Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Turkey’s Insurers Gear Up for Spate of Claims After 2nd Major Storm in 10 Days
Jul 28 2017 // The Borsa Istanbul Insurance Sector Index dropped as much as 2.5 percent on Friday after a brief but ferocious storm in Istanbul on Thursday showered the city with hail as large as golf balls, shattering windows, denting...
Allianz Q2 Profit Rises 23% on Restructuring, Fewer Disaster Claims
Jul 27 2017 // As Allianz SE Chief Executive Officer Oliver Baete slims down the insurer to cut costs, rising second-quarter profit helped by lower natural disaster claims rewarded his strategy. Operating profit jumped 23 percent to 2.9...
Surplus Lines Insurance Premium Up Nationwide
Jul 26 2017 // A mid-year compilation of excess and surplus (E&S) insurance premium amounts by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) shows a 6.6 percent increase in premium nationally compared with the same period last...
UK to Ban Sales of Fossil Fuel Powered Cars by 2040 to Cut Air Pollution
Jul 26 2017 // The UK became the latest European country to mark the end of the line for diesel and gasoline fueled cars as automakers such as Volvo race to build electric vehicles or face the consequences of getting left behind. In...
UK Faces Future of Record-Breaking Wet Winters, Floods: New Climate Models
Jul 24 2017 // Britain faces a future of record-breaking wet winters, potentially leading to more of the widespread flooding seen in recent years, according to new modeling that incorporates changing climate patterns. England and Wales...
Insurers Say Legal Malpractice Claims Hold Steady But Defense Costs Rise
Jul 24 2017 // Most leading legal malpractice insurers saw claims level off in 2016 although their cost to defend claims continued to escalate. A study by insurance broker Ames & Gough finds while the number of malpractice claims...
How to Succeed in a Soft Insurance Market
Jul 24 2017 // It’s no secret that the insurance marketplace right now is extremely soft. The amount of capacity in the industry continues to rise as new entrants are coming into the market or existing carriers are either opening...
Nonstandard Auto Market Continues to Fall; Sector Posts Worst Loss Ratio in Decade: A.M. Best
Jul 24 2017 // Loss ratios and operating ratios for the U.S. nonstandard auto insurance market fell to their worst levels in a decade, according to a new report from A.M. Best. Escalating repair and medical costs, deteriorating highway...
A.M. Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Georgia Farm Bureau Group Members
Jul 24 2017 // A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “bbb-” of Georgia Farm Bureau...
Report: The Southeast’s Storm Surge Risk and Florida’s Hurricane Wake-Up Call
Jul 24 2017 // The Southeast has seen its fair share of natural disasters and flooding in the last several years, including two hurricanes in Florida last year – the first hurricanes to hit the state in more than a decade. But none...
Carrier Poll Shows Many Agents Expect Minor Tech Disruption by 2020
Jul 24 2017 // A new poll conducted by a Seattle, Wash.-based carrier that asked independent insurance agents what’s ahead in 2020 showed that roughly half of agents expect technology disruption to have a minor impact on their...
Surplus Lines Market Keeps Up with Demand for Cyber Liability Coverage
Jul 24 2017 // In Texas and across the nation, the surplus lines insurance market is keeping up with the increase in demand for cyber liability protection, according to the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX). SLTX recorded a...
Massachusetts Marijuana Deal Calls for Up to 20 Percent Tax on Pot Sales
Jul 19 2017 // State House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement Monday on a revamped version of Massachusetts’ voter-approved marijuana law that would allow retail pot sales to be taxed at a maximum 20 percent rate. The deal...
Blind Americans Want to Participate in Future of Driverless Vehicles
Jul 19 2017 // Anil Lewis was behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang convertible on a sunny Atlanta day in 1988, when he nearly hit a pedestrian who appeared in a crosswalk ahead of him, seemingly out of nowhere. It was then Lewis realized...
Georgia Insurance Commissioner Hudgens to Step Down at End of Term In 2018
Jul 18 2017 // Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens will not seek re-election for a third term as Georgia’s Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, according to a statement from the Georgia Department of Insurance. In a...
Devastating S. Europe Drought Scorches Crops; Farmers Question Their Future
Jul 17 2017 // Italian durum wheat and dairy farmer Attilio Tocchi saw warning signs during the winter of the dramatic drought to come at his holding a mile away from the Tuscan coast. “When it still hadn’t rained at the...
Insurance Underwriters See Risks, Opportunities in Speeding Up Infrastructure Projects
Jul 14 2017 // “We’re going to cut a lot of red tape,” President Trump said at a CEO town hall meeting as he unrolled a long, colorful flow chart showing the process required for a state government to obtain the federal...
New Study Reaffirms Virginia Flooding Predictions as Sea Levels Rise
Jul 14 2017 // A new study reaffirms predictions that parts of coastal Virginia will face chronic flooding if nothing is done about sea-level rise. The Union of Concerned Scientists said Wednesday that a city like Poquoson, Va., could...
It’s Not True that Marijuana Dispensaries Increase Crime, Say Researchers
Jul 13 2017 // A new study published in the July issue of the Journal of Urban Economics finds that contrary to popular belief, medical marijuana dispensaries (MMDs) reduce crime in their immediate areas. In the study, “Going to...
Windstorm Egon’s Insurance Loss Estimate Rises to US$314.7M: PERILS
Jul 13 2017 // The estimated property insurance losses for Windstorm Egon, which hit France and Germany on Jan. 12-13, 2017, have been revised upwards to €275 million ($314.7 million) by PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company...
