Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Busy Wildfire Season Along West Coast: Forecast
May 3 2019 // Most of the country can expect a normal wildfire season but residents along the West Coast of the United States should be ready for another busy season, the National Interagency Fire Center said this week. California...
Future Focused? Research Finds Agents Split on Succession
May 2 2019 // Is succession planning a priority for independent agencies? How prepared are they for transition of ownership? The latest Channel Harvest Research survey, “Agent Voices 2019,” reveals nearly half of agency...
Cybersecurity Costing Large Financial Firms $3,000 Per Employee: Survey
May 2 2019 // Big banks and other financial firms spend as much as $3,000 per employee to defend computer networks from cyber criminals, a survey found, as the industry remains the primary target of such attacks. That would translate to...
North Carolina On-the-Job Deaths Rise to Highest Level Since 2008
May 1 2019 // Signs that more people are dying on the job has workers’ advocates demanding that North Carolina’s labor department do more to inspect and punish companies that imperil their workers. Members of the AFL-CIO...
UK Climate Change Adviser to Recommend Target of Zero Emissions by 2050: Sources
Apr 30 2019 // The U.K. government’s official adviser on climate change is set to recommend the country adopt a target to drive net fossil fuel emissions to zero by 2050, according to people familiar with the plan. If adopted, the...
Brit Ltd. Enhances Physical Damage Cyber Offering, Increasing Flexibility and Limits
Apr 26 2019 // Brit Ltd., the London-based specialty insurer and reinsurer, announced it has increased the flexibility and limits of Brit Cyber Attack Plus (BCAP), a cyber product designed to protect clients from the impact of physical...
Report: Number of Michigan Traffic Deaths Fell Below 1,000 in 2018
Apr 25 2019 // Officials say Michigan traffic deaths dipped below 1,000 in 2018 for the first time since 2015. The Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center announced Wednesday that Michigan traffic deaths totaled 974 in...
W.R. Berkley Q1 Results Show Rate Increases Working
Apr 25 2019 // W.R. Berkley Corp. enjoyed solid premium growth in the 2019 first quarter and its reinsurance arm booked encouraging results, with the carrier crediting “further rate improvement” for the positive trend. The...
Privacy Practices Probe Could Cost Facebook Up to $5 Billion
Apr 25 2019 // Facebook Inc. estimated that it will cost as much as $5 billion to resolve a U.S. investigation into its privacy practices, as the social-media company moves to put the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal behind...
Total Reinsurance Capital Drops in 2018, but Alternative Capital Keeps Rising: Willis Re
Apr 24 2019 // While total dedicated reinsurance capital dropped in 2018, alternative capital continued its steady rise, according to a report published by Willis Re. Total dedicated reinsurance capital – which includes traditional and...
California Workers’ Comp Medical Dispute Resolution Letters Rose Last Year, Study Shows
Apr 22 2019 // After dipping for the first time ever in 2017, the number of workers’ comp medical dispute decision letters rose to an all-time high in 2018, according to a California Workers’ Compensation Institute study on...
Class Action Defense Costs Rising; Wave of Cyber Actions Predicted
Apr 22 2019 // The overall cost to large businesses of defending against class action lawsuits continues to rise even as the number of companies sued falls. This is happening because more companies being sued are facing multiple suits...
Fitch Keeps Stable Outlook for P/C Insurers After Underwriting Profit in 2018
Apr 22 2019 // After two consecutive years of combined ratios above 100, the U.S. property/casualty industry returned to a modest statutory underwriting profit in 2018 as catastrophe losses slowed, premium growth accelerated and several...
S&P Will Issue ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’ Evaluations Including on Insurance Sector
Apr 18 2019 // If you’re among those who regard “environmental, social and governance” as just another in a long line of trendy buzz-phrases, then you may want to rethink. ESG standards, which companies use to highlight...
Oklahoma Bill Increasing Highway Speed Limits Signed by Governor
Apr 18 2019 // Gov. Kevin Stitt today signed a bill into law that will increase the speed limit on Oklahoma turnpikes from 75 to 80 miles per hour and on certain state highways from 70 to 75 miles per hour. Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, is...
Catastrophe Insurer Palomar Announces IPO Pricing, Shares Rise 1st Day of Trading
Apr 17 2019 // La Jolla, Calif.-based Palomar Holdings Inc. this week announced the pricing of its initial public offering of its common stock at a price of $15 per share and in its first day of trading on Wednesday it had at one point...
Cyber Insurance Demand, Supply, Awareness Continue to Grow: Marsh
Apr 17 2019 // The message about the need to take cyber risk and insurance seriously is getting through to companies and boardrooms. “As risk awareness has grown, more organizations, particularly those focused on their business...
Future of Insurance Firms Owned by Indicted N.C. Campaign Donor Uncertain
Apr 16 2019 // Insurance companies owned by a big-money donor accused of trying to bribe North Carolina’s top insurance regulator for easy treatment are on the sales block and under review by at least one rating...
Costs Add Up for Texas Fuels Storage Operator After Fire, Chemical Spill
Apr 16 2019 // The costs of a massive fire and chemical spill at a Houston petrochemical facility in March have begun trickling out, with a local official on Monday estimating emergency response costs at $800,000 for the first two weeks...
Farmers Grow to Like Crop of Technologies Helping Them Manage Weather Risk
Apr 16 2019 // When surprise hailstorms hit the 6,000 acres Trevor Scherman plants each year with peas, wheat, canola and lentils, his first move isn’t to his truck to assess the damage. These days, it’s to his iPad. Nine...
