Month: January 2021

THE GREAT 10 LARGEST MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN THE WORLD BASED ON THE REVENUE

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on THE GREAT 10 LARGEST MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN THE WORLD BASED ON THE REVENUE

A manufacturer is a person or company that produces finished goods from raw materials by using various tools, equipment, and processes, and then sells the goods to consumers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, or to other manufacturers for the production of more complex goods. Manufacturers are considered a significant part of the economy. The typical manufacturer was a single skilled artisan with assistants. Each artisan kept the secrets of the production and transferred the knowledge only to apprentices. The Industrial Revolution was the introduction of new technologies that enabled the mechanization of production, which increased the volume of the goods produced. Technological advancements enable the mechanization of production processes, as well as improve overall efficiency and productivity. Great 10 Largest Manufacturing leading Companies in the World in the year 2020 based on the Revenue are as follows.

1.Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen is the first largest company in the world. It is German multinational automotive manufacturing company. The company has operations in approximately 153 countries and operates 100 production facilities across 27 countries. The Volkswagen Group brings in annual revenues of USD 282.9 billion. The company’s products offerings include automobiles, commercial vehicles, internal combustion engines, motorcycles, and turbomachinery. Volkswagen Group Headquarters is in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. This company designs, manufactures and distributes the products to passengers. In Volkswagen Group Number of Employees are 671,205. The Austrian automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche, who was responsible for the original design of the car, was hired by the German Labour Front in 1934. It is founded by the German government on 28,May 1937 to mass-produce a low-priced “people’s car.”

Volkswagen was to manufacture the car which would become known as the Beetle. Volkswagen launched a new generation of front-wheel drive vehicles in the 1970s, including the Passat, Polo and Golf. Volkswagen acquired a controlling stake in SEAT in 1986, making it the first non-German marque of the company, and acquired control of Skoda in 1994, of Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti in 1998, Scania in 2008 and of Ducati, MAN and Porsche in 2012. It was the world’s largest automaker by sales in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Popular models of Volkswagen include Golf, Jetta, Passat, Atlas, and Tiguan. It sells passenger cars under the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Skoda and Volkswagen marques. Volkswagen was operating a plant in Xinjiang at a loss in order to curry favor with the Chinese government to set up more lucrative plants in other parts of China. Other companies cut ties with China in the region after evidence emerged of human rights abused. However, Volkswagen was still operating a plant in the region as of 2020.

2.Toyota Group

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. The brand power of Toyota Group has always been super strong and that’s why the company is the 2nd biggest manufacturing company in the world. It was the world’s first automobile manufacturer to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year. Toyota Group headquarters are in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. Toyota is the global market leader in sales of hybrid electric vehicles, and one of the largest companies to encourage the mass market adoption of hybrid vehicles across the globe.

Cumulative global sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrid passenger car models achieved the 15 million milestone in January 2020. Toyota Motor Corporation produces vehicles under five brands, including the Toyota brand, Hino, Lexus, Ranz, and Daihatsu. TMC is part of the Toyota Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the world. Toyota Group is a group of companies that have supplier, vendor and investment relationships with Toyota Industries and Toyota Motor vehicle manufacturing facilities. Toyota Group currently brings in annual revenues of USD 265.1 billion and it is making the company 2nd on the list of the largest manufacturing companies in the world. Toyota is listed on the London Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange.

  1. Apple

Apple is a multinational technology company that is renowned in the world for its brand power. Aside from a very positive public perception, Apple is also a company that brings in some of the highest revenues and profits in the world. This company headquartered in Cupertino, California. Its hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple TV digital media player, the AirPods wireless earbuds, the AirPods Max headphones, and the HomePod smart speaker line. Founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created Apple computer on April 1, 1976. Apple’s annual revenue in 2019 was USD 260.2 billion. Apple is so successful, it has twice the amount of money than the U.S. Treasury.

Apple scored big time with the iPod. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, and currently operates more than 500 retail stores worldwide. It creates consumer electronics, personal computers, servers, and computer software, and is a digital distributor of media content. As the market for personal computers expanded and evolved through the 1990s. Apple employs more people than a good sized city. Apple employs over 90,000 people. However, millions more make money from Apple. Apple’s first company logo featured a drawing of the father of physics, Sir Isaac Newton. Apple was the first to make a digital color camera. At present, It is the largest publicly traded company in the United States. It is the 3rd in the list of the largest manufacturing companies in the world.

  1. Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Suwon, South Korea and 4th on list of the top manufacturing companies in the world. The company is known for its consumer electronics and electronic components including semiconductors, batteries, chips, flash memory, and more that it manufactures for major clients such as Sony, Apple, HTC and more. Samsung was founded in 1969 and brings in annual revenues of USD 221.6 billion. The company’s combined efforts employ over 489,000 people, across 80 different countries, including Korea. Samsung is way more than just an electronics and mobile producer. The Samsung Group has 59 unlisted companies and 19 listed, all with their primary listings on the Korea exchange.

The Samsung Group is a big part of South Korea’s GDP. On the Korean Stock Exchange, over 20 percent of its market value is based on various Samsung Group companies. Samsung’s electronic ambitions began in 1970 with a black and white TV. The first electronics product ever produced by Samsung was a black and white TV in 1970. Samsung may not be the first to make a smartphone, but it was one of the first players to truly get aggressive about the market, introducing the first “PDA phone” with a color display in the U.S. market in 2001; name is SPH-i300. The top selling Samsung mobile phone is the E1100. Notable Samsung industrial affiliates include Samsung Electronics, Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung Engineering and Samsung C&T Corporation Other notable subsidiaries include Samsung Life Insurance Samsung Everland and Cheil Worldwide.

  1. Daimler Group

Daimler AG is a German multinational automotive corporation, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany that specializes in manufacturing automotive products and parts. It is one of the world’s leading car and truck manufacturers. Daimler-Benz was formed with the merger of Benz & Cie. and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft in 1926. This company brings in current annual revenues of USD 185.2 billion. Daimler owned or had shares in a number of car, bus, truck and motorcycle brands including Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, Smart Automobile, Detroit Diesel, Freightliner, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses, Setra, BharatBenz, Mitsubishi Fuso, MV Agusta as well as shares in Denza, KAMAZ and BAIC Motor.

Daimler provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm. Daimler manufactures commercial vehicles under brands such as Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star, Setra, Thomas Built Buses, Orion, and Fuso. Daimler designed a series of gasoline-powered engines in 1883 and received a German patent on a three-wheeled gasoline-powered vehicle in 1885. The first Daimler-produced luxury car was sold to the sultan of Morocco in 1889. The Benz company produced trucks as well as autos. Benz began producing trucks with fuel-saving diesel engines, which sprayed fuel oil into the combustion chamber under high pressure. With its divisions Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Buses, and Daimler Financial Services, the Daimler Group is one of the biggest producers of premium cars and the world’s biggest manufacturer of commercial.

  1. General Motors

General Motors is the American multinational corporation headquartered in Detroit. It is commonly abbreviated as GM has a long history that begins in 1908 by By William C. Durant. Durant was a carriage maker who used to run his own company, Durant-Dort Carriage Co. His company was the biggest carriage maker in the world at the time when he finally decided to create General Motors. GM was responsible for creating the Lunar Roving Vehicle. Motors was then Buick’s holding company. Durant attempted to buy out rival carmaker Ford in 1907. Another first from Ford is the “hybrid” car, a car that runs on a traditional gasoline motor and an electric motor. Gm was the First Car Manufacturer to install turn signals inside their Cars. GM was the first to invent electric fuel invention, in 1979.

General Motors brings in annual revenues of USD 137.2 billion. This company also designs and distributes vehicle parts and sells financial service. Currently, GM produces vehicles in more than 37 countries across the globe. General Motors Corporation pens the mark of excellence in 1964. They Have Sold Many Auto Brands Throughout Their History. They Are Implementing Environmental Initiatives like they produced their first full-sized hybrid electric pickups in 2004.The company began developing all-electric cars during the 1990s. They have become known for their philanthropy and have donated millions of dollars to charity. One of the main causes they support is the Nature Conservancy. GM have Links to Medical Science Research.

  1. Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automobile manufacturer that has its main headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. The company was founded in 1903 and brings in annual revenues of USD 155.9 billion. It is one of the 10 largest manufacturing companies in the world. Ford F-Series has been consistently ranked as the number 1 selling car in America so far in 2013. Ford is the second largest family owned company in the world. Ford has had manufacturing operations worldwide, including in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and South Africa. Henry Ford’s great grandson, William Clay Ford, Jr. currently resides as the company’s executive chairman. In 1919 the company was reincorporated, with Ford, his wife, Clara, and his son, Edsel, acquiring full ownership. The American automaker has been around for over 116 years, creating some of the most iconic cars, beating the indispensable Ferrari at Le Mans, and even building airplanes. In 1966, when Ford entered the race with its GT40, it won the title to end Ferrari’s six-year win streak.

The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and most luxury cars under the Lincoln brand. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family. In 2008, Ford produced more than 5.532 million automobiles. Ford also has a cooperative agreement with Russian automaker GAZ. The Ford Motor Company has a history that spans 115 years. It is recognized by people all around the world. Edison Illuminating Company became intrigued by gasoline-powered vehicles and was working on his dream of creating a horseless carriage. Henry Ford attempted to create a small “utopian”-type village in the Amazonian jungle of Brazil in 1928. Ford was the type of man who was always into inventing and expanding his reach, and he ultimately held 161 different patents in his life. There are a limited number of Ford GTs built every year, and no regular joe can go out and just buy one.

