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Representatives from the insurance industry met with the National Flood Forum, the Environment Agency and local government to discuss the challenges in managing future flood risk. Participants discussed ways of reducing flood risk, the availability and transparency of flood risk data and the current availability and affordability of flood insurance.

They agreed on a roadmap towards 2013 when the current agreement between government and insurers on flood risk management expires. All parties recognised that insurance policies should reflect flood risk, including resilience and other efforts by individuals to limit their own damage.

Environment minister Richard Benyon said: “I am delighted with the progress that we have made. Floods are devastating to anyone who suffers them. People can lose their homes, treasured possessions and businesses. In the worst case lives may be lost. Government has a role to play in managing the overall risk to the nation, but we all, as individuals need to take greater responsibility for understanding our own flood risk and minimising it where we can. Insurers continue to have an important role in helping us to recover when the next floods hit.

“The summit has been an opportunity to sit down and listen to different perspectives and experiences. The progress made will help those at risk of flooding.”

Maggie Craig, acting director-general of the Association of British Insurers, said: “Insurers are determined that flood cover continues to be as widely available as possible. Insurance plays a crucial role in helping homeowners and businesses recover from the distress and expense of being flooded. Millions of people rely on the financial protection insurance provides.

“With the flood risk set to worsen for many, all stakeholders must work to find a solution to help the growing number of people at risk. We must ensure that investment in our flood defences keeps pace with the flood threat. Insurers are committed to working in partnership with their customers, government, and other stakeholders to ensure that communities at risk of flooding get the protection they need and deserve.”

Mary Dhonau, chief executive of the National Flood Forum, said: “Those at risk of being flooded live in fear of insurance blight. We at the NFF believe flood insurance should be available and affordable for everybody not just the few. Managing flood risk should be a partnership between, the insurance industry, government and the homeowner. Making your home more resilient to flooding, where possible, can be of great benefit and we would encourage sharing of good practice.”

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John Reizenstein joins the executive team from Co-operative Financial Services where since 2008 he has been managing director, corporate & markets, with responsibility for CFS’s corporate banking, treasury, asset management and intermediary mortgage businesses.

He joined CFS in 2003 as chief financial officer, after a career in investment banking at UBS and latterly Goldman Sachs where he specialised in financial institutions.

Mr Geddes said: “John’s appointment represents a key step in our preparation for eventual separation from the RBS Group. As part of the RBS Insurance executive team, John will lead the key financial activities we need to shape the business for the future, and I’m delighted to have secured a candidate of his stature and experience.”

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China Life and China Pacific Insurance, two of the country’s biggest insurers, are in talks to buy stakes in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank (SRCB), which is one-fifth owned by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), people with knowledge of the deal said.

SRCB is also in talks with existing stakeholders, including parent Shanghai International Group and No.2 shareholder ANZ, over plans for the private share placement, which could raise more than 10 billion Yuan ($1.49 billion), one source said.

SRCB, which has 3.7 billion outstanding shares, aims to double its share base by selling one new share for every existing share, but the issue price has not yet been determined, two sources said. China Life, the country’s biggest life insurer, and Pacific Insurance, the third-largest, are interested in buying stakes in the lender, according to sources.

It is not clear though whether SRCB is in talks with China Life directly or its group parent. Both SRCB and ANZ declined to comment. A spokesman at China Life said he was unaware of the deal, while Pacific Insurance could not immediately provide comment.

Source : Reuters

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Australia Thursday warned travellers to the United States to watch out for a whooping cough outbreak which has claimed the lives of several babies. The foreign affairs department said a number of American states had been hit by the disease including California, where local reports say nine babies have died.

“Several US states have reported an increase in cases and/or localised outbreaks of pertussis (whooping cough), including a state-wide epidemic in California,” the travel advice says.

“The United States government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises it is not necessary to delay travel to an area that is experiencing a pertussis outbreak, but visitors should make sure they are up to date on their vaccines.”

The department maintained its overall advice at “exercise caution”, the second of a five-level warning system. A report on the Los Angeles Times website posted on Tuesday said a ninth baby had died from whooping cough, making it the deadliest outbreak in California in five years. Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection affecting the lungs which is usually relatively mild in adults but has a high mortality rate among children.

