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Uninsured children in US up; mining insurance commentary; opioid settlement

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Uninsured children in US up; mining insurance commentary; opioid settlement

The number of uninsured children in the U.S. has climbed for the second year in a row, with 425,000 more children without healthcare coverage in 2018 compared to 2017. The U.S. Census Bureau's annual health insurance coverage report showed that the uninsured rate for children under the age of 19 increased from 5% in 2017 to 5.5% in 2018. The number of uninsured children in 2018 totaled about 4.3 million.

Despite a general hardening of rates due to recent losses, especially those related to tailings dams, global mining insurance is "not yet a truly hard market," according to a Willis Towers Watson PLC risk review for 2019. "Capacity remains plentiful by historical standards and when rates are on an upward trend, we are by no means in a truly distressed situation," said Graham Knight, global head of natural resources at Willis Towers Watson.

Opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP has tentatively reached a settlement with 22 states to resolve lawsuits alleging the company's marketing practices contributed to the opioid painkiller addiction crisis in the U.S., according to a report from The Washington Post.

The New York Department of Financial Services released a circular letter to life insurers and insurance producers in the state reminding them that it is prohibited to solicit, negotiate, sell and/or service in any manner group annuity contracts issued by unauthorized insurers in the state.

RSA UK and International combined its commercial risk solutions and global risk solutions businesses to create a single business unit focused on commercial lines.

Also, Hyperion Insurance Group Ltd. will combine its retail and specialist broking businesses, Howden and RKH, under one management team led by José Manuel González as CEO, effective Oct. 1.

British insurer Legal and General Assurance Society Ltd. will carry out a £35 million buyout of Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP's U.K. pension scheme, Reinsurance News wrote.

AXA XL named Luis Prato chief underwriting officer for its U.K. entities, Catlin Underwriting Agencies Ltd. and XL Catlin Insurance Co. UK Ltd., subject to regulatory approvals.

State Bank of India is looking to sell up to a 4.5% stake in insurance unit SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd. The bank plans to sell 35 million shares with an option to sell a further 10 million shares.

Shareholder advocates worry the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's plan to be more selective in weighing in on corporations' requests to block shareholder resolutions could tip the scales in favor of companies, prompt more litigation and generally make the process less transparent.

Companies with more gender-diverse boards tend to have higher credit ratings, Moody's found. A study of 1,109 listed North American companies showed that women comprise an average of 28% of the boards in the five firms that Moody's rates Aaa and 25% of the boards in those rated Baa1 or higher. Meanwhile, companies with Ca ratings have only 5% gender diversity in their boards.

The European Central Bank lowered its rate on the deposit facility, while keeping other rates unchanged, and restarted bond purchases, at a monthly pace of €20 billion, starting Nov. 1.

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Falling interest rates to drag on life insurers' investment results: About three-fourths of life insurers' total investable assets were composed of aggregate unaffiliated bonds as of the end of 2018.

Apollo-linked life insurer builds on direct origination focus with GE deal: An emphasis on asset differentiation has led Athene Holding into residential mortgages, triple-net leases, senior secured loans and, through a recently announced deal, aircraft lending.

Brokers, MGAs upbeat about Future at Lloyd's plans ahead of launch: BGC Insurance Group CEO Steve Hearn disagrees that plans pose a threat to traditional wholesale brokers, while Volante CEO Talbir Bains said the changes would give Lloyd's a new competitive edge.

In other parts of the world:

Asia-Pacific: HK bourse proposes to UK exchange; KKR to list Australia fund

Europe: LSE gets £32B bid; HSBC mulls French retail arm sale; Bankia trial delayed

Middle East & Africa: Kenyan rate cap under debate; Access Bank targets unbanked Nigerians

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng dropped 0.26% to 27,087.63, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.75% to 21,759.61.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.02% to 7,339.28, and the Euronext 100 climbed 0.13% to 1,087.33.

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 consumer price index, the jobless claims report, EIA natural gas report, the treasury budget report, the Fed balance sheet and the money supply report are due out today.

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