To deal with the environmental risks faced by the healthcare industry, ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail arm of ACE Limited (ACE), has launched the Healthcare Premises Pollution Liability Insurance Policy.
This policy is designed to attend to pollution and facility-borne illness risks encountered by owners, managers and operators of hospitals, long-term and short-term care facilities, and in-patient and out-patient surgical centers to name a few. Along with the healthcare facility pollution and facility-borne illness coverages, the policy also covers the standard premises pollution risk.
In the second quarter, ACE Limited wrote net premiums of $3.9 billion, an increase of 15.6% over the prior year period. The addition of a new product to the portfolio will further position the company to continue delivering strong numbers going forward.
In its second quarter earnings conference call, ACE Limited announced that it would post double digit revenue growth in the second half of 2011. For 2011, the company raised operating earnings expectation to $6.00 – $6.20 per share from $5.40 – $5.70 earlier.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2011 is $1.82 per share. For full years 2011 and 2012, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are $6.58 and $7.42 per share, respectively.
The company is well poised on the strength of its international presence, diversified product offering, risk management, conservative underwriting practice and strong reserves.
ACE Limited remains focused on expanding its footprint in faster growing economies. We expect the acquisitions made by the company to turn around premium writings and help it grow.
We maintain our Neutral recommendation on ACE Limited. The quantitative Zacks #3 Rank (short-term Hold rating) for the company indicates no clear directional pressure on the shares over the near term.
Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, ACE Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of insurance and reinsurance products to commercial and individual customers worldwide. The company competes with American International Group Inc. (AIG) and The Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV).
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