That's double the loss ratios on deals taking place this year, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
In other words, if insurers do what we want them to do — cut costs and rein in premiums — it is likely that their loss ratios will fall.
While AIG boasts of its dominance in various business lines and countries, it discloses only the broadest loss ratios.
Insurers must refund money to consumers if they do not meet the standards, known as minimum loss ratios.
"Focusing on short-term loss ratios is misleading, as claims fluctuate widely from year to year," Ms. Schuster said.
About 45 percent of people with individually purchased insurance are in health plans that do not meet the new standards, known as medical loss ratios, federal officials said.
The new federal health care law will require large plans, including most college plans, to have loss ratios of at least 85 percent.
The State Insurance Department has allowed insurers to average the loss ratios of the colleges they cover if their plans are similar.
Ultimately, plans are measured by their loss ratios — the benefits paid out to patients as a percentage of premiums received, a formula that takes into account the size of the premium.
"We're not trying to find a Cadillac plan with a high premium," said Michael Griffin, a spokesman for Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., whose plan had one of the lowest loss ratios studied by Mr. Cuomo's office.
These seemingly obscure statistics will soon be significant to consumers because insurers will have to pay rebates to policyholders if the companies do not meet the standards, known as medical loss ratios.
