The number of U.S. insurers placed into receivership in 2016 declined year over year.
In 2016, 15 companies either entered rehabilitation or were placed into liquidation, with aggregate net total assets of $1.47 billion. This compares with 25 companies in 2015, based on a similar analysis S&P Global Market Intelligence did last year.
According to the latest year-end receivership figures, health insurers comprised two-thirds of the total number of insurers placed into receivership. P&C insurers made up most of the remainder; only one life insurer was placed into liquidation in 2016.
Click here for a downloadable spreadsheet featuring the data in the chart above, along with the SNL statutory entity keys for each company.
In a trend continuing from the previous year, several health insurance companies collapsed in 2016, especially consumer-operated and oriented plans established under the Affordable Care Act. A dozen of 23 health co-ops created after the ACA's passage had failed by the end of 2015, and that number has continued to climb. By the start of 2017, just six co-ops were financially healthy enough to continue selling insurance policies.
The change in the U.S. presidential administration has left these health insurers with a significant amount of uncertainty. President Donald Trump's recent comments suggest that lawmakers are working to figure out an alternative plan for the ACA, but that the process could stretch into 2018.
The largest health co-op failure during 2016, with assets of $525.3 million, was Health Republic Insurance of New York Corp. The New York Department of Financial Services commenced the liquidation process on April 22, 2016, and a judge signed the liquidation order on May 11, 2016.
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