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Allstate Corp.’s shares tumbled in late trading after the insurer’s third-quarter profit missed analyst estimates.
Operating earnings of $452 million, or 83 cents a share, were down 16 percent from the same period a year earlier as Allstate’s homeowners unit reported an underwriting loss on costs tied to settling a class-action lawsuit. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected an operating profit of 98 cents a share. Get the full story »
Bailed-out insurer American International Group on Monday said Chief Executive Robert Benmosche has cancer and has an unclear prognosis, casting another shadow on the company during a major restructuring.
AIG did not disclose what kind of cancer Benmosche, 66, has, but said he is undergoing “aggressive chemotherapy.” Get the full story »
The weak outlook for U.S. employment could hurt insurers that cover work-related injuries.
Persistently high unemployment translates to fewer workers to cover, which cuts into revenue. And “worker’s comp” providers face higher payouts because claiming workers are staying on benefits longer for lack of other jobs. Get the full story »
Less than a year after taking the chief marketing job at Allstate Corp., Mark LaNeve is taking on a greater role at the Northbrook-based home and auto insurer.
As part of a leadership shakeup, the former General Motors Corp. sales executive will also oversee Allstate’s agency sales operations, in addition to his current role in marketing. The combined marketing and sale unit will report to both Chief Executive Tom Wilson and to Joe Lacher, president of Allstate Protection. Get the full story »
Home and auto insurer Allstate Corp said on Monday it will pay 45 states a $10 million settlement after a review found it was inconsistent in the way it managed and used software to review bodily injury claims.
But the 18-month probe under the auspices of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners also found Allstate had not systemically underpaid claims, a finding that could have had much more serious implications. Get the full story »
Aon Corp., a Chicago-based insurance brokerage and consulting firm, said it will cut 1,500 to 1,800 jobs globally over the next three years as part of its merger with Lincolnshire-based personnel consulting company Hewitt Associates.
It also said the headquarters decision for Aon Hewitt — the consulting arm — is “being worked out.” Aon is currently headquartered in one of the tallest buildings in Chicago.
The restructuring of the combined workforce and of the merged firm’s real estate holdings will cost $325 million, of which $180 million will be due to employee severance costs. Get the full story »
The American Medical Association has been sued for using a girl’s image without authorization and in a false light in a marketing campaign launched in 2007, aimed at motivating politicians to tackle the issue of Americans without health insurance.
One of AMA’s print advertisements featured a girl named “Toya.” The ad says that Toya has a “severe” problem but her parents can’t afford health insurance. The same picture of Toya was featured on the AMA’s web site under a section called “stories of the uninsured.”
A Cook County lawsuit filed Friday said that Toya is China Travis, a girl from the Chicago area who has done some modeling. Her mother, Angela Wonsey, claims the ad is misleading and defamatory because Travis does not have a severe health problem and both of them are not “uninsured.” Get the full story »
CVS Caremark Corp. warned that 2011 earnings growth could fall below its long-term goals as it spends money to streamline its pharmacy benefits management business and as fewer generic drugs hit the market.
Shares in the company, which operates drugstores and manages prescription drug plans, fell 3 percent Friday. Get the full story »
The state’s largest health insurer and the area’s biggest medical-care provider have signed an agreement that holds doctors and hospitals more accountable for performance and quality service.
The three-year deal between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Advocate Health Care, which operates 10 hospitals in Illinois, calls for Advocate to limit rate increases it negotiates from the insurance company. In addition, Advocate doctors and hospitals are being asked to meet performance targets tied to improved quality, safety and efficiencies of the medical care provided to patients covered by Illinois Blue Cross HMO and preferred-provider organization products. Get the full story »
Allstate Corp. has sued Toyota Motor Corp. over sudden-acceleration-related claims it has paid, alleging that the accidents were caused by vehicle defects.
Bloomberg News | Senator Jay Rockefeller opened a probe into the limited benefit “mini-med” plans that McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, offers to employees.
Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, asked Scott Beacham, chief executive officer of BCS Financial Corp., whether the company’s health offerings amount to a good deal for many of McDonald’s low-wage and hourly employees. Closely held BCS Financial, based in Oakbrook Terrace, offers limited- benefit plans that cover 30,000 employees of McDonald’s, based about a mile away in Oak Brook Get the full story »
From Forbes | Old Republic International Corp. completed its $228 million all-stock acquisition of PMA Capital Corp., the insurers said Friday.
A dispute between McDonald’s Corp. and the federal government over a new health care reform requirement is giving a peek into the potential complexities that the massive new law will have on companies. Get the full story »
From BusinessWeek | Most of the stockholders of Hewitt Associates Inc. have decided to receive shares of Aon Corp. as part of the $4.9 billion sale of the human resources specialist.
American International Group Inc. laid out a plan on Thursday that sets the company on a path for an accelerated payback of taxpayer bailout money, but also increases the risk for the government.
The plan, which comes a little over two years after AIG was rescued from the brink of collapse, will see the Federal Reserve Bank of New York getting repaid in full and ending its involvement in AIG, leaving the company to deal with just the Treasury Department. Get the full story »