Sydney, Sept 16, 2010 (AFP)

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Allianz is pleased to announce the appointment of Alan Collins to operations manager for motor claims. Alan joins the company from EMR Services where he was claims service manager for 3 years.

In this role his responsibilities included the management of various claims teams, building client relationships and creating and improving software for internal and external use. In his new position, based in Milton Keynes, Mr Collins will be accountable for the operational effectiveness of Allianz’s motor claims team. He will be tasked with ensuring claims are dealt with professionally and efficiently whilst managing claims cost control.

Alan said: “I am delighted to have been offered this role and look forward to the challenge that it will bring. I look forward to developing and maintaining the service standards to our customers.”

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American International Group (AIG) is discussing plans with the government to fully repay the government bailout it received two years ago, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

AIG was one of the hardest hit financial companies by the credit crisis and received multiple bailout packages from the government beginning in September 2008. AIG’s outstanding balance of assistance from the government totaled $132.1 billion as of June 30. Of that balance, AIG must repay $101.2 billion; the rest is tied to the value of investments the government took over.

Under the plan being discussed with government officials, it would appear that AIG will begin to fully repay the bailout as early as the first half of next year.

The plan would begin with the Treasury Department converting $49 billion in preferred stock it holds in AIG into common shares, according to the report. The Treasury Department would then start selling those shares to investors. It would be able to pocket a profit if AIG’s share price rises.

That move is similar to the deal the government struck with Citigroup Inc., which was another of the largest bailout recipients. Citigroup paid off a large chunk of the bailout money it received in cash, but also converted $25 billion it owed the government into common stock. The government has been selling those shares throughout this year at a profit.

For AIG, converting the preferred shares into common stock would increase the government’s stake in the New York insurer to more than 90 percent from the nearly 80 percent it currently owns. The government received the nearly 80 percent stake in AIG as part of the initial bailout package.

AIG spokesman Mark Herr said, “Our objectives remain the same: to repay taxpayers and position AIG over time as a strong, independent company worthy of investor confidence.”

He declined to comment specifically on any potential talks with the government. AIG has been selling assets over the past two years since it received its first bailout, in an effort to streamline operations and repay the government debt. The company has been selling noncore assets like many of its foreign life insurance subsidiaries. AIG made its largest one-time repayment of debt last month. It repaid $4 billion after its aircraft leasing unit successfully raised $4.4 billion in debt.

AIG remains on schedule to close the sale of its American Life Insurance Co. unit by the end of the year. It plans to use $16.5 billion from that sale to repay government debt as well. AIG has focused on trying to return to consistently profitability in its primary businesses it plans to hold, such as its global property and casualty and U.S. life insurance operations. AIG shares fell 49 cents to $36.43 in pre-opening trading.

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Solvency II is the updated set of regulatory requirements for insurance, reinsurance firms that operate in the European Union. It is scheduled to come into effect on 31 Dec 2012.

The framework’s primary goals are to facilitate the development of a single European market in insurance services and provide an adequate level of consumer protection. Among other objectives, it seeks to improve product development and pricing, increase the transparency of risk reporting, raise industry standards of risk management, and upgrade companies’ internal controls.

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U.S insurer Ace Ltd will buy Malaysia’s Jerneh Asia’s insurance business for an undisclosed sum, as reported on Tuesday. The Business Times newspaper said Ace made an internal announcement on the acquisition of Jerneh Insurance. Jerneh owns 80 percent of the general insurer and Paramount Corp controls the rest.

“Ace is hotly tipped to be the new owner of Jerneh Insurance. The company has been keen to invest in Malaysia for some time,” Business Times quoted an industry source as saying.

Jerneh was not immediately available for comment but its shares along with those of Paramount were suspended from trade on Monday pending a material announcement.

Ace joins Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co and Prudential which have either taken up or are in talks for stakes in Malaysian insurers after the government raised foreign shareholding limits in these local companies.

Local media had earlier said Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali SpA, HSBC and South Korea’s Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance were among the bidders for Jerneh Insurance, which was put up for sale last year.

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    The Electrical Contractors’ Insurance Company (ECIC) today announced that it has teamed up with Acturis, the specialist insurance technology company, to deliver a range of online tradesman products, both broker-facing and direct, to its customers.

    The Electrical Contractors’ Insurance Company provides specialist insurances for electrical contractors and other trades, and the new auto-rated facility will support the product range for this existing client base.

