Insurance Courses

The Hartford Plans To Cut At Least 500 Jobs Over The Next 18 Months

Written on January 10, 2012 – 1:14 am | by Hunter Rankine

The Hartford is planning to cut at least 500 jobs over the next 18 months to its customer service and back-office administration, adding to about 2,200 positions already eliminated in Connecticut over several years.

The Hartford would not say how many jobs are affected or how many are in Connecticut, where The Hartford has 10,400 employees. But some employees who spoke anonymously put the total figure at between 500 and 600, and said customer service jobs would be heavily targeted.

The Hartford Financial Services Group has not yet determined exactly where the cuts will be, sources said.

The Hartford reported a $2.6 billion quarterly loss due to bad investments in the third quarter of 2008, and was forced to seek a capital boost from German insurer Allianz, and later a federal bailout.

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Tags: 18 Months, Months, Next 18, Next 18 Months

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Homeowners Insurance

Written on January 6, 2012 – 4:59 pm | by Gabrielle Scanlan

Home Owners Insurance

When it comes to home owner insurance there are several factors that you may want to consider if you are looking into this coverage for the first time or if it has been a while since you visited the topic. As most know and others will find out, in order to purchase a home you must have house insurance in place before you move into your home. If you don’t get around to getting coverage on your own your mortgage company will assign a policy to your mortgage and this could be very expensive. F

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Tags: Insurance

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Independence blue Cross selects Kony as its mobile application platform

Written on January 2, 2012 – 3:06 am | by Sebastian Braim

BBR Staff Writer

Southeastern Pennsylvania’s health insurer Independence Blue Cross (IBC) has selected Kony Solutions as its mobile application platform to reach a wider audience at lower overall development and maintenance costs.

According to Kony Solutions, its Platform Write Once, Run Everywhere technology will enable mobile deployment across more than 9,000 mobile smartphones/tablets/kiosks and operating systems.The technology will allow IBC to develop robust mobile solutions for members, providers, and business partners irrespective of the type of device that is used. KonyOne delivers both native applications and mobile web (HTML5 and non-HTML5) across phones, tablets, kiosks and desktops.

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Tags: Application Platform, Mobile Application, Mobile Application Platform, Platform

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Economic turmoil more likely than natural catastrophes to spur market hardening: Willis Re

Written on January 1, 2012 – 10:50 am | by Gabrielle Scanlan

A sustained market hardening in the global reinsurance market is more likely to be caused by economic turmoil than catastrophe losses, according to Willis Re’s ‘1st View’ report.
Last year was the second-worst year for catastrophe losses (insured losses in excess of $100 billion and reinsured losses of more than $50 billion), with many of those catastrophe losses being “surprise” losses. But at the end of 2011 Q3, capital levels in the global reinsurance industry were only down marginally from the start of the year, Willis Re reported.
“The key to a sustained market hardening is more likely linked to the current economic turmoil, particularly in the Euro zone, as it works through to impact the capital bases of reinsurers,” a Willis Re release says.
The report also points to the increasing segmentation of the market, with rate movements being driven by individual loss history and perceived exposure movements rather than by an overall blanket increase. <

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Tags: Market Hardening, Willis, Willis Re

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How to Cash in Whole Life Insurance Policies

Written on December 20, 2011 – 6:46 pm | by admin

One of the best features of whole life insurance policies is the fact you can withdraw cash out of it when needed. This is a loan against the total cost already paid into the policy, or you can cash the whole thing in. To do this all you have to do is follow these instructions:

The first thing to do is decide whether you want to cash in the whole policy or just take a loan out from the amount already paid into it. Through the years you have been paying into it there will have also been a profit from investments taken against the whole life insurance policy so be sure which option you want to take.

Consider tax complications from the option you pick. Read more…

Tags: Life Insurance

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Insurers warned of deterioration in Italy and Spain amid Mapfre Re downgrade

Written on December 16, 2011 – 10:25 am | by Gabrielle Scanlan

A.M. Best downgrades Spanish giant from A to A+

Insurers are being warned about the rapidly deteriorating financial situation amid a rating’s downgrade for Spanish giant Mapfre Re.

AM Best said it was downgrading Mapfre Re partly because its parent Mapfre S.A had exposure to the commercial property market in Spain and peripheral sovereign debt.

The downgrade takes Mapfre Re to A (excellent) as opposed to its previous stronger rating of A+ (superior).

A.M. Best said that Mapfre Re, along with other insurers operating in Italy and Spain, were facing rapidly growing problems.

A.M Best said: “A.M. Bes

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Tags: Downgrade, Mapfre Re

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