Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Employers Holdings Q2 Net Premiums Written Declined 15.5%, Reducing Workforce
Aug 5 2010 // Reno, Nev.-based Employers Holdings Inc. has reported second quarter 2010 net income of $16.5 million compared with $20.3 million in the second quarter of 2009, a decrease of $3.8 million or $0.05 per share. Net income for...
European Insurer Groups Weather Storm, Oil Claims But Outlook Cloudy
Aug 5 2010 // Major European insurance groups weathered a slew of damage claims for storms and the collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig to post stronger-than-expected half-year earnings on Wednesday. But prospects for the rest of...
Allstate Operating Income Rises in Q2; Capital Losses Hurt Net Income
Aug 5 2010 // The Allstate Corp., headquartered in Northbrook, Ill., reported that second quarter 2010 operating income rose to $441 million compared to $297 million in the same period of 2009, reflecting improved results in both...
Pennsylvania Sees Increase in Insurance Fraud
Aug 4 2010 // Pennsylvania saw a 22 percent increase in fraud complaints in the first half of the year, in a continuation of a trend that started two years ago, according to the Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority...
BP Speeds Up Claim Payments to Businesses Affected by Gulf Oil
Aug 4 2010 // BP says it has begun expediting claim payments to businesses affected by the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, including establishing an Immediate Action Claims Team. According to a press update issued yesterday, the...
Insurers Report Rise in Questionable Claims Led By Hail, Auto Glass
Aug 2 2010 // Property/casualty insurance companies are reporting that the number of claims requiring more scrutiny than normal rose again in the first half of this year compared to 2009. The National Insurance Crime Bureau’s...
Mercury General Reports Q2 Net Premiums Written Down 1 percent
Aug 2 2010 // Mercury General Corp. reported it spent $12.1 million in the second quarter of 2010 supporting Proposition 17, a California ballot initiative that did not pass. Nevertheless, the Los Angeles-based insurer reported net...
SCOR’s Q2 Net Income up 32% to $157 Million; $204 Million Half Year
Jul 29 2010 // French reinsurer SCOR had a very satisfactory second quarter with net income of €120 million ($156.75 million), compared to €91 million ($119 million) in the second quarter 2009, a 32 percent rise. The increase...
Survey: Public Opposes Allowing Policyholder Suits Against Insurers
Jul 29 2010 // A majority of Americans believe that laws allowing people to sue their own auto insurance company for punitive damages, in addition to receiving benefits for their insured claim losses, are not a good idea. New public...
North Dakota Property Crime Rate Down, but Violent Crimes on Rise
Jul 29 2010 // Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says North Dakota’s crime rate dropped slightly last year, but the number of violent crimes rose. A new report provides North Dakota statistics for a number of crimes, including...
S&P Raises Arch Capital Group’s Ratings to ‘A-‘; Outlook Stable
Jul 29 2010 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has raised its counterparty credit rating on Arch Capital Group Ltd. to ‘A-‘ from ‘BBB+’. S&P also raised its counterparty credit and financial...
SeaBright Files California Rate Increase
Jul 29 2010 // SeaBright Holdings Inc. announced that its subsidiary, SeaBright Insurance Co., has filed a 15.3 percent rate increase with the California Department of Insurance. The Company plans to apply the increase to California...
Marsh: Offshore Energy Insurance Costs to Increase ‘Modestly’
Jul 28 2010 // Major losses sustained in the Gulf of Mexico will not have the same market-changing impact on the upstream energy insurance market as other major events such as Hurricane Katrina, according to a new report published by...
Best Revises Outlook on Lancashire to Positive; Affirms Ratings
Jul 28 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” of Bermuda-based Lancashire...
Florida Citizens’ Rate Increases Way Below Actuaries’ Indications
Jul 28 2010 // If insurance actuaries had their way, rates for homeowners insured through Florida’s public insurer Citizens Property Insurance would be going up 55.9 percent on average. But state law caps how much Citizens can...
Best Assigns ‘A’ Ratings to China Re Group; Outlook Stable
Jul 27 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings of “a” to China Reinsurance (Group) Corporation (China Re or the Group) and its subsidiaries,...
United Fire & Casualty P/C Unit Sees Decline in Premiums, Claims
Jul 27 2010 // United Fire & Casualty Co., headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, reported that net premiums written in its property/casualty sector declined in the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30, 2010, as compared...
Report Forecasts Rough Sailing for Canadian Insurers’ Results
Jul 26 2010 // Investors hoping for improved results from Canada’s insurers may want to brace for disappointment, with weak stock markets and lower bond yields seen taking take a bite out of quarterly earnings. Analysts said the...
BP’s Partners Will Not Set Up Gulf Oil Claims Fund
Jul 23 2010 // The two oil companies that are BP’s partners in the now-capped oil well told Congress Thursday they will not set aside money for cleanup costs along the Gulf Coast because it is BP’s responsibility. Anadarko...
Business Groups Press Emerging Economies over Doha
Jul 22 2010 // Brazil, China and India must use their growing economic might to help revive deadlocked global trade talks, a coalition of business lobby groups said in a letter to U.S. and European Union trade negotiators. The letter,...