    Roger Brown, Managing Director of ECIC, commented:  “My objective as Managing Director of ECIC is to bring our specialist range of products to a much wider audience, and via new channels.  Many ECA members have told us that they would like to be able to buy an autorated insurance package online – whether through their broker or direct.  Working with Acturis will give us the capability to deliver such a product.”

    “We are delighted to be working with a provider such as Acturis, whose reputation as a specialist insurance technology provider is every bit as strong as our own reputation in the electrical contracting space.”

    Theo Duchen, co-CEO at Acturis, commented: “We are delighted to be working with the team at Electrical Contractors’ Insurance company, and we expect to be able to deliver a whole new generation of products for their client base, helping them to better serve the large and specialist UK tradesman insurance marketplace.”

    Source : ECIC Press Release

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    Hitachi Consulting UK today announced that it has implemented a new risk management and claims process and handling system on behalf of the Co-operative Group Risk and Insurance Department (GRID). Known internally as, the GRID @Risk Project, the new strategic platform, based on Microsoft SharePoint, is designed to enable the company to gain a true picture of risk, identify higher risks faster through trend pattern analysis and facilitate collaboration for better decision making. By removing duplication of effort and establishing improved methods for the collection, sharing, presentation and dissemination of information, the new system is projected to save the Group an estimated £800k per annum.

    The Co-operative Group is a unique family of businesses run by over five-and-a-half million members, which together each have a say in how these businesses are run. With sales of over £13.7 billion in 2009, the Group employs over 120,000 people serving around 21 million customers per week in over 4,800 high street branches and through online shopping. The Group’s values influence the products and services of each of its businesses, showing that good quality products and value don’t have to come at the expense of honesty and social responsibility.
    “We have recently amalgamated two teams into one,” said Phil Willsmer, Group Head of Operational Risk at the Co-operative Group. “We had numerous existing systems across our Operational Risk Department and our Insurance Department to support core business process, but these didn’t integrate as well as we would have liked. Hitachi Consulting UK enabled us to create a single risk management solution across the business that enables effective collaboration and implementation of our risk management activities and projects. They had a deep understanding of the technology requirements as well as our business objectives, and worked closely with our in-house teams to ensure we had a consistent approach to managing risk across the group.”
    In creating the new system, Hitachi Consulting UK provided both onshore and offshore consultants to establish a framework upon which the Co-operative Group’s business applications can be rapidly assembled. The framework can be accessed by the wider CoOp community of over 100,000 through self service and departmental portals, mobile applications and is regularly updated through enterprise-wide content management. The initial phase of the project went live at end of August 2010 and included case management functionality for the management of incidents, accidents and claims, as well as integration with the company’s Learning Management System. Subsequent phases around data protection, compliance and business continuity are due to go live from October 2010 onwards.

    Source : Hitachi News Release

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    The report highlights that insurers will most likely need to hold more capital as a result of continuously evolving rating agency criteria and numerous proposed regulatory changes globally. Ongoing soft market conditions are putting pressure on results and ratings, and regulatory and rating agency changes could further impact measured capital adequacy and profitability metrics. However, uncertainty surrounding the changes, particularly with regard to Solvency II, is making it difficult for companies to predict future capital needs, even in the near term.

    The report also reveals that:

    – Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) continues to be a hot topic. Companies are investing significantly in developing their overall risk management frameworks and internal capital models.

    -The trend towards Solvency II and similar frameworks globally, coupled with proposed fair valuing accounting provisions, has the potential to drastically change how analysts and investors view and understand the industry. The additional volatility being introduced by fair value accounting could further dampen valuations below current, historically low, price to book ratios.

    – Reinsurance will continue to play an important role in managing volatility as companies look for ways to manage underwriting volatility in the face of increased risk in other areas of the balance sheet and a lower cushion from operating earnings. Solvency II’s QIS5 (Quantitative Impact Study) provides more capital credit for reinsurance than in the previous QIS exercises, but companies will need an internal capital model to fully realize the benefit of reinsurance.

    – The rating agencies are split in terms of industry outlooks, between negative and stable, with rating upgrades and downgrades neutral.

    Kelly Superczynski, global head of Aon Benfield Analytics’ Rating Agency Advisory, said: “The global insurance industry is at an inflection point. Continued negative pricing pressure is adversely impacting profitability and many companies have revised their risk tolerances in light of lower earnings. Rating agencies see lower earnings putting capital under greater pressure, driving their negative outlooks.  At the same time refined rating agency and regulator criteria and capital requirements are placing additional pressure on an already struggling industry.

