business Journals Dow plunges againDow closes up 423Dow loses 520 points, erasing rebound Follow this company announced Monday that it is selling the bulk of its assets to Bankrate Inc. Bankrate Inc. Latest from The Business Journals Bank of America to charge for debit card useBank of America to charge for debit card use Bank of America to charge for debit card use Follow this company for $65 million in cash.

Locally based InsWeb (NASDAQ: INSW) will keep its e-commerce and online insurance distribution patents, which it will license to Bankrate “on a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive basis,” a news release said.

Bankrate (NYSE: RATE) also agrees to assume some of InsWeb’s liabilities.

InsWeb expects to continue operating as a public company “and will focus on a new business model in which it will license its patented technologies,” the release said.

“We are excited about this transaction and the value that it delivers to us and our shareholders,” Hussein Enan, InsWeb board chairman and chief executive officer, said in the release. “The purchase price represents a compelling valuation for the business, while we believe the retention of our patent portfolio and our planned efforts to license the proprietary technologies we have developed over the years provides potential upside to our shareholders. …Bankrate’s strong online distribution network is an ideal fit for our customers and consumers, who will continue to be well served in the marketplace.”

InsWeb shareholders and regulators still must approve the deal.

Source http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2011/10/10/insweb-sells-assets-to-Bankrate.html

Queensland disaster bill tops $1.6bn, and counting

2011-07-26T01:32:00.000-07:00

THE insurance sector has paid out more than $1.6 billion in claims to victims of Cyclone Yasi and the devastating floods that struck Queensland early this year.

More than 126,000 claims worth an estimated $3.66bn have been received by insurers: 69,497 claims due to Cyclone Yasi and 57,191 due to the floods..

IAG insurance has already paid out net claims to the value of $300 million.

The bulk of the claims are expected to be handled by Suncorp, which expects to pay out about $1.2bn for cyclone and flood cover.

"The response and sheer number of claims received and processed shows the insurance industry is strong and responding well to recent disasters," Insurance Council of Australia chief executive Rob Whelan said.

"The number of claims already paid demonstrates the importance of a responsive and secure insurance industry able to appropriately determine claims."

The ICA estimates that about 99 per cent of residential claims relating to the natural disasters have already been assessed and determined.

Although 55 per cent of residential property claims have been finalised following completion of repairs or provision of cash settlements, complex construction on the remaining properties means it will still be "many more months" before all repairs are completed.

The ICA is also expecting about 700 disputes to be heard by the financial ombudsman, most of which will relate to denied cover.

The claims have squeezed the earnings of local insurers who have said costs of payouts would affect short-term profitability.

Insurers have told a recent government inquiry into natural disaster insurance that there needs to be more focus on mitigation work to lower the risk in flood and cyclone areas.

Source http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/financial-services/queensland-disaster-bill-tops-16bn-and-counting/story-fn91wd6x-1226101630916

Gadget collector from Muswell Hill named best in the UK

2011-06-23T00:59:00.000-07:00

A huge horde of weird and wonderful gadgets - from the world’s first sat nav to an eye massager - have earned its owner the title of Best British Collector.

Former printer Maurice Collins, from Muswell Hill, has amassed more than 1,600 off-beat antique inventions over the last 35 years - a hobby that started when he took his teenage son hunting for bottles on a rubbish dump.

And now among the electric hair-restoring combs and mechanical envelope sealers he can count this latest accolade from Bid TV after a nationwide search.

The 76-year-old, of Grosvenor Road, said: “I was very chuffed to have my collection recognised. I don’t think anyone else loves collecting ‘thingy-me-bobs’ from the past as much as I do.

“I’ve always been fascinated by new inventions, even more so by those created in the times of Queen Victoria, which nowadays might seem totally alien today but in fact are often the forerunners to modern inventions.”

Such an example is the 1920s route finder, a precursor to the modern day sat nav. The gadget is worn like a watch and works via clockwork scrolls, which the driver has to manually turn to see the next leg of his journey.

Other oddities Mr Collins is particularly proud of range from useful gadgets, such as two of the earliest examples of clockwork teasmaids, to the more squeamish finds, including an 1898 chewing gum holder worn as a necklace and a mechanical haemorrhoid applicator.

