NEW YORK, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Assurant, Inc. ("Assurant") (NYSE: AIZ), a premier provider of specialized insurance and insurance-related products and services, today reported its results for the quarter and the nine-month period ended September 30, 2004.
J. Kerry Clayton, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: "Excluding the rare occurrence of four hurricanes, Assurant had a very good quarter. The strength of our diversified specialty insurance strategy is demonstrated in our strong operating performance so far this year. We remain focused on generating profitable growth from our market-leading specialty insurance businesses."
Third Quarter Results:
Net income in the third quarter of 2004, which includes the impact of claims related to the unprecedented catastrophic activity in the quarter, decreased 24.7% to $74.8 million, or $0.53 per pro forma share (see footnote 1 at the end of this release), versus third quarter 2003 net income of $99.4 million, or $0.70 per pro forma share.
Net operating income (see footnote 2 at the end of this release) for the third quarter of 2004 decreased 23.2% to $73.2 million, or $0.52 per pro forma share, compared to third quarter 2003 net operating income of $95.3 million, or $0.67 per pro forma share. Net operating income excludes capital gains and losses, loss on disposal of business and IPO related expenses.
Net earned premiums in the third quarter of 2004 grew 3.7% to $1.6 billion from $1.5 billion for the same period in 2003. Assurant Health was the leading contributor of net earned premium growth in the third quarter of 2004.
Net investment income in the third quarter of 2004 increased to $160.0 million from $150.7 million in the third quarter of 2003 as a result of an increase in invested assets. The yield on average invested assets and cash and cash equivalents was 5.56% in the third quarter of 2004, compared to 5.71% in the third quarter of 2003.
Thursday, November 4, 2004
Wednesday, November 3, 2004
Auto Insurance 101 for teens
The Insurance Council of Texas has teamed up with Texas' Regional Education Service Centers to provide the state's teenagers with information about auto insurance.
The two groups came together this summer to produce Auto Insurance 101, an 18-minute video program that explains to Texas teens the facts about mandatory auto insurance in Texas, the high cost of auto insurance for teenagers, finding and purchasing auto insurance, the various coverages that are available, and where to turn for information and assistance. The video and its accompanying brochure are being distributed to every high school in the state.
"While the videotape is aimed at teenagers, consumers of all ages could learn something from watching this tape," said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas and producer of the videotape. "We all are exposed to little or no education when it comes to the subject of insurance. It is the duty of the insurance industry to inform the public on how insurance works and what better time to do this than early on in an educational setting."
Dr. Pat Pringle, executive director of Region XIII's Education Service Center, said the videotape will be distributed to more than 1,000 Texas public schools and approximately 250 charter schools. "I think the superintendents and campus leadership of each school district will find this videotape and brochure a valuable piece of information for their students," Dr. Pringle said.
Auto Insurance 101 features a teenager who is pulled over for speeding by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper. When the young lady confesses she knows nothing about auto insurance, the trooper proceeds to give her a lesson on what every person who gets behind the wheel of a car should know. The video is divided into three segments allowing students time to discuss what they've learned and take a break. An accompanying brochure highlights the key points of the video.
The Insurance Council of Texas urges instructors who teach various courses like Life Skills, Economics, Money Management and Social Studies to play the video for students and contact an insurance agent to come to the classroom to discuss any questions students may have.
The two groups came together this summer to produce Auto Insurance 101, an 18-minute video program that explains to Texas teens the facts about mandatory auto insurance in Texas, the high cost of auto insurance for teenagers, finding and purchasing auto insurance, the various coverages that are available, and where to turn for information and assistance. The video and its accompanying brochure are being distributed to every high school in the state.
"While the videotape is aimed at teenagers, consumers of all ages could learn something from watching this tape," said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas and producer of the videotape. "We all are exposed to little or no education when it comes to the subject of insurance. It is the duty of the insurance industry to inform the public on how insurance works and what better time to do this than early on in an educational setting."
Dr. Pat Pringle, executive director of Region XIII's Education Service Center, said the videotape will be distributed to more than 1,000 Texas public schools and approximately 250 charter schools. "I think the superintendents and campus leadership of each school district will find this videotape and brochure a valuable piece of information for their students," Dr. Pringle said.
