Aetna, Humana shareholders vote for merger
The shareholders of health insurers Aetna and Humana have this week voted in favor of the combination. Ninety-nine per cent of shareholders voted for the two firms to merge but regulatory approval is still to come. Assuming everything goes according to plan the merger will complete in the second quarter of 2016.
ACE, Chubb increase operating income
ACE Ltd and its forthcoming acquisition Chubb Corp. have both reported increases in operating income. ACE, which will become one of the largest global insurance companies following the deal, saw a 0.8 per cent rise in operating income in the third quarter; Chubb had an increase of 4.8 per cent. Both insurers benefitted from lower incidents of Atlantic hurricanes this year however Swiss-based ACE reported that its net earnings were impacted by currency fluctuations. Shareholders of the two firms are set to vote on the merger Thursday; it’s expected that the deal will complete in the first quarter of 2016.
Helping seniors? China has an insurance product for that
A new insurance product being offered through China’s ecommerce giant Alibaba is designed to tackle a niche in the compensation space. Following a rise in the number of lawsuits in the country where people assisting seniors are accused of causing injury the Helping Seniors Insurance policy was created.
It was launched online a week ago by Sinosafe General Insurance Company and has already attracted 26,000 applications. Wantchinatimes.com reports that for the equivalent of just 47 cents US the policy offers up to U$3,150 for legal costs arising from a claim.
There has been a lot of social media chatter about the new product though with some dismissing it as a marketing stunt while most are just saddened that it’s considered necessary to have insurance for being a Good Samaritan.
Liberty Mutual pulls out of specialty UK market
Liberty Mutual Insurance Group has announced that it is to end its UK motor insurance business. Following a strategic review the company had decided to close the
Liberty Specialty Markets division in the UK from November 1 for new business and January 1 2016 for existing clients. The closure reflects the division’s niche place within the global business, insuring commercial fleets. The firm will work with its network of brokers to ensure a smooth run-off of clients.
