INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Tuesday, 12/05/06

[acinatech@yahoo.com]

INSURANCE NEWSCAST can be read online at www.insurancebroadcasting.com

INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Tuesday, 12/05/06  

Here is a quick look at the stories that will be in Tuesday's INSURANCE NEWSCAST.

 

1) AHIP Briefs Congressional Staff on New Access Proposal - Plan Would Expand Access to Health Insurance Coverage to All Americans Survey Found That the American Public Wants Congress to Address This Critical Issue  -- WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Congressional staff members were briefed today at an event on Capitol Hill on a new policy proposal put forth by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) to expand access to health insurance coverage to all Americans.

 

2) 63 Percent of Boomers Fear Not Having Enough Money for Retirement, but Many Wary of Investing in Stocks - Lack of Retirement Preparedness and Pervasive Fear of Stock Market Investing Indicates Need to Re-define ?Retirement Risk Tolerance?   -- RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A commonly held American belief about financial retirement planning may be in need of a change.

 

3) InsuranceBroadcasting.com Welcomes Visitors From 111 Countries in October - Twinsburg, OH - - 12/04/06 ? An analysis of web traffic from the www.insurancebroadcasting.com website showed visitors from 111 unique countries in October of 2006. Visitors from the top 30 countries are included below.  

 

4) Most Small Business Owners in First Survey of Its Kind by NAPEO Offer Health Benefits but Oppose Government Mandating Them  - ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A majority of owners of small businesses in a new survey say they oppose government requiring them to offer health benefits, but most already do, bucking the national trend in the small business community.

 

5) BEACON?S FIXED ANNUITY PREMIUM STUDY REPORTS THIRD QUARTER?S FIXED ANNUITY SALES - Evanston, IL, December 1, 2006?U.S. sales of fixed annuities rose to an estimated $19.9 billion in third quarter, 2006, an increase of 9.3% from the previous quarter and 9.9% from third quarter, 2005. 

 

6) AEGON Survey Shows: Multinationals Take the Lead in Driving Cross-Border Pension Integration - First Ever Multinational Pensions Survey Business Believes Pension Administration Complexity Drives Up Cost Multinationals Seek Market-Led Cross Border Pensions Solutions Through Pension Networks

 

7) Russell Reynolds Associates? Study Reveals Highly Competitive Recruiting Environment, Increased Turnover and Rising Compensation in Asset and Wealth Management Industries  - Tenth Annual Report Ushers in Era of the Broad-Based Investment Professional ? Managers Who Seamlessly Straddle Traditional and Alternative Investments -- Report Further Identifies Top 10 Industry ?Hot Spots?

 

8) Healthcare Sector Focused on Retirement Plan Design to Attract, Retain Workforce, According to American Hospital Association/Diversified Investment Advisors Survey - PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. healthcare organizations are increasingly relying on the design of their retirement plans to serve double duty: to make saving and investing for retirement as simple as possible while making education and a breadth of fund offerings accessible to its workforce ? all with an eye toward growing and retaining a qualified workforce in competitive times.

 

9) Bank of New York to buy Mellon for $16.5 bln  - By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of New York Co. (BK.N: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Monday it will buy Mellon Financial Corp. (MEL.N: Quote, Profile , Research) for $16.5 billion, combining two storied names in American finance to create a powerhouse in asset management and custody services for institutional investors.

 

10) Australia's IAG to buy UK motor insurer for $1.1 bln  - By Denny Thomas  SYDNEY, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Insurance Australia Group Ltd. (IAG.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) has agreed to buy Equity Insurance Group, a UK motor insurance underwriter, for 570 million pounds (US$1.13 billion), its second British buy as it battles stagnating growth at home.

 

11) Employers Holdings files with US SEC to go public - Mon Dec 4, 2006 6:59am ET  -- WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Employers Holdings Inc., a specialty provider of workers' compensation insurance, filed with U.S. regulators on Monday to raise up to $288 million in an initial public offering of common stock.

