Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
S&P Raises AFG’s Subsidiaries Ratings to ‘A+’; Outlook Stable
Oct 7 2010 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has raised its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on American Financial Group’s (AFG) core insurance subsidiaries to ‘A+’ from...
Survey: Execs Still Concerned Over Profitability, Double-Dip Recession
Oct 7 2010 // U.S. insurance executives report that despite improving market conditions, they remained concerned about their company’s performance and the industry’s ability to generate underwriting profit amid continuing...
Best Report on UK PC/: Rates Rising; Operating Environment Still Tough
Oct 6 2010 // A special report from A.M. Best concludes that the UK non-life market will “remain tough this year, with insurers facing diminishing prior-year reserve redundancies, low investment returns and the uncertain effects...
Florida Medical Malpractice Insurance Market Found in Good Health
Oct 6 2010 // Medical malpractice insurers writing in Florida earned an average return on surplus of 6.6 percent in 2009, their sixth straight profitable year, although their profits were lower than in 2008. That’s one of the news...
BP Claims Fund Struggles to Get Up to Speed
Oct 6 2010 // In the rush to get compensation from BP after its massive oil spill, the $20 billion fund that the company created has been inundated with questionable documentation, inflated claims and in some cases, outright fraud...
The Future for Independent Insurance Agencies
Oct 6 2010 // I believe the future of independent insurance agencies is at a tipping point. A number of forces are pushing agencies toward the precipice of major change. A few of those forces include: legislation, case law, the Web,...
Florida Weighs 8.3% Workers’ Compensation Rate Increase Today
Oct 5 2010 // Workers’ compensation insurers in Florida will be asked to explain their request for an average 8.3 percent rate hike today before the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR). The OIR is holding a public hearing...
Home Insurance Customer Satisfaction Declines But ‘Bundlers’ Happy
Oct 5 2010 // Overall customer satisfaction with homeowners insurance companies has declined to the lowest level in five years, primarily due to decreases in satisfaction with policy offerings and customer service, according to the J.D....
Best Affirms FM Global Group’s ‘A+’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
Oct 5 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength ratings of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings of “aa” of FM Global Group and its lead company, Factory Mutual Insurance Company, and its...
Surplus Lines Premiums Down in 2009; But Brokers Say Market is Stabilizing
Oct 4 2010 // The surplus lines industry continues to experience a decline in direct premiums written (DPW). For a third consecutive year in 2009, the surplus lines industry’s DPW fell 4.1 percent, an improvement over 2008 where...
UK Auto Market ‘Saturated’ as Claims Rise Says Towers Watson Study
Sep 30 2010 // “The cost of injury claims in the UK car insurance market has grown recently by nearly 30 percent per annum concludes a study, based on industry data, compiled by Towers Watson (TW). TW also noted that the findings...
FERMA’s 2010 Survey Highlights Growing Role of Risk Management
Sep 29 2010 // “Risk management is now on the agenda for top management, the board and shareholders, which clearly support and sponsor the function,” states a bulletin from Federation of European Risk Management Associations...
Lloyd’s Sees Record Claims, Continued Pricing Decline; Considers Russia Office
Sep 28 2010 // The Lloyd’s of London insurance market revealed that record claims from disasters including the Chilean earthquake and U.S. oil spill halved its profits, and said it saw no respite from a steady decline in...
Willis Sets up Agri-Business Unit for Crop and Forestry Sectors
Sep 24 2010 // Hughes-Gibb, the specialist bloodstock, livestock and aquaculture division of Willis Group Holdings, announced that it is expanding its services to clients in agri-business. Broadening its expertise to include Crop and...
Lloyd’s Program Aims to Increase Claims Talent
Sep 24 2010 // Lloyd’s has announced that it will establish a dedicated program to recruit and train 50 claims professionals over the next five years, which it said is equivalent to “10 per cent of claims personnel currently...
New York Looks to Reform Coastal Homeowners Insurance Market
Sep 23 2010 // New York insurance regulators are proposing a new set of consumer protection measures as part of a package of rules aimed at improving the availability and pricing of homeowners insurance in high-risk areas along the...
Bank Bailout Fraud On the Rise, Probes Continuing, Says TARP Cop
Sep 22 2010 // The top U.S. bailout cop said evidence of fraud among banks that sought taxpayer funds was on the rise, and some of his investigations involve amounts exceeding $550 million. Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general...
Arkansas’ Jobless Rate Increases to 7.5%
Sep 22 2010 // Arkansas’ unemployment rate rose by one-tenth of a percentage point last month to 7.5 percent, the first increase since March. The state Department of Workforce Services says the state’s nonfarm payroll jobs...
Aon Releases 2010 Food System, Agribusiness, Beverage Industry Report
Sep 22 2010 // The claims costs connected to the recent half billion egg recall will be unprecedented and include liabilities such as business interruption and reputation damage. During the next 15 months, the U.S. Food and Drug...
Poor Service Leads to Fraudulent Insurance Claims, Survey Finds
Sep 22 2010 // More than half (55 percent) of U.S. consumers say poor service from an insurance company is more likely to cause an individual to commit fraud against that company, according to a survey by Accenture. The survey also...
