Home Authors Posts by Thomas Hickey

Thomas Hickey

286 POSTS 1 COMMENTS

http://www.newsinsurances.co.uk/insurbook/members/hickey-thomas-493

Medical Insurance reaches 95% of China

International

Jan 10, 2012

0 0

Chinese people living in rural areas had more medical cover than people in cities in 2011, according to Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu.

China.org.cn reported that basic medical cover in China’s rural areas reached 97% in 2011, while this figure was around 89% in urban areas. In total, 95% of people had access to medical insurance in China in 2011.

Chen announced the figures at a national work conference on Thursday, citing records in 2003 when only 55% or urban citizens and 21% of rural citizens were covered.

Chen attributed the progress to reform in the country’s health care system which has brough “positive structural changes” in recent years.

As well as a wider reach, the percentage of total medical costs paid by patients decreased from 60% in 2001 to 36% in 2010, with government funds paying the rest.

In his address, Chen outlined his major objectives for the future, including a four year campaign against subsidising services with drug sales.

“It’s crucial to thoroughly carry out the campaign, as such practices have led to higher medication costs and corruption,” said Chen.

One of the campaign’s pilot programs will be executed in 300 counties this year and is expected to cover all county level hospitals by 2012, according to the minister.

Chen also proposed new solutions for doctor-patient disputes.

Specialized institutions or social organizations should be formed or incorporated to receive and handle disputes, Chen said, adding that third-party mediation and medical liability insurance may also be helpful.

Reported fraud over £2 billion in 2011

Legal

Jan 10, 2012

0 0

More than £2 billion of fraud was reported last year, the largest amount ever according to the BDO’s 2011 FraudTrack report.

This is a 50% increase on last years figure of £1.4 billion. When the survey was launched in 2003 it recorded £331 million, showing a seven fold increase in eight years.

The 2011 FraudTrack report, which took into account all reported cases of fraud over £50,000, shows dramatic rises in both the volume and the average value of reported cases. In 2011 there were 413 reported cases worth an average £5 million each, compared with an average of 372 cases worth an average £3.7 million.

Despite the worrying increase of fraud, the insurance sector remained relatively out of harms way last year. The insurance and finance sector accounted for 27% of all reported cases last year, compared to 56% the year before. This is due to increased measures from the sector in protecting themselves, including funding the new Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department of the London Police which opened last week.

“Financial services institutions have invested heavily in systems and technologies to prevent and track fraud, so the fact that reported fraud in this sector has decreased as a percentage of overall fraud suggests this approach is working,” said Simon Bevan, Head of Fraud at BDO LLP.

“But there is still a long way to go. The most serious frauds, in terms of financial loss, in financial services are often committed by employees and management. Yet most of the inhouse fraud teams within banks etc tend to be made up of ex-policemen. They are often too focused on external ’Criminals’ dealing with credit card fraud, phishing etc., when the greatest risk is internal with banks employees committing commercial lending, mortgage or rogue trading fraud.

“It is this failure to take a holistic approach to tackling fraud that can lead to those high profile, costly incidents that we have seen in recent years.”

The most common type of fraud last year was tax fraud, making up just over 36% of reported cases and costing an average £13 million each.

From bingo to banking – more retirees want to work

Good to know

Jan 10, 2012

0 3

More UK retirees want to give up bingo for banking as research from Aviva reveals a work hungry generation of retirees ready to embrace ‘part-tirement’ and continue working.

One explanation of the findings was that retirees today are facing decreased savings and increased debt, and many simply can’t afford to stop work.

But the finding didn’t just reveal a need to continue working, they also showed that retirees are more confident than ever in their abilities to compete with their younger peers. 87% said they could do a better job than younger people at their roles, 67% think the younger generation moan too much about work and 83% say they are more practical than the younger generation.

Clive Bolton, ‘at retirement’ director at Aviva, says, “The perception of retirement is one that is constantly being rethought. As individuals face an increasingly challenging economic environment, it seems that for many the dream retirement is now one in which they can maintain their quality of life by remaining economically active.

“It would seem that this is not only to boost their income, but the evidence would suggest that many retirees are keen to get out into the work force and put their lifetime of wisdom and skills to use.”

Other finding from the study included:

– 72% of retirees think they could give a graduate a ‘run for their money’

– 80% of retirees believe they would be more confident in the work force now, than in their earlier working life.

– 63% would relish the opportunity to replace someone younger in the UK work force should they be given the chance.

– 53% of retirees think they would dedicate more time to a career than their younger counterparts, with 77% of retirees stating that no longer having children to care for is the main reason for this.