  1. Hon Hai Precision Industry

8th on this list is Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer, Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn. This company’s headquarters are in Tucheng District, New Taipei and is known for manufacturing electronic components, PCBs, PCB components, computer chips for its clients from all over the world. It was founded in on February 20, 1974 and brings in annual revenues of USD 154.7 billion. It employs more than 1 million workers in China, its main production base. The company produces smartphones, tablet computers and television sets for clients from around the world. It made a full-scale move into contract manufacturing in the 1990s. Business ties with Apple deepened in the 2000s.

Hon Hai is looked to relocate some production to India and Southeast Asian countries because of rising labor costs in China. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. engages in the design, development and manufacturing of nanotechnology, heat transfer, wireless connectivity and material sciences products. Its products include cables, connectors, and personal computer components. The company was founded by Terry Gou. It’s a supplier for Apple, Amazon, Xiaomi, and Sony’s Playstation. At a time when the smartphone market is reaching saturation, Foxconn is planning to invest in electric vehicles, robotics, digital health, and artificial intelligence as part of its “Foxconn 3.0 vision.”

  1. Honda

Honda Motor Company is 9th on this list of largest manufacturing companies by revenue. Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment. The company was founded in Hamamatsu, Japan in 1946. Honda’s other manufacturing divisions include Acura, Honda Aircraft Company, Honda Automobiles, and Honda Motorcycles. Honda Motor Company became the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer in 1964. The 1982 model was produced in Honda’s Marysville, Ohio plant. It involved in the manufacturing of other products like watercraft, ATVs, aircraft, mountain bikes, lawn equipment, and solar cells. They even created a humanoid robot called ASIMO.

Honda is the largest engine manufacturer in the world, It makes over 14 million engines a year. HA-420 HondaJet is powered by Honda engines. Honda made the first four-wheel drive car, It was the 1987 Honda Prelude. Joe drove his 1997 Honda Accord reached over one million miles. The Honda Acura is the first Japanese automotive luxury brand in America in 1986. Honda Headquarters is in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is reaching a production of 400 million by the end of 2019 and it is producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. Honda has two joint-ventures in China: Dongfeng Honda and Guangqi Honda. Number of Employeesof Honda are 215,638. Honda started by manufacturing motorized bicycles. It produces many of its vehicles right here in the United States.

  1. Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health is an American multinational health care services company. It was founded in the year 1971. Cardinal Health brand portfolio is a comprehensive offering of clinician-preference, cost-efficient products, and physician-preferred items with low clinical differentiation, helping providers improve the bottom line while delivering high-quality care. It is also serving more than 100,000 locations. It operates the largest network of radiopharmacies in the U.S. The company specializes in manufacturing medical and pharmaceutical products and brought in USD 136.8 billion in revenue last year.

Cardinal Health’s current headquarters are in Dublin, Ohio, U.S. It connects patients, providers, payers, pharmacists and manufacturers for integrated care coordination and better patient management. It provides medical products to over 75 percent of hospitals in the United States. The Cardinal Health Foundation is the charitable arm of Cardinal Health. The company makes annual product donations of over $9 million through international relief organizations and provides up to $1,000 in matching funds for every Cardinal Health employee that makes a charitable donation. Cardinal Health was named Benefactor of the Year at the 2011 Corporate Caring Awards.

Tagged : / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

THE GREAT 10 MOST USED AND MOST DOWNLOADED MOBILE APPLICATIONS IN THE WORLD IN THE YEAR 2020

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on THE GREAT 10 MOST USED AND MOST DOWNLOADED MOBILE APPLICATIONS IN THE WORLD IN THE YEAR 2020

Now a days mobile apps are so useful in smartphones. Now we have come up with these apps everyone should have on the phone according to the most used apps in the world. These apps are make your phones and tablets smart, in terms of functionality and features. Each day hundreds of new applications are introducing in the market, but some of the apps are popular. Applications are useful for monetary purpose. Billions of people around the world are using smartphones and tablets. The competition of mobile applications is certainly fierce between mobile industry business rivals. The Play Store and App Store is flooded with a wider range of apps depending upon purposes such as business, entertainment, social media, education, games, and so on built to make life easier and comfortable. Top 10 most used and downloaded Mobile Apps in the World in the year 2020 are as follows.

1.WhatsApp

WhatsApp is one of the most well known and widely used chat apps in the world. WhatsApp is a messaging app for smartphones created in On February 24, 2009 by two former Yahoo employees, Brian Acton and Jan Koum. Koum named the app WhatsApp to sound like “what’s up”, he incorporated WhatsApp Inc. in California. This app initially focused on statuses. Users quickly came to use this as an instant messaging service, planting the seed for what the app would become. WhatsApp, is an American freeware, cross-platform centralized messaging and Voice over IP (VoIP) service owned by Facebook, Inc. It allows users to send text messages and voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other media. WhatsApp 2.0 incorporated the messaging function that would come to be the app’s defining feature. WhatsApp was unique at the time, outside of Blackberry’s BBM, in providing a free message service that allowed users to log in with their phone number.

It is also supports communication between international phone networks. It is equipped with amazing chat features like video calling, audio calling, chat message deletion, emoticons, status, and more. WhatsApp has been ranked number 1 most downloaded mobile app among the users of all sections across the world. In the year 2018, 22 million of WhatsApp users were there. In the year 2019, 23.4 million of users were there. In the year 2020, 24.6 million of users were there and in the year 2021, 25.6 million of users are there. This growth has attracted money – even with practically nonexistent WhatsApp revenue. WhatsApp marched to ubiquitous status, ranking in the top three most-downloaded apps on both iOS and Android. By this point it wasn’t only venture capital firms who were interested in the messaging service. WhatsApp’s client application runs on mobile devices but is also accessible from desktop computers, as long as the user’s mobile device remains connected to the Internet while they use the desktop app. WhatsApp is on probably everyone’s smartphone today.

2.YouTube

Youtube is a great platform to watch a wide range of videos from wider industries. YouTube is an American online video-sharing platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. Three former PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim created the service in February 2005. Google bought the site in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion. The youtube mobile app has some extra features, like offline downloading and is a great platform to earn money for clients or businesses. It can be used to create an eLearning community. This makes it a top mobile app of 2019 and was downloaded the most after WhatsApp. It allows learners to make their own YouTube videos. It allows users to upload, view, rate, share, add to playlists, report, comment on videos, and subscribe to other users.

It offers a wide variety of user-generated and corporate media videos. Available content includes video clips, TV show clips, music videos, short and documentary films, audio recordings, movie trailers, live streams, cooking videos and other content such as video blogging, short original videos, and educational videos. As of October 2020, YouTube is the second-most popular website in the world, behind Google. Based on reported quarterly advertising revenue, YouTube is estimated to have US$15 billion in annual revenues. Adding YouTube videos to your eLearning course is an easy task, due to the variety of authoring tools and learning management systems out there. It generates and promotes online discussion. It is ideal for mobile learning. It allows for micro learning. It enhances comprehension of complex concepts.

3.Facebook

Facebook is the world’s most popular social networking website and application founded in 2004. Facebook app is available for Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and all other major mobile platforms. Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service based in Menlo Park, California, and a flagship service. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, along with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. To stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. Facebook app is accessible from all significant mobile platforms. Not only Users can chat with each other and send each other private messages. Users can signal their approval of content on Facebook with the Like button, a feature that also appears on many other Web sites.

Facebook but its post launched messenger app is equally popular offering messaging facilities to Facebook clients. According to Statistics “Social media mobile apps are the most used app category and 81% of mobile users have Facebook installed in their mobile phones.” Previously, there was no separate app for messaging on Facebook but there is now, and it has become equally popular within a few years of its invention. It can be accessed from devices with Internet connectivity, such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones. After registering, users can create a profile revealing information about themselves. They can post text, photos and multimedia which is shared with any other users that have agreed to be their “friend”. As we evolve our journey to bring the world closer together. The company’s headquarters are in Menlo Park, California. Access to Facebook is free of charge, and the company earns most of its money from advertisements on the Web site.

4.Tiktok

Tik Tok is a social media platform for creating, sharing and discovering short music videos for the digital age. The app musical.ly was used by young people as an outlet to express themselves through singing, dancing, comedy, and lip-syncing. It offers newer and more unique ways to interact. Tik Tok is an international version of Douyin, which was originally released in the Chinese market in September 2016. It was launched in 2017 for iOS and Android in most markets outside of mainland China. This app is the most sensational app of the year 2019-20 and was the Most Downloaded App in the first month of 2020 surpassing even WhatsApp, Facebook and Youtube. Built by the Beijing-based firm ByteDance, the app offers a robust platform for users & businesses to create and share short videos with music. The best content gets viral in no time. The most famous genres here are lip-synching for dancing and dialogues of hit movies. TikTok or Douyin rapidly gained popularity in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the United States, Turkey, Russia, and other parts of the world.

As of October 2020, TikTok surpassed over 2 billion mobile downloads worldwide. According to AppTrace, TikTok jumped from 269th to 4th in global app download rank in February 2019. The app currently sits in fourth position. In 2020, the mobile app TikTok is the newest contender for the throne. A mix of music, lip sync videos, and micro-video content, TikTok is not an easy platform to understand at first glance. On 3 August 2020, US President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok in the United States on 15 September if negotiations for the company to be bought by Microsoft or a different “very American” company failed. This app has been banned by the government of India since June 2020. The TikTok app allows users to create 15 second videos, sound tracked by music clips. As of 2020, TikTok is one of the world’s best-loved apps.

5.Gmail

Gmail is a free email service provided and developed by Google. In many ways, Gmail is like any other email service. You can send and receive emails, block spam, create an address book, and perform other basic email tasks. But it also has some more unique features that help make it one of the most popular online email services. Call Phone is a feature is similar to voice chat, except that it allows you to dial an actual phone number to call any phone in the world. Gmail started as a limited beta release on April 1, 2004 and ended its testing phase on July 7, 2009. Every one of us is aware of this popular email messaging app by Google. Being first invented for the web, gmail now has a dedicated mobile app variant for most of the mobile platforms like Android and iOS. Gmail is the most used email app around the globe that offers ease-of-use saving you time and keeping your messages safe. Creating a Google account is needed to access Gmail because it is just one of the many services offered by Google to registered users. Signing up for a Google account is free and easy, and naming your new Gmail address will be a part of the sign-up process. Spam is another name for junk email.

