Biggest Life Insurance in US

The life insurance market in the United States is both massive and highly competitive. In 2014, roughly 180 million Americans carried some form of life insurance. In the same year, more than 900 life insurers reported a total of nearly $147 billion worth of direct premiums written across the country.
The single biggest life insurer in the U.S., MetLife Inc., reported $11.3 billion in written premiums and market share of nearly 7.7%. Three other insurers, Northwestern Mutual, New York Life and Prudential Financial, Inc., managed to capture more than 5% of the market and more than $7 billion in written premiums apiece. Even the forty-ninth ranked company, Allstate Insurance, reported more than $711 million in written premiums on market share of only 0.5%.

MetLife
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) is the biggest life insurance company in the U.S. as of 2015. It reported nearly $11.3 billion in written premiums in the domestic market, which amounts to a market share of 7.66%. MetLife wrote additional life insurance premiums in foreign markets that amounted to just under $1 billion, making it one of the few companies in this list with a substantial life insurance business abroad.

MetLife ranks among the world's largest companies in any industry, reporting consolidated revenue of $73.3 billion in 2014. The company offers a variety of insurance products, annuities, employee benefits programs and asset management services. It has operations in nearly 50 countries and counts more than 100 million customers worldwide. MetLife has a market capitalization of about $56 billion.

Northwestern Mutual
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company reported more than $9.5 billion in written life insurance premiums in 2014, giving it nearly 6.5% of the American market. In addition to its life insurance and other insurance products, the company offers annuities, investment products and financial planning services. Northwestern Mutual reported about $26.7 billion in consolidated revenue in 2014.

As a mutual insurance company, Northwestern Mutual is managed for the benefit of policyholders rather than stockholders. Policyholder dividends amounted to $5.5 billion in 2014, nearly $5 billion of which was paid out to life insurance policyholders. Of those dividend payments, about 75% was used to purchase further Northwestern Mutual insurance protection.

New York Life
New York Life Insurance Company wrote about $8.2 billion in domestic life insurance premiums in 2014, which amounts to approximately 5.6% of the market. Apart from its life insurance business, New York Life also sells long-term care insurance, annuities and mutual funds, and it operates a growing investment management business.

New York Life is a mutual insurance company, and it is not publicly traded. It ranked as the largest mutual life insurance company in the country as measured by consolidated revenue, which amounted to about $38.7 billion in 2014. Policyholder dividends amounted to nearly $1.45 billion in the same year, of which about $1.4 billion was paid to individual life insurance policyholders.

Prudential
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) is the fourth-biggest life insurance company in the U.S. It is a publicly traded financial services conglomerate offering insurance products, annuities, mutual funds, investment management services and other products. The company operates in 43 countries in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

Prudential's life insurance business was responsible for more than $7.7 billion in direct written premiums in the U.S. in 2014, which was good for nearly 5.3% of the market. The company's worldwide consolidated revenue was $49.6 billion in the same year. It has a market capitalization of $36.4 billion.

Lincoln National
Lincoln National Corp. (NYSE: LNC) is a financial services company offering life insurance products, long-term care insurance products, annuities and retirement plan services to 17 million American customers. It does not operate outside the U.S. The company and its subsidiaries are marketed to consumers under the Lincoln Financial Group brand.

Lincoln National reported $6.44 billion in written life insurance premiums in 2014, which amounts to about 4.4% of the total market share. Its consolidated revenue amounted to more than $13.7 billion on the year, an increase of more than 13% over the prior year. Lincoln National has a market capitalization of $12.7 billion.

MassMutual
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, known as MassMutual, is the sixth-biggest life insurer in the U.S. and the third mutual company on this list. It reported nearly $5.6 billion in direct written life insurance premiums in 2014, giving it a market share of 3.8%. The company also offers annuities, long-term care and disability income insurance, and wealth management and investment services. MassMutual reported consolidated revenue of about $26.4 billion in 2014. It paid eligible policyholders dividends of more than $1.5 billion in the same year, an increase of 5% over the previous year.

John Hancock
John Hancock Financial has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Canadian insurance giant, Manulife Financial Corp. (NYSE: MFC), since the companies merged in 2004. In addition to life insurance policies, the company offers long-term care insurance policies, mutual funds, and retirement and college savings plans. It remains headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, as it has been for the last 150 years.

John Hancock wrote $4.71 billion in written life insurance premiums in 2014, which amounts to 3.2% of the U.S. market. Manulife Financial reported $28.9 billion in total revenue for John Hancock operations in the U.S. in 2014. Manulife Financial has a market capitalization of $32.4 billion.

