APA Insurance

APA Insurance - A New Dimension in Insurance

APA Insurance was formed in 2003 following the merger of Apollo and Pan-Africa General divisions to form the largest insurer in East and Central Africa - APA Insurance LimitedIn the six years APA Insurance has been in business, we have seen our turnover grow sixfold to 3.6 billion in year 2009. APA Insurance is known for its innovativeness having been the first insurance company in Kenya to undertake HIV/AIDS cover. We believe in providing affordable insurance for all Kenyans. This is achieved through our tailor-made solutions which are crafted in consultation with our clients.

History

APA Insurance Ltd, incorporated in 2003, commenced its operation on 1st January 2004. Born from the merger of general businesses of Apollo Insurance Company Ltd and Pan Africa General Insurance Company Ltd, APA Insurance Ltd carries a wealth of eighty years combined experience from the parent organisations.

APA Insurance underwrites Health, Marine, Aviation and other General Insurance risks. The Company has long established re-insurance relationships with major international re insurers and has the capacity to underwrite large risks.

APA Insurance has shown exceptional growth since 2004, the first year of operation. In the quest to be the largest underwriter of general insurance in the region APA Insurance (Uganda) opened in January 2009. - Reliance Insurance Co Ltd  is the  associate company in Tanzania.

APA Insurance has grown to be the industry leader with a turnover of +3B as at 31st December, 2008.

APA is now the biggest insurance company in Kenya.

APA Insurance is well placed to provide expert and professional services to all its clients and proving to be A New Dimension in Insurance.

WellPoint

WellPoint, Inc. is the largest managed health care, for-profit company in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. It was formed when WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. merged into Anthem, Inc., with the surviving Anthem adopting the name, WellPoint, Inc. and began trading its common stock under the WLP symbol on December 1, 2004. In 2009, WellPoint sold its NextRx subsidiaries to Express Scripts for $4.675 billion.

WellPoint is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as Blue Cross Blue Shield in 10 New York City metropolitan counties and as Blue Cross, Blue Shield or Blue Cross Blue Shield in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), Wisconsin; and through UniCare. In addition to Blue Cross, the company also operates under the Anthem name.

American International Assurance

American International Assurance known as AIA (Chinese: 美國友邦保險) is an insurance company based in Hong Kong. It has offices in Asia-Pacific region including Taiwan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Macau, South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam. Holdings include Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company and minority stakes in TATA AIA Life Insurance and TATA AIG General Insurance.

It was a member of American International Group, but separated from the group in 2009 after it was finalized that AIA as well as ALICO (another AIG subsidiary) were placed under the administration of a Special Purpose Vehicle in exchange for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

According to the statistics from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (保險業監理處), AIA being the number 1 of Hong Kong insurance company in terms of the number of policies, its market share in Hong Kong Insurance market (on Non-Linked Individual Business) is 26% and sum assured worth more than 400 billion HKD (i.e. more than $ 50 billion).

AIA was planned to be listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange in April 2010. However, in March 2010, Prudential plc, a United Kingdom-based financial services company, announced that it will buy AIA for $35.5 billion.[4] The purchased later fell through, and AIA held an IPO later in October 2010 raising $20.51 billion, the third largest ever IPO

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA)

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) is a federation of 38 separate health insurance organizations and companies in the United States. Combined, they directly or indirectly provide health insurance to over 99 million Americans. The history of Blue Cross dates back to 1929, while the history of Blue Shield dates to 1939. The Blue Cross Association dates back to 1960, while its Blue Shield counterpart was actually created in 1948. The two organizations merged in 1982, forming the current association.

History

Blue Cross and Blue Shield developed separately, with Blue Cross plans providing coverage for hospital services, while Blue Shield covered physicians' services.

Blue Cross is a name used by an association of health insurance plans throughout the United States. Its predecessor was developed by Justin Ford Kimball in 1929, while he was vice-president of Baylor University's health care facilities in Dallas, Texas. The first plan guaranteed teachers 21 days of hospital care for $6 a year, and was later extended to other employee groups in Dallas, and then nationally. The American Hospital Association (AHA) adopted the Blue Cross symbol in 1939 as the emblem for plans meeting certain standards. In 1960 the AHA commission was superseded by the Blue Cross Association. Affiliation with the AHA was severed in 1972.

The Blue Shield concept was developed at the beginning of the 20th century by employers in lumber and mining camps of the Pacific Northwest to provide medical care by paying monthly fees to medical service bureaus composed of groups of physicians. The first official Blue Shield Plan was founded in California in 1939. In 1948 the symbol was informally adopted by nine plans called the Associated Medical Care Plan, and was later renamed the National Association of Blue Shield Plans.

