Latest Trends Headlines

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

Climate Change Report: Philippines Hardest Hit by Extreme Weather in 2013

Dec 3 2014 // The Philippines, Cambodia and India were the countries hardest hit by extreme weather events in 2013, according to a study unveiled on Tuesday at U.N. talks in Lima on a global deal to limit climate change. The report by...

Survey Shows 8-in-10 Americans Believe in Climate Change

Dec 2 2014 // More than eight-in-10 Americans now believe the climate is changing – although they place that concern beneath issues like global political instability, economic crisis or a pandemic. Munich Re America’s inaugural...

End Near, Future Uncertain for New Jersey’s Red-Light Cameras

Dec 2 2014 // A bane of motorists and a boon to municipal coffers, New Jersey’s red light cameras are a get-rich-quick scheme by towns or a worthwhile safety improvement that is saving lives, depending on where you sit. The...

Small Business Insurance Market Primed for Consolidation

Dec 1 2014 // If heavy competition breeds consolidation, then the property/casualty small business insurance market is ripe for it in the coming years. Both large and small insurers devote lots of attention to the space, but no single...

Kansas Agents See Increased Demand for Earthquake Insurance

Dec 1 2014 // Kansas insurance agencies say they’ve been flooded with queries about earthquake coverage after a 4.8 magnitude temblor struck near Conway Springs on Nov. 12. “We have been getting calls all day,” said...

Swiss Re Economists Forecast ‘Modest’ Global Growth

Nov 26 2014 // Swiss Re’s Chief economist, Kurt Karl and his colleague, Senior Economist Roman Lechner, presented a somewhat cautious scenario for the global economy over the next two years. As detailed in Swiss Re’s...

Outlook Revised to Positive for Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Co.

Nov 25 2014 // A.M. Best has revised the outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a” for Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Company (FUMI) in Jamestown, N.D. Concurrently, A.M. Best has also...

Pothole Claims Up in Ohio This Year

Nov 24 2014 // More Ohio motorists are looking for repayment from the state for pothole damage to their cars, nearly tripling the number of claims filed in 2013. The Dayton Daily News reports nearly 300 pothole damage claims have been...

Whistleblower Tips, Award Amount Increased in 2014, Reports SEC

Nov 24 2014 // The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission received more than 3,500 tips from whistleblowers in fiscal year 2014, the largest number received since the program went into effect three years ago. The SEC announced the...

Some Future Effects of Climate Change Are Inevitable: World Bank

Nov 24 2014 // Some future impacts of climate change, such as more extremes of heat and sea level rise, are unavoidable even if governments act fast to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the World Bank said. Past and predicted emissions from...

Connecticut Approves NCCI’s Workers’ Comp Loss Cost Decrease Filing

Nov 21 2014 // The Connecticut Insurance Department recently approved the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s (NCCI) workers’ compensation filing for an overall -0.6 percent change for pure premium loss costs and an...

New Jersey Approves 2.9% Increase in Workers’ Comp Rates, Rating Values

Nov 18 2014 // New Jersey’s Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau announced that the commissioner of banking and insurance has approved a 2.9 percent increase in rates and rating values applicable to New Jersey workers’...

Small Business Insurance Market Primed for Consolidation

Nov 18 2014 // If heavy competition breeds consolidation, then the property/casualty small business insurance market is ripe for it in the coming years. Both large and small insurers devote lots of attention to the space, but no single...

Kansas Agents See Increased Demand for Earthquake Insurance

Nov 17 2014 // Kansas insurance agencies say they’ve been flooded with queries about earthquake coverage after the 4.8 magnitude temblor on Nov. 12. “We have been getting calls all day,” Matt Woodall, who works at a...

Speed Limit to go up Along Utah’s Wasatch Front

Nov 17 2014 // The Utah Department of Transportation is moving ahead with plans to raise freeway speed limits along the Wasatch Front from 65 mph to 70 mph. UDOT officials say while they’re seeking comment from affected cities and...

Large Agencies More Optimistic About Future Growth: Study

Nov 17 2014 // Optimism over the future growth potential of independent agencies ties closely to the size of the independent agency, with larger agencies feeling more optimistic about future growth than their smaller counterparts,...

Climate Change Report Paints Portrait of Dystopian Future

Nov 17 2014 // A major climate change report issued this month offers dire predictions, a call to action to government and industry and it assesses the blame for a rapidly changing and more volatile world on mankind. The United...

Trends Support Positive Outlook for Homeowners Insurance: Aon Benfield

Nov 17 2014 // Emerging trends support a positive profit outlook for homeowners insurers, a leading broker believes. Reinsurance broker Aon Benfield’s “2014 Homeowners ROE Outlook” concludes that insurers’...

Car-Deer Collisions Down Slightly in Illinois in 2013

Nov 14 2014 // Collisions between cars and deer in Illinois were down in 2013 compared to 2012 — though not by much. Figures released Nov. 12 show a 1 percent decline in numbers of cars hitting deer in 2013 compared to 2012. There were...

Pet Insurance Outpaces Accident-Health in Sales Growth

Nov 13 2014 // Maria Makara didn’t hesitate to insure her two new dogs. That’s because they’re family. Her previous pet, a Yorkshire terrier, died in 2013 after contracting pancreatitis and Cushing’s disease....