The father-of-two has donated the £2,000 prize money to Kith and Kids, the disabled charity he co-founded to help his mentally handicapped daughter Kim.

Over the years, his collection has helped him raise more than £6,000 through loaning items out to exhibitions across the country.

The charity’s fundraising manager Danielle Taylor said: “We are very proud of Maurice who has supported Kith and Kids for over 40 years. We thank him for his help once again and congratulate him on his fabulous new title.”

Source http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/news/gadget_collector_from_muswell_hill_named_best_in_the_uk_1_930414

Study: Health Reform's Effects On Texas

2011-04-06T21:35:00.001-07:00

If federal health care reform stays on the books, it will help 5 million Texans get health insurance and increase state health care spending by roughly 10 percent in the next five years, according to a new study by the RAND Corporation, a policy think tank.

The newly insured Texans would be covered by a combination of Medicaid and a state health insurance exchange, with the bulk of the state's spending hike related to increased Medicaid costs, according to the study, which included five states and was sponsored by the Council of State Governments. (In Texas, plans for a state health insurance exchange are making little progress in the Legislature, where Republicans overwhelmingly oppose most elements of federal health reform.)

Among the Texas findings:

— The percentage of Texans with health insurance would grow from 72 percent to 94 percent by 2016 under federal health reform. The number of uninsured non-elderly people would be roughly 1.4 million, compared to the current projections of 6.5 million without federal health reform.

— By 2016, roughly 18 percent of non-elderly Texans would get health coverage through a state health insurance exchange.

— Enrollment in Medicaid would grow by 80 percent, with an additional 2.7 million Texans enrolled in the next five years.

— The annual cost to the state would grow by $580 million by 2016, and by $2.8 billion by 2020. The cumulative increase between 2011 and 2020 would be nearly $10 billion.

— A slightly smaller percentage of Texans will be offered health coverage from their employers — the result of some of them dropping insurance offerings.

Of course, all of these projections are contingent on federal health care reform avoiding a disqualifying ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, which is where most legal observers expect it will land.

Meanwhile, critics of the RAND study argue it used a simulation model that was developed before federal health reform even passed. The conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, which has released its own projections, said it's "simpler and more transparent" to base a study "on following historical trends for detailed categories of those eligible [for] Medicaid."

Source http://www.texastribune.org/texas-health-resources/health-reform-and-texas/study-health-reforms-effects-on-texas/

Surat NGO promises accident insurance cover for blood donors

2011-03-29T00:59:00.001-07:00

To overcome the shortage of blood in the city, an NGO founded a year ago has come up with an innovative idea of attracting donors by giving them an accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh.

Swarnim Gujarat Youth Federation, which will mark its first annual celebrations on April 1, has been working to educate people on donating blood, eyes and even the body.

Ghanshyam Vasani, the NGO’s president, said that on April 1, 2011, they expect to collect over 1,000 bottles of blood in a single day at a camp where doctors and nurses from three blood banks, Surat Raktdan Kendra, SMIMER Hospital Blood Bank and Lok Samarpan Raktdan Kendra, will be present.

“This year, we are giving an accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh to the donors for a year. We have contacted private insurance company, which has agreed to give insurance in bulk. Entire expenses will be borne by a member of our organisation,” Vasani said.

Source http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Surat-NGO-promises-accident-insurance-cover-for-blood-donors/768686/

Trade winds fail to float tankers, dry-bulk ships

2011-03-09T19:58:00.001-08:00

A revival in global trade is helping boost profits for container shipping companies but tanker and dry-bulk segments are still lagging behind owing to an oversupply of vessels.

The challenge is the most acute for the commodity-transporting dry-bulk shipping segment, whose thin profit margins are becoming further eroded by the low barriers to entry that have resulted in a crowded market.

The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity-shipping costs, has slumped 66 per cent since May last year.

"For container shipping, about 27 per cent of the global existing fleet is on order and that is implying a capacity growth of about 10 to 11 per cent for this year.

"This is only slightly above the projected demand growth of 8 to 9 per cent," said Ms Corrine Png, head of Regional Transportation Research at JP Morgan.

