Health and Life Insurers Report Healthy '04 Profits
Posted on: Friday, 12 August 2005, 21:01 CDT
Your insurance rates aren't the only thing in health care on the rise. So are health insurers' profits.
Health and life insurers reported income that rose 29 percent in 2004 to $38.8 billion, helped by earnings from investments and rising premiums, according to Weiss Ratings Inc. The $8.8 billion increase is the second consecutive rise in annual income.
Investment income rose 4.8 percent, or $6.9 billion, primarily from corporate and bonds, stocks and mortgage loans.
Group health insurance profits grew by 32 percent, or $1.4 billion, the third consecutive year with growing health profits.
Should those profits help hold rates down? They should at least begin to slow the rise.
I think at some point, you will see that the increases will start to flatten, said Jeffrey Schwartz, assistant vice president for Aon Consulting Inc. in Jericho. But there's always going to be an increase. Costs will go up. The question will be the degree.
Mergers by insurers could be a double-edged sword, providing savings but reducing competition, he said. Fewer players could mean less pricing pressure.
The steepest increase in health or life insurers profits, measured in dollars, came from Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. in Manhattan. Met Life's earnings rose from $1.5 billion in 2003 to $2.5 billion in 2004.
Source: Long Island Business News
Related Articles
- Massey Energy Reports First Quarter Results, Net Income Increases Over 28 Percent
- Comcast's Profit Plunges By 69 Percent in Fourth Quarter
- Venezuelan State Oil Company's Income Increases Sharply in 2005
- Nissin 1st-Half Net Profit Falls on Special Loss Despite Sales Rise
- 1 in 7 Lack Health Insurance in U.S., Census Survey Finds; Number Rises for 4th Year in Row
- Comcast Profits Jump Up 64 Percent
- Medco Health's 2Q Profit Climbs 8 Percent
- New Study Shows Significant Improvements in Health-Related Quality-of-Life Measures in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients Using SPIRIVA(R) HandiHaler(R)
- Toxic Pollution Rose 5 Percent in 2002
- Nokia profit plunges by 28 percent, sales flat
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds