Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Capital Capacity Softens January Renewal Rates up to 25%: Willis Re Report
Jan 2 2014 // According to Willis Re’s January 2014 Reinsurance Renewals Report, “a heady cocktail of converging factors has fuelled a soft buyers’ market in nearly all lines of business at the 1 January 2014...
Select Insurance Markets Adds Kendrick as Marketing Representative in Texas
Dec 31 2013 // Select Insurance Markets LP of Houston, Texas, has added Heather Kendrick as a marketing representative. Kendrick’s responsibility will include adding new agents, as well as field support for the existing group of...
Commissioner: Louisiana Workers’ Comp Insurance Rates to Decrease
Dec 31 2013 // Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon announced that rates for workers’ compensation insurance will decrease in Louisiana effective May 1, 2014. Commissioner Donelon recently approved a 5.1 percent decrease...
Reinsurance Rates Down by 11% for January Renewals: Guy Carpenter Survey
Dec 30 2013 // Guy Carpenter & Co. has reported that reinsurance rates-on-line fell at the January 1, 2014 renewal in nearly all classes and regions. The reinsurance broker’s global renewal report pointed to “strong...
Best Affirms Cincinnati Financial and Subs Ratings; Outlook Stable
Dec 24 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of The Cincinnati Insurance Company, The Cincinnati Indemnity Company and...
Cellphone Records Call Up Fraud Against Washington Woman
Dec 23 2013 // An investigation by Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s office has resulted in charges of theft and fraud against a Tacoma woman who attempted to collect insurance money for a car she claimed was stolen...
Best Affirms Tokio Millennium Re ‘A++’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
Dec 23 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A++’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating of “aa+” of Swiss-based Tokio Millennium Re AG (TMR), both with stable outlooks. Best explained...
Zurich Insurance Seeking to Increase Sales to Corporate Clients
Dec 23 2013 // Zurich Insurance Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest insurer, says a business unit selling insurance to corporate clients will become more important as the companies expand abroad. “Companies growing beyond their...
Best Affirms CNA Financial and Subs’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
Dec 20 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of the property/casualty subsidiaries of CNA Financial Corporation (CNAF),...
The Agency Manager-Employee Operations Gap and E&O Risk: Survey
Dec 19 2013 // Agency managers tend to have a rosier view of agency operations than their employees do, according to a survey that also suggests this gap could present errors and omissions (E&O) implications. The survey reveals that...
Questionable Insurance Claims on the Rise in Texas: Report
Dec 18 2013 // Questionable insurance claims rose by 38 percent in Texas from 2010 through 2012, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports. Questionable claims (QC) are those claims that NICB member insurance companies refer to...
NICB: Questionable Insurance Claims on the Rise in New York, New Jersey
Dec 18 2013 // New York State’s questionable claims rose 29 percent from 2010 to 2012, while New Jersey’s questionable claims were up 63 percent during the same period, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB)....
NICB: Massachusetts Posts 57% Increase in Questionable Insurance Claims
Dec 17 2013 // Questionable claims in Massachusetts rose 57 percent from 2010 through 2012, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s (NICB) 2010-2012 Massachusetts questionable claims referral reason...
AmTrust Financial Refutes Negative Report, Says Future Has ‘Never Been Brighter’
Dec 17 2013 // AmTrust Financial Services Inc. (AFSI), a New York-headquartered insurer whose stock price fell last week in wake of a negative report from research firm GeoInvesting, is assuring investors its business is strong. The...
Best Affirms W. R. Berkley Corp. and Subs ‘A+’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
Dec 16 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of the Delaware-based Berkley Insurance Company (BIC) and 24 of its...
Health Care D&O Rates Rise Over Obamacare Antitrust Concerns: Marsh
Dec 16 2013 // Health care organizations paid significantly more for their directors and officers liability insurance in the third quarter of 2013 amid growing concerns over antitrust issues arising from implementation of the Affordable...
U.S. Insurance Broker Sector Outlook Positive for 2014: Fitch
Dec 16 2013 // Revenue and earnings growth for U.S. insurance brokers in 2014 is expected to improve modestly over 2013, according to a report by Fitch Ratings. Fitch, which issued a stable rating outlook and positive sector outlook for...
Broker Pleads Guilty in NYC Charity Theft, Faces Up to 25 Years in Prison
Dec 13 2013 // An insurance brokerage owner has admitted to helping a longtime Jewish community leader steal more than $7 million from a prominent New York City charity has pleaded guilty to charges The New York Times says Joseph Ross...
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts ‘Soft Insurance Rate Landing’
Dec 12 2013 // U.S. property/casualty insurers’ and brokers’ operating earnings are expected to modestly improve in 2014, and the overall insurance rate increases will “probably moderate into 2015,” said...
Commercial Lines Price Gains Slowing Down
Dec 12 2013 // Price gains are slowing down after commercial insurance prices increased for the 11th straight quarter, rising by 5 percent in aggregate during third-quarter 2013, according to Towers Watson. The professional services...
