Best's Review articles from April 2008

Best's Review archives from April 2008

A global situation.(From the Editor's Desk)
April 1, 2008... As U.S. companies expand worldwide they are encountering some of the same business problems they have at home. Perhaps the biggest one is rising health costs for employees. Our April cover story, "Building the Worldwide Health Network" reports...

Quote/unquote.(Comment)(Quotation)
April 1, 2008... Excerpted from BESTWEEK U.S./Canada and BESTWEEK Europe "I like to think as a profession [actuaries] we're beginning to get rid of this 'techo' label that we have traditionally had. [The goal now is to create] an environment where the...

GOP strategist: health insurers will be targets.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(grand old party )
April 1, 2008... Though no presidential candidate has proposed the "single payer" health care system that insurers have long feared, the industry nonetheless should expect to be targeted by whichever party ultimately captures the White House, a Republican...

NCOIL's new president sees 'thaw' with NAIC.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(National Conference of Insurance Legislators)(National Association of Investors Corporation )(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Meetings and models are good, but Rhode Island State Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy (D) wants his term as president of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators to be known for group accomplishments and increased cooperation with state...

Judge gives go-ahead to suit charging Aetna should pay eating-disorder claims.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)
April 1, 2008... A class-action lawsuit over Aetna Inc.'s denial of coverage for people with eating disorders may proceed under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Faith S. Hochberg in...

Health insurers eagerly awaiting answers as CDC launches study of bizarre 'illness'.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)
April 1, 2008... The Centers for Disease Control hopes to find answers to an "unexplained skin condition" affecting thousands of people whose symptoms sound like something out of a science fiction movie, prompting health insurers to ask whether the ailment will...

Upgrades outweigh downgrades with strong P/C industry results.(By the Numbers)(property and casualty insurance industry)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Rating trends in the U.S. property/casualty industry have improved steadily since earlier this decade, when nearly 10% of rating actions resulted in downgrades of rated entities according to the A.M Best Special Report U.S....

Meetings.(Briefing)(Calendar)
April 1, 2008... April 2-4 Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America: Big "I" Legislative Conference & Convention, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C. Phone: 800-221-7917 Web site: www.iiaba.net April 7-9 Life Insurance...

Another huge Windstorm lashes Europe.(Briefing)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Insured losses from Windstorm Emma, which hit Europe the weekend of March 1, could top out at 1.3 billion [euro] (about $2 billion), a leading catastrophe modeling firm estimated. Boston-based AIR Worldwide said insured onshore wind losses...

Lloyd's trims, but others wish they would have cut.(Briefing)
April 1, 2008... Following three tumultuous years in property/casualty underwriting, including the record-breaking catastrophes of 2004 and 2005, it was inevitable that hard pricing would give way to the kind of competition that always drives the cycle. ...

A.M. best's stock indexes.(Briefing)(Statistical table)
April 1, 2008... A.M. Best's Stock Indexes Four Weeks Ended March 7, 2008 (Dec. 31, 2004 = 1,000.00) [GRAPHICS OMITTED] Percent Change Index Month/ Year to Year/...

Social, environmental trends pose greatest risks for insurers.(Briefing)
April 1, 2008... Global climate change and its effects present the greatest risks facing the property/casualty industry, according to a new study released by professional consulting firm Ernst & Young. The study, Strategic Business Risk: Insurance 2008,...

Insurance jobs.(Briefing: Employment)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... U.S. insurance industry payrolls declined for the second straight month, falling by 2,300 positions to 2.311 million in February, according to seasonally adjusted data released March 7 by the U.S. Labor Department. Jobs by Sector The...

Question: what would be the best way for a mid- to senior-level insurance executive to begin working with an executive search firm?(Career Wise)
April 1, 2008... Executive search firms are paid by employers to find top talent for their specific needs. The search firm is usually chosen because they have strong access, relationships, and networks to best find top talent in that industry and/or function as...