An email conversation occurs whenever you send emails back and forth with another person or a group of people, often about a specific topic or event. Themes allow you to customize the look and feel of your Gmail account. Get creative and choose one of the colored or artistic THEMES for your Gmail page. Gmail uses labels to help you organize with more flexibility. A conversation can have several labels. With Gmail, your email is stored safely in the cloud. You can get to messages from any computer or device with a web browser. If your administrator allows, you can join or start a video meeting in Google Meet right from Gmail. Add Google Chat to your Gmail inbox and get all the features of Chat directly in Gmail. You can also quickly organize and find important email, as well as read and draft email without an internet connection. By October 2019, Gmail had 1.5 billion active users worldwide. Users can receive emails up to 50 megabytes in size, including attachments, while they can send emails up to 25 megabytes. In order to send larger files, users can insert files from Google Drive into the message.

6.Google Pay (Tez)

Google Pay is a Mobile Payment App by Google first launched in 2017 September with the name Tez. The app simplifies the way you transact with your money. With Google Pay, you can send and get cash rapidly, pay bills, purchase online, recharge Phone and dish, Pay at offline stores, Bank to bank cash transfer. Google Pay is a digital wallet and online payment system that’s developed by Google to make it easy for you to make purchases. It automatically syncs your saved credit cards wherever your Google account is logged in for quick payments, and it will import loyalty cards, tickets, and offers from your Gmail account. You need a debit / credit card or PayPal account, a Google account, and a supported Google Pay device.

You can even use it with an iOS device. Google protects your info like a temporary, encrypted number is shared with merchants, never the actual number. Google Pay is a digital wallet platform and online payment system developed by Google to power in-app and tap-to-pay purchases on mobile devices, enabling users to make payments with Android phones, tablets or watches. In addition to this, the service also supports passes such as coupons, boarding passes, student ID cards, event tickets, movie tickets, public transportation tickets, store cards, and loyalty cards. As of January 8, 2018, the old Android Pay and Google Wallet have unified into a single pay system called Google Pay. Google Pay was the most downloaded app worldwide for February 2020, followed by PhonePe with 15.6 million and 6 million installs respectively.

7.Instagram

This is a photo-sharing and social networking application that became popular mainly because of its high quality and unique features like square image format, filters, and the lack of a website variant. Instagram commonly abbreviated to IG or Insta. The Android version was released in April 2012. Posts can be shared publicly or with pre-approved fo llowers. Instagram, as of June 2020, has one billion active users across the world, comprising 52% females and 48% males. A picture is worth a thousand words. The Instagram logo, from all indication, has not lost its element of design. The current skewed-square and circle still represent the old Polaroid camera. The app presents a spectrum of social media opportunities when it comes to digital marketing through ads and tools. Instagram has over the years grown to become one of the most popular apps and added features such as stories, highlights, and reels. It is also recommended that you use hashtags to explore better. From news to entertainment and health to beauty, Instagram has tons of images on a vast array of subjects. Marketers are increasingly favoring the platform since it promises better ROI for their business. It owned by Facebook, created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and originally launched on iOS in October 2010. Users can browse other users’ content by tags and locations and view trending content. Users can like photos and follow other users to add their content to a feed. Instagram rapidly gained popularity. It works exactly like Snapchat Stories, allowing you to post 24-hour ephemeral photo and video slideshows that disappear. But because Instagram Stories appear at the top of the old feed, your followers will inevitably see them without you needing to build a new audience in a different app.

With 500 million monthly active users, 300 million daily actives and now 250 million users on its direct messaging feature, Instagram is enormous expansion for what Snapchat pioneered. The first prototype of Instagram was a web app called Burbn. The Instagram app was launched on Oct. 6, 2010, and racked up 25,000 users in one day. From the beginning, the primary focus of the app was to feature photographs, specifically those taken on mobile devices. Instagram is another successful start-up from Silicon Valley, the tech hub of the world. Instagram holds its success and popularity to its mobile-friendly interface. In February 2012, Instagram introduced ‘Lux Filler’ – a feature that lightens shadows, darkens highlights, and increases contrast. Instagram launched ‘Explore’-another powerful feature in June 2012. The ‘Explore’ feature displays popular photos, trending tags, curated contents, and it can search for locations. In November 2012, Instagram introduced ‘Website Profile’–a feature that allows people to see users’ feeds from a web browser. Six days after the release of the app on android phones, Mark Zuckerberg and his Facebook Empire bought Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock.

8.Uber

Uber is the most used location-based taxi hiring app that permits clients to hire drivers, taxis, bikes, and shared rides for local and outstation travels. Uber and its competitors have made it possible to arrange car transportation from any location using a smartphone. The Uber mobile app is a safe, and cost-effective method for transporting within or outside your city. Available in 65 countries and over 600 cities worldwide, this location-based app is estimated to carry out a total of 14 million trips each day. Create an account. All you need is an email address and phone number. Enter your destination. Open the app and enter where you’re going in the Where to? Meet your driver. You can track their arrival on the map.

Uber and its competitors have dramatically changed the personal transportation industry in recent years, which has resulted in both benefits and drawbacks for customers and drivers. Individuals in need of a cab had to either physically wave at a taxi or call a local car service to reserve a car at least half an hour prior to the pickup time. Now E-hail services like Uber have made it possible to secure a car or taxi via a smartphone from any location. Generally, Uber is less expensive than traditional taxis and car services. Safety is the most important advantage for drivers working with Uber or other e-hail services. This type of personal transportation provides all the benefits of traditional taxi services with additional conveniences.

9.Amazon

Amazon is the largest Internet company by revenue in the world. It is the world’s largest online marketplace, AI assistant provider, live-streaming platform and cloud computing platform as measured by revenue and market capitalization. Zeff Bezos founded Amazon in 5th July 1994. It is the largest Internet company by revenue in the world. Amazon is the world’s leading eCommerce market place which is presently likewise accessible through a dedicated mobile app to focus on its mobile purchasers and sellers. Amazon.com, Inc. is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington. It mainly focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It is considered one of the big five companies in the U.S. information technology industry, along with Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook.

E-hail app users are able to hail a car from any location and have it arrive within minutes. Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington, on July 5, 1994. The company started as an online marketplace for books but expanded to sell electronics, software, video games, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. Amazon invested with over $278 million by opening two new centers in Italy (Novara and Modena) and creating over 1100 jobs in January 2021. SensorTower revealed ”The most downloaded shopping app worldwide for April 2019 was Amazon with more than 10.5 million installs, up 13 percent year-over-year from April 2018.” Amazon.com, online retailer, manufacturer of electronic book readers, and Web services provider that became the iconic example of electronic commerce. Its headquarters are in Seattle, Washington. Its considerable online presence is such that, in 2012, 1 percent of all Internet traffic in North America travelled in and out of Amazon.com data centres.

10.Netflix

It is an online video streaming website/app that lets you watch movies, videos, TV series, and other content from Netflix through your mobile phone or desktop or laptop. Launched in 2010, Netflix is available in 89+ countries with over 11 millions. The reality is that Netflix is a data-driven company. According to Forbes list, Netflix has over 236.6 million downloads, which bodes well for the big-spending media company’s 2020 monetization. On October 1, 2008, Netflix offered access to its service via a public application programming interface (API). In June 2012, a custom content delivery network called Open Connect was announced. You can watch Netflix through any internet connected device that offers the Netflix app, including smart TVs, game consoles, streaming media players, set-top boxes, smartphones, and tablets. You can also watch Netflix on your computer using an internet browser.

Each Netflix plan determines the number of devices you can watch Netflix on at the same time. Saying that Netflix chooses new content based on “whoever they can get a license with” is a very thin and vague statement. Netflix does need licenses from studios, but they don’t just pick movies and television shows at random. Netflix is the world’s leading internet television network, with more than 100 million members in more than 190 countries enjoying 125 million hours of TV shows and movies each day. Netflix uses AWS for nearly all its computing and storage needs, including databases, analytics, recommendation engines, video transcoding, and more hundreds of functions that in total use more than 100,000 server instances on AWS. The popularity of Netflix dramatically increased with the addition of streaming through an online queue. This led to the majority of Netflix users reliably streaming movies and television shows rather than receiving physical DVD discs by mail.

Tagged : / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

THE GREAT TOP 10 DESIGNER JEWELERY BRANDS IN THE WORLD IN 2020

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on THE GREAT TOP 10 DESIGNER JEWELERY BRANDS IN THE WORLD IN 2020

Personal ornaments, such as necklaces, rings, or bracelets, that are typically made from or contain jewels and precious metal. From a western perspective, the term is restricted to durable ornaments. For many centuries metal such as gold used in different carats from 21, 18, 12, 9 or even lower, often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewelery. Jewelery may be made from a wide range of materials. Gemstones and similar materials such as amber and coral, precious metals, beads, and shells have been widely used, and enamel has often been important. Despite sky-high prices, the demand for high-end designer men and women’s jewelry brands only continues to grow. With billions of dollars spent in this market annually, you may be considering making your first luxury jewelry purchase or adding to your ever growing collection. Ornamental pieces that are made of materials which may or may not be precious such as gold, silver, glass, and plastic, are often set with genuine or imitation gems, and are worn for personal adornment. It is often made of a valuable metal such as gold, and sometimes decorated with precious stones. Here are the top 10 designer jewelery brands in the World in the year 2020.

1.Tiffany & Co.

