Life Insurance Advice

Friday, December 10, 2010

AIG Files Recapitalization Plan

By Miriam Gottfried

American International Group (AIG) released a statement saying it has filed a master agreement with regulators regarding its recapitalization plan with the Securities and Exchange Commission and confirming that trading was halted because of it.

The company’s filing outlines a plan to repay its Federal Reserve credit line using proceeds from sales of two non-U.S. life insurance units, AIA Group and American Life Insurance Company (ALICO).

AIG owes about $21 billion on the line, which was set up during the financial crisis when regulators determined the company was too big to fail. The insurer said in September that a preferred stake worth $49 billion and held by Treasury would be converted into common stock for sale to investors.

“Our filing today that we have signed the definitive recapitalization agreement

with the government marks an important step forward in our progress toward

completely repaying taxpayers. We remain committed to executing the steps and

meeting all conditions in the agreement as soon as possible.”

“Our filing today that we have signed the definitive recapitalization agreement with the government marks an important step forward in our progress toward completely repaying taxpayers,” the company said in a statement. “We remain committed to executing the steps and meeting all conditions in the agreement as soon as possible.”

AIG shares closed down $1.73, or 3.9%, at $42.22.

http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2010/12/08/aig-files-recapitalization-plan/?mod=rss_BOLBlog

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Well, well, well, the next phase of the AIG saga begins. It’s final plan to get off the US taxpayers hooks begins and much quicker than I or many others believed would happen methinks. Let’s see what else we can find on this one to post about, it has been quiet the last week or two on AIG, now there back on the charge.

Britons continue to shun life insurance

More than half (54%) of adults in the UK are likely to be without life insurance, despite two-thirds of those surveyed having dependants.

New research from Barclays supports estimates of a UK protection gap amounting to £2.4 trillion, with respondents demonstrating a “natural blindspot” around life insurance.

http://www.insurancedaily.co.uk/2010/12/08/britons-continue-to-shun-life-insurance/

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....or maybe it won’t long continue, talk about attracting opposites. Life insurance companies must be highly efficient and squeezing as much money out of current premiums as is possible.

Life insurance industry in the UK shows positive growth

Insurance giant Swiss Re has predicted a strong period of growth for life insurance in both the UK and globally, and say this will continue to accelerate in 2011, it has emerged.

Swiss Re argue that the both the life and health insurance industry in the UK is set to recover from the downturn brought about by the financial crisis, and although there are potential problems such as increased debt in some European countries, it was argued that they were unlikely to have a major impact on the general upswing.

http://www.lifeinsurance.co.uk/news/2010/Dec/life-insurance-industry-in-the-uk-shows-positive-growth-97210890.html

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Here’s hoping! The only part of the economy that’s not all doom and gloom, long may it continue!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Swiss Re Sees Risk That European Debt Crisis May Derail Economic Rebound

Swiss Reinsurance Co., the world’s second-biggest reinsurer, said the economic recovery may be “derailed” by a deterioration in Europe’s debt crisis.

“There are still concerns as to whether Greece and Ireland can cope with the problems they face,” Kurt Karl, Swiss Re’s chief U.S. economist, said in an e-mailed statement today. “Instability continues in several important real estate markets including the U.S., Ireland and Spain.”

That instability has the potential to “stress” the banking industry, according to the Zurich-based reinsurer, which is presenting its global economic outlook today.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-07/swiss-re-sees-risk-that-european-debt-crisis-may-derail-economic-rebound.html

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With Swiss Re’s predictions, comes a stark warning as well (of course). The Euro Debt crisis is such a wildcard it’ll be the number one warning on every prediction and forecast for every sector. With the stakes so high it’s a massive cloud over the economy and what havoc it could wreak. The question is when will it end with the Euro’s destruction? Could be anytime seems to be the general consenus.

TOP 5 COMPANIES IN THE LIFE & HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY WITH THE HIGHEST RETURN ON EQUITY (AFL, PRU, TMK, PL, SFG)

Dec 07, 2010 (SmarTrend(R) News Watch via COMTEX) -- Below are the top five companies in the Life & Health Insurance industry as measured by return on equity (ROE). The ROE is a general indication of the company's efficiency; Investors usually look for companies with ROEs that are high and are growing.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) ranks first with an ROE of 22.7%; Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) ranks second with an ROE of 16.9%; and Torchmark (NYSE:TMK) ranks third with an ROE of 12.5%.

Protective Life (NYSE:PL) follows with an ROE of 10.6% and StanCorp Financial Group (NYSE:SFG) rounds out the top five with an ROE of 10.4%.

SmarTrend currently has shares of Protective Life in an Uptrend and issued the Uptrend alert on September 13, 2010 at $21.04. The stock has risen 19.2% since the Uptrend alert was issued.

Write to Chip Brian at cbrian@tradethetrend.com

http://www.zacks.com/research/get_news.php?id=341l1739

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Stock Market stat porn for anyone who wants here, the usual movers and shakers are on there. After today’s Met Life news you could probably add them onto the list also, or they’ll be on next weeks.

Outlook positive for UK and global life insurance - Swiss Re

Swiss Re's predicts growth in the insurance and reinsurance industry will continue to accelerate next year and expects moderate expansion in the European and US economies.

The reinsurer's outlook for the UK life and health insurance industry is positive having recovered from the financial crisis but shows signs of slower growth than in 2010.

It further noted there were many economic risks, such as the debt crisis currently affecting some eurozone countries, but suggested they were unlikely to derail the recovery with only a 10% probability of doing so.

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Very positive outlook here from Swiss Re, such a swing as well. They expect 4.4% growth after 20.4% and 28.9% contraction in 2008 and 2009. Along way to go and a few years then before it reaches the market reaches the heights pre credit crunch, but when the economy as a whole is only expected to grow 2.2%, the insurance market doubling that cannot be sniffed at all. Let’s just hope the forecast turns out to be accurate, even 1% off would still be good and welcome news.

Irish Chooses Cheapest Life Insurance

The current situation wherein car, home and life insurances rate rises made many of the Irish people to be choosier to cheapest life insurance.

Insurance companies admitted that today’s time were in fact dissimilar to previous years wherein these individuals just let them get into different insurances whatever the price it has. Nowadays, Irish people as what they have said were more knowledgeable and more particular to where the better plans and cheapest of all insurances came from.

http://www.dailyrosetta.com/irish-chooses-cheapest-life-insurance/3559.html

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Irish choose cheaper option, can you blame really? It’s a miracle there have not been mass lapses of premiums, although that’s probably coming in 2011.