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The article reports on the decision of U.S. state regulators to require insurers to allocate more capital to support their investments in bonds backed by residential mortgages, which will help protect the industry from losses during a severe downturn.

The article discusses the importance of investing in innovative technologies for business development of insurance companies in Islamic countries. Topics discussed include the views of Ed McQuiston, manager at the company Strategic Alliances and Insurance Solutions, regarding the same, the investment by the insurance firm Takaful Malaysia in innovative technology and a list for links of several technology providers for Takaful companies.

The article offers information on the reductions made in the federal funds rates due to the less investment returns of insurers and pension funds. It also informs that this reduced rate will prevail at least by the year 2014 as insurers and investors are facing very low rates of investment returns. It mentions that banks are reducing the profits and making mortgages and other loans cheaper to overcome ultra-low rates and financial crisis.

Cathay Life Insurance is seeking to increase its overseas investments, The Wall Street Journal reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses regulations on insurance companies issued by the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS), the main administrative agency for insurance of the European Union (EU). The rules aim to set common standards for European insurance companies which will force them to increase their capital reserves.

The article discusses the sales performance of the retail industry in 2009. Markit Economics' European retail sales index states that retail sales in September 2009 decreased less than in the previous 16 months while the Confederation of British Industry mentions the rise of retail sales in Great Britain in five months as well as the index for orders placed with suppliers. New rules to enable insurance companies to invest in commercial real estate were enacted by China.

The article reports on the efforts of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to further expand investment channels for insurance fund. This is said to be by means of investment in stock, bonds and infrastructure. It mentions the Administration of Stock Investments by Insurance Institutional Investors Tentative Procedures which allow insurance companies to engage in or entrust an insurance asset management company (IAMC) to engage in stock investments.

The article reports on the impact of the credit crisis on the investments of publicly traded health insurers in the U.S. The not-for-profit Blues plans are somewhat immune to the credit crisis, but their significant equity holdings are tied to a very volatile stock market, so a lot depends on how conservatively they have been managing their investments, according to a report issued by Oppenheimer & Co. in October 2008.

The article examines insurance company finance. Several insurance firms have asked to be included in the U.S. bailout for the financial services industry as their asset portfolios have suffered major losses. The industry's accounting practices are far from transparent, and it is difficult to assess liquidity. Companies depend on credit rating agencies largely discredited by the financial crisis.

The article reports on how Fingar Insurance Co. existed in New York. In 1931, Luther Fingar decided to forego his 30 years of farming and go into the insurance business. The company was first seen in Germantown, where Fingar was born. Many years later, three of Fingar's sons join the company. In 1994, the company expanded its operation with Hudson office. Early summer of 2007, the third office opened in Catskill. The company offers homeowners, auto and business insurance.

The article reports on the repurchasing of PMI Group Inc.'s formerly issued common stocks through Goldman Sachs & Co. According to the company, the accelerated buyback commitment will offset a debenture program resulting to a same amount of new stock being issued to bond holders. The report also states that Goldman will also finance their joint program.

The article reports that EMC Insurance Group Inc. in the U.S., granted excess stock options to the three executives of the company, including its chief executive officer. The granting of excess options to the three executives are based on their performance within several years. The three executives agreed with each other to exchange the stock options into cash based on its market value.

The article presents the views of people on investing in insurance companies in the U.S. during hurricane season. According to Greg Illis of EA Financial Group, it would not be a problem investing in insurance companies during hurricane season. John Tyner of McInnis Tyner Inc. added that if a company experienced a big catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina, a considerable amount of money is lost and the value of stock would decrease.

Discusses findings of a survey conducted by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) company on funding agreement-backed notes and certificates' issuance levels in the U.S. Largest issuer of funding agreement-backed notes; Comments of Gary Martucci, an analysts at S&P on special purpose vehicle; Impact of the investment on funding agreement or guaranteed investment contract-backed medium-term notes.

This article presents author's views suggesting how to plan insurance investment to get more life insurance for less money. Currently, the insurance industry has undergone dramatic changes, and interest rates have got decreased. It is suggested that if someone has not taken a good look at his/her life insurance policies lately, he/she might be missing out on essential information about the performance of taken policies and possible gains resulting from more current, cost-effective coverage. The need for periodic review is the same whether the contract is personally or trust owned. A life insurance review begins with some basic questions, some of which are: is insuree's existing life insurance policy providing adequate coverage?; is it on track to meet intended goals?; and are insuree's insurance products among the most competitive and cost-effective on the market today? The author suggests that a life insurance professional can give the insuree a thorough explanation of how his/her policy has performed, projected cash values at designated intervals and an assessment about the number of years that the policy will remain in force based on current assumptions.

Great Britain-based insurance company Lloyd's of London Co. has started 2004 with £ 14.9 billion of permanent capacity, slightly higher than the £ 14.4 billion it began 2003 with. The figure has increased mainly because investors still believe they can get a good return from investing in Lloyd's. Ben Thomson, chief executive of Noble Group, an independent investment bank says that investors believe Lloyd's has a number of advantages over other investments in the insurance industry. It does not include quota-share agreements when calculating its permanent capacity because of the short-term nature of its capital. The company has also been keen to accelerate the trend of reducing reliance on qualifying quota share.

