Cigna’s 3Q profit, 2012 forecast jump

The company took a 50 cent per-share hit last year from its guaranteed minimum income benefits, which it discontinued years ago. Cigna no longer offers new coverage in that area, nor does it offer variable annuity death benefits, but results from those operations can hurt the company in a tough market because it is still on the hook for rising liabilities.

The insurer also recorded a smaller after-tax loss of 2 cents per share this year from the variable annuities death benefits business, compared to a loss of 16 cents per share in 2011.

Cigna Corp. is the fourth-largest commercial health insurer based on enrollment, trailing WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Aetna Inc. Cigna has a broader product portfolio than some of its competitors. It operates health care, group disability and life segments in the U.S. The insurer also has an international segment that sells individual insurance in several countries and operates an expatriate business that covers people living outside their home countries.

Premiums and fees from health care, the insurer's largest segment, climbed 51 percent in the third quarter to $4.92 billion. Rate increases and business growth contributed to the increase, as did Cigna's $3.8-billion acquisition of HealthSpring, a deal that closed in January.

Cigna's international business also recorded a 22 percent gain in premiums and fees to $930 million.

See also:

• Variable annuities and the lifetime income challenge
• Will PPACA exchanges bring new E&O headaches?
• Green shoots?