10 Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now

It's been a tough road for AIG (NYSE: AIG  ) , with the insurer taking a beating that's lasted a solid five years. But now that the company is back on its feet and operating on a better scale, it's focus may be more on recovering some of its losses. With that in mind, the insurer is back on track in its $10 billion case against Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) . A recent judgement put the case back in action, and in the video below, Motley Fool contributor Jessica Alling will discuss what the judgement means and why investors should pay attention.�

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Top Managed Healthcare Companies For 2015: MBIA Inc (MBI)

MBIA Inc. (MBIA), incorporated on November 12, 1986, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates the financial guarantee insurance businesses in the industry and is a provider of asset management advisory services. These activities are managed through three business segments: United States public finance insurance, structured finance and international insurance, and advisory services. The Company�� United States public finance insurance business is operated through National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation and its subsidiaries (National), its structured finance and international insurance business is primarily operated through MBIA Insurance Corporation and its subsidiaries (MBIA Corp.), and its asset management advisory services business is primarily operated through Cutwater Holdings, LLC and its subsidiaries (Cutwater). It also manages certain business activities through its corporate, asset/liability products, and conduit segments. The corporate segment includes revenues and expenses that arise from general corporate activities. Funding programs managed through the asset/liability products and conduit segments are in wind-down.

MBIA Corp. owns MBIA UK Insurance Limited (MBIA UK), a financial guarantee insurance company that is regulated and supervised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the United Kingdom and is authorized to carry out insurance business in the United Kingdom and in the European Economic Area on a cross border services basis. Its financial guarantee insurance generally provides investors with an unconditional and irrevocable guarantee of the payment of the principal, interest or other amounts owing on insured obligations when due or, in the event that the Company has the right at its discretion to accelerate insured obligations upon default or otherwise, upon its election to accelerate. The Company conducts its financial guarantee business, as well as related reinsurance, advisory and portfolio services, through its subsidiaries National Publi! c Finance Guarantee Corporation (National), its United States (United States) public finance-only financial guarantee company, and MBIA Insurance Corporation and its subsidiaries (MBIA Corp.), which write global structured finance and non-United States public finance financial guarantee insurance.

Insurance operations

The Company�� United States public finance insurance business is conducted through National, and its structured finance and international insurance operations are conducted through MBIA Corp. and its subsidiaries. It also issue insurance policies to guarantee the payment of principal and interest on municipal obligations being traded in the secondary market upon the request of a broker or an existing holder of uninsured bonds, where premium is generally paid by the owner of the obligation. In addition, the Company has provided financial guarantees to debt service reserve funds. The primary risk in its insurance operations is that of adverse credit performance in the insured portfolio. It seeks to maintain a diversified insured portfolio and have designed each insured portfolio with the aim of managing and diversifying risk based on a range of criteria, including revenue source, issue size, type of asset, industry concentrations, type of bond and geographic area.

Through the Company�� reinsurance of United States public finance financial guarantees from MBIA Corp. and Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC), National�� insurance portfolio consists of municipal bonds, including tax-exempt and taxable indebtedness of United States political subdivisions, as well as utility districts, airports, health care institutions, higher educational facilities, student loan issuers, housing authorities and other similar agencies and obligations issued by private entities that finance projects that serve a substantial public purpose. Municipal bonds and privately issued bonds used for the financing of public purpose projects are generally supported by ! taxes, as! sessments, user fees or tariffs related to the use of these projects, lease payments or other similar types of revenue streams. As of December 31, 2012, MBIA Corp. had 899 policies outstanding in its insured portfolio. In addition, MBIA Corp. had 199 insurance policies outstanding relating to asset/liability products liabilities issued by MBIA Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Advisory Services

In the Company�� asset management advisory services business its registered investment advisors provide fixed-income asset management services for third parties and the investment portfolios of the Company and its affiliates (including the wind-down businesses) on a fee-for-service basis. Its advisory services are offered in two product lines, traditional and structured. Within the traditional product line, Cutwater offers cash management, customized asset management, discretionary asset management and fund accounting services to governments, insurance companies (including the Company�� insurance subsidiaries), corporations, pension funds, unions, endowments, foundations and investment companies in both pooled and separate account formats. These services are offered through registered investment advisers, and Cutwater receives asset management and administrative fees as compensation. Within the structured product line, Cutwater manages asset/liability programs and conduits (the wind-down businesses), Collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and other funding vehicles for banks, insurance companies, program trustees and investment companies, and it earns base and performance fees for its services. Cutwater�� advisory services are offered through two principal operating subsidiaries: Cutwater Asset Management Corp. (Cutwater-AMC), an SEC-registered investment adviser and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm, and Cutwater Investor Services Corp. (Cutwater-ISC), an SEC-registered investment adviser.

