China life insurance (Group) Company (hereafter China Life) saw CNY 357.849 billion consolidated insurance premium (non-audited, and the same below) and CNY 1.96 trillion combined total assets in 2011, and the premium increased steadily.

In terms of the itemized data, China life insurance Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LFC, SEHK: 2628, SHSE: 601628) saw a steady increase in insurance premium, and year-on-year growth in 10 year or above limit-first year regular premium.

China Life’s intra-system assets under the trusteeship of China Life Asset Management Company Limited reached CNY 1.69 trillion.

China Life Property & casualty insurance Company Limited, the market position of which rose to No.5, saw CNY 16 billion insurance premium and a steady increase in underwriting profit.

China Life Pension Company Limited saw 49.7% year-on-year increase in the received accumulated assets managed, and the proportion ranked high among peers.

China Life Insurance (Overseas) Company Limited saw over CNY 10 billion insurance premium, growing over 37.74%.

China Life Investment Holding Company Limited promoted the construction of special investment business platform and kept an entire profitability.

In one case, the North Burnett Council was asked to pay 65 per cent more to insure its property – a rise of almost A$100,000 (US$102,605) compared to last year.

The Premier said some insurance companies were being unfair.

“It is clear that some insurance companies are increasing at a rate that I think is beyond reasonable,” she told reporters in Cairns on Monday.

“Some insurance companies are lifting rates by such a high level it can only be described as gouging.”

Ms Bligh said Queenslanders should seek out insurance companies who had helped customers during the floods and Cyclone Yasi.

“What we learnt last year is that not all insurance companies are the same – some went out of their way to help their clients, others went out of their way to make it harder.

“I just say to people … if your company is lifting your rates to ridiculous levels, shop around. There are insurance companies who want to do the right thing.”

Ms Bligh’s comments came as the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) released figures showing 130,666 claims totalling $3.73 billion had been lodged as a result of the Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi.

PICC Health, a modern joint-stock insurance firm sponsored by PICC Group, DKV, and other companies in China, has an initial registered capital of CNY 3 billion. The company is engaged in renminbi and foreign currency health insurance service, accident insurance service, health insurance services in accordance with the government healthcare measures, and consulting services and agent services related to health insurance services.

PICC Health raked in insurance premium of CNY 4.083 billion in the first 11 months of 2011, dipping 53.72% year on year.

The general insurer said it finalised its catastrophe re-insurance program starting January 1 with protection of up to A$4.7 billion (US$4.86 billion), compared with $4.1 billion in 2011.

“In challenging market conditions, we are pleased to have concluded a program which provides us with increased coverage and the additional security of some multi-year protection,” IAG’s CEO Mike Wilkins said in a statement on Wednesday.

Mr Wilkins said that while the overall cost had risen, “the outcome is consistent with the assumptions contained in the insurance margin guidance of 10 to 12 per cent provided by the group at the outset of the financial year”.

The insurer, which owns the NRMA Insurance, CGU, SGIO and SGIC brands, has predicted that there will be more severe cyclones and hailstorms over the coming decades.

In 2011, floods and storms in Queensland and Victoria, combined with bushfires in Perth, cost the industry $4.2 billion, according to estimates by the Insurance Council of Australia.

Local insurers were also hit by the Christchurch earthquakes, which New Zealand authorities estimate have caused around $NZ23 billion ($A18.3 billion) in total losses.

Mr Wilkins said the company had been able to keep the maximum it pays out for a single catastrophe at $250 million until 2014 at agreed prices.

IAG had also retained a buydown arrangement, which commenced in 2011, that reduced the maximum cost of subsequent catastrophes to $150 million.

The re-insurance program included cover for flood, which was being introduced Australia-wide by CGU, and extended into Queensland and Victoria by Australia Direct, in early calendar 2012, the statement said.

There was also an upper layer of reinsurance for earthquake cover over three years.

Chen made the remarks during 2011 Golden Kirin Forum organized by SINA (SINA.NY).

According to current regulations, the proportion of investment in stocks and funds by Chinese insurance companies should be less than 25 percent.

“CIRC intends to authorize non-insurance organizations to manage insurance funds, which helps insurance companies to preserve and raise their asset values,” Chen said.

Investment funds owned by insurance industry has exceeded 5 trillion yuan (US$786 billion) so far.

Chief executive Mike Wilkins told the insurer’s annual general meeting on Wednesday that gross written premium growth in the first few months of the financial year was encouraging, while natural peril activity has been benign.