    “Many of the proposed changes aim to improve the overall analysis of the industry. Companies will have to invest significant resources to understand and develop ERM, internal capital models and accounting frameworks. Uncertainty surrounding many of the proposed changes is making some companies question whether or not it is worth making such an investment.”

    Click here for full report.

    Source : Aon Benfield Press Release

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    Famous car insurance comparison site moneysupermarket.com  aired new TV  ad end of August featuring former F1 world champion Nigel Mansell alongside Omid Djalili.

    MCBD created the latest spot and is the seventh in this year’s series for the company. Featuring the British-Iranian comedian, it continues the theme of British people’s inability to haggle, or bargain. Nigel Mansell is widely appreciated by fans and comments on internet sites show much optimism for the insurance company.

    For example a very positive comment left by “Dan”:

    “Best advert on TV now that Nige is back on the box. If anyone can get moneysupermarket out of a slump it’s Mansell for me!”

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    Brit Insurance, the international general insurance and reinsurance group, today announces the appointment of Amanda Doran to the newly created position of Underwriting Manager, Combined Packages & Property, for its London region. Amanda will join the underwriting team from 13th September 2010, reporting to Regional Director London Region, Paul Dilley.

    Amanda joins Brit Insurance with a wealth of industry experience, including eight years as Class Underwriter, Property & Commercial Combined, at Amlin. She has also held senior positions at Aon and Eagle Star. Before joining Brit Insurance, Amanda was managing director at Synergy Insurance Services. Paul Dilley, Regional Director London Region commented:

    “Amanda’s strong technical underwriting skills in this field and considerable managerial experience will help us to strengthen the existing skills within our London team”.

    Source : Brit Insurance News Release

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    One Group has launched its new specialist brand, Good to go Insurance, focused on travel insurance for medically-impaired travellers, with no age limits. It said that it aims to tackle a number of misconceptions about travel insurance for those with medical conditions and the over-65s by providing appropriate cover at reasonable prices.

    Good to go Insurance said it is aiming to provide affordable cover for certain conditions that other insurers do not cover, including mental health conditions and people who are HIV+. It also aims to give mainstream insurers a clear solution to ensure they comply with new Equality Act provisions due to come into force from October this year.

    Iain Sykes, managing director of the new brand, said: “People with medical conditions want to be able to enjoy their holidays secure in the knowledge that their pre-existing medical conditions are covered. And today, older people are physically fitter and mentally younger than ever. As a result they are becoming more adventurous, with the time and money to travel abroad regularly. We’re focused on providing fair-priced insurance for these travellers, combined with high quality support and care should assistance be needed while they are away from home”.

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    AXA Insurance has appointed Martin Eyres as head of mid corporate risks. This is the fourth specialist appointment in recent months as AXA continues to build it capability to accommodate larger risks.

    Martin will be responsible for driving the profitable growth of the mid corporate offering and will now begin the process of drawing together his team of property, casualty and motor underwriting specialists.  This team will be based in London, Manchester and Birmingham, reflecting the size of the relevant broker market – but also to ensure key decision makers are close to their customers and able to respond effectively to their needs.

    Martin joins from CNA where he was European Underwriting Director – Property, looking after both the London market and UK regions, major risks and corporate account underwriting.  Prior to joining CNA Martin worked for AIG for 18 years and RSA (Sun Alliance) for 10 years before that.   He is the current president of the London Business Interruption Association.

    Commenting on his appointment, Martin said: “I am delighted to be joining AXA because I believe its strong financial position combined with its global reputation provide a great opportunity to develop business in the mid corporate arena. I am excited to be involved in delivering customer focused products to the middle market, and in particular, developing both our London-based and regional capability”.

    Mike Phillips, head of specialist markets said: “Martin brings a huge amount of experience and is a very high profile appointment for us as we continue to build our expertise to offer advice and products that are tailored to larger risks”.

    Source : Axa news release

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    Australia’s competition regulator blocked National Australia Bank’s $12 billion bid for AXA Asia Pacific for a second time, dashing NAB’s efforts to cement its dominance in the world’s fourth-largest wealth management market. The decision clears the way for Australia’s second-biggest fund manager, AMP, to take another tilt at AXA Asia Pacific after its cash and share offer was trumped by NAB in December.