Wind-down Business

The asset/liability produc! ts busine! ss historically raised funds for investment through two sources, such as issuance of customized investment agreements by the Company and one of its subsidiaries for bond proceeds and other funds, and issuance of medium-term notes (MTNs) with varying maturities issued by its subsidiary MBIA Global Funding, LLC (GFL). Each of these products is guaranteed by MBIA Corp. In addition, GFL would lend the proceeds of its GFL MTN issuances to MBIA Inc. (GFL Loans). The Company primarily purchased domestic securities and lent a portion of the proceeds from investment agreements and GFL MTNs to its subsidiary Euro Asset Acquisition Limited, which primarily purchased foreign assets as permitted under the Company�� investment guidelines. The Company�� conduit segment is principally operated through Meridian Funding Company, LLC (Meridian) and, formerly, Triple-A One Funding Corporation (Triple-A One). The conduits were used by banks and other financial institutions to raise funds for their customers in the capital markets. During 2012, Triple-A One was liquated. The conduits provided funding for multiple customers through special purpose vehicles that issued commercial paper and MTNs.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer]

  A New York state judge ruled against summary judgment, so the battle between Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) and MBIA (NYSE: MBI  ) will continue. The dispute centers around which company is liable for losses stemming from mortgage-backed�securities�containing loans originated by Countrywide, the embattled mortgage company B of A ultimately acquired.

• [By John Maxfield]

  Since the beginning of the year, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) has cleared up much of the uncertainty that's weighed on its stock. In January, it settled with Fannie Mae to resolve billions of dollars' worth of claims related to the sale of faulty mortgages by Countrywide Financial. In April, it settled multiple securities fraud lawsuits with private investors. And most recently, it came to an agreement with MBIA (NYSE: MBI  ) , resolving one of the most contentious legal battles related to the financial crisis.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Yet the Dow did have some excitement, as Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) jumped more than 5% after agreeing to settle its lawsuit with mortgage insurer MBIA (NYSE: MBI  ) . MBIA investors were the big winners, with the stock soaring 45% on news of the settlement, under which the bank will pay MBIA $1.6 billion in cash as well as extending the insurer a $500 million line of credit and paying back some MBIA debt that B of A holds. That was enough to satisfy investors despite the threat of new litigation from the New York attorney general. But because the Dow is price weighted, the $0.64 gain in B of A shares only pushed the Dow up about five points.

• [By David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer]

  The broader market was trading roughly flat in the early hours of trading today, but a few financial stocks were still moving higher. National Bank of Greece (NYSE: NBG  ) continued its�meteoric rise over the past 30 days, and MBIA (NYSE: MBI  ) investors are still reveling over the settlement with Bank of America.

10 Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG)

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Gallagher), along with its subsidiaries, provides insurance brokerage and third-party claims settlement, and administration services to entities in the United States and abroad. It operates in three segments: brokerage, risk management and corporate. The Brokerage segment primarily consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations. The Company�� risk management segment provides contract claim settlement and administration services for enterprises that choose to self-insure some or all of their property/casualty coverages and for insurance companies that choose to outsource some or all of their property/casualty claims departments. Majority of its international brokerage operations are in Australia, Bermuda, Canada and the United Kingdom. Its international risk management operations are principally in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The Company operates in Australia and Canada primarily as a retail commercial property and casualty broker. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Barmore Insurance Agency, Inc. In December 2013, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired McIntyre Risk Management, LLC. In December 2013, the Company acquired Cleaveland Insurance Group and Jenkins and Associates. Effective December 26, 2013, Arthur J Gallagher & Co acquired Rock Island-based Cleaveland Insurance Group. In February 2014, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co acquired Benefit Development Group of Selma, Alabama. In February 2014, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co announced the acquisition of Kent, Kent & Tingle in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Brokerage Segment

The Company�� retail brokerage operations negotiate and place property/casualty, employer-provided health and welfare insurance and retirement solutions principally for middle-market commercial, industrial, public entity, religious and not-for-profit entities. Many of the Company�� retail brokerage customers choose to place their insurance with insurance ! underwriters, while others choose to use alternative vehicles, such as self-insurance pools, risk retention groups or captive insurance companies. Its wholesale brokerage operations assist its brokers and other unaffiliated brokers and agents in the placement of specialized, and hard-to-place insurance programs.

