Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Best Report Forecasts More Mutual Partnerships as Challenges Mount
May 11 2010 // A new report from A.M. Best notes that mutual insurance companies “have generally entered and emerged from the economic downturn in a strong position, but any advantage they currently have over conventional insurers...
New Jersey Targeting Growth in Captive and Reinsurance Markets
May 11 2010 // New Jersey Insurance Commissioner Tom Considine praised new, bipartisan legislation that would grow the reinsurance market and create a captive insurance market in the Garden State. The captive insurance bill was put...
Small Business Owners’ Outlook Improves But Hiring Remains Weak
May 11 2010 // Small U.S. business owners are slightly less pessimistic about their outlook, and in the face of continuing weak sales do not plan to boost capital spending or employment, a monthly survey of small businesses showed. The...
Network Physician Use Increases in California Workers’ Comp Claims
May 11 2010 // Tthe percentage of medical services to injured workers delivered by network physicians jumped sharply immediately after Medical Provider Networks (MPNs) were introduced into the workers’ compensation system in 2005,...
Report: Workers’ Comp Combined Ratio Jumps; Results Suffer in 2009
May 11 2010 // As workers’ compensation premiums continued to decline in 2009, the combined ratio jumped nine points in 2009. According to recent report on the state of the workers’ comp market, the combined ratio rose to...
Buffett’s Berkshire Q4 Profit Highest Since 2007; Geico Premiums Up 6%
May 10 2010 // Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Friday reported its largest quarterly profit since 2007, helped by an improving economy, investment and derivative gains, and the takeover of Burlington Northern Santa Fe...
Affirmative Insurance Reports Increased Revenue in Q1 2010
May 10 2010 // Addison, Texas-based Affirmative Insurance Holdings Inc., a distributor and producer of non-standard personal automobile insurance policies, reported that gross premiums written and total revenues increased during the...
Montana State Fund Decreasing Rates 4%
May 7 2010 // Montana State Fund said its workers’ compensation insurance rates are going down by an average of 4 percent. The fund, which provides the insurance to more than 28,000 employers around the state, says the rate...
Hawaii Laws To Increase Insurance Costs, Group Says
May 7 2010 // Laws enacted in the just-concluded 2010 Hawaii legislative session will increase insurance costs and possibly affect premiums for Hawaii consumers and businesses, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America...
Outlook Negative for Wisconsin’s Partners Mutual Insurance
May 6 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of Partners Mutual Insurance Company (Partners) of...
Fremont Michigan InsuraCorp Sees Growth in Q1 2010
May 5 2010 // Fremont Michigan InsuraCorp Inc., a Michigan-exclusive property and casualty insurance carrier, reported revenues of $14.9 million for the first quarter of 2010, up 9.4 percent from revenues in the first quarter...
Best Affirms ACE and Subs Ratings; Outlook on Debt Changed to Positive
May 4 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” and senior debt ratings of ACE Limited, based in Zurich, Switzerland, and ACE INA Holdings...
Western National Insurance Sees Rise in Surplus in Q1 2010
May 3 2010 // Western National Insurance Group in Edina, Minn., reported $5.5 million increase in policyholder surplus during the first quarter of 2010 over the amount reported at the end of 2009, as well as a 4 percent rise in the...
Survey: Insurance Consumers Buying More Often Online
May 3 2010 // American consumers look more frequently to the web and interactive promotions when making purchasing decisions for insurance, according to a new survey. The survey — 2010 Insurance Customer Interactive Media Usage...
P/C Industry’s Net Income Up $25B in 2009; Combined Ratio Improves to 101
May 3 2010 // The U.S. property/casualty industry’s profitability as measured by their rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus (or statutory net worth) increased by 5.8 percent in 2009, while private P/C...
Amerisafe Ratings Affirmed, Positive Outlook Maintained
Apr 30 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” of DeRidder, La.-based Amerisafe Insurance Group (Amerisafe) and its members. Amerisafe...
State Auto Income Up for Q1 2010
Apr 29 2010 // State Auto Financial Corp.(STFC), based in Columbus, Ohio, has reported first quarter 2010 net income of $12.9 million versus a net loss of $14 million. The company’s combined ratio for the first quarter of 2010 was...
Aon Report Concludes Aerospace Insurance Costs Continue to Decrease
Apr 27 2010 // Accoring to Aon’s Aerospace Insurance Markets Outlook 2010 report, “the price of insurance for the aerospace industry looks set to continue to decline in 2010, for the fourth year in a row. After 2009’s...
Windstorm Claims Adding Up in Texas After Weekend Storms
Apr 27 2010 // Violent thunderstorms packing winds up to 90 miles per hour struck a six-county area southeast of Dallas early on April 24 causing thousands of windstorm claims, the Insurance Council of Texas reports. One fatality...
Survey: More U.S. Businesses Anticipate Payroll Growth
Apr 26 2010 // More U.S. companies, including those in the insurance industry, plan to increase their work force over the next six months, a survey showed on Monday. The National Association for Business Economics said its industry...
