Hartford Business Journal

November 7, 2016

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G R E AT E R H A R T F O R D ' S B U S I N E S S N E W S w w w. H a r t f o rd B u s i n e s s . c o m For more B2B news visit NOVEMBER 7, 2016 Volume 24, Number 49 $3.00 Subscribe online FOCUS: HOSPITALITY Story Headline Background color for box should match/compliment pallet for supplement. PG: 9 Join us in Honoring the winners! December 1, 2016 | CT Convention Center Index ■ Week in Review: PG. 6 ■ The Lists: PGs. 9, 10 ■ Deal Watch: PG. 11 ■ Movers & Shakers: PG. 16 ■ Nonprofit Notebook: PG. 16 ■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 20 ConnectiCare millions in red during rate case By Matt Pilon mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com W hen ConnectiCare sued the state in September over what it consid- ered inadequate rates approved for some of its 2017 health plans, the Farming- ton insurer's finances were deep in the red as the company faced pressures in several of its business segments. In the midst of its rate case, Connecti- Care was projecting a $55.4 million loss for 2016, which would account for the company's worst annual financial performance since it was acquired by EmblemHealth in 2005, according to financial reports recently pro- vided by credit ratings agency A.M. Best. The losses are concentrated in health plans the insurer sells on and off the state's insur- ance exchange, Access Health CT — lines of business that were previously profitable for the company. Several factors, including customers using more healthcare services than expect- ed, contributed to the poor performance, which caused A.M. Best to place the financial ratings of ConnectiCare and other Emblem- Health subsidiaries under review last month. The financial reports shed further light on the tenuous fiscal position ConnectiCare was in this summer as its executives pushed the Connecticut Insurance Department to approve higher rates for the premiums it charges customers who buy insurance through Access Health CT. ConnectiCare initially asked in June for a 14.3 percent average rate increase for its Collaborative robots work alongside Assa Abloy workers, performing actions that don't need the skill of a human to make decisions. This "co-bot," equipped with "grippers," picks up a mortise-lock body. ConnectiCare CEO Michael Wise said the Farmington insurer will return to profitability in 2017. Robot technology, other automation key to Assa Abloy's growth in Berlin By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com T ucked into rolling, verdant acreage not far from the Berlin Turnpike is perhaps one of Connecticut's most automated production facilities. The sprawling, 825,000-square-foot plant on 130 acres, owned by Swedish manufacturing giant Assa Abloy since 2000, houses its Corbin Russwin, Yale Commercial and McKinney Hinge com- mercial door-access divisions. Assa Abloy Berlin, as the factory is known internally, deploys a variety of low- and high- end technology in myriad ways to produce "value-added'' architectural-grade door hard- ware, locksets, exit devices and electronic access systems for schools, healthcare facili- ties and other institutional customers. But what stands out most is how Assa Abloy's Berlin facility uses its pre-pro- grammed "co-bots'' to work alongside humans. The machines do many finely I, Co-bot Continued on page 14 Continued on page 12 FACES OF BUSINESS Mr. Copy Jay Cartisano landed his first job out of college as a copy and fax machine salesman at Connecticut Business Systems. Now he runs the place. Find out how he climbed CBS' corporate ladder. PG. 3 EXECUTIVE PROFILE Art & Community Thomas J. Loughman wasted no time making a bold move as the new head of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art when he launched a program in August offering free admission to Hartford residents. PG. 5 P H O T O | H B J F I L E P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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