It is an American luxury jewellry and specialty retailer. First called Tiffany & Young, Tiffany & Co. began as a stationery and fancy goods store in New York. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, china, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watches, personal accessories, and leather goods. Tiffany is known for its luxury goods, particularly its diamond and sterling silver jewelry. Initially with the help of Charles Tiffany’s father who financed the store for only $1,000 with profits from a cotton mill. The store initially sold a wide variety of stationery items, and operated as “Tiffany, Young and Ellis” as of 1838 at 259 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Today, however, it is a household name that has been in business since 1837. Awarded for its silver craftsmanship, Tiffany and Co. remains America’s leading silversmith. The brand showcases their more extravagant and rarest of pieces in their annual Blue Book collection that started in 1845. Some of their most popular and famous pieces include the Return To Tiffany, Tiffany Key and Tiffany Soleste and of course, their signature 6 prong engagement rings. Tiffany & Co. is famed for their little blue box, synonymous with quality, luxury and style.

The name was shortened to Tiffany & Company in 1853. In 1878, Tiffany won the gold medal for jewelry and a grand prize for silverware at the Paris Exposition. In 1879, Tiffany purchased one of the world’s largest yellow diamonds which became known as the Tiffany Diamond. In November 2019, LVMH announced its purchase of Tiffany & Co for $16.2 billion. At the time, the deal was expected to close in June 2020. The deadline, however, had been extended twice. First to August 24, 2020 and later to November 24, 2020, but, in early September 2020, LVMH stated that the purchase would not be concluded; Tiffany filed a lawsuit in response. In late October 2020, LVMH agreed to purchase Tiffany & Co for reduced price of $15.8 billion Tiffany operates 326 stores globally in countries such as the United States, Japan, and Canada, as well as Europe, the Latin America and Pacific Asia regions. Range of price is $15,500-$15 million. Most expensive Tiffany & Co. piece sold at auction is A platinum round 3.09-carat diamond solitaire ring with VS1 clarity, sold at $60,000 in 2016.

2.Harry Winston

Mr. Winston’s innovative design philosophy in which the individual gemstones, rather than the metal settings, would dictate each design helped to revolutionize fine jewelry designs, and remains at the cornerstone of a timeless aesthetic that continues to inspire all Harry Winston creations. Winston’s father Jacob started a small jewelry business after he and Winston’s mother immigrated to the United States from Ukraine. While growing up, he worked in his father’s shop. When he was twelve years old, he recognized a two-carat emerald in a pawn shop, bought it for 25 cents, and sold it two days later for $800. Winston started his business in 1920 and opened his first store as in New York City in 1932 with Harry Winston itself, as the founder. Winston was among the most noted jewelers in the world, well-known to the general public. He was soon crowned the “King of Diamonds” and “Jeweler to the Stars” for his high-end creations. Harry Winston was an American jeweler. He donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958 after owning it for a decade.

He also traded the Portuguese Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1963 in exchange for 3,800 carats of small diamonds. From the acquisition of some of the world’s most famous gemstones, including the Jonker, Hope, and Winston Legacy Diamonds, to adorning generations of famous faces, from Hollywood legends to international Heads of State, for over eight decades, the Harry Winston name has been synonymous with the best that there is. One of the most notable pieces he acquired was the 45.42 carat Hope Diamond, a heart-shaped greyish-blue diamond crown centerpiece, which was passed along to King George IV of the United Kingdom. Today, it is found in Washington DC as part of the Smithsonian Institution displays. the House of Harry Winston continues its tradition of creativity, rarity, and quality without compromise in its retail salons around the world, including: New York, London, Paris, Geneva, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Range of price is $4,000-$20 million. Most expensive The Gulf Pearl Parure, a 325-carat natural pearl and diamond parure sold at $4,189,165 in 2006 by Harry Winston.

3.Cartier

Founded in 1847 by Louis Francois Cartier, the brand earned its reputation as “The Jeweler of Kings, the King among Jewelers,” pioneering the combination of platinum and diamond. House of Cartier is identified with quality, prestige, and history, and has served as crown jeweler to 19 royal houses. Cartier is one of the world’s leading luxury goods companies. The company designs, manufactures, and distributes jewelry, watches, fragrance, pens, lighters, silver, and crystal. Their most notable lines include the Love collection, Juste un Clou and Panthere. These distinctive collections are widely popular with celebrities with variations available in different color golds and with or without diamond embellishment. Although wristwatches had been in stock since 1888, they became popular only with Cartier’s introduction of the Santos watch in 1911.

The prototype model was a gift from Louis Cartier to Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. Other products introduced by Cartier were the Tank watch and the “Love Bracelet.” Cartier was extremely creative during Louis’s management. For its “Jewels of the Nile” exhibition in New York, the store was completely decorated in an Egyptian theme, complete with a pyramid and two live peacocks. This jewelry collection was a more modern version of Louis Joseph Cartier’s designs from the early 1900s. Most expensive Cartier sold at auction A 25.6-carat Burmese Ruby, called the Sunrise Ruby. It was dubbed as the most expensive ruby, gemstone, and non-diamond gemstone in the world, and sold at $30,335,698 in 2015. Range of price is $1,000-$2.76 million.

4.Chopard

Louis-Ulysse Chopard is the son of a farmer from Sonvilier, quickly conquered Switzerland and the world at the age of 24. The artisan watchmaker created works of art with innovative designs, which early on helped him export to such illustrious places as the court of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Qualities like precision and reliability were very sought-after characteristics in watches, dating all the way back to the 19th century. With unique chronometers and pocket watches, Louis-Ulysse Chopard aimed to fulfill and exceed these “desires”. Chopard is a Swiss brand started by Louis-Ulysse Chopard in the 1860s, originally known for creating watches and pocket watches for women. Chopard’s Independence allows it to support crafts with a glorious past that are a source of great pride today. The company is headquartered in Geneva and has a site in Fleurier, Canton of Neuchatel, that manufactures watch movements. When Chopard was sold to Karl Scheufele in 1963, the brand was noted for its Art-Deco inspired timepieces and Happy Diamonds line. The Maison’s independence has guided its development strategy since its founding, an approach made possible by a family shareholding structure.

Chopard has become more well known for its red carpet appearances and A-lister connections in terms of its stunning jewellery, its watch division is where the brand first started and gained its reputation. This is expressed through the watch industry’s highest level of vertical integration. Everything sold by Chopard is made in one of its three production sites, a unique phenomenon within the profession. This policy goes hand in hand with a culture of craftsmanship. The brand’s signature free floating diamonds behind the watch glass was created in the mid 1970s. It is now the corporate partner the Cannes Film Festival, official timekeeper of the Grand Prix of Monaco and the Mille Miglia. Chopard prides itself on the use of ethically sourced gold and aims to eventually use sustainable gold across all pieces that they produce. Range of price is $2,000-$16.26 million. Most expensive suite of Emerald and Diamond jewels, sold at $1,171,932.51 by Chopard.

5.Van Cleef & Arpels

Van Cleef & Arpels is a French luxury jewelry, watch, and perfume company. After their marriage in 1895, Alfred van Cleef and Estelle Arpels started a luxurious line in 1906 that still exists today. Opening their first store in Place Vendome in Paris, in the 1940s Van Cleef and Arpel in Palm Beach followed by New York. On 2 December 1933, this company received French Patent No. 764,966 for a proprietary gem setting style it calls Serti Mysterieux, or “Mystery Setting”, a technique employing a setting where the prongs are invisible. Each stone is faceted onto gold rails less than two-tenths of a millimeter thick. The technique can require 300 hours of work per piece or more, and only a few are produced each year. Diamonds were still used, but only as highlights. These attractive and wearable jewels were very popular in the 1950s, as confidence returned to a world.

Initially it was only possible to use this new setting on a flat surface such as a box or minaudiere but as the ‘Mystery Set’ technique evolved it was used on more challenging curved surfaces. Emeralds are particularly difficult to cut and match in colour compared to sapphires or rubies, and are thus used more rarely. Among some of the exceptional accomplishments of this maison is their patented, innovative creation called Mystery Set. Van Cleef and Arpels are renowned for their playful use of animals, flowers and nature in their designs. The iconic Ballerina brooch was first conceived in New York in 1940, inspired by Louis Arpels and his nephew Claude, who were friends of George Balanchine, co-founder of the School of American Ballet. Range of price is $1,500-$490,000. Most expensive Van Cleef & Arpels sold at auction 8.24-carat Ruby and Diamond ring, sold at $4,226,500 in 2011.

6.Graff

Graff origins began in England in 1960, when Laurence Graff founded the company. Graff is a British multinational jeweller based in London. The brand is famous for its large diamond designs and also widely known for buying and resetting prominent diamonds. Graff has over 50 stores around the world including New York, Las Vegas, Melbourne, Monte Carlo, Courchevel, Kiev, Beijing and Taipei. Graff has corporate offices in London, New York, Geneva, Hong Kong and Tokyo. A member of the Graff family oversees every stage of a diamond’s journey, from the sourcing of the rough stone through to the cutting, polishing and final setting of each bridal jewel. Believed by many to be the bearer of good fortune, the butterfly is a signature motif at Graff from which countless creative visions take flight. In 1973 Graff became the first jeweller to receive the Queen’s Award to Industry and Export.

Some of the most famous Graff diamonds have included the Graff Pink, a pink emerald cut diamond of over 20 ct, and the Delaire Sunrise, the largest emerald cut Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond in the world. A vertically integrated company, Graff operations comprise the design, manufacture and retail distribution of jewellery and watches. Graff adheres to the Kimberley Process, never knowingly buying or trading rough diamonds from areas where this would encourage conflict or human suffering. The majority of Graff diamonds are laser engraved with unique Gemological Institute of America (GIA) tracking numbers, which whilst invisible to the naked eye, allow for their origin to be traced. Range of price is $1,350-$46.2 million. Most expensive Graff sold at auction The Graff Pink, a rare 24.78-carat pink diamond is sold at $46 million in 2017.