AON Capital Markets.(Agent/Broker)(ROBERT J. COONEY appointed)
April 1, 2008... ROBERT J. COONEY has been named managing director of AON CAPITAL MARKETS, a trait of broker Aon Corp.'s Aon Re Global subsidiary. Cooney also will serve as vice chairman of AON RE GLOBAL-BERMUDA, and will be based in Bermuda. He will report...

Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ltd.(Agent/Broker)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Veteran broker PAUL WELLING has been named chairman of the real estate team of broker JARDINE LLOYD THOMPSON LTD. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Welling, former chairman of the real estate trait of broker Heath Lambert Ltd., has worked in the...

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.(Life)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... HARTFORD FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP INC. has named CONNIE WEAVER as senior vice president for marketing and communications, according to a company statement. Weaver, 55, will report to RAMANI AYER, chief executive of the Hartford,...

Vermont's top captive regulator leaves up-front style as legacy.(People in Insurance)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Traditional insurance regulation all too often is dominated by litigation, political posturing and press events, says Leonard Crouse, the man who has been chief regulator of captive insurance in Vermont for 18 years. It's not the kind of...

Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings Ltd.(Property/Casualty)(W. GORDON KNIGHT appointed)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... ALLIED WORLD ASSURANCE CO. HOLDINGS LTD. has named W. GORDON KNIGHT as the president of its U.S. operations, distribution and marketing. Knight will work out of the Pembroke, Bermuda-based insurer's New York offices, the company said. ...

Brit Insurance Holdings Plc.(Property/Casualty)(ANDREW DODD appointed)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... ANDREW DODD, a veteran auto and fleet underwriter, has been named head of motor fleet for the London region for BRIT INSURANCE HOLDINGS PLC. Dodd, who until recently was senior fleet underwriter for Zurich Global Corporate in London, had...

Axis Capital Holdings, John Charman.(Property/Casualty)(JOHN CHARMAN appointed)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The president and chief executive officer of AXIS CAPITAL HOLDINGS, JOHN CHARMAN, has entered into a new employment agreement that allows him to remain head of the Bermuda-based insurer until 2013. Charman has been running Axis Capital...

AIG U.K. Ltd.(Property/Casualty)(David Gerrish appointed)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... DAVID GERRISH has been named head of commercial motor for AIG U.K. LTD. Gerrish, whose jurisdiction will include Ireland, will concentrate on broadening AIG's product range. He will also focus on motor fleet business for "all sizes of...

Kingsway Financial Services Inc.(Property/Casualty)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... KINGSWAY FINANCIAL SERVICES INC. has named SHELLY GOBIN as its vice president and chief financial officer. With 10 years of experience with Kingsway and 15 years in the insurance industry, Gobin will be in charge of financial reporting,...

Ascot Underwriting Ltd.(Property/Casualty)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Lloyd's insurer ASCOT UNDERWRITING LTD. has chosen ALEX LUMBY to be chief executive of ASCOT RENEWCO, its renewable energy operation. Lumby, who will be based in London, most recently was chief underwriter and principal officer of Ascot...

Lloyd's.(Property/Casualty)(appointments)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... PETER LEVENE has been reappointed chairman of LLOYD'S, and EWEN GILMOUR and GRAHAM WHITE have been reappointed deputy chairmen. Gilmour is chief executive officer of Chaucer Holdings plc. White is an executive director of adviser and...

American International Group Inc.(Property/Casualty)(appointments)
April 1, 2008... The following AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INC. executives were elected to new corporate officer positions by the board of directors, the company said. MARK T. WILLIS was elected to senior vice president for domestic general insurance,...

Glacier Re.(Reinsurance)(UWE FISCHER appointed)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... UWE FISCHER will head up GLACIER RE's new representative office in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires as the company expands in Latin America. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Fischer formerly was at Converium, where he served as underwriting...

Kofman takes office as Maine's new insurance superintendent.(People in Insurance)(Mila Kofman appointed)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Mila Kofman is Maine's new insurance superintendent after winning confirmation from the state senate. Kofman, who most recently was an associate research professor at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, was sworn into office...

