Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurance Journal, Channel Harvest Launch Survey on Agent-Carrier Relationships
Mar 3 2015 // Channel Harvest Research, in partnership with Insurance Journal, is conducting its 2015 national survey of agents’ attitudes about their carrier partners. This is the seventh annual study on key aspects of the...
Massachusetts Official Surveys Storm Damage Along Coast
Mar 2 2015 // Parts of the Massachusetts coastline could face a lengthy recovery process after being pummeled by severe winter storms, the state’s top environmental official said on Feb. 27. Secretary of Energy and Environmental...
Ireland’s FBD Holdings Reports Worse-Than-Forecast Operating Loss, Weak Outlook
Mar 2 2015 // FBD Holdings plc plunged in Dublin trading after the Irish insurer’s full-year results missed its own downgraded forecast and its operating profit outlook for 2015 fell short of analysts’ expectations. FBD...
Florida Homeownership Suffered Steep Decline in Last Decade
Mar 2 2015 // Florida had one of the largest declines in homeownership in the nation during the past decade, according to new figures released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau. The homeownership rate in Florida went from more than 73...
Insurance Carriers Plan Increased Hiring in 2015: Survey
Feb 27 2015 // About two-thirds of insurance carriers expect to hire more employees this year, a new survey finds. According to the semi-annual U.S. Insurance Labor Outlook Study conducted by The Jacobson Group and Ward Group, 66 percent...
This Winter Season Is 1 of Snowiest on Record for Boston
Feb 26 2015 // With 1.9 inches of snow overnight on Tuesday, Boston has now received more than 100 inches of snow this winter. The National Weather Service reported Wednesday that the snowfall as recorded at Logan International Airport...
Starr Eyes Cuba Travel Insurance Market For Growth
Feb 26 2015 // Maurice “Hank” Greenberg’s Starr International Co. is pursuing growth in Cuba as the U.S. eases decades-old restrictions on visiting the country. Starr’s travel assistance unit could provide...
RSA’s Restores 2014 Profit and Dividend; CFO Plans to Step Down
Feb 26 2015 // RSA Insurance Group plc reported its first full-year profit since Stephen Hester took charge, restoring dividends after a string of asset sales and cost-cutting measures. Pretax profit was 275 million pounds [$425.9...
As Health Data Goes Electronic, Medical ID Theft Increases
Feb 26 2015 // Medical identity theft jumped 22 percent last year as more U.S. health data becomes electronic and easier for cyber criminals to steal from doctors’ offices, hospitals and insurers. Incidents of medical identity...
Emerging Markets Private Health Premiums to Double: Swiss Re Report
Feb 25 2015 // In a new sigma report, the first for 2015 Swiss Re concludes that “demand and expectations for better healthcare services are rising in the emerging markets,” and that as a result it expects “premiums for...
AXA Posts 12% Increase in 2014 Profit Led by Life & Savings Division
Feb 25 2015 // AXA SA, France’s largest insurer, reported a 12 percent jump in full-year profit, buoyed by its life and savings division. The shares rose. Net income climbed to 5.02 billion euros ($5.7 billion) from 4.48 billion...
SIAA Grew Premium to $5.7B, Signed 410 New Member Agencies in 2014
Feb 24 2015 // SIAA (Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance) said it grew premium by $901 million in 2014 to $5.7 billion, with 80 percent of its growth coming from existing member agencies. Premium growth with SIAA’s strategic...
Ullico Increases Fiduciary Liability Limits to $25 Million
Feb 23 2015 // Ullico Inc.’s property and casualty insurance subsidiary, Ullico Casualty Group, Inc., may offer up to $25 million in multiemployer fiduciary liability insurance in its program with Alterra America Insurance Co., a...
N.C. Workplace Deaths Up 90% in 2014
Feb 23 2015 // Work-related fatalities in North Carolina increased by 90 percent in 2014 over 2013. There were 44 workplace fatalities, compared to 23 in 2013, the state Labor Department said. The most work-related deaths – 18 – were...
Despite Fewer Claims, Louisiana State Employees’ Workers’ Comp Costs Rise
Feb 23 2015 // The number of workers’ compensation claims filed by Louisiana state employees dropped by nearly one-third over the last eight years, but claims costs for state agencies continued to surge higher, according to a state...
Fraud Adds Up to 17% to Auto Insurance Injury Claims: IRC
Feb 23 2015 // A new study estimates that fraud and claim “build-up” add between $5.6 billion and $7.7 billion in excess payments to auto injury claims paid in the United States. The excess payments represented between 13...
2015 Outlook for P/C: Profitable Despite Lower Rates, Says Wells Fargo
Feb 20 2015 // The commercial property/casualty insurance market should remain stable and profitable in 2015, according to the Wells Fargo Insurance 2015 Insurance Market Outlook. Abundant market capacity and an improving economy have...
Florida’s Citizens’ Recovery Unit Increased Policyholder Refunds in 2014
Feb 20 2015 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp. reports it returned nearly $310,000 in refunds to affected policyholders in 2014 as part of its efforts to recover claims payments of $4.9 million by pursuing reimbursement from product...
Fatal Work Injuries in N.Y. Metro Area Declined in 2013: BLS
Feb 18 2015 // Work-related fatal injuries in the New York metropolitan area (the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area) totaled 152 in 2013, according to preliminary data from the U.S....
Reinsurers’ Shopping Spree Won’t Slow Down Falling Rates – S&P Report
Feb 18 2015 // In a recent report Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it anticipated further mergers and acquisitions in the global reinsurance industry. The report – “Reinsurers’ Shopping Spree...