Auto Insurance 101 features a teenager who is pulled over for speeding by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper. When the young lady confesses she knows nothing about auto insurance, the trooper proceeds to give her a lesson on what every person who gets behind the wheel of a car should know. The video is divided into three segments allowing students time to discuss what they've learned and take a break. An accompanying brochure highlights the key points of the video.
The Insurance Council of Texas urges instructors who teach various courses like Life Skills, Economics, Money Management and Social Studies to play the video for students and contact an insurance agent to come to the classroom to discuss any questions students may have.
Virginia auto insurance rates
Virginians who grumble about fuel costs, take heart: At least you’re getting a break on your car insurance.
The state is one of the least-expensive in the nation for vehicle premiums, according to a new study, averaging almost one-fifth below the overall figure for the country.
The report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners shows that Virginia ranks eighth-cheapest in combined average premiums among the 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
State residents paid about $712.69 for full coverage in 2002, the year covered by the report.
That was up 3.5 percent from 2001.
Nationwide, vehicle owners averaged $879.99, a 7.5 percent gain.
New Jersey was the costliest state in which to insure a vehicle, with an average combined premium of $1,283.87. The cheapest insurance was in Iowa, where premiums averaged $638.56.
Those extremes illustrate the main factor in the cost of coverage, according to experts: The volume of people and traffic in an area.
Low population density, such as in rural states like Iowa, makes it easier to avoid accidents.
“Norfolk, Northern Virginia and Richmond are urban areas, but Virginia is a big state with a lot of wide-open spaces,” said Carolyn Gorman, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade group based in New York.
The insurance association’s statistics seem to bear that out.
In 2000, the latest year for which comparable density figures are available, Virginia had 179 people per square mile, well above the national average of 80.
But only about 73 percent of Virginia’s residents were in urban areas, where traffic congestion is worst. That compares to 79 percent nationwide.
“People are less likely to hit each other,” Gorman said.
And Virginia crashes tend to be less severe than overall.
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that in 2000, Virginians paid $735 per capita for motor vehicle crashes vs. $819 nationwide.
And the state has a fatality rate of 12.77 per 100,000 population, compared to 14.66 nationally, NHTSA said.
Virginia’s modest crime rates also undercut the expense of insurance, which typically has to pay off a customer if his or her vehicle gets stolen or vandalized.
Statewide, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s crime statistics say there were 18,478 motor vehicle thefts reported in 2002, a rate of 253.3 per 100,000 residents. Nationally, that rate was 432.1.
Consumers who have lived elsewhere say they can feel the lower rates in their wallets.
Michael Shaw, an employee of Ford Motor Co.’s Norfolk Assembly plant, relocated to Chesapeake from Edison, N.J., in 2002.
He pays about $1,600 a year for full coverage on his 2003 Ford Focus SVT. That compares to about $2,400 a year on his ’01 Ford Contour SVT – which had the same sticker price – back in Jersey.
“You definitely save a lot of money living down here,” Shaw said. “It’s nice.”
The state is one of the least-expensive in the nation for vehicle premiums, according to a new study, averaging almost one-fifth below the overall figure for the country.
The report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners shows that Virginia ranks eighth-cheapest in combined average premiums among the 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
State residents paid about $712.69 for full coverage in 2002, the year covered by the report.
That was up 3.5 percent from 2001.
Nationwide, vehicle owners averaged $879.99, a 7.5 percent gain.
New Jersey was the costliest state in which to insure a vehicle, with an average combined premium of $1,283.87. The cheapest insurance was in Iowa, where premiums averaged $638.56.
Those extremes illustrate the main factor in the cost of coverage, according to experts: The volume of people and traffic in an area.
Low population density, such as in rural states like Iowa, makes it easier to avoid accidents.
“Norfolk, Northern Virginia and Richmond are urban areas, but Virginia is a big state with a lot of wide-open spaces,” said Carolyn Gorman, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade group based in New York.
The insurance association’s statistics seem to bear that out.
In 2000, the latest year for which comparable density figures are available, Virginia had 179 people per square mile, well above the national average of 80.
But only about 73 percent of Virginia’s residents were in urban areas, where traffic congestion is worst. That compares to 79 percent nationwide.
“People are less likely to hit each other,” Gorman said.
And Virginia crashes tend to be less severe than overall.