7.David Yurman

David Yurman Enterprises is a privately held American designer jewelry company. This line was founded by David and Sybil Yurman in 1980. It has been known to sculpt designs reminiscent of the American Craft Movement. One of the popular designs is their signature cable bracelet in sterling silver and gold, embellished with colored gems. The brand uses bright colors and playful, structured designs. Great for everyday wear and especially for stacking bracelets, David Yurman is a popular choice for men and women of all ages. In 1983, Yurman introduced what became his signature piece, the cable bracelet: a twisted helix adorned with gemstones on its end caps. He called the bracelet and related designs “Renaissance,” and it has become one of his most enduring collections. Created through an innovative process Yurman pioneered, the cable motif was awarded two rare design trademarks in the United States since it was instantly recognizable as his signature form. His cable design evolved to become the thread that connects all of his collections.

In the early 1970s, Yurman and Kleinrock moved to Carmel in upstate New York and formed a company called Putnam Art Works which specialized in sculptural jewelry. Throughout the next decade they exhibited their jewelry designs, sculptures, and paintings at various galleries and craft fairs. They became key figures in the American craft movement. Through Putnam Art Works, the Yurmans learned the marketplace for fine crafts and artisanal jewelry. During the 1980s and 1990s, the David Yurman company was at the forefront of the emerging category of American designer jewelry. There are currently 33 David Yurman boutiques in the United States and 11 international boutiques. The Yurmans formalized a lifelong commitment to charitable causes by establishing the David & Sybil Yurman Humanitarian and Arts Foundation in 2001. David Yurman also created a pin for the Silver Shield Foundation benefitting the families of New York City firefighters and policemen. Range of price is $300-$50,000. Most expensive David Yurman sold at auction18K Gold, Diamond, and Citrine interchangeable necklace is sold at $7,380.

8.Buccellati

Buccellati Holding Italia is an Italian jewellery and watch company formed by the merger of two previous companies with existing brands Mario Buccellati and Gianmaria Buccellati, which corresponded to the names and surname of two master goldsmiths: father and son. They use their unique engraving skills. In the mid eighteenth, century Contargo Buccellati worked as a goldsmith in Milan. In 1909, at the age of 12, Mario Buccellati apprenticed with the highly respected firm, Beltrami & Beltrami, in Milan. In 1919, Buccellati took over the firm and renamed it Buccellati. Buccellati designs Italian jewels in gold, silver, and platinum. The brand has grown globally and is known for its pieces that reflect Old Hollywood design that takes inspiration from animals and insects. By the 1950s Buccellati had expanded to the US with stores in New York and Florida. Their first watch collection is launched in 2001 in Geneva.

In 1949, Mario Buccellati was commissioned to create an icon by Pope Pius XII for Princess Margaret to mark the extraordinary power of the first visit of a British Royal to Vatican City in hundreds of years. This magnificent work of art can be admired today at the Chianciano Art Museum in Tuscany. In December 2016, China’s Gansu Gangtai Holding Group bought a controlling 85% share in Buccellati. In September 2019, Compagnie Financière Richemont acquired 100% of Buccellati from Gangtai. Family run house Buccellati was founded in 1919 and still uses centuries-old Italian techniques to create its fine jewelry. Inspired by Renaissance and Venetian designs, each piece is uniquely engraved as a mark of the artisans’ meticulous hand-craftsmanship. Katerina Perez also visited the Buccellati boutique in Paris to talk to the designer about her passions, inspiration and the Buccellati brand and to find out what role jewellery plays in her life. Range of price is $2,000-$50,000. Most expensive Buccellati sold at auction Gold Buccellati bracelet, sold at $72,100.

9.Bvlgari

Bvlgari, also spelled Bulgari, is famed for its colored gemstones and diamonds. Bulgari is an Italian luxury brand known for its jewellery, watches, fragrances, accessories and leather goods. Since its creation in 1884, it has been a crowd favorite among clients seeking brightly-colored, large pieces with chromatic effect. It’s also because of this brand that the cabochon cut, a popular gemstone cut in antique times, was reestablished. Bulgari was founded in the region of Epirus, Greece, in 1884 by the silversmith Sotirios Boulgaris. During the 1970s, Bulgari stores opened in New York, Geneva, Monte Carlo and Paris.

Bulgari has about 300 stores. The largest is the 10-storey Bulgari Ginza Tower in Tokyo, 940 square meters of retail floor space. The Bulgari Art Award is an annual art award in partnership with the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. At that time it was only the jewelery shop over the years and become an international brand. Bulgari produced with Luxottica, and Bulgari formed a joint venture with Marriott International in 2001 to launch its hotel brand, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, a collection of properties and resort destinations around the world. Range of price is $1,000-$12 million. Most expensive Bvlgari sold at auction 57.72-carat Bvlgari Sapphire Suitor sold at $5,906,500 in 2011.

10.Boucheron

Boucheron is a French luxury jewellery and watches house located in Paris, 26 Place Vendome, owned by Kering. Finishing off our list of the top 10 designer jewelry brands is Boucheron. Founded by Frederic Boucheron in 1858 in Paris, France, his designs were influenced by Egyptian and Asian art, thus, creating unfamiliar stone combinations such as onyx and diamonds. He was also first to merge bronze, ivory, and gold. In 1879, Boucheron developed a clasp-less necklace, which was part of its show which won a Grand Prix for Outstanding Innovation in a Jewellery Collection at the 1889 World’s Fair. In 1878, the Russian Prince Felix Youssoupoff purchased a corsage decorated with 6 detachable diamond bows during one of his visits to Paris. In 1921, Boucheron was commissioned to make a tiara for Lady Greville which was later given to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Queen Elizabeth also has a collection of Boucheron jewels.

It has 34 boutiques worldwide and an online e-commerce website launched in 2007. Boucheron makes watches, and jewellery, and licenses its marque for perfumes. In a joint venture with the mobile phone brand Vertu, Boucheron created the world’s first High Jewellery limited edition cell phones out of gold and precious stones. There are only eight pieces of the Cobra model in rose gold set all round with rubies and a pear-cut diamond and emerald eyes. Range of price is $1,000-$285,000. Most expensive Boucheron sold at auction Diamond, Emerald, and Enamel Brooch, sold at $55,974.57.

Tagged : / / / / / / / / / / / / /

THE GREAT 10 LARGEST FISH SPICES LIVING TODAY IN THE WORLD

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on THE GREAT 10 LARGEST FISH SPICES LIVING TODAY IN THE WORLD

A fish is an animal which lives and breathes in water. All fish are vertebrates and most breathe through gills and have fins and scales. Fish are cold-blooded, which means their internal body temperature changes as the surrounding temperature changes. The 25,000 known species of fish are divided into three main groups. There are three classes of fish: jawless, cartilaginous, and bony. All fish have a backbone. Fish have been on the earth for more than 500 million years. Fish were well established long before dinosaurs roamed the earth. 40% of all fish species inhabit fresh water, yet less than .01% of the earth’s water is fresh water. Fish have a specialized sense organ called the lateral line which works much like radar and helps them navigate in dark or murky water. Fish have excellent senses of sight, touch, taste and many possess a good sense of smell and ‘hearing’. Fish feel pain and suffer stress just like mammals and birds. Fish eat other fish, fish eggs, mollusks, aquatic plants, algae, zooplankton, terrestrial insects, water birds, turtles, frogs, snakes and mice. Living species range from the primitive jawless lampreys and hagfishes through the cartilaginous sharks, skates, and rays to the abundant and diverse bony fishes. Around 99% of living fish species are ray-finned fish. Fish can communicate in their underwater environments through the use of acoustic communication. Acoustic communication in fish involves the transmission of acoustic signals from one individual of a species to another. It can be found in nearly all aquatic environments, from high mountain streams to the abyssal and even hadal depths of the deepest oceans. Fish are an important resource for humans worldwide, especially as food. Commercial and subsistence fishers hunt fish in wild fisheries or farm them in ponds or in cages in the ocean. Tropical fish are one of the most popular pets in the U.S. The great 10 Largest fish species living today are as follows.

1.Whale Shark

It is also the largest extant non-mammalian vertebrate species on our planet. Whale sharks may grow up to 40 feet and weigh as much as 40 tons by some estimates. The whale shark is found in the warm tropical oceans open waters and can be found in the temperatures of about 68-77° Fahrenheit. Fish are usually covered with scales. They have two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. A fish takes in the oxygen from the water using gills. The whale shark and basking shark exceed all other fish by a considerable margin in weight and length. The Rhincodon typus, which can grow up to 41.5 feet and weigh as much as 21.5 tons, is the biggest fish species living today.

They have broad, flat heads with short snouts and their backs have an interesting white, yellow, and grey checkerboard pattern. These fish can live for up to 70 years. Despite their massive size, the fish are rarely a threat to humans. Whale sharks eat mostly small organisms like plankton, schooling fish, and squid, which they strain from the water as they swim with their meter-long mouths and specialized teeth. They feed mainly on plankton. The species are labelled as an endangered species by the IUCN. Bycatch losses, vessel strikes, low multiplication rate are only some of the factors threatening the future survival of the species. Whale sharks, which give live birth to hundreds of small babies.

2.Basking Shark

The Cetorhinus maximus can attain lengths of about 20 to 26 feet and weigh almost 19 tons, making the species the second biggest extant fish species in the world. It grows upto a maximum length of 45 feet and weight of 10,000 pounds (4.5 metric tons).This migratory shark species is found throughout the temperate oceans of the world. Like the whale shark, it feeds exclusively on planktons. A filter-feeder, the shark feeds near the surface of the water as if it was basking in the sun, hence the name. The basking shark has been labelled as a vulnerable species by the IUCN. The whale shark and basking shark exceed all other fish by a considerable margin in weight and length. It is usually greyish-brown, with mottled skin. It is one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. They are quite harmless.

