Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Australia Weather Bureau Forecasts Reduced Risk from La Nina
Feb 16 2011 // The La Nina weather pattern, which recently brought record floods and cyclones to Australia, is weakening, but there is a small risk that it could reform within the southern autumn season, Australia’s weather bureau...
United Fire Sees Higher Net Income but Premium Decrease in 2010
Feb 15 2011 // United Fire & Casualty Co., headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, reported an increase in net income for the fourth quarter and full year 2010, but net premiums earned decreased by 1.9 percent for the year and by 0.7...
S&P Reports Outlook for Int’l. Marine P&I Clubs is Stable
Feb 14 2011 // “The outlook for the international marine protection & indemnity (P&I) industry is looking stable, with all clubs in 2010 reporting a post-tax surplus for the first time since 1998,” said a bulletin...
As Merger Lawsuits Increase, So Do Legal Fees
Feb 14 2011 // Lawyers are pushing for a $4.5 million fee for their work for investors challenging a corporate merger. The recovery for shareholders? Probably zero. The requested fee in a lawsuit challenging Unilever NV’s $3.7...
New York Agents Happier with Insurers This Year, Survey Says
Feb 11 2011 // A new survey by a trade group for New York agents finds insurance producers give their carriers good marks for honesty and fair treatment — but find insurance companies don’t pay them enough. The Independent...
Allstate Profit Falls as Auto, Catastrophe Claims Rise
Feb 10 2011 // Allstate Insurance net income fell 43 percent in the fourth quarter as rising claims from auto insurance customers and catastrophes took their toll. Allstate’s fourth quarter 2010 net profit was $296 million compared...
Best Affirms Odyssey Re and Subs ‘A’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
Feb 10 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Odyssey Reinsurance Group, based in Wilmington, Del., and its members....
Swiss Re Urges Australia to Use Cat Bonds as Disaster Risk Rises
Feb 10 2011 // Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re said Australia’s natural disaster risk was increasing and urged its governments to cover the rising damages bill using insurance instruments like catastrophe bonds as opposed to...
S&P Revises Outlook on UK’s Aviva: Ratings Affirmed
Feb 10 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Aviva PLC, the holding company of the U.K.-based global multiline insurance group Aviva, and the majority of its operating entities, to stable from...
PartnerRe Hit by Cat Losses, Reports Decreases in Q4, FY Net Income
Feb 8 2011 // Bermuda-based PartnerRe Ltd. reported net income of $57.0 million, or $0.65 per share on a fully diluted basis for the fourth quarter of 2010, which includes net after-tax realized and unrealized losses on investments of...
In Future, Cars Might Decide if Driver is Drunk
Feb 7 2011 // An alcohol-detection prototype that uses automatic sensors to instantly gauge a driver’s fitness to be on the road has the potential to save thousands of lives, but could be as long as a decade away from everyday use...
Climate Change Link to Insurance Losses Decades Away
Feb 7 2011 // Tropical cyclones are expected to cause more damage in the United States and Asia but it could be more than a century before insurers can point to climate change as a factor in losses from storms, scientists say. In a...
Climate Change Link to Insurance Losses Decades Away
Feb 7 2011 // Tropical cyclones are expected to cause more damage in the United States and Asia but it could be more than a century before insurers can point to climate change as a factor in losses from storms, scientists say. In a...
Lloyd’s Warns of Increases in Fraudulent Claims
Feb 7 2011 // Fraud is a fact of life for the insurance industry – part of the game so to speak. While some claims, as Lloyd’s notes in an article on its web site, may cause people to smile, the amount of money they cost the...
Aon Revenue Up 40% in Q4 on Hewitt Merger
Feb 4 2011 // Growth-oriented insurance broker Aon Corp. saw revenues shoot up 40 percent to $2.9 billion in the fourth quarter, largely driven by its acquisition of Hewitt Associates. For the quarter, Aon saw a 41 percent increase in...
Claims Chief Feinberg Says Gulf to Recover from BP Oil Spill by 2012
Feb 4 2011 // The Gulf of Mexico should recover from the massive BP oil spill by the end of 2012, the administrator of the $20 billion victims compensation fund said. By that time, most of the harmful effect of the worst offshore oil...
Iowa Commissioner: Wellmark May Increase Rates by 8.5%, not 10.8%
Feb 3 2011 // After completing a review of health insurer Wellmark’s November 2010 rate increase request, Iowa Insurance Commissioner Susan E. Voss has determined the company will not be allowed to raise individual health...
ICC Says Impact of Counterfeiting/Piracy to Reach $1.7 trillion by 2015
Feb 3 2011 // A new report released from its Paris headquarters by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) indicates that the global economic and social impacts of counterfeiting and piracy will reach US$1.7 trillion by 2015 and put...
Best Revises Arch Capital and Subs Outlook to Positive; Affirms Ratings
Feb 2 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of Bermuda’s Arch...
In Future, Cars Might Decide if Driver is Drunk
Feb 1 2011 // An alcohol-detection prototype that uses automatic sensors to instantly gauge a driver’s fitness to be on the road has the potential to save thousands of lives, but could be as long as a decade away from everyday use...