Assurant Inc., the recently renamed US operations of Fortis, the Dutch-Belgian banking and insurance group, released pricing in January 2004 for it's pending initial public offerings (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange. Analysts believe the offering will be well received by investors. But they also note that the strong flow of insurance IPO could start to hit the share prices of other publicly listed insurers. Michael Dion, analyst at investment bank Sandier O'Neill believes that investors are still bullish about insurance stocks despite the talk about rate hikes starting to level off or even fall in some cases. Dion explains that investors wanting to buy these new stocks may be forced to sell some of their existing holdings in other insurers.

Reports on the plan of the American International Group (AGI), Saint George Bank and Bradford & Bingley to launch bonds in the Australian market as of November 2003. Way in which AGI will price a guaranteed investment contract backed bond; Factors associated with the bond's pricing; Terms of the deal.

Focuses on the investment losses suffered by British insurers who put most of their assets into shares, as the shares have loss massive amounts of their value. Impact on policy-holders; Observation that the insurers' enthusiasm for equities means that they own about a quarter of the British stockmarket, as of August 17, 2002; Outlook for regulation about the way insurers invest; Suggestion that managers and investors should learn from the insurers' troubles, and invest in something less volatile than equities.

Reports on the effects of the threat of terrorism on insurer investment. Increase of the share value of world's biggest insurer AIG; Recovery of Europe's insurance shares.

Reports the increase on record volume for the number of contracts in Chicago Board of Trade mortgage futures market in the United States. Reasons for the success of the market; Implications of the success for the financial services industry; Inclusion of portfolio managers and mortgage services on the market.

Reports on Moody's Investors Services' statement that life insurers can respond to changes in the investment market place if they intensify their risk management procedures.

Presents an update regarding investments in the insurance industry as of February 2000. Agreement between ReAc and Swiss Re New Markets; Effect of the lawsuit against Aetna on its share price; Sale of Risk Capital Holdings' Folksamerica Re.

Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) in Malaysia, with assets worth MYR110 billion ($26 billion) and MYR713 billion, respectively, are planning to buy stakes in foreign-owned insurance companies in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on French bottle maker Verallia, which has planned to reprice its loan. Topics discussed are increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), impact of insurance companies plan to invest in leveraged loans, and Payment In Kind (PIK) deal by American alternative asset management and capital investing company Apollo Global Management.

London-based Barings forecasts an increase in investor demand for infrastructure debt investments to come particularly from pensions funds as well as insurance companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how investment in healthcare technology reduces administrative costs of the health care industry. Topics include use of software platforms for integrating claims processing, care management and enrollment data, views of Jennifer Ford, professor at Kaplan University, on investment in infrastructure, reduction in Medicare reimbursements as part of the U.S. Affordable Care Act, and strategies adopted by insurers for administrative savings.

Focuses on the Chinese financial authorities' October 26, 1999 announcement of a measure to assist insurance companies seeking to enter the stock market by investing in mutual funds. Terms of the measure; Significance of the move for the insurance industry in China.

Focuses on a study which found that 33 large insurance companies have more than $4 billion invested in five leading tobacco companies. Results of research by Joseph Belth

Discusses the rethinking and redirection of the investment strategies of insurance companies resulting from the state commissioners' adoption of risk-based capital adequacy standards in 1993 for the insurance companies that they oversee. Provisions of the RBC rules; Investment strategies of formal estate holdings; Changing attitudes of insurers toward real estate.

Reports on a ruling by the US Supreme Court which states that insurance companies should be subjected to tough federal standards when managing retirement investments purchased by employers' pension plans. Applicability of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to certain types of group annuities that provide guaranteed pension payments and supplemental benefits.

The article discusses the impact of the technological advancements in bridging the transaction processes between physicians and payers in the U.S. It highlights the realization of what was envisioned by American Academy of Family Physicians president Dr. Roland A. Goertz that real-time and on-site claims processing will become as common as point-of-service transactions in other industries. The investment of Humana Inc. in electronic health records (EHR) is also explored.

The article discusses how to put variable annuities (VA) in the most favorable light during conversation with clients. The author suggests expanding the knowledge of the clients on VA guarantees particularly investment options and fees and mentions to use a high-level (demographics, costs & congress, and assets in cash) DCA discussion. Also explored are the four additional coversations that will help retirees in determining the role of variable annuities in their retirement income plan.

The article reports on the performance of the municipal bond insurers' stocks in the U.S. Assured Guaranty Ltd. lost 40.7% of its stock market value since April 23, 2010 and dipped by 12.68% in the second week of June 2010. Moreover, Ambac Financial Group Ltd. fell by 64.8% from April 23, 2010, while its share price declined from 1.96 dollars to 1.27 dollars.