Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Emerging Economies to Face Difficult Stress Test: Willis Political Risk Index
Oct 13 2015 // “Syria, Venezuela and Zimbabwe top a list of 40 politically risky territories and destinations for foreign investment,” according to a report from Willis Group Holdings. The findings appear in the latest...
Pension, Insurance & Sovereign Funds Scale Back Emerging Markets’ Investments
Oct 13 2015 // Big pension, insurance and sovereign funds may be scaling back investments in emerging markets amid disappointing returns and a darkening outlook for the sector. These deep-pocketed funds — global pension assets...
Losses to South Carolina Crops Rising as State Suffers More Rain
Oct 12 2015 // The farms and playground area for picking pumpkins were swamped in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. South Carolina is still struggling with floodwaters due to a slow moving storm system. (AP Photo/Mic Smith) Thad...
A.M. Best Trend: Negative Insurer Ratings Outnumber Positive in 2015 First Half
Oct 12 2015 // The U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry’s rating activity over the first half of 2015 turned negative as downgrades and negative outlooks outpaced upgrades and positive outlooks, according to A.M. Best. This...
Global Property Insurance Premiums Top $360 Billion: Finaccord Survey
Oct 12 2015 // As of the end of 2014 the worldwide property insurance market was worth $360.5 billion in gross written premiums with household (homeowners’) policies making up 54 percent of this total, according to a survey...
California Wants Half Its Power from Renewable Energy by 2030
Oct 9 2015 // Gov. Jerry Brown dramatically increased California’s climate-change goals, committing the state to use renewable energy for half its electricity and make existing buildings twice as energy-efficient in just 15...
Higher Temperatures, More Fires 1,000 Years Ago in Rockies, Study Shows
Oct 8 2015 // New research by scientists at the University of Wyoming has found that extreme wildfire seasons are nothing new in the Rocky Mountain region: They also happened hundreds of years ago, after global temperatures had risen...
Willis Aims to ‘Shake Up’ UK Employee Benefits Market with PMI Health Acquisition
Oct 8 2015 // Willis Group Holdings plc announced the completion of its acquisition of PMI Health Group (PMIHG), a leading independent healthcare adviser and broker in the UK. PMIHG will operate as Willis PMI Group while the business...
Cyber, Reputation Risks Top List of CEO, Risk Manager Concerns: Marsh Survey
Oct 8 2015 // Cyber and IT-related risks top the list of what keeps CEOs and risk managers awake at night, according to the 2015 International Business Resiliency Survey, conducted by Marsh and Disaster Recovery Institute International...
Idaho Workers’ Comp Rates to Increase Slightly For 2016
Oct 7 2015 // The Idaho Department of Insurance has received a proposal for an overall rate increase of 0.2 percent to workers’ compensation insurance for 2016 by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. NCCI collects...
A.M. Best Turns Outlook to Negative for Greenpath in California
Oct 7 2015 // A.M. Best has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and the issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of Greenpath Insurance Co. in Rancho Cordova,...
If Auto Injury Claims Frequency Is Falling, Why Are Claims Costs Rising?
Oct 7 2015 // Auto insurance bodily injury claims costs are still increasing in the United States, even though better vehicle safety has helped reduce claims frequency, according to the Insurance Research Council (IRC). The insurance...
Report Shows 120 Louisiana Workplace Fatalities in 2014
Oct 6 2015 // A new federal report says 120 Louisiana workers died on the job last year — six more than in 2013. New Orleans City Business reports that the Bureau of Labor Statistics found the largest number of such deaths — 37 —...
Ohio Insurance Institute: Deer-Vehicle Crashes Down, Costs Rising
Oct 6 2015 // The Ohio Insurance Institute (OII) reports that deer-vehicle crashes in the state decreased in 2014 by 2.5 percent over 2013. Nationally, however, claim costs from such collisions are up by more than 6 percent this...
Texas Tops for Heavy Equipment Thefts in 2014: Report
Oct 6 2015 // A report released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) shows that thefts of heavy equipment increased nationally in 2014 by 1.2 percent over the previous year and that Texas had the highest number of such...
A.M. Best Affirms Zurich Insurance Ratings; Outlook Negative on Expected Losses
Oct 5 2015 // A.M. Besthas affirmed the financial strength rating of A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating of “aa-” while at the same time revising the outlook to negative from stable forZurich Insurance Company...
IICF Week of Giving About Helping, Hope and the Future Starts Oct. 10
Oct 2 2015 // Giving can go well beyond being a mere act of philanthropy. That’s the thinking behind the upcoming Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation event from Oct. 10 through Oct. 17. The IICF Week of Giving, formerly known...
Competition, Customer Demand Worry Global SMEs but Optimism Rises: Zurich
Oct 2 2015 // Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) around the world are increasingly concerned about the impact of competition on margins and lack of consumer demand, according to Zurich Insurance Group’s third annual global...
Endeavour Appoints Price to Drive Growth of U.S. & Canadian Specialist Business
Oct 2 2015 // London-based Endeavour Insurance Services* has appointed David Price as divisional director to drive further growth of the company’s specialist business across its U.S. and Canadian accounts. Price’s role will...
Tennessee Reports Increase in Opioid-Related Deaths in 2014
Oct 2 2015 // Statistics from the Tennessee Department of Health revealed that 1,263 Tennesseans died in 2014 from opioid overdoses despite measures designed to stop the addiction. In 2014, the state saw 97 more deaths caused by opioid...