The Company�� primary sources of compensation for its retail brokerage services are commissions paid by insurance carriers. It operates its brokerage operations through a network of more than 300 sales and service offices located throughout the United States and in 16 other countries. In addition, the Company offers client-service capabilities in more than 110 countries worldwide through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants. The Company�� retail brokerage operations place all lines of commercial property/casualty and health and welfare insurance coverage. Its retail brokerage operations are organized in more than 190 geographical centers located in the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom and operate within certain key niche/practice groups, which account for approximately 67% of its retail brokerage revenues.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company�� wholesale insurance brokerage operations accounted for 22% of its brokerage segment revenues. Its wholesale brokers assist its retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance. These brokers operate through over 65 geographical centers located across the United States, Bermuda and through its approved Lloyd�� of London brokerage operation. In certain cases, it acts as a brokerage wholesaler, and in other cases, it acts as a managing general agent or managing general underwriter distributing specialized insurance coverages for insurance carriers. Over 75% of the Company�� wholesale brokerage revenues come from non-affiliated brokerage customers.

Risk Management Segment

The Company�� ! risk mana! gement segment provides contract claim settlement and administration services for enterprises that choose to self-insure some or all of their property/casualty coverages and for insurance companies that choose to outsource some or all of their property/casualty claims departments. During 2011, approximately 67% of its risk management segment�� revenues were from workers compensation related claims, 26% were from general and commercial auto liability related claims and 7% were from property related claims. In addition, it generate revenues from integrated disability management (employee absence management) programs, information services, risk control consulting (loss control) services and appraisal services, either individually or in combination with arising claims. The Company manages its third-party claims adjusting operations through a network of approximately 110 offices located throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The Company competes with Aon Corporation, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., Willis Group Holdings, Ltd., Wells Fargo Insurance Services, Inc., Brown & Brown Inc., Hub International Ltd., Lockton Companies, Inc., USI Holdings Corporation, Aon Hewitt, Towers Watson & Co., Crump Group, Inc., CRC Insurance Services, Inc., RT Specialty, AmWINS Group, Inc., Swett & Crawford Group, Inc., Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc., Crawford & Company, ACE Limited, AIG Insurance and Zurich Insurance.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Expanding its presence in the United Kingdom, insurance provider Arthur J. Gallagher (NYSE: AJG  ) will acquire the U.K.-based Property & Commercial Limited from�Barbon Insurance Group, the country's�largest provider of tenant references, the largest provider of rent guarantee, and one of the largest brokers to the social housing sector.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Insurance brokerage and third-party claims settlement claims company Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) raised its quarterly dividend 3% to 36 cents per share, payable on Mar. 20 to shareholders of record as of Mar. 4.
  AJG Dividend Yield: 3.00%

10 Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now: Fidelity National Financial Inc. (FNF)

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. provides title insurance, mortgage services, and diversified services in the United States. The company provides title insurance, escrow, and other title related services, including collection and trust activities, trustee’s sales guarantees, recordings, and reconveyances, as well as home warranty insurance to various customers in the residential and commercial market sectors of the real estate industry. It is also involved in the design, manufacture, remanufacture, market, and distribution of aftermarket and original equipment electrical components for automobiles, light trucks, heavy-duty trucks, and other vehicles worldwide. In addition, the company owns and operates restaurants comprising the O'Charley's, Ninety Nine Restaurants, Max & Erma's, Village Inn, Bakers Square, and Stoney River Legendary Steaks concepts in the United States. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adam J. Wiederman]

  Getty Images Bitcoin made headlines last year when the value of all outstanding pieces of the electronic currency reached nearly $10 billion. It's not just speculators drawn to the new currency. Many businesses are also attempting to cash in on this growth: Several public companies, including Zynga (ZNGA) and Overstock.com (OSTK), accept Bitcoins as a form of payment. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen's firm has invested nearly $50 million in Bitcoin-related ventures, and it is looking to invest even more. And the Winklevoss twins -- who notoriously accused Facebook's (FB) Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea -- have been "in dialogue" with the SEC about opening the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, according to Bloomberg. Yet a new survey from TheStreet.com (TST) reveals that 76 percent of consumers are not familiar with Bitcoin -- and 79 percent would never consider owning a currency like it. Does this signal opportunity for savvy investors? Or is this a fad you'd be wise to avoid? The Basics of Bitcoin Bitcoin is a completely unregulated form of currency developed by an anonymous Japanese programmer (according to some apocryphal claims) as a completely digital, peer-to-peer payment system that is independent of national currencies (which, Bitcoin users argue, are all subject to the riskiness of the underlying country). Bitcoins are rewarded throughout the day to a "Bitcoin miner" whose computer solves a series of algorithms quicker than other miners. The puzzles become more difficult over time, so the calculations take longer and the computations require more computing power. There will eventually be a total of 21 million Bitcoins (12.4 million are in circulation today) and we won't reach the point that they are effectively "mined out" until 2040. The value of a Bitcoin is supposed to be market-driven, meaning they're worth whatever the two parties in a transaction value them as. For example, in one of the original Bitcoin transactions, a "mi

• [By John Seward]

  Belden Inc. (NYSE: BDC) will replace Fidelity National Inc. (NYSE: FNF) in the S&P MidCap 400 June 30, when Synergy Resources (AMEX: SYRG) will replace Belden in the S&P SmallCap 600. Fidelity is reclassifying its shares into two tracking stocks which are ineligible for S&P indexes.

