Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Scientists Forecast Faster Rising Seas in South Florida
Dec 9 2019 // New scientific projections released Wednesday predict that ocean levels will rise even faster than previously forecast over the next four decades in low-lying southeastern Florida, which is already prone to frequent...
Political Risk Losses Up in 2019, Hitting 68% of Surveyed Firms: WTW
Dec 6 2019 // A survey of 41 major corporations by broker Willis Towers Watson found that 61% believe political risk levels increased in 2019 while 68% have actually suffered a political risk loss. Disruption of international trade was...
Economy Slowing in 9 Midwest, Plains States, Survey Suggests
Dec 6 2019 // A new monthly survey of business leaders suggests the economy is slowing down in nine Midwest and Plains states as the U.S. trade war with China continues, according to a report released Dec. 1. The overall index for the...
MetLife to Enter Pet Insurance Market with Acquisition of PetFirst Program
Dec 5 2019 // MetLife has agreed to acquire PetFirst Healthcare, a pet insurance program administrator that currently distributes its pet insurance products through animal welfare agencies, direct-to-consumer channels and...
Fitch Sees Strong Revenue Growth for U.S. Public Insurance Brokers in 2020
Dec 5 2019 // Publicly traded U.S. insurance brokers are expected to produce strong revenue growth for 2020 given near peak level organic growth and favorable U.S. commercial lines insurance pricing trends. Further, margins remain...
Lloyd’s Launches Space Insurance Policy for Emerging Private Space Sector
Dec 5 2019 // Lloyd’s has launched a new multi-million-pound space insurance policy for the emerging private spaceflight industry. The product is designed to cater to the distinct needs of a rapidly growing new space sector,...
1.6% Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease Recommended for Missouri in 2020
Dec 5 2019 // The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance is recommending a 1.6 percent decrease in workers’ compensation insurance loss costs for 2020. This marks the sixth year in a row that average workers’...
For Second Year in a Row, Louisiana Flunks R Street’s Insurance Report Card
Dec 4 2019 // The 2019 edition of the R Street Institute’s annual Insurance Regulation Report Card is out and, for the second year in a row, Louisiana has the ignominious distinction of finishing dead last. By our lights, the...
Missouri Buying Earthquake Simulator to Increase Awareness of New Madrid Risk
Dec 4 2019 // Missouri emergency management officials are buying a $200,000 machine that will simulate an earthquake to prepare residents for a big temblor in a region where one of the most powerful earthquakes east of the Rocky...
Reuters Special Report: Powder Keg- Regulators Bowed to Industry for Decades Over Talc Risks
Dec 3 2019 // At an invitation-only gathering late last year, U.S. regulators and their guests huddled at a hotel near Washington, D.C., to discuss the best way to detect cancer-causing asbestos in talc powders and cosmetics. The...
China’s Insurance Giant Ping An Increasingly Focuses on ‘Technology Plus Finance’
Dec 3 2019 // Just 31 years after it was founded in China’s southern city of Shenzhen, Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. has grown into the world’s second-largest insurer by market value after Berkshire Hathaway Inc.—more...
5 Trends in Today’s Personal Umbrella Market
Dec 2 2019 // The personal umbrella market had been steady for many years, with lots of choices available in the market when it came to finding the right coverage for customers. However, recent changes are turning the market upside down...
Program Business Continues Record Growth Despite Market Challenges
Dec 2 2019 // Underwriters Search for ‘New’ and ‘High Risk’ Spaces to Target Fueled by investments from insurtechs and interest in niche classes, the program business market has experienced record growth over the...
California Faces Decade of Unique Wildfire Blackouts
Dec 2 2019 // California utility PG&E Corp. has imposed 10 intentional blackouts this year to reduce risks its power infrastructure could spark wildfires and said they will continue for a decade. PG&E initially said outages...
Up-Market Home Insurtech Openly Opens for Business in 2 States After Raising $7.6M
Dec 2 2019 // The tech-enabled high-end home insurance provider Openly has begun selling in Illinois and Arizona at the same time it announced a $7.65M seed round of funding led by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture...
Coastal Damages from Climate Change Could Cost U.K. Economy Billions by 2050: WWF
Nov 27 2019 // The U.K. economy could face hits of more than 12 billion pounds ($15.4 billion) a year by 2050 from coastal damages alone if no action is taken to combat climate change, according to the WWF. The calculations — made...
Wildfire Crisis is Roiling California’s Insurance Market
Nov 27 2019 // Lauris Bye, a homebuilding industry veteran who moved to Southern California’s wildfire-prone hills decades ago, felt confident about the newly built house he was buying about 30 miles north of downtown Los...
Up-Market Home Insurtech Openly Opens for Business in 2 States After Raising $7.6M
Nov 26 2019 // The tech-enabled high-end home insurance provider Openly announced it has begun selling in Illinois and Arizona at the same time it announced a $7.65M seed round of funding led by Gradient Ventures, Google’s...
S&P Revises Qatar Insurance Outlook on Financial Risks from $308M Markerstudy Loan
Nov 25 2019 // S&P Global Ratings said it revised its outlook on Qatar Insurance Co. S.A.Q. (QIC) to negative from stable, although it has affirmed the group’s “A” rating. When QIC acquired four of...
California Faces Decade of Unique Wildfire Blackouts
Nov 25 2019 // California utility PG&E Corp. has imposed 10 intentional blackouts this year to reduce risks its power infrastructure could spark wildfires and said they will continue for a decade. PG&E initially said outages...