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that in 2000, Virginians paid $735 per capita for motor vehicle crashes vs. $819 nationwide.
And the state has a fatality rate of 12.77 per 100,000 population, compared to 14.66 nationally, NHTSA said.
Virginia’s modest crime rates also undercut the expense of insurance, which typically has to pay off a customer if his or her vehicle gets stolen or vandalized.
Statewide, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s crime statistics say there were 18,478 motor vehicle thefts reported in 2002, a rate of 253.3 per 100,000 residents. Nationally, that rate was 432.1.
Consumers who have lived elsewhere say they can feel the lower rates in their wallets.
Michael Shaw, an employee of Ford Motor Co.’s Norfolk Assembly plant, relocated to Chesapeake from Edison, N.J., in 2002.
He pays about $1,600 a year for full coverage on his 2003 Ford Focus SVT. That compares to about $2,400 a year on his ’01 Ford Contour SVT – which had the same sticker price – back in Jersey.
“You definitely save a lot of money living down here,” Shaw said. “It’s nice.”
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
New Auto Insurance Companies included in investigation
On Friday, California's attorney general announced that he is joining other states' top prosecutors in a formal investigation into alleged antitrust violations, price fixing and fraud by insurance companies and brokers.
The probe has rocked the insurance industry from the United States to Europe.
A story on the Associated Press wire reports that Attorney General Bill Lockyer of California said the investigators will first examine possible bid-rigging and other anti competitive behavior.
His announcement comes on the heels of an investigation launched earlier in October by Spitzer into the practices of Marsh & McLennan which has since broadened to include other states and other insurance companies.
Spitzer accuses Marsh & McLennan of rigging bids and using incentive fees to manipulate the sales of property and casualty policies for corporations, driving up businesses' insurance costs.
In California, Lockyer is looking into allegations that companies failed to adequately disclose that they were paying incentives to brokers and that they placed phony bids so businesses would think they were paying a reasonable price.
Meanwhile California's insurance commissioner, John Garamendi, has been investigating brokers' contingency payments and said his investigators will work with insurance regulators on those allegations.
Garamendi and other regulators and prosecutors are beginning to examine personal insurance such as auto, life and homeowners' policies.
"I think the insurance industry is about to receive the kind of scrutiny they have not received in 40 years," said Harvey Rosenfield, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "I think the tip of the iceberg hasn't even been discovered yet."
According to the AP release, Rosenfield's organization filed suit Friday against Firemen's Fund Insurance Co., alleging it gives its agents incentives to discourage them from giving good drivers a 20 percent discount. Rosenfield said that would be a violation of California's Proposition 103, 1988 insurance reform legislation written by Rosenfield.
The probe has rocked the insurance industry from the United States to Europe.
A story on the Associated Press wire reports that Attorney General Bill Lockyer of California said the investigators will first examine possible bid-rigging and other anti competitive behavior.
His announcement comes on the heels of an investigation launched earlier in October by Spitzer into the practices of Marsh & McLennan which has since broadened to include other states and other insurance companies.
Spitzer accuses Marsh & McLennan of rigging bids and using incentive fees to manipulate the sales of property and casualty policies for corporations, driving up businesses' insurance costs.
In California, Lockyer is looking into allegations that companies failed to adequately disclose that they were paying incentives to brokers and that they placed phony bids so businesses would think they were paying a reasonable price.
Meanwhile California's insurance commissioner, John Garamendi, has been investigating brokers' contingency payments and said his investigators will work with insurance regulators on those allegations.
Garamendi and other regulators and prosecutors are beginning to examine personal insurance such as auto, life and homeowners' policies.
"I think the insurance industry is about to receive the kind of scrutiny they have not received in 40 years," said Harvey Rosenfield, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "I think the tip of the iceberg hasn't even been discovered yet."
According to the AP release, Rosenfield's organization filed suit Friday against Firemen's Fund Insurance Co., alleging it gives its agents incentives to discourage them from giving good drivers a 20 percent discount. Rosenfield said that would be a violation of California's Proposition 103, 1988 insurance reform legislation written by Rosenfield.
State Auto expanding
DES MOINES, Iowa - State Auto Insurance Cos. has spent about $1.5 million remodeling its suburban offices to make room for expansion over the next few years.