10 Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now: Lincoln National Corporation (LNC)

Lincoln National Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in multiple insurance and retirement businesses in the United States. The company operates in Annuities, Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection segments. It sells a range of wealth protection, accumulation, and retirement income products and solutions. These products include fixed and indexed annuities, variable annuities, universal life insurance (UL), variable universal life insurance (VUL), linked-benefit UL, term life insurance, employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plans, mutual funds and group life, disability, and dental products. The company also provides employer-sponsored fixed and variable annuities, and mutual fund-based programs; single and survivorship versions of UL and VUL, including corporate-owned UL and VUL, and bank-owned UL and VUL products to small- to mid-sized banks, and mid- to large-sized corporations; and group non-medical insurance products, prin cipally term life, universal life, disability, dental, vision, accident, and critical illness insurance to the employer market place through various forms of contributory and non-contributory plans. Lincoln National Corporation distributes its products through consultants, brokers, planners, agents, financial advisors, third-party administrators, and other intermediaries. Lincoln National Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Insurance provider�Lincoln National� (NYSE: LNC  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.12 per share, the same rate it paid for the past two quarters after raising the payout 50%, from $0.08 per share.

• [By John Kell]

  Lincoln National Corp.'s(LNC) fourth-quarter profit rose 9.7%, as it posted higher-than-expected operating revenue.

  Marathon Oil Corp.(MRO) reported lower fourth-quarter sales volume, though the crude oil and natural gas producer’s bottom line grew 16% due to fewer income tax provisions.

• [By Andrew Bary]

  Life stocks are up more than 2% on average, making them one of the strongest groups in the S&P 500 today. The Protective Life deal highlights the discounted valuation in the sector, where leading stocks have some of the lowest valuations in the S&P 500. MetLife (MET) is up 3% to $54.80; Prudential Financial (PRU) has risen 2.8% to $88.44 and Lincoln National (LNC) has gained 2.6% to $51.25.

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Bruce Berkowitz�� second quarter Fairholme Capital Management portfolio was released yesterday and noted two new stocks to his holdings: Lincoln National Corp (LNC) and Hartford Financial Services (HIG).

10 Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now: Helvetia Holding AG (HELN)

Helvetia Holding AG is a Switzerland-based holding company of the Helvetia Group, an internationally active, all-lines insurance service group. The Company divides its activities into country markets Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain and Other insurance units, which include Austria, France and the global reinsurance business, as well as the Corporate segment, which includes all the Helvetia Group activities, as well as financing companies and the Company. Helvetia Holding AG classifies its activities as life business, non-life business and other activities. The life business offers life insurance, pension plans and annuities, among others. The non-life business includes property, motor vehicle, liability and transport policies, as well as health and accidental insurance coverage. The reinsurance business, among others, is included in Other activities business. The Company operates through its branch offices and subsidiaries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Stoukas]

  Helvetia Holding AG (HELN) added 3.3 percent to 412 Swiss francs. Switzerland�� fourth-biggest insurer said first-half profit rose because of increased life-insurance sales and an acquisition in France. Net income climbed to 179.5 million Swiss francs ($192 million) in the six months through June, beating the average analyst estimate of 164.4 million francs.

10 Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now: Anthem Inc (ANTM)

Anthem, Inc., formerly WellPoint, Inc. (WellPoint), incorporated on July 17, 2001, is a health benefit company. The Company manages its operations through three segments: Commercial, Consumer, and Other. The Company is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), an association of independent health benefit plans. The Company offers a spectrum of network-based managed care plans to the large and small employer, individual, Medicaid and senior markets. Its managed care plans include preferred provider organizations (PPOs); health maintenance organizations (HMOs); point-of-service plans (POS) plans; traditional indemnity plans and other hybrid plans, including consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs); and hospital only and limited benefit products.

The Company serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California and as the Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS), licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as BCBS in 10 New York city metropolitan and surrounding counties, and as Blue Cross or BCBS in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, District of Columbia), and Wisconsin. The Company does business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, or Empire Blue Cross (in its New York service areas). The Company also serves customers throughout the country as UniCare and in certain California, Arizona and Nevada markets.

