Centene Corp. Chairman and CEO Michael Neidorff believes that there is "little appetite" on Capitol Hill for another crack at reforming the nation's healthcare system in the near future. Neidorff said the company welcomes proposals to improve and expand government health programs, but stressed that states and the federal government continue to believe in private sector solutions to enhance quality and lower costs.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House Rules Committee will discuss a Medicare for All bill on April 30, giving the single-payer legislation the first-ever public vetting on Capitol Hill and an opportunity for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to weigh in on the measure.
Anthem Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $1.55 billion, or $5.91 per share, up from $1.31 billion, or $4.99 per share, a year ago. Anthem now expects 2019 GAAP net income to be greater than $18.27 per share, including approximately 93 cents per share of net unfavorable items, up from greater than $18.00 per share previously.
United Insurance Holdings Corp. is sponsoring Armor Re II Ltd. (Series 2019-1), a catastrophe bond that is expected to reach $200 million or more in size, Artemis reported. United Insurance Holdings is seeking coverage across a three-year term, on an indemnity trigger and per-occurrence basis for certain subsidiaries.
FedNat Holding Co. is expecting $12.2 million of weather-related losses, net of its quota-share reinsurance, for the first quarter. The amount includes an updated estimate of $11.0 million of losses, net of quota share reinsurance, related to the March 27 hailstorm in Florida, and $900,000 of development, net of quota share reinsurance, on hailstorms that affected central Florida and South Carolina in the first half of 2018.
Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. subsidiaries Marsh LLC and Guy Carpenter & Co. LLC, and Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group PLC are merging their Latin American facultative reinsurance operations. The combined business will be named Carpenter Marsh Fac Re.
Insurance broker Brown & Brown Inc. is not experiencing the steady, consistent price increases in property and casualty premium rates that others may be seeing, President and CEO J. Powell Brown said. Losses in the market, particularly in the London market, have raised expectations for higher premium rates as insurers try to right their business models, he added.
Meanwhile, W. R. Berkley Corp. CEO Rob Berkley said conditions in the commercial P&C market are improving more "than we have seen in some extended period of time," The Insurance Insider noted.
Prudential Financial Inc. said its Prudential Retirement unit finalized approximately $2.6 billion in previously undisclosed longevity reinsurance contracts in the U.K. Prudential Retirement will take on the longevity risks of approximately 16,000 pensioners.
Legal & General Group PLC agreed to its first pension risk transfer transaction in Canada for more than C$200 million.
Aon PLC merged its construction and engineering and inland marine teams into one group called the global construction and inland marine practice group, Reinsurance News reported.
The board of directors of Madison Dearborn Partners LLC-backed Amynta Group named Robert Giammarco chairman and CEO. He was previously a managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Aviva PLC's head of U.K. insurance, Andy Briggs, is leaving and will be replaced by Angela Darlington as interim CEO.
CEO Thierry Derez said French mutual insurer SGAM Covéa is considering diversifying into reinsurance through acquisitions after it dropped its plan to buy Scor SE, Reuters reported.
Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence
Fast-growing AmTrust crop book the latest to change hands in evolving market: A Tokio Marine HCC company's decision to buy AmTrust's crop insurance MGA adds to a legacy of M&A activity for the buyer, the target and the market as a whole.
Reinsurers' profitability struggle continues as underlying ROEs drop again: Increased expenses have driven a deterioration in the biggest reinsurers' collective underlying combined ratio over the past six years, pushing down return on equity, a Willis Re study has found.
European listed property sector urges more changes to insurer investment rules: EU amendments to regulations restricting the investments of insurers in equities will likely have to go further if the listed real estate sector is to see a surge of insurance capital.
Novartis, Biogen Q1 income rise; emerging biopharma going big on late-stage R&D: Novartis' first-quarter core net income rose 5% year over year, while Biogen's income increased 15.4%; and emerging biopharmaceutical companies are becoming more active in the late-stage development of innovative medicines, an IQVIA report said.
In other parts of the world
Asia-Pacific: Ping An Bank Q1 profit rises YOY; HDFC gets nod to buy Bandhan Bank stake
Europe: Credit Suisse Q1 profit up 8%; Deutsche, UBS asset units in merger talks
Middle East & Africa: Top 2 Saudi banks post profits; Dubai Islamic eyes Noor; BNP mulls asset sale
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a mixed opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, Hang Seng lost 0.53% to 29,805.83, while the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.27% to 22,200.00.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 slid 0.27% to 7,503.04, and the Euronext 100 declined 0.01% to 1,087.90.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
On the macro front
The State Street Investor Confidence Index and the U.S. Energy Information Administration Petroleum Status Report are due out today.
The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7:30 a.m. ET. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.