    The ruling dealt another setback to French insurer AXA SA’s plans to expand in Asia. It was set to pick up its subsidiary’s fast-growing Asian assets as part of the bid with NAB, as it looks to get a tighter grip on the region’s booming markets. AXA Asia Pacific’s shares tumbled as much as 10 percent to levels not seen since it was put in play late last year, as investors bet NAB, Australia’s top lender, would give up its nine-month fight for the company.

    “I think it is time for NAB to move away from this bid. It has been nearly a year and they don’t need more distractions,” said Tom Elliot, Managing Director at hedge fund MM&E Capital.

    Australia’s top four banks, which hold dominant positions in everything from mortgages to life insurance, are looking to increase their sway over the $1.2 trillion wealth market. The country’s wealth market is seen growing more than 10 percent annually for the next five years on compulsory pension contributions, compared to loan growth of under 5 percent a year.

    AXA SA, which owns 51 percent of AXA Asia Pacific, said it was reviewing its options on how to expand in Asia. The agreement between the French company, its unit and NAB expires on Thursday. A media report said AMP may make a fresh bid for AXA Asia Pacific as early as Friday. An AMP spokeswoman declined comment on the unsourced report by the Australian Associated Press and only said the AXA unit remained of strategic interest at the right price.

    “We don’t know what our next steps are, it’s too early to say,” an AMP spokeswoman said.

    Moreover, with a 25 percent fall in its share price so far this year, AMP may struggle to come back with an acceptable bid.

    “It’s hard for them to do a deal that would satisfy the board. That would be very hard from AMP’s perspective,” said Rohan Walsh, investment manager at Karara Capital, in light of AMP’s weak share price.

    NAB, led by Cameron Clyne, a former state rugby player and an avid ocean swim racer, could contest the ruling, but analysts and investors expect the lender to bow out of what would have been the second-largest deal in Australia’s financial industry.

    “We expect that NAB, after consideration, will likely let the deal rest now rather than challenge via the courts,” Citigroup analyst Craig Williams said.

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last month agreed to consult the market on NAB’s undertaking to sell AXA Asia Pacific’s North Platform, which administers A$1.36 billion, to smaller wealth manager IOOF Ltd. The regulator had blocked the deal in April in favour of AMP’s offer, citing concerns over competition in retail investment platforms — a portal that binds the wealth manager, financial products and customers.

    “The ACCC … remains opposed because it would be likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition in the relevant retail investment platform market,” ACCC deputy chairman Peter Kell said in a statement.

    A combined NAB-AXA Asia Pacific would have a 21 percent market share in the retail funds market and a 15 percent share in the wholesale funds market, almost twice the size of the nearest competitor. With NAB and its big bank rivals unlikely to win competition clearance, the future of AXA Asia Pacific largely rests with its parent and AMP.

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      More than half (nearly 54%) of Americans aged 44-75 expressed distaste for the word “annuity”, according to a recent survey from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life). An overwhelming 80 percent of the more than 3,200 surveyed preferred a product with four percent return and a guarantee against losing value over a product with eight percent return and subject to market risk, demonstrating the need for education about annuities and their place in retirement planning.

      Americans expressed distrust in annuities according to a recent survey from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.  Of the 3,200 surveyed, 80% preferred a secure product against a higher return product but subject to risk. The study, titled Reclaiming the Future: Challenging Retirement Income Perceptions, also found that respondents apparent distaste of annuities comes from opinions formed up to 20 or more years ago. Only 27% knows of innovations made with annuities during the past years, and even fewer realize that variable annuities allow contract holders to participate in market gains.

      The study demonstrates that when people understand annuities they actually are satisfied. 76% of annuity owners are very happy with their purchase, 57% like the product because it’s a safe, long-term investment plan.  In fact, 50% consumers ranked annuities second-highest in satisfaction among all financial instruments.

      This data shows that Americans seek safety and guarantees over growth. When asked what features they find most important in a financial product, the top feature was “the ability to create a stable, predictable standard of living throughout retirement” followed by the “ability to provide a guaranteed income stream for life”. Americans would prefer moderate growth, monthly income and limited access to the funds rather than a similar instrument that provides total access but risks running out of money.