The Company provides an array of managed care services to self-funded customers, including claims processing, underwriting, stop loss insurance, actuarial services, provider network access, medical cost management, disease management, wellness programs and other administrative services. The Company also provides an array of specialty products and services including life a! nd disability insurance benefits, dental, vision, behavioral health benefit services, radiology benefit management, analytics-driven personal health care guidance and long-term care insurance. The Company provides services to the Federal Government in connection with the Federal Employee Program (FEP), and various Medicare programs.

The Company�� Commercial and Consumer segments both offers a diversified mix of managed care products, including PPOs, HMOs, traditional indemnity benefits and POS plans, as well as a variety of hybrid benefit plans including CDHPs, hospital only and limited benefit products. Its Commercial segment includes Local Group (including UniCare), National Accounts and certain other ancillary business operations (dental, vision, life and disability and workers��compensation). Business units in the Commercial segment offer fully-insured products and provide an array of managed care services to self-funded customers, including claims processing, underwriting, stop loss insurance, actuarial services, provider network access, medical cost management, disease management, wellness programs and other administrative services.

The Company�� Consumer segment includes senior, state-sponsored and individual businesses. Its senior business includes services, such as Medicare Advantage (including private fee-for-service plans and special needs plans), Medicare Part D, and Medicare Supplement, while its State-Sponsored business includes its managed care alternatives for Medicaid and State Children�� Health Insurance Plan programs. Individual business includes individual customers under age 65 and their covered dependents. Its Other segment includes the Comprehensive Health Solutions business unit (CHS). Its Other segment also includes results from its Federal Government Solutions (FGS), business. FGS business includes FEP and National Government Services, Inc. (NGS), which acts as a Medicare contractor in several regions across the nation.

Preferred P! rovider O! rganization products offer the member an option to select any health care provider, with benefits reimbursed by the Company at a higher level when care is received from a participating network provider. Consumer-Driven Health Plans (CDHPs) provide consumers with increased financial responsibility, choice and control regarding how their health care dollars are spent. Indemnity products offer the member an option to select any health care provider for covered services. Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) products include managed care benefits, generally through a participating network of physicians, hospitals and other providers. Point-of-Service (POS) products blend the characteristics of HMO, PPO and indemnity plans.

The Company provides administrative services to large group employers that maintain self-funded health plans. These administrative services include underwriting, actuarial services, medical management, claims processing and other administrative services for self-funded employers. Self-funded health plans are also able to use its provider networks and to realize savings through its negotiated provider arrangements, while allowing employers the ability to design certain health benefit plans in accordance with their own requirements and objectives. The Company also underwrites stop loss insurance for self-funded plans.

BlueCard host members are generally members who reside in or travel to a state in which a WellPoint subsidiary is the Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield licensee and who are covered under an employer sponsored health plan serviced by a non-WellPoint controlled BCBS licensee, who is the home plan. The Company performs certain administrative functions for BlueCard host members, for which it receives administrative fees from the BlueCard members��home plans. Other administrative functions, including maintenance of enrollment information and customer service, are performed by the home plan. The Company offers a variety of senior plans, products and options, ! such as M! edicare supplement plans, Medicare Advantage (including private fee-for-service plans and special needs plans) and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans (Medicare Part D). Medicare Advantage plans provide Medicare beneficiaries with a managed care alternative to traditional Medicare and often include a Medicare Part D benefit. In addition, its Medicare Advantage special needs plans provide Medicare beneficiaries who have chronic diseases and conditions with tailored benefits designed to meet their needs. Medicare Part D offers a prescription drug plan to Medicare and dual eligible (Medicare and Medicaid) beneficiaries. The Company offers these plans to customers through its health benefit subsidiaries throughout the country, including CareMore.

The Company offers a range of health insurance plans with a variety of options and deductibles for individuals under age 65 who are not covered by employer-sponsored coverage. Some of its products target certain demographic populations, such as uninsured younger individuals between the ages of 19 and 29, families and those transitioning between jobs or early retirees. The Company has contracts to serve members enrolled in Medicaid, State Children�� Health Insurance programs and other publicly funded health care programs for low income and/or high medical risk individuals. The Company provides services in California, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. It markets and sells an integrated prescription drug product to both fully-insured and self-funded customers through its health benefit subsidiaries throughout the country. The product includes features, such as drug formularies, a pharmacy network and maintenance of a prescription drug database and mail order capabilities. The Company has delegated certain functions and administrative services related to its integrated prescription drug products to Express Scripts, under a 10 year contract. Express Scripts manages the network of ph! armacy pr! oviders, operates mail order pharmacies and processes prescription drug claims on its behalf, while it sells and support the product for clients, make formulary decisions and set drug benefit design strategy and provide front line member support.