They spend most of their time near the surface, swimming with their extraordinarily large mouths open, filtering out their preferred prey, but they may also make deeper, feeding dives. Several countries have given them some or complete legal protection, legal fisheries still exist in other places, and occasionally, basking sharks are captured unintentionally in other fisheries. Basking sharks give birth to only a few, quite large babies. Basking sharks have been observed leaping out of the water, which may be a way of getting rid of parasites. Basking sharks have massive livers that make up 25 percent of their body weight. It is estimated that basking sharks live for about 50 years. Years of heavy commercial exploitation for food, shark liver oil, shark fin and also threats from fishing, bycatch losses, and more have reduced the population of the species.

3.Great White Shark

The great white shark is the world’s largest known predatory fish. It has 300 teeth, yet does not chew its food. The Carcharodon carcharias is found in the coastal waters of all the oceans where water temperature ranges between 12 and 24 °C. Most shark-related attacks on humans are associated with this shark species since it lives in coastal areas where encounters with humans are more frequent. However, humans are not the preferred prey of this species but still unprovoked attacks by the great white are quite common. Great white sharks can be found throughout the world’s oceans, mostly in cool waters close to the coast. These super swimmers are the largest predatory fish (fish that eat other fish or animals) on our planet. Some specimens of the species have been found to be 20 feet long and weigh about 3.3 tons. Generally, however, individuals are about 13 feet in length. The great white shark can live for over 70 years. The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the great white. These fish feed on a variety of prey species including the seabirds. Larger white sharks will also prey on sea lions, seals, and small toothed whales like orcas.

The great white shark is the apex predator in its ecosystem but occasionally killer whales are known to kill these sharks. The great white shark is also a vulnerable species subjected to the same threats as the species mentioned above. Great white sharks can swim at speeds of 25 km/hr (16 mph) for short bursts and to depths of 1,200 m (3,900 ft). ‘Great white shark’ is the most commonly used variant among common people, likely because the addition of the word “great” stresses the size of the species. The great white shark was one of the species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, in which it was identified as an amphibian. He assigned the scientific name Squalus carcharias, Squalus being the genus that he placed all sharks in. By the 1810s, it was recognized that the shark should be placed in a new genus, but it was not until 1838 when Sir Andrew Smith coined the name Carcharodon as the new genus. Great white sharks are grey with a white underbelly, from where they get their name. They have a streamlined shape and powerful tails. They can even leave the water completely, breaching like whales when attacking prey from underneath. Of the 100-plus annual shark attacks worldwide, a third to a half are attributed to great white sharks.

  1. Tiger Shark

The Galeocerdo cuvier or the “Sea Tiger” is the fourth largest fish species living today. It can attain a length of more than 16 ft and weigh around 3 tons. Tiger sharks can grow up to 18 feet (5.5 m) long. The populations of this species are widely distributed in the tropical and temperate oceans with larger populations living around the islands in the central Pacific Ocean. It is often called the man-eater shark. Tiger shark teeth are unique with very sharp, pronounced serrations and an unmistakable sideways-pointing tip. They play an important role in ecosystem function.
Younger sharks exhibit black tiger-like stripes on the body which disappear with age. These stripes give the species its name. It is notable for having the widest food spectrum of all sharks, with a range of prey that includes crustaceans, fish, seals, birds, squid, turtles, sea snakes, dolphins, and even other smaller sharks.

It also has a reputation as a “garbage eater”. Sadly, the tiger shark is also threatened by human activities that make it a near threatened species on the IUCN Red List. The tiger shark is responsible for the second-highest number of attacks on humans after the great white shark. A tiger shark generally has long fins to provide lift as the shark maneuvers through water, while the long upper tail provides bursts of speed. The skin of a tiger shark can typically range from blue to light green with a white or light-yellow underbelly. Female tiger sharks have anywhere from 10 to 82 embryos and give birth to an average of 30 to 35 pups per litter. Tiger sharks live in shallow, coastal waters, but have been seen 1,150 feet (350 m) deep. The dark stripes on their sides and backs, which is one way they can be distinguished from other shark species. These large, slow-moving sharks live all over the world in sub-tropical waters.

  1. Giant Oceanic Manta Ray

The Manta birostris is a ray species that ranks as the fifth largest fish species in the world. It is therefore the biggest species of ray and can be as big as 23 feet and weigh around 3 tons. These rays live in the tropical and subtropical oceans. Giant manta rays can dive more than 3,280 feet (1,000 m) underwater, but typically feed only 33 feet (10 m) deep. The manta rays feed mainly on plankton and swim alone or in groups with other members of the same species or other marine species. Although the manta ray has few predators in the water, humans are responsible for a steep decline in their population due to irresponsible fishing practices. It is dorsoventrally flattened and has large, triangular pectoral fins on either side of the disc. At the front, it has a pair of cephalic fins which are forward extensions of the pectoral fins. These can be rolled up in a spiral for swimming or can be flared out to channel water into the large, forward-pointing, rectangular mouth when the animal is feeding. It has a small dorsal fin and the tail is long and whip-like.

The manta ray does not have a spiny tail as do the closely related devil rays. The colouring of the dorsal (upper) surface is black, dark brown, or steely blue, sometimes with a few pale spots and usually with a pale edge. The ventral surface is white, sometimes with dark spots and blotches. it has been recorded as far north as southern California and New Jersey in the United States, Aomori Prefecture in Japan, the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, and the Azores in the northern Atlantic. In the Southern Hemisphere, it occurs as far south as Peru, Uruguay, South Africa, and New Zealand. When traveling in deep water, the giant oceanic manta ray swims steadily in a straight line, while further inshore it usually basks or swims. Giant manta rays have one of the lowest fecundity of all elasmobranchs, typically only giving birth to one pup every two to three years. There are reports of giant mantas living to at least 40 years. Giant manta rays have the biggest brains of any fish studied so far. They use that brain power to learn, exercise their memory, distinguish between objects and even recognize themselves in the mirror.

  1. Ocean Sunfish

The Mola mola is the world’s largest living bony fish. Adults of this species weigh around 2.3 tons and can grow up to a maximum length of 10.8 ft. The truth about sunfish is that they are far more amazing, and capable animal. They have no true tail, and instead look like a fish that has been cut in half. Due to their unique shape, the fish can attain a height equivalent to their length. These fish inhabit the world’s tropical and temperate oceans. Although they have few natural predators, they are subjected to great threats due to human activities like fishing. Thus, the IUCN has labelled the species as vulnerable. They feed on massive quantities of sea jelly. Sunfish are consumed largely small fishes, fish larvae, squid, and crustaceans.

Its scientific name, mola, is Latin for “millstone”, which the fish resembles because of its grey color, rough texture, and rounded body. They are a silvery color and have a rough skin texture. Their teeth are fused into a beak-like structure, and they are unable to fully close their relatively small mouths. Its common English name, sunfish, refers to the animal’s habit of sunbathing at the surface of the water. This family comprises three genera: Masturus, Mola and Ranzania. Unlike most fish, the sunfish swings its dorsal fin and anal fin in a characteristic sculling motion. Ocean sunfish use their dorsal and anal fins as a primary means to move. Sometimes ocean sunfish swim along the ocean surface. They are commonly observed off the coast of Southern California, Indonesia, the British Isles, Southern coast of Africa the Northern and Southern Isles of New Zealand. Females of the species can produce more eggs than any other known vertebrate, up to 300,000,000 at a time.

7.Sharptail Mola

The Masturus lanceolatus is a mola species that lives in the world’s tropical and temperate marine waters. It is similar in appearance to the ocean sunfish , but can be distinguished by the projection on its clavus . It has an oval body with an evenly convex forehead profile. Their skin is covered with small dermal denticles that are finer than those of the ocean sunfish. The sharptail mola (Masturus lanceolatus) is also very large. Molas have a distinctive bullet-shaped appearance, with a short body that ends abruptly in a thick rudder like structure called a clavus just behind the tall triangular dorsal and anal fins. Since the species is elusive in nature, it is rarely sighted and hence little understood. The fish can attain a length of about 11 feet and weigh as much as 2 tons.

The sharptail mola feeds on a wide variety of species including annelids, sponges, fishes, etc. Molas are the largest of the bony fishes, and they are separated into three genera: Mola, Masturus, and Ranzania. It has recently become important to commercial fisheries operating off eastern Taiwan. This species is the only member of its genus. During the day, they spend most of their time in depths of 5-200 meters (16–656 feet), preferring water temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius, but making frequent dives in cool, deep waters, perhaps to avoid feeding or hunting. Their skin is covered with a small dermal denticle which is finer than the sea sunflower. Sharptail mola’s swim mode is just like any other sea sunfish, it uses the long surface and the scaling speed of anus to propel itself through the water.

  1. Hoodwinker Sunfish

The Mola tecta have been recently discovered and hence little is known about its behavior. However, it is ranked as one of the biggest fish species known to us. The hoodwinker sunfish is a congener of the more widely known ocean sunfish, Mola mola. It has a smooth body shape, no bump and has a maximum length of 242cm (about 7.9 feet). It is closely related to the more widely known ocean sunfish. The fish is found in the oceanic waters of the Southern Hemisphere where it preys on salps. These are mostly discovered in the temperate region of Southern Hemisphere in the water near Australia, New Zealand Southern Chile and Southern Africa. It does not have spines in its fins nor real caudal fin. Compared to other Mola species, Mola tecta is slimmer, has a sleeker adult body shape and lacks a protruding snout and lumps along the tail fin.