First new nuclear insurer in 30 years launched

International

Jan 10, 2012

0 0

A new player in the nuclear insurance industry was unveiled today, with the launch of Malta based, Northcourt. The facility is said to be the first addition to the market in 30 years. It will be primarily underwritten by Lloyd’s syndicate Amlin, a company with previous experience working with nuclear risk.

Northcourt is registered in Malta, licensed to underwrite nuclear business on a global scale, and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority. It is led by CEO Alan Rickett, who was previously senior vice president at Marsh.

Marsh and its sister company, Guy Carpenter, were involved in the creation of Northcourt and will support Amlin with their underwriting duties.

Northcourt will initially offer property damage and business interruption insurance of up to $200mn but expects to expand into nuclear liability and construction cover over the course of the year.

Because of its connections with the Lloyd’s market, Northcourt may have an advantage over its traditional territory-based competitors.

CEO of the new company, Alan Rickett, said, “There is limited insurer choice for nuclear companies and many have expressed growing concern over the existing market’s ability to cope with an increase demand for limits and scope of cover. There is demand for a new approach to insurance which is aligned with the global nature of the industry today.”

Despite the reaction to the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the insurance industry expects strongly growing demand for cover with over 60 new reactors under construction and 400 more in the pipeline.

Irish health insurance : customers jumping ship

International

Jan 10, 2012

0 0

Recent increases of a government levy on health insurance has seen price hikes in Ireland, resulting in thousands of people cancelling their cover.

The levy, which is set to rise again by as much as 40%, could result in average adult prices going from EUR205 to EUR285 and the price of insurance for children increasing from EUR66 to EUR95.

The initial levy saw 75,000 people cancel their private cover last year, putting added pressure on an already stressed public health system.

If the expected levy increased is introduced, experts expect to see more cancellations this year.

“If prices were to increase again in 2012 as a result of this levy, the cancellation figure could be anything up to 100,000 by next January.The challenge for the industry is that those cancelling tend to be the younger, healthier lives,” said Health Insurance expert Dermot Good.

“The impact of this trend is that the insurers are left with higher claims costs which cause more upward pressure on premiums and thus the cycle of increased cancellations/premium hikes continues.”

A number of main health insurers in Ireland have already announced price increases for 2012 with Quinn Healthcare stating a 12% increase on top of the 20% increase some customers experienced last year.

Aviva have announced a 15% increase for this year, while VHI prices are rising by 2%. This time last year VHI added up to 45% to the premiums of some customers, according to Inside Ireland.

Brokers doing it tougher than insurers : PwC

Financial News

Jan 9, 2012

0 0

While life and general insurers both saw growth last quarter brokers profitability took a fall as business volumes declined, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Financial Services Survey.

In relation to the broader financial services sector, insurance had a slow quarter with only marginal growth in sales and profitability. But it grew nonetheless which marked two years of consistent growth from the life insurance sector.

This is what PwC thought about the insurance sector last quarter:

Life Insurance

Grew slowly which completes two years of business volumes and profitability growth. Incomes have remained relatively flat which has made life insurers less optimistic than they were three months ago. Firms fear lower volumes, incomes and profits next quarter. While staff turnover fell, staff volumes rose and this trend is expected to continue.

General Insurance

Last quarter saw very marginal growth in premium income and business volumes, but this is expected to pick up during the next quarter. Lower than expected profitability was recorded because of higher costs and investment income values dropping for the second successive quarter. Employment numbers dropped and the value of claims rose for the sixth consecutive quarter.

Insurance Brokers

A fall in the volume of business and value of premium income saw profitability fall last term for brokers. While overall operating costs fell, the loss of business was enough to push the average cost-per-transaction ratio up strongly. Much of the same is expected for this quarter, with more marginal falls in profitability.

Howard Scott, insurance partner at PwC, said, “Intense competition in the retail market, especially in home and motor insurance, coupled with the recent run of natural catastrophes and increasing value of claims continues to put pressure on general insurers’ profits.”

He added, “Insurers’ hopes for the early part of 2012 rest on growth in commercial lines and an anticipated recovery in business with overseas customers. General insurers continue to plan further headcount reductions in response to the tough market conditions.”

L&G insured against “risk” of pensioners living longer

Industry News

Jan 9, 2012

0 0

Legal & General (L&G) have entered into a longevity insurance transaction with the Pilkington Superannuation Scheme. The deal covers L&G for the “risk of 11,500 current pensioners in the Scheme living longer than expected”, and includes around £1 billion in associated liabilities.

The company also announced their relevant reinsurance agreement with Hannover Re in respect of this scheme.