In 1982 Blue Shield merged with The Blue Cross Association to form the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Prior to the Tax Reform Act of 1986, organizations administering Blue Cross Blue Shield were tax exempt under 501(c) as social welfare plans. However, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 revoked that exemption because the plans sold commercial-type insurance. They became 501(m) organizations, subject to federal taxation but entitled to "special tax benefits" under IRC 833. In 1994, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association changed to allow its licensees to be for-profit corporations. Some plans[specify] are still considered not-for-profit at the state level.

Assurant

Assurant, Inc. is a holding company with businesses that provide a diverse set of specialty, niche-market insurance products in the property, casualty, life and health insurance sectors. The company’s four operating segments are Assurant Employee Benefits, Assurant Health, Assurant Solutions and Assurant Specialty Property.

The company, formerly known as Fortis, Inc., was spun off from Dutch and Belgian financial-services company Fortis Insurance N.V. in 2004. The company’s initial public offering on Feb. 5, 2004 at $1.76 billion was the fourth largest that year. In connection with the public offering, the company changed its name to Assurant, Inc.

Headquartered in New York City, Assurant is 285 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States. It also is included in the Ward’s 50, which recognizes the top property-casualty insurance companies domiciled in the United States.

History

Assurant recently celebrated its 120th anniversary, tracing its roots back to founding of the La Crosse Mutual Aid Association, which was established to sell disability insurance in Wisconsin in the early 1890s. La Crosse Mutual Aid Association would later become the Time Insurance Company. In 1978, N.V. AMEV of the Netherlands acquired the Time Insurance Company (now Assurant Health) via its U.S. holding company AMEV Holdings, Inc. During the next 12 years, AMEV Holdings, Inc. would expand through acquisition, buying American Security Insurance (credit-related insurance); United Family (funeral insurance); Western Insurance Company (mutual funds); and Superior Insurance (auto insurance). In 1990, N.V. AMEV of the Netherlands acquired VSB Groep NV bank to become the Netherlands first financial conglomerate combining an insurer and a bank, creating Fortis. AMEV Holdings, Inc. was rebranded Fortis, Inc. in 1991. The business was subsequently renamed as Assurant and spun off from the parent company. 

Products and Services

In March 2010, Assurant Solutions and IBM unveiled a Real-Time Analytics Matching Platform (RAMP) to improve call center performance. RAMP is an application that works by analyzing historical data about the individual caller and the skill set of customer service representatives to optimize the routing of the call. As calls come in they are assigned to a customer service representative based on their expertise and past performance, improving customer response and retention rates.

In May 2012, Assurant launched solar project insurance for developers of mid-size (100 kW to 3 MW) solar projects.

Amerigroup

Amerigroup (NYSE: AGP) is an American managed care company, with two main goals: to meet the needs of Amerigroup members while keeping costs low. Amerigroup has more than 2.7 million members, and currently operates in 13 states nationwide including Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York State, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington, Texas, and Virginia and expects operations to its 14th state, Kansas, as a result of a previously awarded state contract. It is a Fortune 500 company.

History
Amerigroup began as AMERICAID Community Care in 1994 and was initially aimed at the health care problems of children, mothers and pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid. Amerigroup became a publicly traded corporation in the fall of 2001. Today, Amerigroup serves more than 2.7 million members including Supplemental Security Income recipients, seniors and people with disabilities, many with complex physical and psychological illnesses. In 2006, Amerigroup entered the Medicare Advantage program, serving low-income people who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid through special needs plans. In 2007, Amerigroup began the operation of traditional Medicare Advantage plans. Currently, Amerigroup offers health care services through three government programs that target different segments of the country’s low-income population: Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicare

Health Care Products :

•  Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
•  Seniors and People with Disabilities (S/PD)
•  Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
•  Family Care
•  Medicare Advantage

Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc. is an international financial services company known primarily as a life insurance company. Based in Toronto, Canada, Sun Life and its partners provide insurance, retirement and investment solutions for individuals and businesses around the world including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. Sun Life ranks number 236 on the Forbes Global 2000 list for 2010.

Our success over the last 140 years has lain largely in our ability to evolve. While our mission has always been to help customers achieve lifetime financial security, our practices and products have adapted to the times to ensure our business has always reflected the world our customers live in.

The same is true of our brand. At Sun Life, our brand defines how we conduct business and speaks of our values. It’s what sets us apart in such a crowded marketplace. It’s a brand that 1 in 5 Canadians has a relationship with, along with millions more across the U.S., the U.K. and Asia.

Our brand drives the products and services we offer. It drives our commitment to environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility, and fuels our support for causes around the world. It's embedded in our culture and reflected in the way we treat our employees, advisors, clients and our communities.

It's why life is brighter under the sun.

Sun Life Financial worldwide

We're Sun Life. We're a leading international financial services company, building on our strengths for over 140 years.