It reaches up to three meters in length and weighing up to two tonnes (2.0 long tons; 2.2 short tons). The hoodwinker sunfish was the first new species of sunfish . They have attracted interest for centuries because of their unique shape and large size. These beautiful giants Mola tecta can be identified from its rounded clavus edge with indent, 15-17 clavus fin rays and its body scales are raised conical midpoints. Mola tecta, the hoodwinker sunfish is a deep-sea fish with gigantic body size. Discovered on a beach near Christchurch, New Zealand in 2015, Mola tecta, the hoodwinker sunfish is the first species to identify sunfish in 130 years. Mola tecta are found mostly in equatorial regions of the Southern Hemisphere in waters close to Australia, New Zealand, southern Chile, and South Africa. It was first described by Marine Naigard, a sea scientist. Mole tech is hard to study because they are hard to find and their huge size makes them difficult to store.

  1. Beluga Sturgeon

A critically endangered species, the Huso huso belongs to the sturgeon family. The beluga sturgeon is one of the only species of sturgeons that actively eats other fishes and is one of the largest predatory fishes on Earth. The common name for the sturgeon, as for the unrelated beluga whale, is derived from the Russian word, meaning “white”, probably referring to the extensive pale colour on the flanks and belly in beluga compared to other sturgeons. It has elongated body, heterocercal tail, partially cartilaginous skeleton, naked skin, longitudinal series of scutes. The habitat of the fish is restricted to the Black, Caspian and Adriatic Seas. Humans have heavily exploited this species for the beluga caviar, a highly-priced delicacy. The unregulated fishing of this species and poaching activities have severely reduced the populations of this fish leading to an urgent need to protect the species from commercial exploitation.

The fish is also a late-maturing species with a long lifespan. It migrates upstream in rivers for laying eggs. Other fish and rarely waterfowl constitutes its prey base. The largest known specimen of the beluga sturgeon has been found to be 23.6 ft long and weigh 1,571 kg. Heavily fished for the female’s valuable roe, known as beluga caviar, wild populations have been greatly reduced by overfishing and poaching. The sturgeons are a very old group of fishes (over 200 million years old) and make up one of the most primitive lineages of bony fishes. beluga sturgeon produce millions of eggs. The amount of eggs that a single beluga sturgeon can produce makes this species the most valuable fish in the world to fishers. That value may be the beluga sturgeon’s doom. When preparing to spawn upriver, the beluga sturgeon is easy to capture, by harpoon or in nets. The largest of all sturgeon species is the most prestigious of all due to its caviar, once the most expensive food product in the world.

  1. Reef Manta Ray

The Manta alfredi is the second biggest species of ray and the tenth biggest fish species living in the world today. It is one of the largest rays in the world. The fish is generally found in the tropical and subtropical marine waters but are absent in the East Pacific and the West Atlantic. The fish can weigh as much as 1.4 tons and attain lengths of up to 5.5 m. It primarily consumes zooplankton and is a filter-feeder. Although it is rarely predated upon due to its considerable size and high speed, human activities like overfishing have adversely impacted populations of this species. The reef manta ray is thus a Vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List. The reef manta ray has a pelagic lifestyle and feeds by filtering sea water in order to catch zooplankton. Research indicates that mantas probably may live to at least 50 years old.

The Reef Manta Ray (Mobula alfredi) is one of the largest and most iconic marine species. Because Reef Manta Rays frequent relatively shallow waters along the coastal reefs of continents and oceanic islands, they are more commonly encountered by divers and snorkellers than their Oceanic Manta Ray cousins. Large, flat and oddly shaped, these fish are named for their unique appearance, ‘Manta’ meaning blanket or cloak in Spanish. Sporting famously long pectoral fins, these iconic creatures can be spotted in numerous regions of the Great Barrier Reef. Feeding on krill and zooplankton, they are often seen forming long chains and swimming in circles to create a spiral effect, catching food in their wake.

Tagged : / / / / / / / / / / / / /

THE GREAT 10 LARGEST HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO NET PREMIUM WRITTEN(NPW) AND NON-BANKING ASSETS

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on THE GREAT 10 LARGEST HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO NET PREMIUM WRITTEN(NPW) AND NON-BANKING ASSETS

Health insurance is an insurance product which covers medical and surgical expenses of an insured individual. It reimburses the expenses incurred due to illness or injury or pays the care provider of the insured individual directly. Health insurance is an insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person. By estimating the overall risk of health risk and health system expenses over the risk pool, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to provide the money to pay for the health care benefits specified in the insurance agreement. The benefit is administered by a central organization such as a government agency, private business, or not-for-profit entity. There are two basic types of health insurance: 1.Mediclaim Plans, 2. Critical Illness Insurance Plans. Medicare or medical costs are rising year on year. As a matter of fact, inflation in medicare is higher than inflation in food and other articles. While inflation in food and clothing is in single digits, medicare costs usually escalate in double digits. One way to provide for medical emergencies is by taking health insurance. Health insurance offers considerable flexibility in terms of disease / ailment coverage.  With health insurance, you are assured of a more secure future both health-wise and money-wise. This makes health insurance policies critical for individuals, especially if they are responsible for the financial well-being of the family. The Great 10 largest Health insurance companies in the world, by net premiums written (NPW) and non-banking assets in the year 2018.

1.UnitedHealth Group Incorporation- United States

UnitedHealth Group Incorporation is an American for-profit managed health care company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. This brand was created in 2011 as the company’s health services business. UnitedHealth Group incorporated on July 1, 2015, is a health and well-being company. The Company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight and OptumRx. Among the middlemen tasked with making today’s healthcare efficient and cost-effective is UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), the world’s largest healthcare company by revenue. Primarily an insurer, UnitedHealth Group claims over 130 million customers worldwide. It offers health care products and insurance services. It is the largest healthcare company in the world by revenue, with 2019 revenue of $242.2 billion.  No one plans to fall ill or get hurt, but a serious illness can strike anyone at any time. The cost of treating the illness can cause severe financial strain on the savings you have accumulated over time. It provides health and well-being services to individuals age 65 and older. UnitedHealthcare Global – serves 6.2 million people with medical benefits, residing principally in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru but also in more than 130 other countries. Net Premium Written is US $178,087,000.

2.AXA S.A.-France

AXA is a French multinational insurance firm headquartered in Paris that engages in global insurance, investment management and other financial services. Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance firm headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris that engages in global insurance, investment management, and other financial services. The Axa Group operates primarily in Western Europe, North America, the India Pacific region, and the Middle East, with a presence also in Africa. Axa is a conglomerate of independently run businesses, operated according to the laws and regulations of many different countries. The company was founded in 1816 as Mutuelle de L’assurance contre L’incendie. The firm adopted the Axa name in 1985. AXA SA (AXA), incorporated on February 20, 1985, is a holding company engaged in the business of financial protection. The Company’s segments include Life & Savings, Property & Casualty, International Insurance, Asset Management, Banking and Holding companies.

AXA operates primarily in Europe, North America, Asia Pacific Region and in other regions, including the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. AXA offers a range of Life & Savings products, including Individual and group savings products, as well as Life and Health products for both individual and commercial clients. The Company’s International Insurance Segment operations are focused on risks, reinsurance and assistance. AXA Corporate Solutions Assurance is the Company’s subsidiary engaged in large corporations in terms of property and casualty, loss prevention, risk management, underwriting and claims handling and to specialty markets across the world. The operations in the Banking segment are conducted primarily in Belgium, France and Germany. AXA Bank’s products and offers are linked with insurance business and are focused on retail products. AXA Banque has approximately 715,000 registered customers, with a retail banking product offer.  Net Premium Written is US $103,033,468 in the year 2018.

3.Ping An Ins (Group) Co of China Ltd.-China

Ping An Insurance also known as Ping An of China and the company’s name Ping An translates to “safe and well”. over 204 million retail customers and 534 million Internet users, Ping An is one of the largest financial services companies in the world. Ping An Life, through its nationwide service network of over 40 branches, including approximately six telemarketing centers, and over 3,000 business outlets, provides individual customers and institutional clients with life insurance products. With The company has 236,000 employees and 635,000 insurance agents. China Ping An Insurance  Company Limited  also offers property and casualty insurance service in the Hong Kong market.  Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd., incorporated on March 21, 1988, is a personal financial services provider. The Company provides insurance, banking, investment, and Internet finance products and services.

The Company operates through six segments: life insurance, property and casualty insurance, banking, trust, securities and corporate. The life insurance segment offers a range of life insurance products to individual and corporate customers, including term, whole-life, endowment, annuity, investment-linked, universal life and healthcare insurance. The property and casualty insurance segment offers a range of insurance products to individual and corporate customers, including automobile insurance, non-automobile insurance, and accident and health insurance. The banking segment undertakes loan and intermediary businesses with corporate customers and retail business, as well as wealth management and credit card services with individual customers. The trust segment provides trust services and undertakes investing activities. The securities segment undertakes brokerage, trading, investment banking and asset management services. The corporate segment includes the management and support of the Company’s business through its strategy, risk, treasury, finance, legal and human resources functions, among others. Ping An stands out among Chinese financial institutions for its aggressive acceptance of foreign capital.  The company is considered to be China’s biggest insurer, with US$107 billion in gross premium income in 2018. Its market capitalization is at US$220 billion in July 2019. These business segments contributed 69%, 15%, 11%, 6%, and 2% of the company’s net profit, respectively, in 2019.

4. China Life Insurance (Group) Company- China

The company is a life insurance company established in Beijing, China on 30 June, 2003. China Life Insurance also handles non-life insurance products. China Life Insurance (Overseas) Company Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Life Insurance (Group) Company which is the largest state-owned financial insurance corporation in China, is the strategic headquarter for overseas business development of the parent company. The parent company has been taking firm strides to develop modern insurance services and realize the “China Life Dream” of becoming a premier international financial insurance group.  And with strong support from the parent company, China Life Insurance Company Limited has already built business networks in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Indonesia. The primary focus of the Company is the enhancement of profits and creation of value through organic growth as well as mergers and acquisitions.