The deal comes after the recent £1.1billion buy-out with the Turner & Newall pension scheme in October 2011. These transactions coupled with the growth of Liability Driven Investment transactions demonstrate Legal & General’s ability to provide pension de-risking solutions across a wide customer base.

Tim Breedon, Group Chief Executive, said, “In the UK and globally, the pension fund de-risking market will continue to grow as pension funds look to further de-risk. In 2011 we completed our first £1 billion pension buy-out, and today we have announced our first ever longevity insurance swap. These transactions leverage our expertise in investment management and longevity risk pricing, and I see us remaining at the forefront of this rapidly developing pensions market.

“Legal & General can provide comprehensive de-risking solutions, including buy-out, buy-in, longevity insurance and liability driven solutions to pension schemes of all sizes.”

Lack of care sees hospital insurance bills soar

Industry News

Jan 9, 2012

0 1

Operating on the wrong part of a body and leaving behind utensils are some of the things behind a soaring UK hospital insurance bill, according to a Sunday Express report.

Medical mishaps and lack of care in UK hospitals have contributed to a recent increase in insurance figures. Injuries happening after being admitted to hospital and complications after surgeries were two main issues of concern, costing almost £4 million in compensation in 2011.

Tameside NHS Trust last year exceeded it’s £2.7 million insurance premium by 10% because of a “catalogue of expensive settlements”, the Express said.

Over the past three years patients injured at the hospital were given £20 million in compensation. The hospital blamed this figures on a lack of funds, equipment and staff.

According to the Express there were 14,000 instances of problems after operations last year. Surgeons operated on the wrong part of the patient’s body on at least 57 occasions while a foreign object was left in patients 125 times.

This and a high mortality rate cost hospitals £3.9 million in compensation in 2011.

When contacted, the hospitals defended their reputations saying the figures don’t give an accurate reflection of their patient care, Express reported.

Tameside Hospital said it has now improved standards. “The trust has been awarded the best rating possible by the NHS Litigation Authority,” a spokesman said.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals said, “Our current position is improved” adding that it provided a “safe level of care”. Blackpool Hospitals NHS Trust said the data did not give a true reflection of patient care. University Hospital of North Staffordshire said: “We believe University Hospital is a safe hospital.”

Dartford and Gravesham hospital said the figures don’t tell the full story and NHS Isle of Wight said strenuous efforts had been made to monitor the quality of care.

IFED: multiple arrests in first week

Legal

Jan 9, 2012

0 0

The Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department hit the ground running in their debut week, making their first arrest on Tuesday afternoon on a fraudster in Leamington Spa, and breaking up an illegal insurance adviser ring which involved arrests in Nottingham and Manchester.

The Department said that they had already received around 50 referrals. In their first ever news letter, they said communication with the industry will be the key to the success for the organisation.

“Although the City of London Police as the UK’s Lead Force for Fraud is best placed to push this project forward, it cannot do it alone,” said IFED Project Manager, Deborah Delacroix.

“To reach its full potential, IFED needs to engage with industry, both by sharing information and listening to its feedback.”

The Department opened it’s doors on Tuesday after receiving a £3 million funding boost from the Association of British Insurers last year. They will work closely with the industry to target all forms of fraud from small time false claims to crash-for-cash schemes.

AXA : more staff and longer hours for storm claims

Industry News

Jan 9, 2012

0 2

AXA has called in extra staff from different departments to help with the large increase of claims relating to this weeks storms.

As well as the extra staff, a representative said they are introducing overtime with extended weekend hours to get through the spike in claims.

The decision comes after storms resulted in rises in the amount of claims by as much as 300%. One company, AA Insurance, reported a twelve fold increase in the amount of roof damage claims this week.

“Following further extreme weather conditions over the past few days, we have continued to see large volumes of incoming calls and claims on the household side,” said Christine Matthews, Head of Houshold Claims at AXA Personal Lines.

“The majority of them are still relatively small but we have had some larger losses. We are working hard to resolve claims for all our customers as quickly as possible”

AXA warned customers to be careful with who was doing their home repairs, saying opportunistic contractors can take advantage of homeowners in times like this when demand is high.

Ms. Matthews continued, “We are also aware of some direct opportunistic approaches made to certain homeowners in the worst affected areas by tradespeople, especially builders, offering to repair storm damage.

“Sometimes this work can be expensive, of poor quality, carried out by unqualified people or never properly finished. Customers therefore need to be extremely careful and should of course always speak to us if they have any concerns.”

FOS introduced increased fees for mis-selling insurance

Legal

Jan 6, 2012

0 1

UK banks and insurers are mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI) resulting in millions of dollars used to compensate victims – but it’s about to get a lot more expensive.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) today announced it’s plan to increase the £500 fee for institutions who mis-sell PPI by £350 per case. The fee will only be applicable to companies with more than 25 complaints.

