Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Young Agents Rate Flexibility, Career Growth Over Technology: Vertafore Survey
Aug 14 2014 // Technology is not an incentive when it comes to attracting and retaining millennials to the insurance industry but it can provide overall job satisfaction in terms of flexibility and career growth opportunities, according...
Everyone Likes a Hard Insurance Market, Right?
Aug 13 2014 // What’s the big deal with a hard property/casualty insurance market? Everyone likes one, said Art Davis, president of Colony Specialty, a member of the Argo Group. “You make a lot of money, have good...
EC Consults on Functioning, Future of Insurance Anti-Trust Block Exemption
Aug 13 2014 // The European Commission (EC) has issued a questionnaire to seek the views of stakeholders on the functioning and the future of the Insurance Block Exemption Regulation (IBER), which exempts certain agreements between...
Wheat Harvest Down, Kansas Farmers See Income Decline in 2014
Aug 12 2014 // One of the worst wheat harvests in decades followed by an abundant corn and soybean crop that’s driving down prices have Kansas farmers preparing for a sharp income decline after several good years. The agricultural...
South Carolina Reports Rise in Insurance Fraud
Aug 12 2014 // Insurance fraud complaints in South Carolina have reached an all-time high with more than 1,200 pouring in last year, according to a report by Attorney General Alan Wilson. The annual report from his office’s...
Fitch Raises Italy Insurance Market Outlook as 1st Half Betters Expectations
Aug 12 2014 // Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook to stable from negative, reflecting expectations that insurers’ profit and capital adequacy will be resilient amid the Italian recession. The outlook also reflects reduced credit...
N.Y. Uber Drivers Flock to Hamptons for Summer ‘Pop-Up’ Market
Aug 11 2014 // Like many New York City dwellers, Adam Cosentino’s summer ritual includes making the 100-mile trek to the beach towns of the Hamptons every weekend. The 43-year-old isn’t making the journey to play with the...
GM Loses Bid to Dismiss Ignition-Switch Defect Cover-Up Claim
Aug 10 2014 // General Motors Co. has lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the automaker of concealing critical evidence about a faulty ignition switch linked to the death of a Georgia woman in 2010. During a hearing on Saturday,...
A Decade After Charley, Florida’s Still Paying the Bill
Aug 8 2014 // Tomorrow, Aug. 9, marks the ten-year anniversary of the formation of Hurricane Charley. The third named storm of the 2004 hurricane season, Charley did $13 billion of damage, nearly all of it in Florida. But the bad news...
European Insurance Industry Figures Find ‘Stability & Growth’ from 2003-2012
Aug 8 2014 // Despite the economic upheavals the European insurance industry has maintained a path of stability and growth, even through times of crisis, according to figures released by Insurance Europe, the European insurance and...
Best Affirms Catlin Group’s Ratings; Outlook Stable
Aug 8 2014 // A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Catlin Insurance Company Limited (CICL) (Bermuda), Catlin Insurance...
Catlin Group 1st Half Pre-Tax Profits up 118% at $318; Net Uncome$273 Million
Aug 8 2014 // The Bermuda-based Catlin Group Limited posted strong increases in pretax profits and net income. The Group’s report for the first half of 2014 featured the following highlights in what it described as...
Zurich Insurance Profit Rises 6% on Fewer Catastrophe Claims
Aug 7 2014 // Zurich Insurance Group AG, Switzerland’s largest insurer, said second-quarter profit rose 6 percent as it took fewer losses from natural catastrophes. Net income rose to $837 million from $789 million a year earlier,...
State Auto: Net Income Down, Written Premium Up for Q2 1014
Aug 5 2014 // State Auto Financial Corp. reported net income for the second quarter 2014 that was nearly 50 percent less than its net income for the same period in 2012, while net written premium increased in Q2 2014 compared with Q2...
Soft P/C Market Flattens Independent Agencies’ Organic Growth in Q2: Reagan Consulting
Aug 5 2014 // Independent insurance agents and brokers reported median organic growth of 5.8 percent for the second quarter of 2014, a weakening from 6.2 percent for the first quarter of 2014 and 6.9 percent for the second quarter of...
Forecasters Reaffirm Below-Average Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook
Aug 4 2014 // Colorado State University (CSU) researchers continue to predict a below-average hurricane season for the Atlantic basin in 2014, citing exceptionally unfavorable hurricane formation conditions in the tropical Atlantic...
Study Tracks Rise in Attorney Involvement in Auto Claims
Aug 4 2014 // Attorney involvement in auto insurance claims is on the rise and varies significantly by state, according to an insurance industry study. The percentage of auto injury claimants represented by attorneys jumped to 36...
Survey: Michigan Business Owners Optimistic About Future
Aug 4 2014 // Owners of Michigan’s small and medium-size businesses voiced their confidence in Michigan’s economic future in the latest Future Business Index, published in partnership with the Michigan Business Network and...
A.M. Best: Outlook Stable for Wisconsin Mutual Insurance
Jul 31 2014 // A.M. Best has revised the outlook to stable from negative and affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Co. (WMIC), based in...
Hartford’s Q2 Core Earnings Decline 38% to $144M; Net Loss Widens
Jul 31 2014 // The Hartford Financial Services Group said Wednesday its 2014 second quarter net loss widened to $467 million, compared to a net loss of $190 million during last year’s second quarter. The results were hit by $617...