China Life Insurance Company Limited  is a Beijing-headquartered China-incorporated company that provides life insurance and annuity products. With 70% state-ownership, China Life is the biggest life insurer in China in terms of total assets, but has experienced economic difficulty in the past years. China’s insurance market has attracted dozens of new competitors after the Chinese government liberalized. It also provides both individual and group accident and short-term health insurance policies and services. It has more than 300 million individual and group policies in force. China Life sells its individual products primarily through its own network, comprised of exclusive agents, direct sales representatives, and dedicated and non-dedicated agencies. In addition to life insurance, the company provides asset management services and health and accident insurance. Net Premium Written is US $ 92,360,557 in the year 2018.

5. Kaiser Foundation Group of Health Plans- United States

Kaiser Permanente is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945. Kaiser has an integrated care model, offering both hospital and physician care through a network of hospitals and physician practices operating under the Kaiser Permanente name. Kaiser Permanente operates in eight states like Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia and the District of Columbia, and is the largest managed care organization in the United States. Each entity of Kaiser Permanente has its own management and governance structure, although all of the structures are interdependent and cooperative to a great extent.  Kaiser Permanente is one of the largest nonprofit healthcare plans in the United States. 

As of 2019, Kaiser Permanente had 12.2 million health plan members, 218,297 employees, 22,914 physicians, 59,127 nurses, 39 medical centers, and 706 medical facilities. The Permanente Medical Groups, which provide care for Kaiser Permanente members, continuously develop and refine medical practices to help ensure that care is delivered in the most efficient and effective manner possible.  Each Permanente Medical Group operates as a separate for-profit partnership or professional corporation in its individual territory, and while none publicly reports its financial results, each is primarily funded by reimbursements from its respective regional Kaiser Foundation Health Plan entity. KFHP is one of the largest not-for-profit organizations in the United States. Net Premium Written is US $ 92,054,688 in the year 2018.

6. Anthem, Inc. – United States

Anthem, Inc., incorporated on July 17, 2001, is a health benefits company. Anthem is a leading health benefits company dedicated to improving lives and communities, and making healthcare simpler. The Company operates through three segments: Commercial and Specialty Business, Government Business and Other. It is the largest for-profit managed health care company in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The company was formed by the 2004 merger of WellPoint. Through its affiliated companies, Anthem serves more than 106 million people, including 42 million within its family of health plans.  Anthem companies serve members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; and as the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensees for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Anthem Inc.’s also serve customers in many states across U.S. The company operates as Anthem Blue Cross in California, where it has about 800,000 customers and is the largest health insurer. It operates as Empire BlueCross BlueShield in New York State and as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in 10 states. There may be times when we use other companies to give our members and providers certain types of services, like Utilization Management or Case Management. It would always make sure that it was approved by law and allowed by our contracts beforehand.

Radiant Services, LLC may be part of the approval process for care you receive. Whether Radiant is involved or not, the process is the same. Radiant has some staff outside the United States. They want to help you get access to quality, efficient care that is backed by scientific research. Its managed care plans include preferred provider organizations (PPOs); health maintenance organizations (HMOs); point-of-service (POS), plans; indemnity plans and other hybrid plans, including consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs); and hospital only and limited benefit products. In addition, it provides an array of managed care services to self-funded customers, including claims processing, underwriting, stop loss insurance, actual services, provider network access, medical cost management, disease management, wellness programs and other administrative services. It provides an array of specialty and other insurance products and services, such as dental, vision, life and disability insurance benefits, radiology benefit management and analytics-driven personal healthcare. It also provides services to the federal government in connection with the Federal Employee Program (FEP). Net Premium Written is US $85,048,000 in the year 2018. provides non-BCBS plans under the Unicare, Amerigroup, CareMore, Simply Healthcare, HealthSun, HealthLink, and other brands in more than 25 states. Plans include PPO, HMO, POS, indemnity, and hybrid plans offered to employers, individuals, and Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

7. Allianz SE- Germany

Allianz SE is the holding company of the Allianz Group. Allianz SE operates in the field of reinsurance, providing reinsurance protection for Allianz Group companies, in particular. Allianz, headquartered in Munich, is a German financial services company operating mainly in the insurance and asset management sectors globally. As of December 31, 2019, Allianz SE employed 1,673 people. Besides Allianz SE, the Allianz Group comprises subsidiaries with over 147,000 employees in more than 70 countries. With revenues reaching approximately 127 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, it was the third largest insurance company worldwide.  Allianz has more than 85 million customers worldwide and its services include property and casualty insurance, life and health insurance and asset management. Allianz operates through Allianz Belgium, previously AGF Belgium which has been re-branded to Allianz Belgium in November 2007.

The Life or Health segment offers a range of life and health insurance products on both an individual and a group basis.  Allianz is one of the world’s largest investors, managing over 650 billion euros on behalf of its insurance customers while our asset managers Allianz Global Investors and PIMCO manage an additional 1.4 trillion euros of third-party assets. It runs the Asset Management business out of two distinct investment management businesses, PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI). Both units operate under Allianz Asset Management (AAM). Particular strongholds include the United States, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Asia-Pacific region. Net Premium Written  is US $83,203,137 in the year 2018.

8. Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. – Italy

Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. or simply Generali Group is an Italian insurance company based in Trieste.  It is the largest of its kind in Italy and among top 10 in the world.  Assicurazioni Generali Austro-Italiche, the company was founded on December 26, 1831. The company grew in importance, becoming one of the largest insurance operators both in Italy and in Central Europe.  The Group operates through three segments: Life, Non Life, and Holding and other business. The Life segment include saving and protection products, both individual and for families, as well as products with investments purposes for companies. The Non-life segment provides various insurance products related to casualty, accident, health, and company plans. The Holding and other business segment includes non insurance assets, mostly banking and asset management activities. The Company is active globally.  Generali’s major competitors at international level are AXA, Allianz and Zurich. Besides them, there are companies competing at local and regional level in various countries and markets.  Today Generali operates primarily in Europe, Middle East and East Asia, with large market shares in Italy, Poland, Hungary, Germany, France, Austria, Slovenia, The Netherlands, Croatia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Romania, Israel, Japan, China and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with secondary operations in Latin America.

In India the company is represented by Future Generali, a joint venture of Future group and Assicurazioni Generali. It provides both life and property or casualty insurance. The Non-Life business is known as Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited. The Life business is known as Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited. Main Subsidiaries of the group includes, in Italy: Genertellife, Alleanza Assicurazioni, Generali Italia and Banca Generali. Generali confirms its leadership position in the Italian insurance market with an overall share of 16.2% as it can rely on a complete range of insurance solutions for its clients in both the Life and P&C segments. During 2019, Generali Italia continued to implement its simplification programme with the goal to improve the customer experience by simplifying the relationship between customers and agents for the entire process by providing more and more accessible and innovative services. The Group’s global initiative for the society, Generali Italia launched Ora di Futuro. Net Premium Written  is US $72,617,727 in the year 2018.

9. State Farm Group – United States

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent company of several affiliates and subsidiaries that provide property and life insurance, banking products, and mutual funds.  It was founded in 1922. It is also the largest auto insurance provider in the United States. Approximately it has  59,000 employees and it consists of  84M policies and accounts in force in the U.S. as of December 2019. About 60% of State Farm households have more than one product. In 2019, Fire and Auto Claims handled about 22,000 claims per day. Through its two life insurance affiliates, State Farm Life was the second largest U.S. ordinary individual life insurer based on policies in force according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.  State Farm offers about 100 products with approximately 19,200 agents.

The group’s parent company is State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, which is a mutual insurance company based in Bloomington, Illinois.  State Farm is best known for offering property and casualty (P&C) insurance products, especially in personal lines. It offers life and health insurance, annuities, mutual funds and banking products.  Nearly 867,000 policies were there in health. Net Premium Written is US $70,832,964 in the year 2018.  In 2019, the insurer announced personal auto insurance rate reductions in multiple states including: Arizona, Louisiana and South Carolina.

10. People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd.- China

The People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited (abbreviated as PICC Group or PICC) is the first nationwide insurance company in China and has developed into a leading large-scale integrated insurance financial group in the People’s Republic of China. It was founded in October 1949 and headquartered in Beijing.  The Company is mainly engaged in property insurance, health insurance, life insurance, reinsurance, Hong Kong insurance, pension insurance and operating insurance business.  The group provides insurance products for accident, universal life, general life, family property, travel, auto, health, personal credit loan guarantee and performance guarantee. It also offers cargo insurance, credit guarantee insurance, special risk insurance, engineering insurance, employer liability insurance, export product liability insurance, safety production liability insurance, government rescue insurance and technological equipment insurance.  The Chinese Central Government is the controlling shareholder.

On December 7th 2012, PICC Group successfully completed its IPO on Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which was China’s first group listing of state-owned financial insurance conglomerate.  In 1996, it became a holding company, as People’s Insurance Company  of China  Three subsidiaries were formed, as property insurer, life insurer and reinsurer respectively. PICC has branch offices in London and New York as well as in the cities and towns of China. PICC Health was a joint venture with German insurer DKV  and other investors. The Life Insurance covers personal, personal insurance products-wealth management, groups, banks, and e-commerce platform online insurance. Health Insurance is a form of insurance that provides coverage or financial security for the medical expenses incurred by the policyholder. Based on the chosen health insurance plan, the policyholder gets coverage for hospitalization, day-care facility, treatment costs for listed diseases, surgical expenses along with reimbursement of the acquired expenses. Net Premium Written is US $68,204,489 in the year 2018.

Tagged : / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /