New York Life Insurance Co. plans to hire 3,700 financial professionals, especially women and those representing minorities, this year after hiring more than 3,600 insurance agents last year.

January’s application activity for individually underwritten life insurance showed an 8.3% increase compared to January 2011 and additional growth from the 5.8% rise in December 2011.

Health care services paid by commercial insurance and Medicare programs cost 5.28% for the year ending Dec. 31, 2011, according to the S&P Indices.

The life insurance application activity for last year finished slightly above the 2010 level, spurred in part by 5.8% year-over-year growth in December.

The biggest story of last year is no surprise: the ongoing battle over federal health reform, according to the latest IFAwebnews.com poll.

Natural disasters cost insurance companies more than $32 billion in direct insured losses in the first nine months of 2011, nearly double the average of other years, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

A plurality of insurance agencies expect their revenue for 2011 to mirror that of the prior year, according to the latest IFAwebnews.com poll.

A global ratings agency predicts a stable outlook for the U.S. property-casualty insurance sector in 2012 after this year’s weak profitability.

Life insurance application activity showed a meager 0.5% gain in November, although researchers said the “no change” status signaled a “positive tone.”

OneAmerica Financial Partners says its enterprise sales growth for the year was 29% through the third quarter over the same period the prior year.