The proposal has been made to combat the “mass complaints” the FOS has received from customers sold the wrong PPI. These complaints and the compensation which follows has cost the banking sector around £1 billion.

The charge increase will see the main mis-sellers of PPI, which include Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyd’s Banking Group, face fee’s of up to £58 million next year, if complaints remain the same.

Tony Boorman, chief Ombudsman at the FOS, said, “It’s disappointing that there’s little finality for significant numbers of consumers who are still waiting for their bank or insurer to deal with their complaint.

“The delays and inconvenience that this causes consumers means the ombudsman now has to gear up for unprecedented demand and volatility in our workload. Our proposals to make sure we have the operational capacity to handle record volumes of cases involve those businesses who account for these complaints contributing the most to sorting out the problems. But in these difficult economic times … this is not welcome news for anyone.”

Quakes and floods cost Suncorp Australia £166 million

International

Jan 6, 2012

0 0

The hail storms in Melbourne and the Chritschurch earthquake will cost Australian insurer Suncorp between AUD200 million and AUD250 million (£133 million to £166 million), according to a preliminary estimate from the insurer.

The company’s reinsurance protection will come into effect if the losses climb above AUD250.

Suncorp received around 28,000 personal and commercial claims relating to the storm and quake, but they say they expect to see more. This is because the events occurred over the Christmas period which impacted claim lodgement and assessment.

The Christchurch quake alone is expected to cost the company up to AUD20 million (£13.3 million).

These two events late in 2011 means the company expects it’s natural hazard costs for the second half of last year to be in the range of AUD390 million dollars – well above the AUD240 million they had budgeted for.

AXA Assistance secured as Hastings assistance provider

Market

Jan 6, 2012

0 0

Hastings has secured AXA Assistance UK for the next five years as their motor assistance provider. AXA Assistance will also provide Hastings with some specialist insurance covers.

The appointment was made after a competitive tender process where AXA Assistance was chosen based on the “quality and flexibility of their overall package”.

Some of the services AXA will provide Hastings customers under the deal include nationwide breakdown assistance, roadside recovery, home-start services, misfuelling insurance and road traffic accident support.

“The five year contract not only makes commercial sense for both organisations but also demonstrates a real willingness to work together for the long term giving Hastings’ customers that added sense of certainty.” said Jason Sparrow, Sales director at AXA Assistance UK.

“Our aim is to deliver services that add measurable value at all levels to our clients’ customer propositions. We believe this motor assistance package provides Hastings with not only a comprehensive range of relevant services and cover but will also play a part in helping the business to achieve its growth aspirations.”

UK economy could only endure disaster for one week

Financial News

Jan 6, 2012

0 0

The UK economy could financially withhold a major natural disaster or terrorist attack for just one week, a Clatham House study suggests.

After this time the economy would begin to crumble, with rapid inflation and businesses failing. The report, titled ‘Preparing for High-impact, Low-probability Events: Lessons from Eyjafjallajökull’ said that if businesses want to change this situation they face a drop in short-term profitability.

In the report Clatham refers to the under prepared economy as a ‘just-in-time’ mentality.

Bernice Lee, one of the authors of the report, said, “The frequency of high-impact, low-probability (HILP) events in the last decade such as Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster and the nuclear crisis and tsunami in Japan signals the emergence of a new ‘normal’ – the beginning of a crisis trend. Industries – especially high-value manufacturing – may need to re-consider their just-in-time business model in an interdependent world.

“Contingency and business planning often assumes the return of status quo ante post-crisis. But this approach will be inadequate in a world of complex economic and social risks, when there is no return to business-as-usual practices.

“Slow-motion crises like climate change and water scarcity will also bring additional risks and vulnerabilities, and experts agree this trend is only set to continue.”

Chatham House interviewed key business leaders and experts while also undertaking an in depth case study of the 2012 Iceland volcano eruption, drawing out critical lessons in order to better prepare and respond to other crisis events.

When asked about the event, which cost the EU between 5 and 10 billion Euros, 50% of those companies that faced a significant problem due to the closure of airspace did not have this risk on their register in advance – and for those that did, one week was generally the longest period that had been considered during planning.

The report also looked at how governments and businesses could become more resilient in the face of HILP events, covering areas such as communication, transparency, insurance, investment, training, cost and impact analysis.

A copy of the report is available on the Clatham House website.

PM’s new year resoltion : “kill off health and safety culture for good”

Industry News

Jan 6, 2012

0 0

Prime Minister David Cameron’s new years resolution is to “kill off the health and safety culture for good” in the UK.