      “The debate on retirement and the role annuities play in retirement planning needs to change,” according to Gary C. Bhojwani, president and CEO of Allianz Life. “No other financial product offers guaranteed income for life. Government, financial planners and the industry need to re-educate the American public about what these products do and how they can help secure a stable retirement.”

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      XL Insurance, the global insurance operations of XL Group plc, today announced the appointment of Terry McGinness as Chief Information Officer (CIO) for its International Property & Casualty as well as Global Specialty business units, based in London. Mr. McGinness joins XL Insurance from Arthur J Gallagher, where he was CIO for all businesses outside of North America.

      He brings more than 30 years international experience covering the financial services industry including banking, life insurance and property casualty. During his career, Mr. McGinness has held several key executive roles including Chief Information Officer of GE Insurance Europe, and Global CIO of GE Auto Financial Services.

      Mr. McGinness will be responsible for further developing and enhancing XL Insurance’s IT systems outside of North America. A member of the Management Board of XL Insurance’s International Property & Casualty unit, he will report to John Sullivan, XL Insurance’s Chief Information Officer, and on the business side to Eileen McCusker, XL Insurance’s Chief Executive International Property & Casualty.

      Commenting on the appointment, Ms. McCusker said: “Technology is an integral part of the business world and hence continuously strengthening our capabilities in IT is critical to secure our competitive position in the marketplace. The appointment of Mr. McGinness and the extensive experience he brings are central to achieving this goal.”
      Mr. McGinness commented: “I’m delighted to join XL Insurance, a company with clear ambitions for profitable growth. Its strong commitment to continued investment in IT will ensure we can quickly and efficiently help accelerate that growth.”

      Source : XL Insurance News Release

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      Martin J. Sullivan is new Deputy Chairman of Willis Group Holdings and Chairman and CEO of the new business unit Willis Global Solutions, a brokerage and risk management advisory service for multinational and global accounts.

      As Deputy Chairman of Willis Group Holdings, he will assist in managing and shaping the long term growth strategy for the company with CEO Joe Plumeri. As Chairman and CEO of Willis Global Solutions, Mr. Sullivan will work with Grahame Millwater, Willis Group President, to develop and manage a differentiated service proposition in the large account sector. Building on the differentiated global capabilities already in place at Willis, this new unit will distinguish the company as a significant player in the global marketplace positioned to serve the world`s largest clients and challenge entrenched brokers who have a significant share of multinational business.

      Mr. Sullivan commented he always had great admiration for the Willis organisation and is delighted to have the opportunity to join the senior managing team.

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      It is estimated that five million uninsured children in the United States were eligible for Medicaid (medical care to the poor, to children and to pregnant women living under the federal poverty level) or the Childrens Health Insurance Program or CHIP (low-cost coverage for children in families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private health insurance coverage) but were not enrolled in either plan, according to a recent report published by the Urban Institute Health Policy Center.

      The study published on Friday in the journal “Health Affairs” recommended policy reforms and broader efforts to get uninsured children into government medical programs, including the use of income tax data for automatic enrollment. The report estimated that 7.3 million children were uninsured on an average day in 2008 and 65 % of them were eligible for Medicaid of CHIP coverage. U.S. President Barack Obama, who signed landmark healthcare reforms into law in March, has made providing health care to all Americans a top priority of his administration.

      More than half of the nation’s children live in the states of California, Texas and Florida. Furthermore 39 % of eligible uninsured children live in those three states. “This new data will help us to focus our efforts and our grant funding where they are most needed,” U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. “We now have a much better sense of where most uninsured children live, and which communities may need more help.”

      “No child should have to skip a doctor’s appointment or go without the medicine they need because their family can’t pay,” Sebelius said, challenging state and local officials to “find and enroll those five million kids.

      Keeping children who are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP enrolled in these programs remains an important policy challenge. An earlier study showed that one-third of all uninsured children in 2006 had been enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP in 2005. Updated results show that in 2008, children enrolled in Medicaid were somewhat more likely to remain in the program than in 2006. However, more than a quarter of all uninsured children in 2008 had been enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP the year before. In other words, roughly two million children became uninsured in 2008, despite their ongoing eligibility for these programs. It is possible that fewer children may also be enrolling in public programs since 2006 because of requirements that their U.S. citizenship status be documented.

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