The property and casualty insurer plans to begin expanding its call-center operation for 24-hour servicing of telephone claims from across the United States.
The company intends to add 60 people, which would double its staff, with room for 40 more.
"We're kind of slowly adding people over the next 18 months," said branch manager Lester Brue.
State Auto, based in Columbus, Ohio, now operates in 28 states, and the West Des Moines office handles the company's business in Iowa and Kansas.
The company has authority to do business in eight other states, all west of Iowa, and Brue said that Arizona and Colorado probably would be the next two states the company enters.
State Auto first entered Iowa in 1999 with its purchase of Mid-Plains Insurance Co. and Farmers Casualty Co.
The property and casualty insurer plans to begin expanding its call-center operation for 24-hour servicing of telephone claims from across the United States.
The company intends to add 60 people, which would double its staff, with room for 40 more.
"We're kind of slowly adding people over the next 18 months," said branch manager Lester Brue.
State Auto, based in Columbus, Ohio, now operates in 28 states, and the West Des Moines office handles the company's business in Iowa and Kansas.
The company has authority to do business in eight other states, all west of Iowa, and Brue said that Arizona and Colorado probably would be the next two states the company enters.
State Auto first entered Iowa in 1999 with its purchase of Mid-Plains Insurance Co. and Farmers Casualty Co.
Monday, November 1, 2004
Progressive Insurance receives subpoena
WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Auto insurer Progressive Corp. (PGR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday it received a subpoena from the Connecticut Attorney General's office probing possible antitrust law violations.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it received "interrogatories and a subpoena" last Friday and believes that a number of subpoenas have been issued in the insurance industry.
"Connecticut is one of several states investigating allegations of price-fixing, bid-rigging and other unlawful conduct by certain insurers, brokers or other industry members," Progressive said.
"Accordingly, many industry companies have received subpoenas and more may be expected in the future if other states initiate similar investigations."
Progressive said it intends to cooperate fully with the investigation.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it received "interrogatories and a subpoena" last Friday and believes that a number of subpoenas have been issued in the insurance industry.
"Connecticut is one of several states investigating allegations of price-fixing, bid-rigging and other unlawful conduct by certain insurers, brokers or other industry members," Progressive said.
"Accordingly, many industry companies have received subpoenas and more may be expected in the future if other states initiate similar investigations."
Progressive said it intends to cooperate fully with the investigation.
A spy in your engine?
After Danny G. Hopkins's Cadillac CTS rear-ended Lindsay Kyle's Dodge Neon at a traffic light in Rochester a year ago, witnesses said Mr. Hopkins had been zooming down the road, and crash investigators who examined the condition and location of the wreckage estimated that Mr. Hopkins was traveling 65 to 70 miles an hour at the point of impact.
But in a trial that ended on Oct. 7, a witness emerged with more to say: that four seconds before the crash, it had been traveling 106 m.p.h.
The witness in the case was an event data recorder, an automotive equivalent of the black boxes used to reconstruct plane crashes. A jury convicted Mr. Hopkins of second-degree manslaughter, a crime whose elements include recklessness and which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in jail.
"Clearly the black box technology played a large part in the jury's finding of guilty," said Richard C. Roxin, the assistant attorney general who prosecuted the case. It was the first use of such data in a criminal trial in New York in a field that is still a relative novelty for the criminal courts nationally.
With millions of vehicles already equipped with data recorders and millions more joining them every year, such witnesses — computer chips that store data, like how hard the collision was, whether the brake was applied, whether the car was accelerating or decelerating, whether a turn signal was used and whether the seat belt was buckled — will be present in more crashes and in more cases, criminal and civil.
Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a proposed rule that would require that any car that records such data to do so in a uniform format, , so that it can be more easily read by the police, insurance companies, investigators and others.
The chips are byproducts of the increasingly computerized nature of cars. The computers are present anyway to control the engine, decide whether and how to deploy the air bag or apply the antilock braking system. To do such work, most of the computers do not have to record any data, but many of them do; the traffic safety agency estimates that 65 to 90 percent of passenger vehicles in the 2004 model year have at least some recording ability.
