Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Outlook Good for Texting-While-Driving Ban, Texas Lawmakers Say
Apr 5 2017 // Note this article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. After pushing the issue for nearly a decade, key lawmakers in the Texas Legislature are optimistic that a statewide texting-while-driving ban is within...
Commercial Lines Prices Inch Up After Being Down for Long Time: MarketScout
Apr 5 2017 // For the first time in 20 months, the MarketScout composite rate index for commercial accounts in the United States measured a rate increase at plus 1 percent in the first quarter. Rates for business interruption, general...
Report: Traffic Deaths in L.A. Jumped Sharply In 2016
Apr 4 2017 // A report finds traffic deaths in Los Angeles jumped sharply despite a high-profile campaign by city leaders to eliminate fatal crashes. The Los Angeles Times reported that 260 people were killed in traffic crashes on city...
California State Fund 2016 Report Shows 128K Policies Written
Apr 4 2017 // The California State Compensation Insurance Fund’s 2016 annual report shows a net income of $192 million in 2016. Other important highlights from the newly released report include: 128,000 policies written in...
Global Momentum to Curb Climate Change Proceeds Despite Trump: UN
Apr 3 2017 // Governments have created “worldwide momentum” to slow climate change despite threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to pull out of the 2015 Paris Agreement to slash greenhouse gas emissions, the U.N.’s...
Forget Insurtech. What About Us? Young Agents Speak Out in Annual Survey Report
Apr 3 2017 // Young agents want more tech tools to compete. With so much attention lavished on insurtech startups that vow to replace them, young insurance agents feel they are being shortchanged in the race to invest in insurance...
Young Agents Enjoy Career Choice But Worry About Future Hiring
Apr 3 2017 // Despite sentiments about technology lags, the vast majority of young agents responding to Insurance Journal’s 2017 Young Agents Survey believe strongly that their career choice was the right one. The survey found...
USGS Forecasts Lower Overall Seismic Hazard for Oklahoma in 2017
Apr 3 2017 // Oklahoma experienced fewer earthquakes last year compared with 2015 and a recent study of human-induced earthquakes predicts another year of reduced seismicity for the state in 2017. The U.S. Geological Survey warns,...
USGS Lowers Seismic Hazard Forecast for Oklahoma in 2017
Mar 31 2017 // Oklahoma experienced fewer earthquakes last year compared with 2015 and a recent study of human-induced earthquakes predicts another year of reduced seismicity for the state in 2017. The U.S. Geological Survey warns,...
Personal Auto Rate Hikes Not Keeping Up with Losses: Fitch
Mar 30 2017 // U.S. personal auto underwriters increased premium rates “significantly” in 2016. But here’s the thing: it wasn’t enough. Loss trends are still outpacing rate changes. Also, the U.S. P/C industry...
Lack of Markings Caused 2016 Fatal California Bus Crash, Report Shows
Mar 30 2017 // Federal investigators say inadequate highway markings caused a fatal Greyhound bus crash in California last year that killed two people and injured 13 others, including the driver. The National Transportation Safety Board...
South Dakota Speeding Tickets Rise Along with 80 mph Limit
Mar 27 2017 // The number of speeding tickets issued by South Dakota state troopers has gone up since the state’s top speed limit increased from 75 mph to 80 mph nearly two years ago. According to an analysis of ticket data by the...
London Keeps Mantle as #1 Finance Center Despite Brexit Uncertainties: Survey
Mar 27 2017 // London has retained the mantle as the world’s top financial center, though uncertainty about the implications of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union saw its lead over Asian rivals narrow, according to a...
Robots Could Steal 32% of Jobs in UK Financial Services by 2030: PwC
Mar 24 2017 // Approximately 32 percent of existing UK jobs in financial services and insurance could be automated by robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) over the next 15 years, according to a new study by...
How Insurance Markets Could Be Affected If GOP Reduces Essential Benefits
Mar 24 2017 // Rules on what benefits health insurance plans must cover have become a major negotiating point as Republicans wrangle votes to repeal Obamacare, even though removing the regulations is likely to upset U.S. insurance...
BLS Report Finds New Jersey Fatal Work Injuries Increased in 2015
Mar 23 2017 // The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in March that fatal work injuries totaled 97 in New Jersey for the year 2015, a 10 percent increase from the previous year, according to Chief Regional Economist Martin...
Academy of Insurance Director Surveys State of Learning
Mar 23 2017 // Patrick Wraight knew when he took over as director of Insurance Journal’s Academy of Insurance earlier this year that he would be making some changes but first he wanted to find out who is taking the Academy classes...
Technology Being Blamed for Driving Up Massachusetts Car Insurance Rates
Mar 22 2017 // Auto insurance rates in Massachusetts are on the rise and technology is to blame. Industry experts tell The Boston Globe that drivers distracted by smartphones are crashing more often and those cars are now more expensive...
South Carolina County Looks to Stem Rising Emergency Vehicle Insurance Costs
Mar 22 2017 // Officials in Horry County, South Carolina, are seeking ways to reduce the high costs of insurance and worker’s compensation related to crashes by emergency vehicles. The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports that there...
Risk Management Not Keeping Up with Escalating Risks: Survey
Mar 21 2017 // Most executives see risks increasing in both number and complexity – but those same executives say their organizations’ risk management efforts may not be staying abreast of those risks. The findings are part of a...