The life products include term life and accidental death and dismemberment. The Company offers short-term and long-term disability programs, usually in conjunction with its health plans. The Company offers specialized behavioral health plans and benefits management. These plans cover mental health and substance abuse treatment services on both an inpatient and an outpatient basis. The Company offers outpatient diagnostic imaging management services to health plans. These services include utilization management for advanced diagnostic imaging procedures, network development and optimization, patient safety, claims adjudication and provider payment. The Company offers evidence based and analytics-driven personal health care guidance.

The Company�� dental plans include networks in certain states in which it operates. Many of the dental benefits are provided to customers enrolled in its health plans and are offered on both a fully-insured and self-funded basis. Its members also have access to additional dental providers through its participation in the National Dental GRID, a national dental network developed by and for BCBS plans. Additionally, the Company offers managed dental services to other health care plans to assist those other health care plans in providing dental benefits to their customers. Its vision plans include networks within the states where the Company operates. Many of the vision benefits are provided to customers enrolled in its health plans and are offered on both a fully-insured and self-funded basis.

The Company offers long-term care insurance products to its California members through a subsidiary. The long-term care products include tax-qualified and non-tax qualified versions of a skilled nursing home care! plan and! comprehensive policies covering skilled, intermediate and custodial long-term care and home health services. Through its subsidiary, NGS, the Company serves as a fiscal intermediary, carrier and Medicare administrative contractor providing administrative services for the Medicare program, which generally provides coverage for persons who are 65 or older and for persons who are disabled or with end-stage renal disease. Part A of the Medicare program provides coverage for services provided by hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and other health care facilities. Part B of the Medicare program provides coverage for services provided by physicians, physical and occupational therapists and other professional providers, as well as certain durable medical equipment and medical supplies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  This is extremely important for Anthem (NYSE: ANTM  ) (formerly WellPoint) which was the big Obamacare enrollment winner last year and has banked its success on courting Medicaid expansion enrollees as well. California's strong Medi-Cal enrollment so far is encouraging, but I'd reserve judgment until Anthem's fourth-quarter earnings report.

10 Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now: Cigna Corp (CI)

Cigna Corporation (Cigna), incorporated on November 3, 1981, is a holding company. Cigna is a global health service company, with insurance subsidiaries that are providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and services. In the United States, these products and services are offered through employers and other groups, and in selected international markets, Cigna offers supplemental health, life and accident insurance products and international health care coverage and services to businesses, governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals. The Company also has certain run-off operations, including a Run-off Reinsurance segment. Cigna�� revenues are derived from premiums, fees, mail order pharmacy, other revenues and investment income. Cigna operates in five segments: Health Care, Disability and Life, International, Run-off Reinsurance, and Other Operations, including Corporate-owned Life Insurance. On January 31, 2012, Cigna acquired HealthSpring, Inc. On November 30, 2011, the Company acquired FirstAssist Group Holdings Limited. In August 2012, the Company acquired Great American Supplemental Benefits from American Financial Group, Inc. In January 2013, the Company acquired select Arcadian and Humana Medicare Advantage plans in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. In September 2013, Cigna Corporation completed its acquisition of Alegis Care, a portfolio company of Triton Pacific Capital Partners. Effective September 3, 2013, Cigna Corp acquired Home Physicians Management LLC.

Health Care

Cigna�� Health Care segment (Cigna HealthCare) offers insured and self-insured medical, dental, behavioral health, vision, and prescription drug benefit plans, health advocacy programs and other products and services that may be integrated to provide health care benefit programs. Cigna HealthCare companies offer these products and services in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the United States Virgin Islands. Cigna offers a ! range of products and services to employers and other groups that sponsor group health plans. With the exception of Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), Medicare, Voluntary and stop loss products, each of Cigna HealthCare�� products is offered with alternative funding options. Cigna may sell multiple products under the same funding arrangement to the same employer. Approximately 85% of the Company�� medical customers are enrolled in self-insured plans, with the remainder split between guaranteed cost and experience-rated insured plans. Approximately 90% of its medical customers are enrolled in self-insured and experience-rated plans. Cigna also offers guaranteed cost medical and dental insurance to individuals. Cigna HealthCare offers a product line of indemnity managed care benefit plans on an insured (guaranteed cost or experience-rated) or self-insured basis. The Network, Network Open Access, and Open Access Plus In-Network products cover only those services provided by Cigna HealthCare participating health care professionals (in-network) and emergency services provided by non-participating health care professionals (out-of-network). The Network point of service (POS), Network POS Open Access and Open Access Plus plans (OAP) cover health care services provided by participating, and non-participating health care professionals.

