Live Insurance News

Federal health insurance exchanges break previous enrollment records

December 21, 2015December 20, 2015 G. Turner

According to President Obama’s recent announcement, the marketplaces have seen 6 million applications. At the close of last week, President Obama announced that there had already been almost 6 million enrollments in the federal health exchanges in order to purchase coverage through health plans that would be effective in 2016. Officials from the Obama administration believe that this trend is a true indicator of the success of the Affordable Care Act. Analysts had expressed some worry over increased deductibles and premiums. They were concerned that this might present a barrier…

Massachusetts lawmaker aims to stop homeowners insurance rate increases

December 7, 2015December 6, 2015 G. Turner

After the losses from last winter that were greater than $1 billion, insurers have received approval for hikes. Although a decision has already been made to approve the homeowners insurance rates hikes that were requested by some of the top insurers in Massachusetts, the chairman of the Division of Insurance state Senate committee is now seeking to have that decision reconsidered by opening hearings to determine if those increases are truly justified. This is focused primarily on the rate increases approved for two of the largest insurers in the state.…

Chinese insurance industry welcomes insurers from other countries

November 24, 2015November 22, 2015 H. Cutner

A recent keynote speech from President Xi Jinping pointed out that its economy would be opening up into the future. Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a keynote speech at the APEC CEO summit, in which it was revealed that the insurance industry – and other parts of the country’s economy – would soon be welcoming a greater amount of foreign investment moving ahead. The country will be opening up its doors to the rest of the world to a larger degree and limits will be reduced. According to Xi, when…

Insurance companies may soon have rates negotiated with doctors

November 12, 2015November 11, 2015 Julie Campbell

doctor health insurance companies healthcare workers

If a new bill passes in Tennessee, it will mean that health care providers will play a role in rates negotiations. A new bill is currently under consideration by the Tennessee state legislature, which would alter the way insurance companies currently calculate the rates that are charged through doctors’ offices. The Healthcare Providers Stability Act will be the first of its kind for any state in the country. The current issue that the bill would change is that at the moment, insurance companies have the ability to change the rates…

Insurance companies to receive tax refunds following Supreme Court decision

October 8, 2015October 7, 2015 Julie Campbell

Tennessee workers compensation Insurance companies

The ruling was made following a unanimously in Tennessee and will grant over $16 million in refunds. The Tennessee Supreme Court has now unanimously ruled that the Department of Commerce and Insurance are required to provide five out of state groups of insurance companies with a tax refund of over $16 million. The state – like all others, aside from Hawaii – has taken on a retaliatory tax statute solely for the insurance industry. That statute has been created for the purpose of balancing tax burdens across state lines. It…

Consumers in Gen Y least likely to be loyal to one insurance company for all policies

September 21, 2015September 19, 2015 G. Turner

generation y insurance company Laughing Young Woman Socializing in a Party Setting.

A recent J.D. Power study showed this generation is most inclined to split their coverage across multiple insurers. Generation Y has now become the largest home buyer consumer segment in the country, and it is also the most likely to unbundle (also known as splitting) their coverage needs instead of choosing only one insurance company for all of their policies. They are splitting their insurance policies at a greater rate than any other generational group. For an insurance company, this actually provides quite the opportunity. The J.D. Power 2015 U.S.…

Mergers among health insurance companies could drive rates skyward

September 15, 2015September 13, 2015 H. Cutner

The American Medical Association has said that the reduction in competition will raise rates. The American Medical Association (AMA) has recently released the results of a study that claims that most health plan markets in the United States are currently led by a small number of insurance companies that may become even fewer with the current trend of mergers and acquisitions. The organization representing doctors and hospitals is criticizing the impact of this market shrinking. The reason is that they feel that if the current intentions of insurance companies to…