Transamerica
While Transamerica Corporation was established in San Francisco in 1930, it has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dutch life insurance company, Aegon N.V, since its takeover in 1999. In addition to life insurance products, Transamerica offers long-term care insurance, annuities, mutual funds and pension plans.

Transamerica was responsible for $4.38 billion in written life insurance premiums in the U.S. in 2014, amounting to market share of about 3%. Aegon reported total revenue of nearly $17.5 billion for its North American and Latin American business unit, which is dominated by the Transunion operations in the U.S. Aegon has a market capitalization of about $13 billion.

Top 10 Auto Insurance

“I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli
Insurance helps us to do exactly what this quote suggests. We all face many kinds of risks: risk of meeting with an accident, falling sick, being a victim of a natural disaster or fire, and above all risk of life. All these risks not only come with pain and suffering but also hurt financially. Insurance is one way of being prepared for the worst; it offers the surety that the economic part of the pain will be taken care of. In this article, we take a look at some of the top insurance companies. There are many criteria on the basis of which such a list can be prepared: premium collections, market capitalization, revenue, profit, geographical area, assets and more. The following list focuses on a number of factors and the insurance companies on it are in no particular order.

1) AXA
With over 102 million customers in 56 countries and an employee base of 157,000, AXA is one of the world's leading insurance groups. Its main businesses are property and casualty insurance, life insurance, saving and asset management. Its origin goes back to 1817 when several insurance companies merged to create AXA. The company is headquartered in Paris and has a presence across Africa, North America, Central and South America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.

In 2013, AXA as a move to increase its foothold in Latin America acquired 51% of the insurance operations of Colpatria Seguros in Colombia. During the same year, AXA became the largest international insurer operating in China as a result of its 50% acquisition of Tian Ping (a Chinese property and casualty insurer). In addition, the company acquired the non-life insurance operations of HSBC in Mexico. The AXA Group reported total revenues of €99 billion for fiscal year 2015.

2) Zurich Insurance Group
Zurich Insurance Group, a Switzerland-headquartered global insurance company, was founded in 1872. Zurich Group, together with its subsidiaries, operates in more than 170 countries, providing insurance products and services. The core businesses of Zurich include general insurance, global life and farmers insurance. With its employee strength of over 55,000, Zurich caters to the vast insurance needs of individuals and businesses of all sizes: small, mid-sized and large-sized companies and even multinational corporations.

Total revenues in 2015 were $60.568 billion.

3) China Life Insurance
China Life Insurance (Group) Company (LFC) is one of Mainland China’s largest state-owned insurance and financial services companies, as well as a key player in the Chinese capital market as an institutional investor. The origin of the company goes back to 1949 when the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) was formed. Its offshoot PICC (Life) Co. Ltd was created after parting ways with PICC in 1996. PICC (Life) Co. Ltd was renamed as China Life Insurance Company in 1999. The China Life Insurance Company was restructured in 2003 as China Life Insurance (Group) Company, which has seven subsidiaries. The businesses are spread across life insurance, pension plans, asset management, property and casualty, investment holdings and overseas operations.

The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and is the biggest public life insurance company in terms of market capitalization in the world.

4) Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) was founded in 1889 and is associated with Warren Buffet, who has transformed a mediocre entity into one of the largest companies in the world. Berkshire Hathaway is now a leading investment manager conglomerate, engaging in insurance, among other sectors such as rail transportation, finance, utilities and energy, manufacturing, services and retailing through its subsidiaries.

It provides primary insurance, as well as reinsurance of property and casualty risks. Companies like Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, GEICO, Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group, and General Re, National Indemnity Company, Medical Protective Company, Applied Underwriters, U.S. Liability Insurance Company, Central States Indemnity Company and the Guard Insurance Group are subsidiaries of the group.

5) Prudential plc
Prudential plc (PUK) is an insurance and financial services brand with operations catering to 24 million customers across Asia, the U.S., the U.K and most recently Africa. Prudential was founded in United Kingdom in 1848. Prudential Corporation Asia, Prudential U.K., Jackson National Life Insurance Company and M&G Investments are the main businesses within the group. Jackson is a prominent insurance company in the United States, while Prudential U.K. is one of the leading providers of pension and life.

Prudential plc is listed on the stock exchanges of London, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York. It has approximately 22,308 employees worldwide, with assets under management worth £509 billion.

6) United Heath Group
The UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) tops the list of diversified health care businesses in the United States. Its two business platforms - UnitedHealthcare for health benefits and Optum for health services - work together, serving more than 85 million people in every U.S. state and 125 countries. The UnitedHealth Group uses its experience and resources in clinical care to improve the performance of the health care services sector.

