In the news
Wisconsin health co-op CommonGround Healthcare Cooperative received a capitalinfusion to help it remain in business and continue selling health plans in2017, the Milwaukee Business Journal reported,citing CEO Cathy Mahaffey. The amount of financing and details about the entityproviding the funds have been kept confidential under the terms of a nondisclosureagreement. The company reported a total loss of $16.9 million in the first halfof 2016, and net losses of $28.2 million and $36.5 million for 2015 and 2014, respectively.
Health insurance companies are shifting to health maintenanceorganization, or HMO, plans, and steering away from preferred provider organization,or PPO, plans in order to rein in medical expenses related to sicker-than-expectedAffordable Care Act patients, accordingto a Forbes report. HMO plans can limithealthcare provider networks that can help in reducing premiums and making themmore affordable for patients, according to the report.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation 2017 commercial property ratesfor Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
The Minnesota Department of Commerce released rates for individual and small group health plansin 2017. Rate increases range from 50% to 67% for seven individual market insurers.For the 10 insurers in the small group market, the rate changes range from a 1%decrease to an 18% increase.
Third Point ReinsuranceLtd.'s investment portfolio was up 0.9% in September and increased 6.1% on a year-to-date basis. reporteda loss of 1.2% in September. Greenlight booked a quarterly profit of 3.1% throughSept. 30 and a 2.1% profit for the year-to-date period.
As CNO FinancialGroup Inc. warns about the financial fallout from the recapture of along-term care coinsurance treaty amid concerns associated with certain investmentsheld in trust, another life insurer said it could face a potential liquidation as a result of a similar scenario,notes an S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
Thrivent Financialfor Lutherans is the latest insurance industry participant to file afederal lawsuit in theaftermath of the U.S. Department of Labor's April issuance of its final fiduciaryrule. The fraternal benefit society argued that of the Best Interest a provisionContract exemption of the rule would undermine a key aspect of its business andviolate federal law.
The Federal Insurance Office has taken note of the efforts made by state regulators to checkup on captive reinsurers, but maintains that the regime is still not stringent enough,according to its annual report. While state regulators have improved their monitoring of lifeinsurers with the implementation of the captive framework, reinsurance captivesare still not regulated as strictly as required, according to the FIO report.
The NAIC seeks to promote growth of private flood insurance marketsoverseen by state regulators, but consumer advocates worry that insurers will less-risky policies.
Primerica Inc.posted the greatest increase in shortinterest relative to shares outstanding among SNL-covered insurancecompanies between Aug. 31 and Sept. 15.
The outstanding catastrophebond and insurance-linked securities market increasedto $25.45 billion in the third quarter from $25.17 billion at the end of the secondquarter, accordingto Artemis' third-quarter cat bond and ILS market report. Third-quarter issuancetotaled nearly $1.09 billion from eight deals, according to the report.
And, John Goldsmith, chairman and CEO of TigerRisk Partners UK,will retire Dec. 31.
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?The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher openingfor the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 1.23% to 23,584.43, while the Nikkei225 increased 0.90% to 16,598.67.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.19% to 6,977.73and the Euronext 100 higher by 0.25% to 883.24.
On the macro front