"If your car has an air bag, it has a little memory," said Tim Hurd, a spokesman for traffic safety agency, which collected comments from the public until late August on the proposed rule. "Any air bag has an air bag controller," he said. "The air bag controller has a little internal dialogue all the time: `Am I in a crash, should I deploy, oops, we're slowing down real fast, we're slowing down real fast, am I in a crash?' "
The automakers, led by General Motors, set up their systems to gather such data so they could refine the logic that the air bag uses to fire. The logic may include factors like the extent of brake application, rate of deceleration and other factors that could also be useful in studying a crash.
G.M., which has had event data recorders on its light-duty vehicles since the 1998 model year, has used such data to defend itself in product liability suits.
The National Transportation Safety Board, an advisory agency, was interested for a different reason. A device that measures the "crash pulse," or strength of the impact, can be used to call for help, and the data recorder would bring a precision to accident investigation that they had only dreamed of.
But the presence of an event data recorder does not necessarily mean that the car will also provide automatic crash notification. And recording the data in the first place does not appeal to everyone, judging by the comments received by the safety agency. One from Caleb J. Grawley, who did not give an address, said he did not like the idea of Big Brother "over my shoulder."
The car companies were divided. Some complained that the list of data elements was too long. Most, though, said they perceived a benefit. DaimlerChrysler said that the federal government should institute a standard to forestall a blizzard of conflicting state regulations.
A California law, for instance, requires carmakers to disclose the existence of such devices and forbids access to the data without a court order or the owner's permission, unless it is for a safety study in which the information cannot be traced to the car.
But in a trial that ended on Oct. 7, a witness emerged with more to say: that four seconds before the crash, it had been traveling 106 m.p.h.
The witness in the case was an event data recorder, an automotive equivalent of the black boxes used to reconstruct plane crashes. A jury convicted Mr. Hopkins of second-degree manslaughter, a crime whose elements include recklessness and which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in jail.
"Clearly the black box technology played a large part in the jury's finding of guilty," said Richard C. Roxin, the assistant attorney general who prosecuted the case. It was the first use of such data in a criminal trial in New York in a field that is still a relative novelty for the criminal courts nationally.
With millions of vehicles already equipped with data recorders and millions more joining them every year, such witnesses — computer chips that store data, like how hard the collision was, whether the brake was applied, whether the car was accelerating or decelerating, whether a turn signal was used and whether the seat belt was buckled — will be present in more crashes and in more cases, criminal and civil.
Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a proposed rule that would require that any car that records such data to do so in a uniform format, , so that it can be more easily read by the police, insurance companies, investigators and others.
The chips are byproducts of the increasingly computerized nature of cars. The computers are present anyway to control the engine, decide whether and how to deploy the air bag or apply the antilock braking system. To do such work, most of the computers do not have to record any data, but many of them do; the traffic safety agency estimates that 65 to 90 percent of passenger vehicles in the 2004 model year have at least some recording ability.
"If your car has an air bag, it has a little memory," said Tim Hurd, a spokesman for traffic safety agency, which collected comments from the public until late August on the proposed rule. "Any air bag has an air bag controller," he said. "The air bag controller has a little internal dialogue all the time: `Am I in a crash, should I deploy, oops, we're slowing down real fast, we're slowing down real fast, am I in a crash?' "
The automakers, led by General Motors, set up their systems to gather such data so they could refine the logic that the air bag uses to fire. The logic may include factors like the extent of brake application, rate of deceleration and other factors that could also be useful in studying a crash.
G.M., which has had event data recorders on its light-duty vehicles since the 1998 model year, has used such data to defend itself in product liability suits.
The National Transportation Safety Board, an advisory agency, was interested for a different reason. A device that measures the "crash pulse," or strength of the impact, can be used to call for help, and the data recorder would bring a precision to accident investigation that they had only dreamed of.
But the presence of an event data recorder does not necessarily mean that the car will also provide automatic crash notification. And recording the data in the first place does not appeal to everyone, judging by the comments received by the safety agency. One from Caleb J. Grawley, who did not give an address, said he did not like the idea of Big Brother "over my shoulder."
The car companies were divided. Some complained that the list of data elements was too long. Most, though, said they perceived a benefit. DaimlerChrysler said that the federal government should institute a standard to forestall a blizzard of conflicting state regulations.
A California law, for instance, requires carmakers to disclose the existence of such devices and forbids access to the data without a court order or the owner's permission, unless it is for a safety study in which the information cannot be traced to the car.
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