Latest Trends Headlines

All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Texas Stamping Office: Surplus Lines Cyber Growth Keeps Up with Demand

Jun 29 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). Surplus lines...

Increase in P/C Insurers’ Losses in 2017 Will Again Be Driven by Auto: S&P

Jun 29 2017 // Private auto net incurred losses will increase by nearly 7 percent in 2017 to a new record of approximately $154 billion, reflecting elevated volume and costs of claims, according to a new S&P Global market...

California Broker Launches National Expansion into Captive Insurance Market

Jun 29 2017 // Sacramento, Calif.-based Owen-Dunn Insurance Services has embarked on a national expansion with the launch of ODI Group Captive to meet demand from mid-size business owners for captive insurance. In addition to creating...

Auto Insurance Market to Shrink by 70% by 2050: KPMG

Jun 29 2017 // Autonomous vehicle technology, a rise in on-demand transportation and a shifting of liability to manufacturers will shrink the auto insurance sector by more than 70 percent or $137 billion by 2050, according to updated...

Post-Disaster, BP Stakes Future on Deepwater Despite Surging Shale

Jun 28 2017 // About 300 BP workers commute 150 miles by helicopter from the Louisiana coast to a deep-sea drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico that can produce more oil in a day than a West Texas rig can pump in a year. On the deck...

Insured Loss Estimates for Cyclone Debbie Rise to US$1.1B: PERILS

Jun 28 2017 // The estimate for the property insurance market’s loss for tropical cyclone Debbie has risen to A$1.4 billion (US$1.1 billion) from an initial estimate of A$1.12 billion, according to PERILS, the independent...

A.M. Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Georgia Farm Bureau Group Members

Jun 28 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...

Texas Stamping Office: Surplus Lines Insurance Premium Up for 2017

Jun 23 2017 // Data collected by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) shows that insurance premium amounts recorded in May 2017 are higher than totals recorded in May of 2016 or 2015. The information was presented at the...

Survey: Agents Suggest How Carriers Can Move from ‘Good’ to ‘Great’

Jun 23 2017 // One would expect to see high levels of satisfaction between an independent agency and its top carrier, but that isn’t always the case. Peeling back the layers usually reveals fertile ground for improvement and shows...

Cyber Insurance Premium Volume Grew 35% to $1.3 Billion in 2016

Jun 23 2017 // Property/casualty insurers wrote $1.35 billion in direct written premium for cyber insurance in 2016, a 35 percent jump from 2015, according to reports by Fitch Ratings and A.M. Best. The largest cyber insurance writers...

Drone Delivery Fleets Counting on Hyperlocal Weather Forecasts

Jun 22 2017 // Imagine a weather report so precise it provides wind-gust forecasts for individual city blocks. Such micro-weather data may soon become a reality—and a necessity for future fleets of delivery drones. As Amazon.com Inc.,...

QBE Warns Emerging Markets’ Division Hit by Higher Claims

Jun 21 2017 // Sydney-based QBE announced that its Emerging Markets’ division has experienced “significantly higher than expected claims activity during the first five months of the year.” As a result, this division is...

Ed Taps Execs from Willis Towers Watson & BMS to Grow Professional & Executive Risk Team

Jun 21 2017 // Ed, the London-based reinsurance, wholesale and specialty broker, announced the expansion of its professional and executive risks offering with five appointments. The team, led by Paul Richards, managing director,...

Florida’s Citizens Approves Policy Changes, 5.3% Statewide Rate Increase for 2018

Jun 21 2017 // Homeowners in South Florida, as well as in many other parts of the state, should expect additional rate increases next year from the state-run insurer of last resort. Citizens Board of Governors approved recommended rates...

California Temporary Total Disability Rates for 2018 to Increase

Jun 20 2017 // California’s 2018 minimum and maximum temporary total disability rates will increase on Jan. 1, 2018, the state’s Division of Workers’ Compensation announced on Tuesday. The minimum TTD rate will increase...

Medical Professional Insurance Market in Good Health for Now: A.M. Best

Jun 19 2017 // The U.S. medical professional liability (MPL) insurance sector is stable, with strong capitalization and profitable, albeit declining, operating performance, plus the prospect of positive earnings in the medium term,...

Minding Your Business: Agency of the Future

Jun 19 2017 // Yogi Berra once said: “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Ignoring that wisdom, what will the insurance agency business model look like in 10 years or 20 years? Right now there...

Survey of Agents Reveals Underwriting Disconnect in Commercial Lines

Jun 19 2017 // Independent agents want to talk about underwriting, and they’re urging their carriers to listen. Preliminary results from the 2017 Channel Harvest Research survey indicate agents want to see companies put greater...

Research Finds New Hampshire Seacoast Roads Under Rising Sea Level Threat

Jun 19 2017 // Research out of the University of New Hampshire has found that some roads, as far as two miles from the shore, are facing a new hazard that currently cannot be seen by drivers – rising groundwater caused by...

New Chicago Program Aims to Reduce Car Crashes by 2026

Jun 15 2017 // Chicago officials are launching a new program to help reduce roadway crashes by 2026. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office announced the program this week. Officials say it’ll approach traffic safety as a public health...