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Aon headquaters in Chicago. (AP)
By Bruce Japsen and Becky Yerak | After talking for a “reasonably long period of time,” Aon Corp. is taking over Hewitt Associates for $4.9 billion in cash and stock to expand its offerings to global employers navigating the complexities of health care reform and employee benefits.
The announcement Monday has pushed stock in the stock in the Chicago-based insurance brokerage and consulting firm down 7 percent in in late-afternoon trading. Get the full story »
Unitrin Inc. has bought the Kemper name from Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co. Terms were not disclosed.
Since 2002, Chicago-based Unitrin, an insurance holding company, has owned the personal lines property and casualty insurance business of Lumbermens. It operated the personal lines with the Kemper name under a licensing agreement. Get the full story »
People who buy their own health insurance have been hit lately with premium hikes that far exceed increases in premiums for employer-sponsored coverage, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The nonprofit foundation, which is separate from health insurer Kaiser Permanente, said recent premium hikes requested by insurers for individual coverage averaged 20 percent. Some customers were able to switch plans and pay less, so people paying on their own wound up paying 13 percent more on average. Get the full story »
Get the full story: Arthur J. Gallagher acquires insurance agency.
By Becky Yerak | Allstate Corp., looking for ways to boost market share, is considering
offering a guarantee in which the Northbrook-based insurer would pay
policyholders’ premiums for a year if they’re not satisfied with their
claims experience, an agent group says.
The National Association of Professional Allstate Agents confirmed to
the Tribune on Wednesday that Allstate management floated the idea in
town hall meetings with agents earlier this month.
For its part, Allstate on Wednesday afternoon would say only that it has
a “history of reinventing auto insurance with unique customer-driven
innovations,” such as accident forgiveness and a safe driving bonus
check.
Dow Jones Newswires/Wall Street Journal | Walgreen Co. is “willing to honor” existing pricing terms for patients
currently under contract with CVS Caremark Corp.’s pharmacy-benefit
manager unit, leaving open the possibility that some of those patients
may still be able to fill their prescriptions at Walgreen stores after
July 9, according to an email from Hal F. Rosenbluth, Walgreen’s health
and wellness president.
By Bruce Japsen | One in five medical claims is processed inaccurately by some of the nation’s health insurers, the American Medical Association said in a report this morning.
The report, released during the AMA’s annual meeting in Chicago, said such claims processing errors cost the health care system billions of dollars. They also slow payments to physicians and often confuse consumers.
Dow Jones Newswires | Insurer Old Republic International Corp.
has agreed to buy PMA Capital Corp. for $228 million in stock as the
struggling insurer looks to build its general-insurance business.
Reuters | CNA Financial Corp said it sold its Argentinean subsidiary to the U.S.
unit of Australian insurer QBE Insurance Group for $66.3 million.
Associated Press | Prudential PLC has accepted defeat in its
ambitious $35.5-billion plan to acquire Asian insurance company AIA
from U.S. insurance company AIG.
Prudential said Wednesday that it is negotiating with AIG about
terminating the deal, which faltered because of resistance of
Prudential shareholders to the high price, and AIG’s refusal to accept
less money.
Associated Press | Hub International Ltd., a privately owned insurance brokerage, said Tuesday it has acquired Risk Transfer Insurance Alliance LLC.
Chicago-based Hub International did not disclose financial details of its acquisition of Risk Transfer Insurance, a retail brokerage focusing on health care industry clients. Risk Transfer Insurance has about $3 million in annual revenue. It has headquarters in Southborough, Mass., with offices in Shelton, Conn., and Portsmouth, N.H.
By Ameet Sachdev | Two Chicago area insurance brokers have expanded into new markets through acquisitions. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. of Itasca said Tuesday that it purchased
London-based Risk & Reward, its first acquisition of a
employee-benefits consulting firm in the United Kingdom. Terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.
Chicago-based Hub International Ltd., a Gallagher rival, acquired Risk
Transfer Insurance Alliance LLC, based in Southborough, Mass. RTIA,
which has annual revenues of about $3 million, focuses on healthcare
industry clients. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Associated Press | Bailed-out U.S. insurer AIG said Tuesday it
won’t accept a lower offer for its Asian insurance business from
Prudential, which proposed a $5 billion cut to calm rebellious
shareholders who thought the price was too high.
London Stock Exchange-listed Prudential PLC initially agreed to pay
$35.5 billion for AIA, the Asian insurance business of American
International Group Inc. Faced with the growing possibility that it
could not win 75 percent backing from shareholders, Prudential lowered
the offer to $30.375 billion.
A motorist drives while speaking on a cell phone in Boston on March 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
By Sandra M. Jones | U.S. drivers say they are talking and texting less while driving then
they did a year ago as they become more aware of the risks, according to
a new survey.
Four out of 10 drivers who admit to texting behind the wheel say they do
it less often than they did last year, according to the annual “Driving
While Distracted” survey from Nationwide Insurance.
The survey found that 20 percent of drivers with cell phones say they
text while driving. Among drivers under age 35, that number jumps to 47
percent.
Dow Jones Newswires | Accretive Health Inc.’s initial public offering of at least 10 million
shares priced at $12 each, making it the second company Wednesday to
price its IPO well below the expected range.
The Chicago-based hospital-billing manager, which originally
anticipated the share pricing between $14 and $16, also cut the size of
the offering from 13.3 million shares. It had said it would sell half
the original share amount, with current shareholders selling the rest.