The company reported revenue of $157.1 billion in 2015. Fortune has featured UnitedHealth Group as the "World’s Most Admired Company" in the insurance and managed care sector six years in a row.

7) Munich Re Group
Founded in 1880, Munich Re Group operates in all lines of insurance and has a presence in 30 countries, with focus a on Asia and Europe. The company’s primary insurance operations are carried out by its subsidiary, ERGO Insurance Group, which offers a comprehensive range of insurance, services and provision. Munich Re Group's home market is Germany, where ERGO is a leader in all areas of insurance. The group's newest arm, Munich Health, parlays the group’s risk-management and insurance expertise into the health care field.

The group has around 45,000 employees worldwide, working in all businesses of insurance: life reinsurance, health reinsurance, accident reinsurance, liability business, motor reinsurance, property-casualty business, marine reinsurance, aviation reinsurance and fire reinsurance. The Munich Re Group reported a profit of €3.1 billion in 2015.

8) Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.
Assicurazioni Generali, founded in 1831, is the Assicurazioni Generali Group’s parent company. The Generali Group is not only a market leader in Italy, but is also counted as a prominent player in the field of global insurance and financial products. The group, with a presence in more than 60 countries, is an international brand with dominance in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The Generali Group’s prime focus has been life insurance, offering diverse products from family protection and savings polices to unit-linked insurance plans. It offers an equally diverse range of products in the non-life segment as well, such as coverage of car, home, accident, and health, along with coverage of commercial and industrial risk.

The group has 77,000 employees and a client base of 65 million people worldwide. It has €480 billion in assets under management and is one of the world's 50 largest companies.

9) Japan Post Holding Co., Ltd.
The Japan Post Holding Co., Ltd. is a major state-owned conglomerate in Japan. The company has four primary divisions: Japan Post Service (for mail delivery), Japan Post Network (runs the post offices), Japan Post Bank (deals with banking functions), and Japan Post Insurance (provides life insurance). Japan Post Insurance operates within Japan Post Holding to provide insurance to its clients. The insurance arm makes use of the post offices nationwide network, in addition to its own sales offices, to reach out and provide services to the clients.

Japan Post Holding, which went public in 2015, reported consolidated after-tax profits of $3.84 billion from April through December of 2015. The group runs the largest insurer in Japan (Japan Post Insurance).

10) Allianz SE
Founded in 1890, Allianz SE is a leading financial services company, providing products and services from insurance to asset management. Allianz caters to customers in more than 70 countries with €1.8 billion in assets under management. Insurance products range from property and casualty products to health and life insurance products for corporate and individual customers. The company is headquartered in Germany.

In 2015, total revenues reached a new high of €125.2 billion euros.

Friday Health Links

■ Bwahahaha!

"Long term vegetarianism can lead to genetic mutations which raise the risk of heart disease and cancer, scientists have found."

Pretty much says it all, no?

■ FoIB Holly R alerts us to a Cincinnati-area company that's developed some rather promising new tech:

"Aprecia Pharmaceuticals are making a strong pitch with doctors ... launched production last week of its 3D printed pill, the first such pill approved by the FDA."

The med in question is used to treat epilepsy; the primary advantage to using the 3D tech seems to be better disolvability, although one would think that lower manufacturing costs must play a role, as well.

■ And speaking of 3D printing tech; It's widely believed (understood?) that one's attitude can have a very real affect on how a disease progresses. A Detroit hospital is taking that idea one step further:

"Cancer patients at a Detroit hospital can now take out their aggression on their disease— with a sledgehammer"

Click on through to read how they did that.

Cleveland Special

As in "Special Event," and specifically Special Event Insurance, about which we first wrote 9½ years ago:

"World Furniture Mall "promised that if the Bears shut out the Packers in the season opener at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Labor Day weekend shoppers would get their furniture free."

Fortunately, the folks at WFM had purchased a one-off policy that paid most (all?) of the $300,000 at risk.

What's that got to do with Cleveland, you ask? It's not as if the Browns are in particular danger of winning any championships anytime soon, so why bring it up?

Well, folks following the presidential campaign know that this year's Republican convention takes place in "The Rock and Roll Capital of the World," and that this means a lot of out-of-towners, including revelers, and others. Unlike the Green Bay scenario, such a policy isn't exactly available off-the-shelf. So the city has hired a "risk consultant" (why not just say "broker?") to arrange for "a $10 million insurance policy, required under the terms of Cleveland's hosting of the convention."