The global order book for dry-bulk ships, however, accounts for 41 per cent of the existing fleet, and "we are looking at a capacity growth of 15 per cent, which will be significantly higher than demand growth",Ms Png added.

"There was an ordering frenzy when the bulk shipping earnings were very high.

"That prompted a lot of vessel ordering," she said.

Oil prices rose past US$105 a barrel in New York this week, their highest level since September 2008.

Rising energy prices are pushing up transportation costs for shippers and, with heightened concerns about piracy and security in the Middle East, analysts say it is possible that marine insurance costs may also increase.

"What could happen is that the insurance costs that fall on shipowners will likely be passed on to operators and eventually to end-users in the form of higher freights, said Mr Eng Aik Meng, president of transportation and logistics company APL.

"You can expect that if this situation happens, costs will go up," he added.

Analysts who are recommending shipping stocks to investors are of the opinion that they are currently cheap and have potential for strong earnings growth next year.

Both Nomura and Goldman Sachs have a buy rating on container shipper Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), while China Cosco Holdings, which operates in both dry-bulk and container shipping segments, is rated a buy by UOB Kay Hian as well as Citigroup.

China Cosco shares, which trade in Hong Kong, are changing hands for approximately a fifth of their October 2007 value.

NOL shares in Singapore are now worth about 40 per cent of their peak price three-and-a-half years ago.

Source http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC110310-0000241/Trade-winds-fail-to-float-tankers,-dry-bulk-ships

Lloyds lashed over chief executive's £2m bonus

2011-02-08T22:57:00.001-08:00

Lloyds Banking Group came under further attack after announcing 200 job cuts, shortly before the bank signs off an expected £2million bonus for chief executive Eric Daniels.

The news came as the Big Four High Street lenders - Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Barclays - held last ditch talks on the Project Merlin lending and bonus proposals amid anger that the government is slapping the banks with a further tax charge.

Lloyds said the 200 cuts brings the total of jobs axed since its merger with HBOS to 26,200. Daniels has said that just 12 per cent of the cuts involved people leaving through compulsory redundancy. The bulk of the latest changes will occur in its insurance arm.

Union Unite called upon Lloyds' chief executive designate Antonio Horta-Osorio to step in to save the 200 jobs.

Unite said: 'It is inexcusable that, while he is one of the best-paid executives in Britain with a pay package of £8.3million a year, staff earning an average salary of less then £20,000 are joining the dole queues.'

Separately, it has emerged that HSBC and Lloyds are likely to follow in the footsteps of Barclays and RBS and introduce more detailed quarterly updates.

RBS and Barclays began the practice during the credit crisis because investors wanted greater transparency on performance. Most major international banks already provide quarterly accounts.

HSBC is expected to introduce full-scale quarterly reports this year so that it is in line with companies in the US.

Lloyds, being a smaller-scale bank focused on the UK, may not go so far as providing full reports, but is likely to provide much more detail on its financial performance.

Shares in Lloyds rose 1.33p to 65.3p, while HSBC rose 11.8p to 721.81p.

Source http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1355051/Lloyds-lashed-chief-executives-2m-bonus.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

MGIC Investments can't predict return to profit

2011-01-19T20:53:00.000-08:00

Shares of MGIC Investment Corp. tumbled more than 20 percent Wednesday after the private-mortgage insurer posted a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and said it can't predict when it will become profitable again.

The Milwaukee-based company reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss than it did a year earlier: $186.7 million, or 93 cents per share, compared with $280.1 million, or $2.25 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Still, the latest quarter's loss was wider than the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet, who expected a loss of 57 cents, on average.

Shares of MGIC dropped $2.39 to close at $9.26. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $5.78 to $13.80.

For the full year, MGIC reported a loss of $363.7 million, or $2.06 per share, compared with a loss of $1.32 billion, or $10.65 per share, in 2009.

The earnings news release included a warning that the company doesn't see a return to profitability anytime soon: "We have reported net losses for the last four years, expect to continue to report annual net losses, and cannot assure you when we will return to profitability," the company said.

Analysts had been forecasting that it will lose 4 cents a share this year and earn $2.15 a share in 2012, according to FactSet.