We've known who we are from the dawn of our history, and it has served us well. After all these years our commitment to our customers is unwavering. We want our customers to achieve the peace of mind that comes with a lifetime of financial security. It's at the centre of all we do.

Our mission, vision and values are the DNA of our organization. These commitments drive us forward and touch every business decision. From our culture to the products and services we offer around the globe - we are a company dedicated to our customers' financial success.

HealthMarkets

HealthMarkets, Inc is a holding company, formerly known as UICI, headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas.

HealthMarkets' subsidiary insurance companies, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company®, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of TennesseeSM, and The MEGA Life and Health Insurance CompanySM, offer supplemental insurance and selected life insurance products through independent agents. The subsidiary insurance companies also offer health benefit plans that comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in five states.)

Historically, the subsidiary insurance companies' health products were marketed to members of certain associations. Those associations included the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), The Alliance for Affordable Services (AAS) and Americans for Financial Security (AFS) through contractual relationships. In December 2009, the subsidiary companies discontinued their contractual relationship with NASE. Currently, the requirement of association membership for access to health plans varies by product and by state. Supplemental insurance plans available through Chesapeake do not require an association membership.

The company, rated #826 by Fortune (2006), is owned by a group of private equity investors, including affiliates of The Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, members of management and the Company’s independent, licensed agents through the Company’s agent stock accumulation plans. HealthMarkets won the Stevie Award for Insurance Sales Organization of the Year and was recognized in six other categories in the 2007 Selling Power Sales Excellence Award. HealthMarkets was also listed #189 by Forbes (2007) in their annual list of "America's Largest Private Companies" 

The company has been the subject of legal disputes and regulatory fines related to their business practices. In 2008, regulators from 35 states and the District of Columbia released a report outlining problems they said occurred from 2000 - 2005. Those included inadequate training and supervision of agents and delays in claims payments. The report included requirements for specific corrective actions. In a July 3, 2012 press release about the final settlement agreement, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak said, “HealthMarkets Inc. has made substantial improvements … (They) paid attention, implemented new controls and addressed virtually every problem identified in the original examination. This turnaround is a regulatory success.”

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company & Affiliated Companies is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also operates regional headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, San Antonio, Texas, Gainesville, Florida, and Lynchburg, Virginia.

Nationwide Financial Services, a component of the group, was partially floated on the New York Stock Exchange prior to being repurchased by Nationwide Mutual in 2009. It had owned the majority of NFS common stock since it had gone public in 1997.

The Companies

Nationwide is one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world, focusing on domestic property and casualty insurance, life insurance and retirement savings, asset management, and strategic investments.

History
Beginnings as Farm Bureau Mutual

On December 17, 1925, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation incorporated the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company in Columbus, Ohio. At that time, Ohio law required 100 people to pledge to become policyholders. The first agents managed to recruit ten times that number, and on April 12, 1926, Farm Bureau Mutual started business with 1,000 policyholders.

The first product of the new company, as its name implied, was automobile insurance. The company wrote policies only to Ohio farmers. In 1928, Farm Bureau Mutual began offering policies to West Virginia farmers, followed by Maryland, Delaware, Vermont, and North Carolina. Farm Bureau Mutual began underwriting residents of small towns in 1931, and residents in larger cities in 1934.

Expansion
Also in 1934, Farm Bureau Mutual began offering fire insurance. This product grew the following year with the purchase of a struggling fire insurance company. With growth came a need for expansion of office space. In 1936, the company moved to the famous 246 Building at 246 N. High Street in Columbus. By 1943, Farm Bureau Mutual operated in 12 states and the District of Columbia. Even with the tripling of space in the 246 Building (which was finally dedicated on the 25th anniversary of the company), Farm Bureau Mutual still had insufficient office space, and began opening regional offices in 1951.

In 1955, Farm Bureau Mutual changed its name to Nationwide Insurance, a name by which it's commonly known today. In the 10 years that followed, Nationwide expanded into Oregon, making the company truly "nationwide". It also expanded into 19 other states, bringing the total by 1965 to 32 states and the District of Columbia.

Nationwide outgrew the 246 Building by the 1970s and work began on a new skyscraper headquarters for the company. In 1978, One Nationwide Plaza was completed at the southwest corner of N. High Street and Nationwide Blvd. on the northern edge of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Since 1978, Nationwide has added the following to its presence in Downtown Columbus: Plaza Two (on the northeast corner of High Street and Chestnut), Plaza Three (just west of High Street and Chestnut), Plaza Four (Front Street), and 275 Marconi (behind Plazas One and Three on Marconi Blvd) which together with Plaza One form the primary downtown complex. In addition to downtown Columbus, Nationwide also has a significant presence in the suburbs of Dublin and Grove City.

Nationwide currently has about 36,000 employees, and is ranked #100 in the most recent Fortune 500.