Morning Briefing: UnitedHealth Group reports revenue surge, profits flat

UnitedHealth Group reports revenue surge, profits flat… Intact in partnership to offer fleet insurance solution… Insurance commissioners adopt cybersecurity ‘bill of rights’… Insurance body calls for auto rates hike amid injury claims rise…

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UnitedHealth Group reports revenue surge, profits flat
Profitability continues to be an issue in the insurance industry despite increasing revenues. New figures from UnitedHealth Group are an example with revenue in the third quarter increasing by 27 per cent to $41.5 billion compared to the same period in 2014; profit though was essentially flat at $1.6 billion or $1.65 per share. The share of premiums used for patient care, medical-loss ratio, was up to 80.6 from 79.7 a year earlier. UnitedHealth is the first of the large health insurers to report quarterly earnings and despite challenges it says its outlook for 2016 is good.
 
Intact in partnership to offer fleet insurance solution
Canada’s Intact Insurance has joined with fleet tracking solution TELUS and fleet management firm Fleet Complete to offer businesses a new solution to help manage their commercial vehicles. The innovation means that Intact Insurance clients will have access to technology which gives them real-time information about their fleet including driving metrics such as braking, speed and more. The partnership aims to improve safety and should ultimately give businesses savings on their insurance premiums.
 
Insurance commissioners adopt cybersecurity ‘bill of rights’
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has adopted a new bill of rights on cybersecurity through its Cybersecurity Task Force. The document is a simple guide with consumer-friendly terms to tell policyholders what to expect if their personal information is compromised. The Cybersecurity Bill of Rights will be made available for US state insurance departments to publish for local consumers and may vary, depending on state law.

“Cybersecurity is one of the biggest challenges facing businesses today and this is one of our association's key priorities,” said Monica J. Lindeen, NAIC President and Montana Insurance Commissioner. “Our commitment to strengthening the NAIC's technical and information services infrastructure and our security environment is demonstrated in our current budget, as well as strategic planning for the next few years.”
 
Insurance body calls for auto rates hike amid injury claims rise
A rise in the number and cost of injury claims resulting from road accidents is the reason given by the Insurance Corp. of British Columbia for a requested rise in rates. The ICBC has asked the BC Utilities Commission for a 5.5 per cent rise according to the Globe and Mail. That would add an average $3.70 per month to basic premiums. It would mean a rise slightly higher than that of last year (5.2 per cent) but below the initial proposal of 6.7 per cent. ICBC says that the number of injury claims has risen to 68,000 in the 12 months to July 2015, up 8,000 from the previous 12 months. 
 

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