However the company is adversely affected by volatile investment markets, he said.

“We remain on track to deliver our full year guidance of an improved insurance margin of 10 to 12 per cent and gross written premium growth of six to nine per cent,” Mr Wilkins said.

IAG also said it was considering selling $NZ150 million (US$119 million) of unsecured subordinated bonds to the New Zealand public.

The proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes and to provide additional flexibility in managing future refinancing requirements, the company said.

It is expected the bonds would have a term to maturity of 25 years and be callable at IAG’s discretion on the fifth anniversary of their issue and on each interest payment date thereafter.

Interest would be payable quarterly in arrears.

More details of the offer are expected to be available in November.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission has submitted plans to a higher regulator and is waiting for its decision.

Foreign insurance companies are likely to expand their market shares if involved in compulsory Auto Insurance business, as Auto Insurance accounts for more than half of China’s property and casualty insurance market and China’s auto insurance is one of the fastest growing insurance markets in the world.

“Our parent company has been winning a share of auto insurance markets in other countries, which provides us with valuable experience and data. We have set up a special research team working on the company starting up business in this sector,” said a senior manager of a foreign insurance company in China.

“General/non-life insurance listing rules will be issued by March,” IRDA Chairman J Hari Narayan told reporters here Friday.

According to the Insurance Act, promoters with 26 per cent stake can offload equity after 10 years of operation. The legislation also empowers the government to reduce the mandatory period.

As far as the life insurance companies are concerned, the draft norms for listing have already been issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).

As per the draft norms, only insurance companies that have completed 10 years of operation and have strong financial will be allowed to access the capital market.

Currently, there are 24 players in both the life and non-life insurance industry.

Consumer group Choice has awarded eight lemon trophies this year for dodgy, dubious and deceitful goods and services as part of its sixth annual Shonky Awards.

In the wake of the summer floods in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, the insurance industry is held in such low regard it has been lumped alongside products like crystal encrusted baby dummies and underpants that fix cellulite.

Choice said the 2011 floods left homeowners in three states without cover as insurers dodged their responsibilities.

“In many cases this was because of numerous definitions for the term `flood’ and the convoluted abuse of the English language which made policies indecipherable to even lawyers,” it said.

The honours for misleading consumers also went to SensaSlim, for selling a $A70 (US$73.12) “weight-loss spray”, which the company claims decreases appetite.

Choice said there was no evidence the product worked, pointing out how the retailer sued for defamation.

Quail Kingdom quail eggs also make dubious claims, with the company’s website suggesting the product, retailing at $2.50 a dozen, can treat everything from tuberculosis to Chernobyl-style radiation and obesity.

The product’s healing powers have not been proven by clinical trials, and it is not listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic goods.

Peachy Pink under garments, selling for $55, claim to eliminate cellulite when worn for eight hours a day for 21 days because they are “infused” with green tea, peaches and caffeine.

Choice director of campaigns Christopher Zinn said the awards, unveiled on Tuesday, were there to remind businesses to be honest.

Crystal-encrusted baby dummies “that Choice tests found to be a choking hazard” and the Chinese-built Chery J1 with fake roof racks “for cosmetic purposes only” also got gongs.

They were joined by a Smurfs’ Village app for Apple iPhones.

The amount was released a fortnight ago, state’s Minister for Women and Child Development C.C Patil told reporters here.

The announcement was made by Joseph J. Gurrieri, RHIA, CHP, Vice President and COO.

According to customers already using the software, the ability to assemble all discharged-not-final-billed (DNFB) for all inpatient and outpatient accounts into a single repository, sort, trend, electronically track and assign accounts saves hours of work and prevents denials. “We can identify all our unbilled accounts for one insurance type with a click of the mouse,” mentions Regina A. Blakeslee, MPA, RHIA, CTR, Healthcare Leadership Consultant. Furthermore, the system helps Blakeslee meet all billing deadlines and eliminates manually creating and manipulating reports.

“Hospital CFOs need the ability to understand what “is” and then apply predictive modeling to know what “will be” as payer rules change and revenue models transform in accountable care and value-based purchasing,” mentions Gurrieri. The new software does this as well as creating a notes journal that alerts users to all account changes. Everyone involved in the coding and billing cycle stays connected, informed and aware of DNFB activity — saving research time and eliminating telephone tag between departments.

H.I.M. On Call is a technology and outsourcing services company for health information management (HIM), coding, clinical documentation improvement (CDI) and revenue cycle.