 

12) INSURANCE NEWSLINK  Articles - Recent articles added to INSURANCE NEWSLINK, the worldwide, strategic concise intelligence database of over 27,000 articles including interviews, uniquely analysed by company, market, research, regulatory, and IT topics. Please click here for a content overview and a 15-day free review.

 

13) BANK INSURANCE NEWS IN BRIEF - DECEMBER 4, 2006

 

14) Universal American Completes Sale of Its Canadian Subsidiary PennCorp Life Insurance Company - RYE BROOK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Universal American Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:UHCO) announced today that it has completed its previously announced sale of UAFC (Canada) Inc., including its Canadian insurance subsidiary PennCorp Life Insurance Company, in an all-cash transaction to a venture 70% owned by La Capitale Civil Service Insurer Inc., a subsidiary of La Capitale Financial Group Inc., and 30% owned by GMF Assurances, a French mutual insurance company.

 

15) CIGNA HealthCare to Acquire the Memphis-Based Mid-South Administrative Group, LLC - MEMPHIS, Tenn., Dec. 1, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CIGNA HealthCare announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Memphis-based Mid-South Administrative Group, LLC ("MSAG"). The acquisition will give CIGNA HealthCare an expanded local presence in Memphis and West Tennessee.

 

16) Palmer Insurance Agency Joins Northeast Bank Insurance Group, Inc.  - LEWISTON, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The insurance subsidiary of Northeast Bank, Northeast Bank Insurance Group, Inc. announced today that the Company has acquired the Palmer Insurance Agency of Turner, Maine. Originally opened in 1991, with an office located at 10 Snell Hill Road in Turner, Palmer Insurance agency offers complete lines of property and casualty insurance. Palmer has 6 employees and generated $4 million in gross premiums over the past year.

 

17) First Charter Announces Sale of Southeastern Employee Benefits Services - Monday December 4, 9:27 am ET  -- CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Charter Corporation (NASDAQ:FCTR - News) today announced the sale of Southeastern Employee Benefits Services (SEBS). A part of the Wealth Management division of First Charter Bank, SEBS performs the record-keeping and administrative functions for retirement plans and was purchased by the bank in 2003.

 

18) Assurant Announces Three-Year Extension to Its Exclusive Distribution Partnership With Service Corporation International (SCI) - Company to Acquire Mayflower National Life Insurance Company from SCI  - NEW YORK, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Assurant, Inc. ("Assurant") (NYSE: AIZ), a premier provider of specialized insurance and insurance-related products and services, announced today that it will extend for three years its exclusive distribution partnership with Service Corporation International ("SCI") (NYSE: SCI) and that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding stock of Mayflower National Life Insurance Company ("Mayflower") from SCI.

 

19 Universal American Completes Sale of Its Canadian Subsidiary PennCorp Life Insurance Company - RYE BROOK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Universal American Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:UHCO) announced today that it has completed its previously announced sale of UAFC (Canada) Inc., including its Canadian insurance subsidiary PennCorp Life Insurance Company, in an all-cash transaction to a venture 70% owned by La Capitale Civil Service Insurer Inc., a subsidiary of La Capitale Financial Group Inc., and 30% owned by GMF Assurances, a French mutual insurance company.

 

20) INSURANCE NEWSCAST ?Pictures Of The Day?

 

21) Best?s Review: The Key to Underwriting Personal Lines Insurance is Focus  - OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Insurers that make the greatest profits underwriting personal lines risks are not always the most well-known, but they each have found their niche or sweet spot in the insurance business, the December issue of Best?s Review reports.

 

22) BANKERS CONSECO LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY INTRODUCES NEW HEALTH AND LIFE INSURANCE OPTIONS FOR SENIORS IN NEW YORK - December 1, 2006 (CHICAGO, ILL.) ? Bankers Conseco Life Insurance Company today announced that it will begin selling health and life insurance plans, including those specifically designed for seniors, through their career agent force in the state of New York, effective immediately. 