Cigna HealthCare offers a Preferred Provider Plans (PPO) product line that features a national network. Like Network and Open Access Plus Plans, the PPO product line is offered on an insured (guaranteed cost or experience-rated) or self-insured basis. Cigna HealthCare offers the Cigna Choice Fund suite of products, including Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRA), Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA). Cigna HealthCare offers stop loss insurance coverage for self-insured plans. This stop loss coverage reimburses the plan for claims in excess of a predetermined amount, either for individuals (specific) or the entire group (aggregate), ! or both. ! Cigna HealthCare provides Taft-Hartley trusts and other entities access to its national provider network and provides claim re-pricing and other services. Cigna HealthCare�� voluntary medical products are offered to employers with 51 or more eligible employees. As a result of the acquisition of HealthSpring, Cigna operates Medicare Advantage coordinated care plans in 11 states and the District of Columbia. Under the Medicare program, Medicare-eligible beneficiaries may receive health care benefits, including prescription drugs, through a managed care health plan, such as the Company�� coordinated care plans, and The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reimburse the Company pursuant to a risk adjustment payment methodology.

Cigna�� Medicare Part D prescription drug program, Cigna Medicare Rx, provides a number of plan options, as well as service and information support to Medicare and Medicaid eligible customers. Cigna Medicare Rx is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Cigna HealthCare offers medical management, disease management, and other health advocacy services to employers and other plan sponsors. These services are offered to customers covered under Cigna HealthCare administered plans, as well as individuals covered under plans insured and/or administered by competing insurers/third-party administrators. Cigna�� onsite services include more than 75 health centers and the annual administration of more than 400,000 biometric screenings, as well as approximately 2,200 wellness seminars each year. As a result of the acquisition of HealthSpring, Cigna operates three LivingWell Health Centers, where Medicare customers can receive care from physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, and nurses educators. Cigna arranges for behavioral health care services for customers through its network of participating behavioral health care professionals. Cigna offers behavioral health care case management services, employee assistance programs (EAP), and wor! k/life pr! ograms to employers, Government entities and other groups sponsoring health benefit plans. As of December 31, 2011, Cigna�� behavioral national network had approximately 108,000 access points to psychiatrists, psychologists and clinical social workers and approximately 9,000 facilities and clinics.

Cigna Pharmacy Management offers prescription drug plans to its insured and self-funded customers both in conjunction with its medical products and on a stand-alone basis. With a network of over 62,000 contracted pharmacies, Cigna Pharmacy Management is a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) offering clinical integration programs, specialty pharmacy solutions and home delivery of prescription medicines. Cigna�� specialty pharmacy outcome management program, TheraCare, manages specialty conditions. TheraCare is coordinated with other Cigna health advocacy programs and all data is captured for analysis and reporting. Cigna Dental Health offers a variety of dental care products, including dental health maintenance organization plans (Dental HMO), dental preferred provider organization (DPPO) plans, dental exclusive provider organization plans, traditional dental indemnity plans and a dental discount program. As of December 31, 2011, Cigna Dental Health customers totaled approximately 10.9 million. Managed dental care products are offered in 38 states for Dental HMO and 43 states and the District of Columbia for Dental PPO through a network of independent health care professionals that have contracted with Cigna Dental Health to provide dental services. Cigna Dental Health customers access care from the dental PPO network in the United States and one of the dental HMO networks in the United States, with approximately 235,500 DPPO-contracted access points (approximately 92,000 health care professionals) and approximately 58,000 dental HMO-contracted access points (approximately 16,500 health care professionals).

Disability and Life

Cigna�� Disability and Life segment (Cign! a Disabil! ity and Life) provides insurance products and their related services, such as group long-term and short-term disability insurance, group life insurance and accident and specialty insurance. These products and services are provided by subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation. Cigna Disability and Life markets products in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands and Canada. Cigna Disability and Life also provides assistance to employees in returning to work and assistance to their employers in managing the cost of employee disability. Cigna Disability and Life offers personal accident insurance coverage, which consists primarily of accidental death and dismemberment and travel accident insurance to employers. Group accident insurance may be employer-paid or employee-paid. Cigna Disability and Life also offers specialty insurance services that consist primarily of disability and life, accident, and hospital indemnity products to professional or trade associations and financial institutions.