According to Mr Cameron, the health and safety culture in England has become an “albatross around the neck of British businesses” and has cost the economy millions of pounds.

Speaking at a meeting of small business in Berkshire the PM said, “Talk of ‘health and safety’ can too often sound farcical or marginal. But for British businesses – especially the smaller ones that are so vital to the future of our economy – this is a massively important issue. Every day they battle against a tide of risk assessment forms and face the fear of being sued for massive sums. The financial cost of this culture runs into the billions each year.

“So this coalition has a clear New Year’s resolution: to kill off the health and safety culture for good. I want 2012 to go down in history not just as Olympics year or Diamond Jubilee year, but the year we get a lot of this pointless time-wasting out of the British economy and British life once and for all.”

He announced plans to put a limit on the amount which lawyers can earn through small-value, personal injury cases, and to reduce the overall cost in cases funded by ‘no win no fee’ deals, but said that was just the tip of the ice berg.

“I don’t think there’s any one single way you can cut back the health and safety monster,” said Mr Cameron.

While spokespeople from the Association of British Insurers and insurance companies such as RSA were in favor of the PM’s remarks, not everyone felt the same way.

Richard Jones, head of policy and public affairs at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, branded the comments “appalling and unhelpful”.

“Labeling workplace health and safety as a monster is appalling and unhelpful, as the reason our legislative system exists is to prevent death, injury or illness at work, protecting livelihoods in the process,” said Mr Jones.

“The problem identified by the Government’s own reviews is not the law, but rather, exaggerated fear of being sued, fed by aggressive marketing.”

Mr Cameron also announced he will invite chief executives of major insurance companies to a summit at 10 Downing Street in February to ensure the level of compliance they demand from business do not go beyond what is required by the law.

Insurance premiums to rise after storms

Good to know

Jan 6, 2012

0 1

Experts are predicting that this weeks storms will result in premium price rises, particularly for building insurance.

Motor insurers and home insurers both reported dramatic increases in claims as a result of the storms, with AA emergency response reporting a twelve-fold increase in the number of roofing claims it dealt with.

The AA is expected to publish data soon showing that motor insurance rates rose by about 3% in the last quarter of 2011 and home insurance prices remained flat.

Ian Crowder, a spokesman for AA Insurance said: “Major weather events like this, causing widespread damage are not going to help insurance costs come down.”

He said that while the rises aren’t expected to be too dramatic, housing insurance in particular may see some increases. The rises will be triggered, among other things, by extreme weather over the past few years and the expectation that this will continue. With last years freezing temperatures and snow followed by this years wind storms, Mr Crowder said insurance companies need to ensure they have sufficient reserves to meet future claims.

Mr Crowder added, “While major weather events might have a small influence on premiums, history shows that often they fall back again as competition bites.”

He said some experts predicted premium rises of 50pc following the 2007 floods – which cost the insurance industry billions – but premium incomes were far more modest the following year.

Car crimes down but Brits still worried

Legal

Jan 6, 2012

0 2

Britons are more worried than ever about their cars being broken into or stolen despite a fall in car crime over the past decade, an Admiral funded study has revealed.

The study looked at 2,500 drivers across the UK and found that almost three quarters (74%) of Brits worry about car crime. When comparing this figure to their own statistics, Admiral found that there had actually been a decline in the number of car thefts over the past decade.

Last year just 0.16% of people insured by Admiral had their car broken into or stolen, compared to 0.58% a decade ago, showing that the worries are unfounded.

Dave Halliday, Admiral managing director, said, “Our statistics show that car crime has been falling for several years now, so maybe worrying about it is undue. This anxiety could be linked to a general sense of unease about the state of the country and the economy in particular, our cars are after all, one of the most valuable things we own.”

Dave continued, “Modern cars have excellent security features with manufacturers making them more and more difficult to steal, which must have some impact on the number stolen or broken into. However, motorists should always make sure their car isn’t an easy target for thieves by parking it in a well lit area, not leaving items on show, and making sure their keys are kept in a safe and secure place should someone gain access to their home.”

Even though car crime is decreasing, Admiral thought it would be interesting to see which types of vehicle are the most likely to be targeted by criminals. It looked at statistics from the last year and found the Nissan Sunny, BMW X6 and Audi RS6 were the three cars most likely to be stolen. The Nissan Figaro is the car most likely to be broken into followed by the Citroen C8 and BMW 730.

Prev 1...8910...15 Next

Page 9 of 15

Thomas Hickey

POPULAR POST

SOCIAL

Popular category