Insurance in USA
Insurance - one of the oldest categories of social relations of production.
In the United States is highly developed system of insurance. Insurance is carried out numerous insurance companies (they are in the U.S. a few thousand), and types of insurance services are extremely diverse.
Analysis of the U.S. insurance market is sufficiently relevant and scientific and practical interest.
In the U.S., the first insurance companies as independent legal entities established for insurance purposes, appeared in 1720. The period of initial development of the United States in the field of insurance associated with the appearance of a large number of companies, one-day, goes bankrupt and seyavshih panic among consumers. This led to the decision of the Parliament of the monopoly of insurance insurance operations of corporate interests in two insurers The London Assurance Corporation and The Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation, conducting insurance operations in the U.S. today. To a large extent at the time of insurance in North America engaged in branches and offices of insurers in the UK. However, the needs identified growth of national economy, led to the creation and national insurers. In 1752, Franklin co-founded one of the first insurance company for insurance against fire in Philadelphia - The Philadelphia Contributionship. The first insurance company established a joint stock company, appeared in 1794, the first specialized company for life insurance was established in 1759
U.S. insurance business is different huge scale and the undisputed leader in the global insurance market for all possible indicators.
American insurance monopoly control about 50% of the insurance market of the developed world. In the U.S. there are about nine thousand companies property insurance, and about 2 thousand companies involved in life insurance and health. Assets of all companies is about 2.5 trillion. dollars. The average assets of one company are $ 950 million, and the 12 largest companies account for 60 billion dollars.
In the U.S. there are two types of insurance companies: mutual insurance companies and corporations. State-owned insurance companies do not exist. Shares of joint stock companies can purchase both the physical and legal persons.
Insurance companies perform three types of insurance:
1) commercial (wide range);
2) private (insurance of buildings, vehicles and other property of citizens);
3) bekifity (life and health insurance, health, pensions, savings, etc.).
U.S. insurers sit in 27 out of 100 boards of directors of American industrial corporations. Ahead of the insurance companies in this respect - just commercial and investment banks.
Institutional framework of American insurance companies are joint stock companies and mutuals. An institution of underwriters and insurance brokers - Insurance agents and independent brokerage firms.
Major insurance companies are financial conglomerates: through subsidiaries, in addition to insurance, they can engage in lending and borrowing of checks to organize customer service issue settlement credit card to conduct real estate transactions, securities, manage assets and capital on behalf of clients.
Insurance in the United States is divided into two categories: life insurance and other insurance. The largest insurer in the United States is the company State Farm Group, which occupies 18% of their units auto insurance market and 23% of life insurance, and the market in general - 12%. This figure is twice the market share of the company «Allstate Insurance Group», which occupies the 2nd place. The share of «American Insurance Group» (AIG) has about 4% market share of other types of insurance.
AIG is the second largest in the world of real estate and insurance against accidents. There AIG since 1919 and is a holding company that controls 44 subsidiaries around the world. All companies incorporated in 6 departments. In addition to insurance and reinsurance companies in the field of activity includes financial services, retirement savings and asset management. www.insurances.ru
One of the leading insurance companies broadly diversified U.S. "SIGNA" was founded in 1982. The main interests of the corporation are connected with property insurance and liability. A number of subsidiaries engaged in brokerage, pension and personal insurance. They operate in 160 countries. Corporation CIGNA - one of the pioneers in the use of computer technology in the international insurance operations, based on which developed and implemented in many countries of the automated system "Meridian", which allows to simplify and automate the registration of insurance claims and accounts.
The U.S. has a special legal regulation of the insurance business. The fact that each state has its own insurance legislation and its regulatory authority (surveillance). A single federal law on insurance and a single federal agency for supervision of insurance activities there. Every state has put forward their demands to a minimum level of capital, the proposed types of insurance, audits of insurance companies under control, conduct and regulation of insurance activities by issuing licenses to brokers, agents, and by insurance companies.
Insurance supervisory authorities in the United States focuses on the financial stability of insurance companies. In particular, the practice of the insurance control and audit services use a special system of indicators for the financial analysis of insurance operations.
The indicators include such factors and their dynamics. Each indicator characteristic maximum and minimum limits determined by law based on long-term supervision over the activities of financially stable companies, as well as companies that have ever experienced financial difficulties, but have not been declared bankrupt.
Total coefficients of eleven. The main factors include: the ratio of premiums and net income, changes in premiums, the reinsurance ratio of net profit to total net income, two-year overall operating ratio.
If the value of three of the eleven factors beyond the scope of permissible, then the company must be taken under special control of the supervisory staff. Each year 5% of insurers are subject to careful monitoring by the relevant departments of the state.
Employees of the department of audit and financial analysis of the National Association of Insurance Supervisors annually analyze the values of the coefficients of all insurance companies in the U.S.. For the first time this procedure was introduced in 1977. A comparative analysis of companies for which the values of four or more factors beyond the scope allowed in the current year, and the companies recognized by financial instability in recent years. Currently in connection with the macroeconomic cycles (in the insurance business is so-called "soft" and "hard" markets) are subject to scrutiny as those companies in which the values of two or more factors beyond the limit. Financial Analyst-up to the computer testing company classifies all kinds - "requiring immediate control" or "requiring sampling" - showing the main results of the analysis. There are cases where the insurance company the value of four or more factors are beyond the scope defined by the legislation, but a financial analyst does not require the intervention of financial control. In this case, the reasons for such decisions.