Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Last Chance to Participate: Take the Market & Financial Survey Now
Jul 30 2014 // How are agencies targeting new business today? Will historical growth rates be sustainable? And just how much do agencies need to reinvest to achieve desired growth and enable perpetuation? These are some of the questions...
U.S. Attorneys in Dakotas Turning Up Heat on Health Care Fraud
Jul 30 2014 // The top federal prosecutors from South Dakota and North Dakota say they have increased their efforts to fight health care fraud. U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson of South Dakota said he has restructured his office to allow...
Mass. Auto Insurance Rates Climb Back Up Despite Deregulation
Jul 29 2014 // Auto insurance rates that fell sharply after deregulation in Massachusetts are climbing again. The Boston Globe reports that five years after Massachusetts began to allow insurers to set their own rates, the average...
S&P Report Finds Volume Increases as Prices Drop in the ILS Market
Jul 29 2014 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services will publish its annual “Global Reinsurance Highlights” publication to coincide with the 2014 Reinsurance Rendez-Vous in September. S&P said the report would...
QBE Falls Most in 7 Months Amid 18% Profit Decline Forecast
Jul 29 2014 // Australia’s QBE Insurance Group Ltd. slumped the most in seven months after forecasting an 18 percent decline in first-half earnings due to higher claims in Latin America and competition with other insurers. Net...
