Centene receives approval for Health Net acquisition
Centene has been given approval by the California Department of Managed Health Care for its takeover of Health Net. The insurer’s $6.3 billion acquisition also needs approval from the California Department of Justice, but passing the first hurdle is a major development for the deal and saw Centene’s shares rise 4 per cent Tuesday. The deal is expected to close in shortly after DOJ approval.
Centene and Health Net announced a merger agreement in July 2015 that would create a leading diversified multi-national healthcare enterprise, extending Centene's offerings in government programs, including Medicare Advantage and programs offered through contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as the commercial exchanges.
Marsh warns of link between low oil prices, major incidents
Global insurer Marsh is warning that lower oil revenues could mean energy firms reducing their risk management investment, leading to potentially higher numbers of major incidents.
The firm analyzed historic data and found that insured losses in the global upstream energy sector reached a peak in the 1980s, shortly after the price of Brent crude oil fell from US$35 to US$15 per barrel. In the late 1990s, this cycle occurred again when the price fell below US$10 per barrel and again in the years following the 2008 slump, when the price fell from more than US$100 to US$32 per barrel.
Japanese insurer steps in to cover Iranian oil tankers
While western sanctions remain on insurance for Iranian oil tankers, Japanese firms are not subject to the same restrictions. Tokyo’s International P&I Club has announced that it has raised its default coverage for Iranian tankers to $580 million, from $80 million, and may be enough for shipping firms in the region to start carrying Iranian crude again.
US insurance companies are not able to underwrite the shipments, meaning that the raised limit from International P&I will still be far below the $7.8 billion standard coverage for the shipments.