International

CIGNA�� International segment (CIGNA International) offers supplemental health, life and accident insurance products, as well as international health care products and services. These products and services are provided by subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, including foreign operating entities. Cigna International provides employers, affinity groups and individuals with local and global health care and related financial protection programs. Supplemental health products provide a specified payment for a range of health risks and include personal accident, accidental death, critical illness, hospitalization, travel, dental, cancer and other dread disease coverages. Term life, as well as variable universal life insurance and other savings products are also included in the product portfolio. Cigna International�� supplemental health, life and accident insurance products are offered in South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the European Un! ion, Chin! a, New Zealand, Thailand and Turkey. In China, Cigna International owns a 50% interest in a joint venture through, which its products and services are offered. Cigna International�� health care businesses primarily consist of products and services to meet the needs of local and multinational companies and organizations and their local and globally mobile employees and dependents. These products and services include insurance and administrative services for medical, dental, vision, life, accidental death and dismemberment, and disability risks. In addition, Cigna International�� health care businesses include products and services, which are primarily provided through group benefits programs to employees of businesses and other organizations in the United Kingdom and Spain. These products and services include medical indemnity insurance coverage, with some offerings having managed care or administrative service aspects.

Run-off Reinsurance

Cigna�� reinsurance segment reinsured guaranteed minimum death benefits (GMDB) (also known as variable annuity death benefits (VADBe)), under certain variable annuities issued by other insurance companies. These variable annuities are investments in mutual funds combined with a death benefit. The Company purchased retrocessional protection that covers approximately 5% of the assumed risks. The Company also maintains a dynamic hedge program. Cigna also reinsured guaranteed minimum income benefits (GMIB) under certain variable annuities issued by other insurance companies. These variable annuities are investments in mutual funds combined with minimum income and death benefits. These products under Cigna�� Run-off Reinsurance segment were sold principally in North America and Europe through a sales force and through intermediaries.

Other Operations

The principal products of the Corporate-owned Life Insurance (COLI) business are permanent insurance contracts sold to corporations to provide coverage on the lives ! of certai! n employees for the purpose of funding employer-paid future benefit obligations. The principal services provided by the COLI business are issuance and administration of the insurance policies. COLI policies provide a death benefit for which Cigna collects fees to cover mortality risk. COLI policies also allow policy owners to borrow against a portion of their cash surrender value.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anora Mahmudova]

  Cigna Corp. (CI) �shares gained 3.3% after steep losses recently. The stock is down over 8% year to date.

• [By Sean Williams]

  For instance, what if many of the national health insurers choose not to participate in many of the state exchanges? In May, California unveiled the participants in its state-run exchange. Of the 13 health-benefits providers, notably absent was UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH  ) , Aetna (NYSE: AET  ) , and CIGNA (NYSE: CI  ) . Although these three insurers dominate the commercial side of the business and only maintain 7% of the cumulative individual insurance market in California, it seems rather ominous to me that they would pass on their chance to compete in California's huge patient pool. Furthermore, it points to the growing skepticism that many insurers (even the big ones) have about the upcoming implementation of Obamacare and the initiation of state exchanges.

• [By DailyFinance Staff]

  Concerns about the political uncertainty in Ukraine caused some volatility in the markets Friday afternoon, with the major indexes making several U-turns ahead of the weekend. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI), which had been up by as much as 125 points, briefly dropped into loss territory before rebounding to end 49 points higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) edged up 5 points, adding to Thursday's record high, but the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) lost 10 points. AP/Darko VojinovicPro-Russian militias have seized local government buildings in Crimea, Ukraine; the unrest there is making investors around the world nervous. February was a great month for investors. All three major averages jumped by about 4 percent. UnitedHealth Group (UNH) led the blue chips, gaining 1½ percent. Other health providers – Aetna (AET), Wellpoint (WLP), Cigna (CI) and Humana (HUM) -- all gained between 1½ and 2 percent. And retail stocks remained active. Target (TGT) added another 3 percent. Best Buy rose 4 percent, and Fred's (FRED), a regional department store chain, jumped 10 percent. But Pier 1 (PIR) fell 5½ percent after lowering its earnings outlook for a second time. That led to a series of brokerage downgrades. Decker Outdoor (DECK) tumbled 12 percent. The maker of footwear brands such as Ugg and Teva issued a weak outlook. And apparel maker Lululemon (LULU) fell 5-percent on negative comments from Credit Suisse. It seems as though there are always some big movers in the drug and biotech sectors – and that was certainly the case today. GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) rose 2 percent after the FDA granted orphan status to its drug to treat a rare form of childhood epilepsy. But most of the action was on the downside. Endologix (ELGX) slid 24 percent after forecasting lower revenue growth. Questcor (QCOR) fell 10 percent. It's lost big for three straight days amid allegations of questionable business practices. Jazz Pharma