 

23) Information for upcoming bWell Lunch and Learn, Dec. 7 - Reminder: Register Today for bWell's December Lunch and Learn Teleconference: "Open Enrollment 2007: What We're Learning and What We've Learned from This Round"

 

24) Countrywide Launches Auto Insurance Product in Ohio - Company Continues to Expand Personal Lines Insurance Offerings  -- CALABASAS, Calif., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Countrywide Financial Corporation -- America's #1 home loan lender* -- today announced that Countrywide Insurance Group's widely-anticipated auto insurance product is now available to consumers in the state of Ohio.

 

25) Axentis Delivers Insurance Sales Compliance Solution for Salesforce.com?s AppExchange - Salesforce.com Customers Can Now Deploy Axentis Insurance Sales Compliance Within Their Salesforce Implementations  -- CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Axentis, the leading provider of on-demand governance, risk and compliance (GRC) management solutions, and salesforce.com [NYSE: CRM], the market and technology leader in on-demand business services, today announced the availability of Insurance Sales Compliance for salesforce.com's AppExchange.

 

26) AIG Financial Products and Global Infrastructure Partners Complete Acquisition of London City Airport - LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIG Financial Products Corp. (AIG-FP), a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), the infrastructure joint venture between Credit Suisse and GE Infrastructure, announced today that they have completed the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of the company that owns and operates the business known as London City Airport (?the Airport?) from Airport Management and Investment Limited.

 

27) WellPoint Expands Specialty Pharmacy and Managed Care Medicaid Operations In Indiana - Corporate Expansion Will Create 1,200 New Jobs in Indiana and Provide Enhanced Services for Members Nationwide  -- INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) announced today that it is significantly expanding operations of its specialty pharmacy business in Indiana. The company will house its rapidly growing PrecisionRx Specialty Solutions (PRxSS) operations in Indianapolis.

 

28) Companion Technologies? Claims Management Software Available Nationwide - COLUMBIA, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EnterprisEDI, the powerful health insurance claims and revenue cycle management software from Companion Technologies, is now available to hospitals and medical practices nationwide, Companion Technologies announced today.

 

29) Aflac Incorporated to Voluntarily Withdraw Trading on NYSE Arca - COLUMBUS, Ga., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) announced today that it plans to voluntarily withdraw its common stock from listing on NYSE Arca, Inc., formerly the Pacific  Exchange. Aflac's equity securities will continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

30) Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited Announces Repurchase of $156 Million of Ordinary Shares from Founding Shareholders - HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited ("Aspen") (NYSE:AHL) (BSX:AHL BH) today announced it has agreed to repurchase approximately $156 million of its ordinary shares, representing approximately 5.9 million shares, from two of its founding shareholders: The Blackstone Group and CSFB Private Equity. The shares are to be repurchased at a price per share of $26.50, representing a 1.7% discount to the closing price on November 30, 2006.

 

31) Markel Corporation Announces Redemption of Markel Capital Trust I Capital Securities - RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Markel Corporation (NYSE: MKL) announced today the issuance of a notice of redemption of all  outstanding 8.71% Capital Securities of Markel Capital Trust I. The Capital Securities will be redeemed on January 2, 2007 at a redemption price of 104.355% of the outstanding principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date. As of November 30, 2007, approximately $106.8 million of the Capital Securities were issued and outstanding.

 

32) Orion HealthCorp Completes Major Strategic Initiatives - Company Enters New Phase of Growth Cycle  -- ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Orion HealthCorp, Inc. (AMEX: ONH) today announced that it had completed its previously announced acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding stock of two revenue cycle management companies located in Los Angeles, California, and Mobile, Alabama. In addition, the Company also announced the completion of its previously announced debt and equity private placement with Phoenix Life Insurance Company and with Brantley Partners IV, L.P., currently Orion?s largest investor, resulting in gross proceeds to the Company of $8 million.

 

 

INSURANCE NEWSCAST from InsuranceBroadcasting.com
9221 Ravenna Road, Suite #D8, Twinsburg, OH 44087
888-282-1765   --- 330-425-8399