Several insurance companies disclosed new products and coverage enhancements in recent days.
Life and health
Impact Partnership LLC partnered with Lincoln Financial Group to roll out Lincoln Impact Advantage, a fixed indexed annuity designed for high net worth clients. The annuity features the Balanced Capital Strength 6 Index, utilizing First Trust's smart beta strategy. Lincoln is also offering clients the ability to take income in retirement when ready, through the i4LIFE Indexed Advantage, Lincoln's patented retirement income distribution strategy. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corp. and its affiliates.
Securian Financial Group Inc. added premium payment options and enhanced benefits to SecureCare Universal Life, a permanent life insurance contract with long-term care benefits. The enhanced version, which was issued by the company's affiliate, Minnesota Life Insurance Co., allows customers to choose a single or multi-year premium schedule of five, seven, 10 or 15 years. The new product also pays benefits using a cash indemnity-style model.
Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus announced that it has agreed on a Medicaid managed care contract with public health system NYC Health + Hospitals. The agreement will allow HealthPlus Medicaid consumers enrolled in managed care, essential plan and child health plus insurance plans to have access to NYC Health + Hospitals services. HealthPlus' affiliate, Empire BlueCross BlueShield, and NYC Health + Hospitals also renewed agreements that would allow Empire Medicaid consumers to continue having access to the public health system's providers. Empire Blue Cross BlueShield is the trade name of Empire HealthChoice Assurance Inc.
Aflac Inc. launched the Aflac Cancer Protection Assurance plan. Coverage includes screening tests and surgeries performed on the basis of genetic testing results, and the wellness payout for early diagnosis has been increased. Other benefits of the plan include nonsurgical treatment such as immunotherapy, an annual care benefit to help manage costs with delayed effects and surgery on a nondiseased body part. Additionally, Aflac introduced My Cancer Circle, an online tool that helps caregivers coordinate with volunteers and friends to assist with tasks such as meal preparation and transportation. The company also introduced My Special Aflac Duck, a social robot created by Sproutel Inc. and Aflac to serve as a companion for children with cancer.
The Pima County Arizona Board of Supervisors voted to award Centene Corp. subsidiary Centurion Detention Health Services LLC a contract to provide healthcare services to detainees of the county's adult and juvenile detention facilities in Tucson, Ariz. Under the contract, Centurion will place more than 100 employees at the county's detention facilities. The contract is expected to commence July 1, with a base term of three years, plus two optional years to renew.
Property and casualty
Chubb Ltd. added a dental malpractice insurance underwritten by The Doctors Co. to its small commercial marketplace platform. Apart from providing protection for dental professionals for their practices, the policy also provides coverage against cyberattacks and data breaches, violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as well as dental board and Medicare or Medicaid reviews. It also covers dental hygienists and assistants at no additional charge.
Envestnet Inc. introduced the Envestnet Insurance Exchange program, which will connect select insurance carriers and account processing vendors with Envestnet enterprise clients, allowing advisers to deliver advice by incorporating insurance solutions into the wealth management process. It will offer fixed, fixed-indexed, variable, contingent-deferred, and private placement annuities with leading insurance carriers.
XL Catlin said it extended the capacity of its mergers and acquisitions insurance by 20% to $60 million. Coverage includes representation or warranty and indemnity insurance, tax liability insurance, tax opinion and other contingent tax insurance as well as nontax contingent liability insurance. XL Catlin is the brand used by XL Group Ltd.'s insurance and reinsurance companies.
Marsh, in collaboration with Munich Re Co. and Metabiota Inc., created a product called PathogenRX, which offers financial protection to U.S.-based businesses and their global operations affected by pandemics and epidemics. Using features like Metabiota's Pathogen Sentiment Index, which provides analytics into infectious disease outbreaks, businesses can model their potential financial loss from pandemics and epidemics and protect them against the threat through an insurance policy underwritten by Munich Re. The policy is customizable and can be tailored to provide coverage for specific expenses, geographies, types of disease or portions of a calendar year. Marsh is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc.
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