Several multinational property and casualty insurance companies have had their first-quarter earnings significantly impacted by the catastrophic losses due to earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand and the severe floods in Australia.

Bupa Asia Pacific, Australia's largest privately owned health insurer, has delivered exceptional results for 2010. The company reported a 26 percent rise in after-tax profits as a result of pronounced increase in premium revenue coupled with a recovery in investment income.

Major players in the Australian insurance industry are fighting tooth and nail to halt the rise of price comparison services for customers seeking to better evaluate their coverage options in the country.

Speaking last week at the All-Russian Forum of Medical Workers, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addressed the country's continued health care problems and outlined the substantial investments required in the health system to improve outcomes. The crisis in Russia's healthcare system has been a persistent problem for many years. Despite an elaborate hospital network and an ample staff of trained…

Starting April 1st 2011, private health insurance premiums in Australia are set for an average cost increase of 5.56 percent across the board. The average premium for families is due to rise AU$2.88 per week and Australians are projected to cumulatively spend an extra AU$821 million per year for their private health insurance options. Individuals will pay around an additional AU$75 annually and combined…

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women, accounting for around 16 percent of all female cancers. It kills around 519,000 women every year, worldwide. A recent US study, conducted by the Medco Research Institute, reveals that only half of insured women aged over 40 are claiming annual…

Venezuela's private health system is currently undergoing an audit after allegations surfaced that insurance companies, and private health service providers, are putting their profit before the health of its members. The audit will be carried out by Venezuela's Public Defender´s Office, Institute for the Defense of People's Access to Goods and Services…

The US Health Reform law mandates that by 2014, US citizens must have health insurance coverage or otherwise pay a hefty US$695 annual fine. It is estimated that the Health Reform will reduce the number of the uninsured from 19% of US citizens in 2010 to 8% by 2016. The Health Reform law imposes new regulations and fees on insurers, and although it expands coverage to the millions of uninsured Americans,…

Australia's public health system, Medicare, provides a substantial cover of healthcare treatment. However the public health system is currently under threat. There is a shortage of medical staff, hospital beds, and medical facilities such as brain scans. Patients under the public health system are therefore having to endure considerably long waiting lists. Medicare was introduced in 1983, allowing…

Aetna Inc., the third-largest health insurer in the US, has announced that its Chairman and current Chief Executive Officer, Ronald A. Williams, will be succeeded by the end of November 2010 by Mark T. Bertolini, current President of Aetna. Mr. Williams intends to retire, and will stay on as executive chairman until April 2011, when this role will also be assumed by Mr. Bertolini.