Q1 2011 Earnings Reports - Record Profits for Top Health Insurers

If quarterly earnings are any indication, the health insurance sector is off to a good start in 2011. Some of the largest health insurance companies exceeded Wall Street's expectations and raised full-year profit forecasts. Industry analysts attribute such strong performances to patients' decelerated use of healthcare services.

Consider Cigna: Its Q1 profit soared 52 percent, while Humana increased its profit 22 percent. Both insurers, like their competitors, benefited from a growth in enrollment and revenue and patients' moderate use of medical services.

But not everyone had a stellar quarter. Health Net suffered a $108 million net loss, largely due a $177 million pretax charge from a lawsuit, and $11 million in pretax expenses related to the company’s administrative cost reduction efforts.

For more details on health payers' first quarter earnings, click on the links below...

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH)

WellPoint (NYSE: WLP)

Aetna (NYSE: AET)

Humana (NYSE: HUM)

Health Net (NYSE: HNT)

CIGNA (NYSE: CI)