"Since the financial crisis, programs have focused not on business skills, but on modern thinking, ethics and leadership, which can be a bit squishy, " says Rob Hums, senior analyst of learning and development at State Farm Insurance Co.

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Most of the user-based insurance programs offered now, such as Progressive's "Snapshot" or State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

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Liu Yonghao set up his own independent company, New Hope Group, whose investors include the state-backed People's Insurance Co. of China.

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