Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Study: Uninsured Driver Problem Costs Oklahoma $8.8M a Year
Jan 9 2013 // A new evaluation by the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) found that the state of Oklahoma is losing $8.8 million a year in premium taxes from drivers who fail to obtain the state-required minimum coverage for auto...
Shipping Losses Up in 2012 But Down Over 10-Years: AGCS Report
Jan 8 2013 // There have been 106 ship losses reported worldwide in the 12 months since last to November 25 – an increase of 91 ships from the previous year but a 27 percent decrease on the 10- year average of 146 ships per annum. The...
Costs Rising in Minneapolis Water Main Break
Jan 7 2013 // Minneapolis, Minn., officials said they haven’t begun to tally the costs of a massive water main break that sent 14 million gallons of water gushing into downtown streets last week, submerging dozens of vehicles and...
Fargo, North Dakota DUIs Down Nearly 10% in 2012
Jan 3 2013 // Drunken driving arrests in North Dakota’s largest city dropped nearly 10 percent last year after a record 2011. Preliminary data show officers made 1,019 arrests for driving under the influence last year, down from a...
Even Without Big Storms, Florida Property Insurance Costs Rise
Jan 3 2013 // Marco Tarafa was stunned to find that his homeowners’ policy is increasing by nearly $1,000 a year —all because inspectors couldn’t get into his attic, where there was no crawl space and about 24 inches of...
Munich Re 2012 Cat Report Underscores Extreme Weather in U.S.; Sandy Losses
Jan 3 2013 // The figures for natural catastrophse that occurred in 2012 are “dominated by weather extremes in the USA,” according to a report from Munich Re. The reinsurers said the U.S. “accounted for a higher...
Kentucky Highway Death Toll Up from 2011
Jan 2 2013 // Kentucky’s highway death toll in 2012 was running slightly ahead of last year’s pace and the state’s top transportation official this week promised continued efforts in the next year to promote safe...
Willis Re Sees No Rate Increases for Jan. 1 Renewals despite Sandy Impact
Dec 31 2012 // Willis Re’s Jan. 1 renewal report points out that 2012 natural catastrophe losses are estimated to be “50 percent less than last year’s losses of $120 billion.” As a result the report concludes that...
Lloyd’s: Increasing Civil Unrest Driving Political Violence Coverage Demand
Dec 31 2012 // A report from Lloyd’s of London concludes that the increasing demand for political risk insurance “has been rising as civil unrest and political violence continue to threaten businesses around the...
Most Commercial Insurance Buyers Accept Coverage Changes, Price Hikes: Survey
Dec 28 2012 // The vast majority of commercial insurance buyers renewing their policies appear willing to accept coverage adjustments, moderate price increases, or both, according to a new survey. Still, the survey of risk managers and...
Up to $25 Million in Sandy Losses for N.Y.-Based Navigators Group
Dec 26 2012 // The Navigators Group Inc. announced on Dec. 21 that its preliminary estimate of losses relating to Superstorm Sandy ranges between $18 million and $25 million, net of reinsurance and the effects of reinstatement premiums....
Progressive Data Shows 30% Rise in Single-Vehicle Claims on New Year’s Day
Dec 26 2012 // According to data from Progressive Insurance, single-vehicle claims were up 30 percent on New Year’s Day 2012, when compared to the same day of the week two weeks prior to and after New Year’s Day. The total...
Texas Windstorm Insurer: Rates to Increase Jan. 1
Dec 26 2012 // Texas’ property insurer of last resort in coastal counties has issued a reminder to agents that while the maximum limits of liability for residential and commercial properties will remain the same in 2013 as they...
UK’s Met Office Sees 2013 as Likely to be One of Warmest on Record
Dec 21 2012 // Global temperatures are forecast to be 0.57 degrees [1.026°F] above the long-term average next year, making 2013 one of the warmest years on record, Britain’s Met Office, the UK’s national weather service,...
Best Affirms UK’s Ecclesiastical Insurance Office ‘A’ Rating; Outlook Stable
Dec 20 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” of UK-based Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc (EIO), as...
AIG May Raise up to $6.5 Billion through AIA Share Sale – Sources
Dec 17 2012 // American International Group may raise as much as $6.5 billion from the sale of its remaining stake in AIA Group Ltd in Asia’s second-largest block sale ever, exiting a business the U.S. insurer started nearly 100...
25 Ways to Grow Your Independent Agency in 2013
Dec 17 2012 // As the calendar flips to 2013, growth-minded independents must decide how to build their agencies over the upcoming year. The options are endless, and they straddle both the physical and digital worlds. Here are 25 ideas...
Double-Digit Returns Absent From Year-End, 2013 Financial Forecasts
Dec 17 2012 // Although analysts following the property/casualty insurance industry expect underwriting results for 2012 to be better than 2011 when full-year numbers are tallied, double-digit overall returns-on-equity are still not...
UMass Amherst Scientists Forecast Warmer, Wetter Northeast Winters
Dec 14 2012 // A new high-resolution climate study by University of Massachusetts Amherst climate scientists — the first to apply regional climate models to examine likely near-term changes in temperature and precipitation across...
S&P Rates Aon plc. Note Exchanges ‘BBB+’; Outlook Stable
Dec 14 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘BBB+/A-2’ counterparty credit rating to Aon plc., and a ‘BBB+’ debt rating to AON’s proposed senior debt issue. “This is...