I of course have zero idea how much such a policy will cost, but assume that the premium will involve at least a comma or two. Which also (presumably) means a nice commission check - that is, unless the upfront $1½ million brokerage fee already takes care of that.

Oh, what will this particular special event policy cover?

Good question:

"The policy would protect the city and its employees against any claims resulting from hosting and providing security for the convention."

Which is a nicer way of saying "protecting the financial interests of these security folks when they have to handle protesters."

Mayor Daley must be spinning furiously.

[Hat Tip: Mark Naymik]

From the P&C Files: Fully Automatic Insurance Tricks

Back in Aught Seven, we noted the passing of "Evel" Knievel, whose life previous to stuntsmanship included a stint as a very successful life insurance agent. Now comes an interesting story about one John Herbert Dillinger who, when he wasn't robbing banks and/or murdering folks, also took on the role of insurance agent.

Sort of:

"Dillinger and one of his accomplices posed as an insurance agent and asked police to lay out their guns so he could give them a quote."

This was back in 1933; Mr D and his crew used the review as an excuse to "case the joint," and returned that evening to steal his infamous "Tommy gun."

The story doesn't indicate whether or not the claim (if any) was denied.

Talk about an insurance rip-off.

Silly HSA Tricks

Over at LifeHealthPro, Michael Thomas reports on new legislation being proposed that seeks to update Health Savings Accounts. He does a great job of introducing the background and history of HSA's, and provides a helpful explication of this new initiative. It's a very well-done piece.

That being said, the legislation itself is stupid. It goes off in myriad directions, focuses on non-essential "benefits," and misses the opportunity to actually accomplish something useful.

The purported purpose is to expand eligibility for purchasing and definitions of acceptable distributions (expenses). As to the first, the law "allows Medicare recipients participating in Medicare Advantage MSAs to contribute their own money to Medicare Medical Savings Accounts" which they're currently prohibited from doing. Why is this stupid? Well, go find me an example of a carrier that currently even offers one of these plans.

I'll wait.

In a related section, the legislation "amends the existing law to reauthorize health opportunity accounts in Medicaid as a demonstration program." What, you didn't know that there was such a program in the first place? Don't feel too bad, the original pilot program was such a rousing success that "South Carolina was the only state applying for and approved to participate" in it, and at its peak had enrolled "only two adults and three children."

Winning!

There are a few decent ideas here: allowing one to buy over-the-counter meds with HSA funds, ducking some of the more onerous Cadillac tax issues. But they are far outweighed by the silliness of allowing "fitness programs" and dietary supplements as legit. I do recall, years ago, being asked if a hot tub qualified (the insured in question has back issues). Maybe this is the answer.

What does it miss? Access.

What do you mean, Henry?

Just this: why must HSA's be tied to a specific type of insurance plan? IRA's don't require you to have a certain job, or tie you to a specific investment plan. Why should HSA's (which are really just medical IRA's)? And why not expand the amount one can contribute? After all, if the idea is to really bend that health care cost curve down, doesn't it make sense to give folks even more opportunity to put their own skin in the game?

Sigh.

On "Losing" a Client

So I lost a client yesterday, and that's a good thing.

I wrote Sue's health insurance a year or so ago; her husband's on Medicare, so it was just her. She chose an Anthem Gold-level plan, and has been reasonably satisfied with it. A month or so ago she and her husband moved to Texas and asked me for help with notifying Anthem of their address change.

I pointed out that, although Anthem's BlueCard program would offer some relief, pretty much every claim she has going forward is going to be treated as out-of-network (at least initially). Plus, there may be better and/or less expensive options available in her new town. Finally, I'm a big believer in local agents, and so I offered to help her find one.

As usual, I turned to my "posse" (a loose-knit collection of fellow agents around the country whom I've been fortunate enough to "meet" over the years). Alas, I could find no one in her area. When I called to tell her this, she mentioned that her new auto/home insurance agent had recommended someone that he knew. I told her to jump on that right away: from the insured's standpoint, that's one of the very best types of referral.

Why's that, you ask?

It's a matter of simple self-interest: if the agent recommends someone whom he's not vetted and the client has a bad experience, that client's going to blame the initial agent. No one wants to take that chance, so these kinds of referrals are generally rock solid.

I offered to speak with the new guy to answer any questions about her existing coverage (it's what I do), and we did, in fact, touch base. He seemed like a nice, professional, knowledgeable guy, who'd actually found a comparable local plan with a lower rate for her.

So, a happy ending all around.