Making workers' benefits count.(BRANDING)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... COLONIAL LIFE & ACCIDENT INSURANCE CO. recently launched a new brand, logo and tagline designed to better communicate who the company is and what it does. The new brand name, "Colonial Life," and tagline, "Making benefits count," reflect...

IMCA awards call for entries.(Insurance Marketing)
April 1, 2008... Entries are being accepted for the 2008 Insurance Marketing and entries and materials is Friday, April 4.To enter, visit www.imcanet.com. Winners will be announced at the IMCA annual meeting, June 8-11, in Cincinnati. Insurance Marketing...

Aflac's latest spot.(ADVERTISING)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN MARCH, AFLAC LAUNCHED ITS LATEST AFLAC DUCK television commercial featuring NASCAR driver Carl Edwards in a spot called "Feathers." The spot aired nationwide during the March 9 Kobalt Tools 500 race at the Atlanta...

Sponsorship.(Insurance Marketing)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... IN MARCH, AETNA WAS A PRESENTING SPONSOR for the American Diabetes Association's Diabetes EXPO Atlanta, which provides thousands of patrons with an array of diabetes-related products, services and information. Cynthia Follmer, head of Aetna's...

Annuity writers adding options.(SPOTLIGHT)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... As interest grows in variable-annuity guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits, annuity writers have added to their GLWB offerings. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. in January launched Lifetime Payment Plus, a feature that pays 5% of...

AIG guarantees VUL death benefit.(Life)(American General Life Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] American General Life Insurance Co. has taken some of the variables out of its new variable universal life product, AIG Protection Advantage VUL, with long-term guaranteed death-benefit protection. The product...

Hancock improves universal policies.(Life)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... John Hancock Life Insurance Co. has enhanced two of its most successful individual and survivorship universal life products, Protection SULG and Performance UL. Healthy clients previously classified as "standard nonsmoker" may now qualify for a...

Illness product covers conditions.(Life)(United Surety & Indemnity Co.,)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... United Surety & Indemnity Co., a Puerto Rico insurer, has introduced a critical illness policy that's also available in the United States through USIC Life Insurance, its sister company. The product is designed to complement life, health and...

Underwriting offers shutdown cover.(Property/Casualty)(NAS Insurance Services)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... NAS Insurance Services, an underwriting manager based in Encino, Calif., now offers insurance coverage that provides extra expense protection if a business is shut down by regulatory or police actions. The insurance covers terrorism,...

Progressive to offer trucking coverage.(Property/Casualty)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Progressive is launching cargo and general liability insurance for trucking companies. The new coverages, now available in Colorado, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee ,Texas and Wisconsin, are expected to be available countrywide by the end of the...

New rule of thumb.(SNAPSHOT)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... New Rule of Thumb Retirees have traditionally planned on needing 80% of pre-retirement income. But survey respondents in their 60s expect to spend the following during retirement: Domestic travel $60,000...

Doctor review is launched.(SPOTLIGHT)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... WellPoint Inc. announced it will launch the Zagat Health Survey tool for members in its Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield subsidiaries in metropolitan Los Angeles, greater Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, and in Connecticut. The tool enables...

Darwin enhances lawyers' coverage.(Property/Casualty)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Darwin Professional Underwriters Inc. has enhanced its professional liability coverages for lawyers. Limits of up to $10 million are available for firms ranging in size from one to 100 attorneys. Darwin also has...

NAIC's Web site tops 3.5 million hits.(Technology)(The National Association of Insurance Commissioners)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Web site received more than 3.5 million visits in 2007, tripling the previous year's total. The domain, www. naic.org, logged a total of 3,643,571 visits from more than 850,000 unique users....

RMS launches brokers platform.(Technology)(Risk Management Solutions Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Risk Management Solutions recently launched the Wholesale Broker RiskBrowser platform, which provides access to RMS' catastrophe risk models in a format specifically tailored for this market segment. The platform allows users to analyze...

Willis products cover data loss.(Technology)(Willis Group Holdings Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Willis Group Holdings has launched CyPro, a new suite of products to cover business interruption and recovery costs stemming from malicious and accidental loss of data. CyPro will help businesses avoid having to absorb the cost of data recovery...

Worker's comp costs.(SNAPSHOT)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Worker's Comp Costs The portion of worker's compensation costs stemming from medical costs is continuing to shift. 1986 2006 Lost Wages 55% 41% Medical 45% 59% ...

Rating actions.(Ratings)(Statistical table)
April 1, 2008... This edition reflects all rating actions--assignments, changes or placed under review--that occurred for life, health and property/casualty insurers domiciled in North America, as well as non-U.S, insurance companies, since this section last...

Building the worldwide health network: how U.S. brokers and insurers are managing rising global medical costs.(Health/Employee Benefits: Employee Benefits)(Cover story)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Medical care costs will increase for employers worldwide over the next five years, requiring insurers to re-evaluate their clients' health care plans for employees who work outside of the United States. That's...

Health care and nest eggs: insurance professionals react strongly to consumer-driven coverage options.(Health/Employee Benefits: Survey)(Survey)
April 1, 2008... Consumer-driven health care plans are a hot topic among employee benefit purchasers and providers, according to a survey of Best's Review subscribers. They also weighed in on issues ranging from retirement plans to voluntary benefits. ...

RIMS hot topic: ERM: the Risk and Insurance Management Society is sending a clear message to members this year: integrate enterprise risk management into your business systems.(Property/Casualty: RIMS Conference)(Enterprise Risk Management)
April 1, 2008... The decisions that go into choosing the location for the nation's premier conference for risk and insurance professionals are made years in advance. Yet, for the second year in a row, the Risk and Insurance Management Society's annual...

Rewards and risks: problems with imported products can ruin unprepared companies.(Property/Casualty: Product Liability)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During the past few months, it has been difficult to turn on the TV, listen to the radio, open a newspaper or go online without learning that there's been another recall of some imported product or component. ...

Setting new standards: insurers are working to bring portable personal health records closer to reality.(Technology: Personal Health Records)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Imagine walking into your physician's office armed with your full medical history, on a piece of paper that you printed out from your home computer. That "what-if" situation is quickly becoming more of a reality...

Hire education: demographics, analytics and health care reform are changing the way insurance recruiters fill jobs.(Agent/Broker: Recruiting)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bob Baxter, chief executive officer of Dryden Mutual Insurance Co., a 50-person firm in Dryden, N.Y., has a 25% success rate for recruiting new personnel--and he does it by not trying to recruit anybody. Baxter...

Insurance recruiters: whether an individual is searching for a new job, or a company or agency is seeking new talent, search firms can help insurance professionals.(Agent/Broker: Management)(Directory)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AJC Search Associates Ltd. Jay Cohen 15 Grand Ave. Baldwin NY 11510 E-mail: jay@ajcsearch.com Phone: 516-766-169 Fax: 516-7663889 Expertise: Life, Health, Employee Benefits and...

True value: top producers never forget that there are two sides to every sale.(Agent/Broker: Selling Insight)
April 1, 2008... Many producers tell me they are frustrated with the soft market. They talk about losing longtime accounts because another agent obtained better pricing. The truth, though, is that the competing agents found weaknesses that created doubt in the...

Future impact: the use of finite reinsurance is tied to federal guilty verdicts.(Regulatory/Law: Finite Reinsurance)
April 1, 2008... To an industry slowly recovering from a four-year period of intense regulatory scrutiny, the recent federal jury decision to convict five former senior insurance executives of securities fraud in connection with a finite reinsurance deal is yet...

Another long road: Gen Re, AIG guilty verdict starts 'complex' sentencing process.(Regulatory/Law: Finite Reinsurance)
April 1, 2008... The guilty verdict for five former insurance executives on federal charges of conspiracy and fraud in a plot to manipulate the loss reserves of American International Group Inc. kick-started an entirely new process that is essentially a whole...

Between a rock and a hard place: agents may find themselves in the difficult position of having to prove they did the best thing for their clients.(Life: Selling Insight)
April 1, 2008... There are times when it's helpful to step back and take a careful look to see what may be happening around us. In this case, it's the increasingly untenable position that life producers find themselves in today. While it's easy--and sometimes...

Hybrid vehicles: mutual funds are now competing with annuity writers to provide competitive retirement income.(Life: Retirement Products)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Last October, Fidelity Investments announced the creation of the first mutual fund product to combine an asset allocation strategy with a proprietary withdrawal program, designed to provide regular withdrawals over a...

Making the connection: economic capital modeling links the effectiveness of a company's risk management to its capital requirements.(Life: Risk Management)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Spurred by an increased focus on corporate governance and regulatory pressures such as Basel II and Solvency II, the use of economic capital as a measure of risk tolerance is gaining traction. But these forces,...

Special blend: enterprise risk management allows insurers to view the whole operation as well as its individual segments.(Property/Casualty: Risk Management)
April 1, 2008... Over the past few years, there has I been much discussion around economic capital modeling, risk management practices and, especially, enterprise risk management. ERM has become the subject of consulting services and there also is an...

A balancing act: carriers need to face soft-market challenges with sound business judgment.(Property/Casualty: Underwriting Insight)
April 1, 2008... It can be a challenge for an insurance carrier to stand out in a softening marketplace when reputation, financial strength and a global network, to name a few attributes, may no longer have the same impact. During this time, many carriers turn...

New year's resolution: Ironshore reports a "very attractive profit," but struggles to establish a London platform at Lloyd's.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets: Reinsurance)
April 1, 2008... It's been a year since Bermuda-based specialty insurer Ironshore burst on the insurance scene with $1 billion of capital in its pockets and a determination to patch a hole in the U.S. property catastrophe market. By all measures, Ironshore...

Back to the futures: capital markets and insurance continue to blend together with the resurgence of catastrophe-linked futures.(Reinsurance/Capital Markets: Cat Futures)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The market for catastrophe-linked options and futures is taking off, giving insurers and the capital markets another avenue to transfer risk. Unlike traditional reinsurance, you don't need an underlying...

5 ERM rules: actuaries advise life insurers to follow these steps as they build enterprise risk management programs.(Life: Enterprise Risk Management)
April 1, 2008... Doing business during this Sarbanes-Oxley-compliant, post-9/11 era is challenging and what you don't know can hurt you. Enterprise risk management--better known as ERM--has become more than just a buzzword. Boards of directors and senior...

House calls: health plans are turning to telephonic coaching to communicate with members in new ways.(Health/Employee Benefits: Disease Management)
April 1, 2008... When a Premera Blue Cross member's young son was diagnosed with diabetes the pediatrician armed the boy's mother with plenty of information. But after leaving the physician's office, numerous other questions began to enter her mind about a...

Subprime crisis fallout: insurers should start preparing now to handle the pending onslaught of insurance claims from the subprime mortgage crisis.(Regulatory/Law: Legal Insight)(Report)
April 1, 2008... Recent reports indicate that the subprime mortgage crisis surely will develop into an insurance coverage issue. I pause before identifying an "emerging" issue. Remember Y2K? In the late 1990s, there were countless reports concerning Y2K,...

Hidden danger: unacceptable, even criminal employee behavior hurts co-workers, businesses--and insurers.(Regulatory/Law: Unstable Employees)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Starting in 1987, Charles Cullen worked as a nurse at numerous New Jersey and Pennsylvania until his arrest in December 2003. Ultimately he pleaded guilty to murdering 29 patients by administering stolen medications...

Getting better ERM mileage: enterprise risk management has progressed a great deal, but there are ways to squeeze additional value from dedicated resources.(Regulatory/Law: Management Insight)
April 1, 2008... In recent years, there has been a high level of management focus and investment in enterprise risk management. But questions remain about whether the level of benefits justifies the substantial resources dedicated to this area. These...

Brown & Brown Inc. has purchased the book of Subway restaurant franchisee insurance accounts from Franchise Insurance Agency Inc., the broker said.(Agent/Broker)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BROWN & BROWN INC. has purchased the book of Subway restaurant franchisee insurance accounts from FRANCHISE INSURANCE AGENCY INC., the broker said. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Risk Management Solutions.(Catastrophes)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Catastrophe modeler RISK MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS has created a new parametric index for assessing insured industry losses from windstorms in Europe. Residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural lines of business are covered across Austria,...

State Farm Florida.(Homeowners)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... STATE FARM FLORIDA announced the company is no longer writing new residential, renters or commercial policies in Florida as of March 1. Existing polices are not affected.

Netherlands-based Aegon N.V. is strengthening its position in Hungary's pensions and asset management markets with the acquisition of two local companies from Uniqa Insurance Co.(Life/Health)
April 1, 2008... Netherlands-based AEGON N.V. is strengthening its position in Hungary's pensions and asset management markets with the acquisition of two local companies from UNIQA INSURANCE CO. Aegon said it agreed to acquire all the registered capital of...

Meadowbrook Insurance Group and Procentury Corp. have announced a merger expected to expand Meadowbrook's specialty lines with ProCentury's expertise in the excess and surplus lines markets.(Property/Casualty)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... MEADOWBROOK INSURANCE GROUP and PROCENTURY CORP. have announced a merger expected to expand Meadowbrook's specialty lines with ProCentury's expertise in the excess and surplus lines markets. Meadowbrook will pay $276.6 million in cash and...

Zurich Financial Services Group.(Property/Casualty)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... ZURICH FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP said it will begin providing political risk insurance coverage for carbon credit projects, a niche Zurich has identified as part of the rapidly growing carbon credit markets worldwide. The insurer said the...

Munich Re.(Reinsurance)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... MUNICH RE has created a mortality risk bond program designed to securitize risk against extreme risks related to pandemics or similar events. In the first stage of the $1.5 billion program, Munich Re securitized $100 million of mortality risk...

Wright & Co. finds a niche protecting federal officials.(Companies)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... When senior federal employees find themselves facing a grand jury subpoena or a call to testify before a congressional hearing, their first call might be to an attorney. The next call would likely be to Wright & Co. When an Environmental...

You only live twice: insurers are getting involved with the Second Life game to promote brands and attract a younger demographic.(The Last Word)
April 1, 2008... Persuabius Haggwood has come to Generali Island--a sprawling complex owned and operated by the 176-year-old Italian insurance giant--not for financial protection, but to blow off a little steam. He climbs the island's water tower to view...

Transforming how benefits work.
April 1, 2008... Welcome aboard. That phrase may be heard by a new employee more than a few times on the first day of a new job, and at some point during those initial, frenzied days, the employee usually is handed a packet filled with benefit options from...

Flexible benefit plans.(Health)
April 1, 2008... In recent years, flexible benefit plans have become an integral part of many employers' benefits programs. Participation in these plans continue to rise. However, the groundwork for these plans has been set for nearly 30 years, as they were...

A swing toward the consumer.(Health)
April 1, 2008... While Flexible Spending Accounts offer benefit choices, they didn't control health-care costs, which began to soar in the 1990s. The need to empower consumers became clear, and a concept of promoting competition among providers to create better...

Wellness in the workplace.(Health)(Survey)
April 1, 2008... Across the United States, more employers are getting aggressive with wellness programs, and a growing number of Americans are embracing them. Unhealthy lifestyles are responsible for billions of dollars in health-care costs every year, and...

Managed care.(Health)
April 1, 2008... In managed care, insurance companies contract with doctors and hospitals to provide health-care services. If managed care health insurance is provided through employment, the employer pays the managed-care plan a set amount of money in advance...

Disability & long-term care.
April 1, 2008... In recent years, long-term-care insurers have been struggling as profit has been less-than-expected, and costs for consumers have risen. Approximately half of the long-term-care policyholders in the United States have coverage with a company...

Defined contribution plans.(Retirement)
April 1, 2008... For employers who offer retirement plans, the most common type of plan offered today is the defined contribution plan. As defined benefit pension plans vanish, millions of employees must turn to making investment and savings choices to fund...