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Lincoln Financial unveils indexed variable annuity; China extends JLT's license

Several insurance companies disclosed new products and coverage enhancements in recent days.

Life and health

Lincoln Financial Group launched Lincoln Level Advantage, an indexed variable annuity. The product offers four indexed account options, including the S&P 500, Russell 200, MSCI EAFE Index and Lincoln's Capital Strength Index, and three term options, including one-year, six-year and six-year annual lock option. The product also allows investors to choose their level of protection, from 10%, 20%, 30% to 100%. Additionally, the product offers an exit strategy through i4LIFE Indexed Advantage, Lincoln's patented retirement income distribution strategy. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Pennsylvania-based Lincoln National Corp.

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U.K.-based Willis Towers Watson PLC released an updated version of its BenefitView platform. Enhancements include the ability for employers and plan sponsors to monitor their retirees who move from group coverage to individual private Medicare plans. With the enhanced platform, employers receive information about the retirees' enrollment and carrier selection, health reimbursement accounts, average wait times and call length when speaking to a call center representative. They can also access real-time key performance indicators and metrics to help manage service levels that retirees experience when choosing and enrolling in new medical, prescription drugs and insurance products. BenefitView, introduced in 2012, is used by employers to track enrollment activities of retirees.

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Michigan-based Priority Health entered into an agreement with Cigna Payer Solutions, the business within Cigna Corp. that works with third-party administrators, health plans and insurers. Under the agreement, Priority Health members with coverage through their employer who live, work or travel outside Michigan will have access to Cigna's preferred provider organization network of healthcare providers and services nationwide. The agreement will take effect in the fall of 2018.

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Centene Corp.'s Iowa subsidiary, Iowa Total Care Inc., won a statewide contract for the IA Health Link Program. The program provides integrated Medicaid managed care coverage, including long-term services and supports as well as behavioral health, to Medicaid members in the state. The contract, expected to begin July 1, 2019, is still subject to regulatory approval.

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The Washington State Health Care Authority selected Centene's Washington subsidiary, Coordinated Care, to provide managed care services to Apple Health's Integrated Managed Care Medicaid beneficiaries in five regional service areas. The areas include King, Pierce, North Sound, Greater Columbia and North Central region. The contracts will result in the integration of physical and behavioral health.

The Washington State Health Care Authority also chose Molina Healthcare Inc.'s unit, Molina Healthcare of Washington Inc., as the successful bidder to negotiate and enter into managed care contracts for all eight additional regions of the state's Apple Health Integrated Managed Care program.

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UnitedHealthcare and North Carolina-based Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings renewed their long-term strategic partnership. Under the partnership, LabCorp will continue to serve as UnitedHealth's national laboratory provider until Jan. 1, 2019. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc.

UnitedHealthcare also established a long-term strategic partnership with New Jersey-headquartered Quest Diagnostics Inc. Quest, an in network lab for a limited number of UnitedHealthcare plans in some markets today, will be in network nationwide for all UnitedHealthcare plan participants beginning Jan. 1, 2019.

Property and casualty

Integrated specialist insurer QBE North America rolled out The Solution for Builder's Risk, a policy that offers coverages for construction projects. Key features include capacity of up to $250.0 million, coverages for specific risks, including utility service interruption, inflation protection, business personal property, waterborne property and equipment breakdown coverage, as well as time element coverage. The policy will be written by the company's inland marine underwriters on a monoline basis through QBE-appointed producers in the retail and wholesale distribution channels. QBE North America is part of Sydney-headquartered QBE Insurance Group Ltd.

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U.S. transportation network company Uber Technologies Inc., in partnership with French insurance company Axa, expanded benefits to Uber's independent partner drivers and couriers within Europe by introducing Partner Protection. This will provide protection including accident, injury, illness and paternity benefits to the drivers and couriers when they are on and off the Uber app in European markets. The protection, which will commence June 1, will be funded by Uber. The two companies also signed a memorandum of understanding to build a joint affinity marketplace for independent workers. The platform is expected to provide personalized offers, including injury, income and family protection as well as health coverage, retirement and savings.

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Munich-based Allianz Group's specialist corporate insurer, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, in partnership with its engineering division, enhanced its project cargo product to offer continuous end-to-end coverage for companies managing marine and engineering risks globally. The policy offers protection from exposures such as shipment of equipment and machinery to a construction site, loss or damage of components in transit that are part of a production facility or infrastructure construction project, delay in start up loss of income or advanced loss of profits stemming from late or nonarrival of critical components due to a covered loss. The product, underwritten by AGCS Marine, also features erection and construction all risk insurance provided by the engineering division.

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State-run New India Assurance Co. Ltd. launched a protection and indemnity cover for Indian registered vessels after the policy was approved by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, The Hindu Business Line reported. The policy will first cover vessels plying local routes. The cover has a limit of $5 million per vessel and can be stretched to $10 million with reinsurance support.

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China's Banking Insurance Regulatory Commission extended JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Ltd.'s license to trade as a foreign broker in China to cover all lines of insurance brokerage, effective May 8. The company now has the same scope of business permitted to domestic insurance brokerage companies, including risk advisory, employee benefits and insurance broking services. JLT Insurance Brokers is part of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group PLC.

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