In the latest quarter, revenue fell 11 percent to $361.1 million from $405.5 million in the previous year's fourth quarter.

But total losses and expenses fell 46 percent to $509.4 million from $943.3 million.

Net premiums written fell 5 percent to $271.4 million from $286.9 million.

New insurance written in the fourth quarter was $4.2 billion, compared to $3.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The percentage of delinquent loans, including bulk loans, was 17.48 percent as of Dec. 31, down from 18.41 percent a year earlier.

Source http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-19/mgic-investments-can-t-predict-return-to-profit.html

Cutting heating bill costs could be important for 2011

2011-01-12T02:48:00.001-08:00

According to Allianz UK, 2011 looks set to be a frugal year. One in ten Britons plan to make significant financial cuts over the coming months.

And 70 per cent of individuals are looking to reduce their outgoings, which may include cutting heating bill costs.

One way money could be saved is to purchase heating oil in groups. Teaming with friends, family or neighbours may result in reduced delivery costs as the fuel can be delivered in bulk, lowering the overall cost of heating oil purchases.

More than half of Britons surveyed by the insurance firm said they will look to switch energy providers to reduce their bills this year.

"As UK households look forward into 2011 many may face difficult financial choices and, as a result, it is understandable that those who control the purse strings are looking at ways to save money," commented Allianz UK's head of home and motor portfolio management Gareth McChesney.

With the cold snap continuing in the UK, purchasing heating oil in groups could provide a welcome saving when it comes to cutting bills.

Source http://www.boilerjuice.com/news/1507/Cutting-heating-bill-costs-could-be-important-for-2011.html

What if the Supreme Court Strikes Down the Insurance Mandate?

2010-12-14T00:00:00.001-08:00

The key provision in the health care reform law that requires all citizens to buy insurance is unconstitutional, according to a federal district court judge. Judge Henry E. Hudson, of Virginia, ruled that the insurance mandate violated the Commerce Clause because it tries to regulate the opposite of commerce -- the refusal to purchase health care insurance.

Before I start to make a big deal about this story, let's remember why it's silly to make a big deal about this story. First, two judges have already ruled that the insurance mandate is constitutional. Second, it could be another two years before the Supreme Court picks up the case against the insurance mandate. Third, the bulk of the health care overhaul doesn't come online until 2014 anyway, which means we're debating the legality of provisions that won't become reality for another two election cycles.

But in the slim chance that the Supreme Court does strike down the insurance mandate, what would be the options of an Obama administration, or Democratic Party? To get a handle on that question, I spoke with Paul Van de Water at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Here were the four ideas we discussed:

1) Hope and Pray
Let the other provisions of the law continue as they were and see how well it works. Sure, the law was written to resemble a three-legged stool, where the subsidies support the insurance mandate, which keeps prices low after the insurance regulations. It's likely that prices could spike if the law lets you buy insurance only after you get sick. But we don't know exactly how bad those problems would be.

"I'm not saying this is anybody's first choice," Van de Water said. "The system will work a heck of a lot better with the mandate. The question is whether it would be completely unviable without the mandate."

2) If We Lose the Stick, Add More Carrots
Without the mandate, you could increase the subsidies to make it more attractive for people to get insurance. We've lost the stick, but if we increase the carrots, millions of Americans might find it more practical to take the subsidy and buy insurance than to risk the chance that they get sick and can't get coverage in time.

3) Try Limited Enrollment Periods
If we limit the time that people can enroll for health insurance, and combine that with penalties for folks who buy insurance late, that might induce Americans to buy insurance when they're healthy, knowing that if they get sick later it could be expensive or impossible to get insured. But this has challenges. "If a person develops a serious disease and needs care it's hard to think we're so hard-hearted that we'd just let them get nothing," Van de Water said.

4) Turn the Mandate Into a Tax and Rebate
One idea I've seen floating around goes like this: If we can't force people to buy insurance, we can tax everybody a flat amount -- say $500 -- and refund the tax when filers show proof of insurance. That way, the tax would only actually impact the uninsured. It would have the same impact as the mandate.

Source http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/12/what-if-the-supreme-court-strikes-down-the-insurance-mandate/67944/