Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Spring Storms Tear Up Midwest, Claim 3 Lives in Missouri
May 15 2009 // Citizens in four Midwestern states are cleaning up after violent storms killed three people in northern Missouri, damaged hundreds of homes and left thousands without power. Authorities reported at least two tornadoes...
CSU’s Gray May Reduce Atlantic Storm Outlook
May 14 2009 // Colorado State University hurricane forecaster Bill Gray said Wednesday he may reduce his next Atlantic season forecast because sea temperatures are cooling and a weak El Nino may appear by late summer. “Things are...
Florida Agents, Consumer Advocate Agree: Insurance Rates Must Go Up
May 14 2009 // With the start of the hurricane season just a few weeks away, a leading Florida consumer advocate joined independent agents at a press conference today to warn that property insurance rates need to be raised if insurers...
Specialty Underwriters’ Alliance Reports 20% Premium Growth for Q1
May 11 2009 // Chicago-based Specialty Underwriters’ Alliance Inc. reported that although net income was down in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period a year ago, gross written premiums rose to $29 million compared...
Aon Survey Finds Slowdown in Q2 UK Premium Increases
May 8 2009 // UK companies renewing insurance in the second quarter “could be paying equal or even less premium with just 50 percent of underwriters predicting an increase in property rates,” according to Aon’s Market...
Munich Re Posts $560 Million Q1 Profit; Down 46% from Q1 2008
May 6 2009 // Munich Re announced first quarter 2009 profits of €420 million ($560 million), compared to €777 million ($1.035 billion) in the same period of 2008. However, the Group’s bulletin forecast premium...
Survey: Americans Keeping Cars Longer in Struggling Economy
May 6 2009 // The current economy has many Americans shying away from buying new cars and hanging on to their cars longer than in years past, a new trend that could affect insurance and vehicle safety considerations. A new poll from R....
Crime Warp: Recession Driving a Rise in Vehicle Give-Ups
May 4 2009 // As America’s economy slogs through this once-in-a-generation recession, stressed-out consumers are literally being driven to desperation. Growing numbers of drivers are illegally dumping their vehicles for insurance...
Agents, Rate Your Regional Carriers in a New Insurance Journal Sponsored Survey
May 4 2009 // Channel Harvest Research and Insurance Journal have announced a major new study in the independent agency system that will probe agents’ attitudes toward carrier relationships and the insurance companies they...
S&P Revises Fortis’ Outlook to Positive; Belgian Ins. Unit Remains Negative
May 1 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its rating implications to positive from developing on the CreditWatch placement of its ‘BB’ long-term counterparty credit ratings and ‘B’...
Travelers’ Earnings Fall; Premiums Up Slightly; Combined Ratio at 90.6%
May 1 2009 // The Travelers Companies, Inc. net income for the first quarter of 2009 fell more than 30 percent to $662 million, for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, compared to $967 million, for the quarter ended March 31, 2008....
Regulator Sees Mergers Coming in Weakened Life Insurance Sector
Apr 29 2009 // U.S. life insurers, weakened by the global financial crisis, are in for mergers and regulators will not shy away from playing matchmaker to deal with weak companies, Eric Dinallo, New York’s insurance superintendent,...
Oregon Medical Malpractice Insurance Rates Decrease
Apr 29 2009 // Physicians and surgeons in Oregon have seen a decline in medical professional liability insurance rates the past several years, according to a Department of Consumer and Business Services analysis of recent rate...
United Fire & Casualty Reports Income Decline in Q1 2009
Apr 28 2009 // Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based United Fire & Casualty Company reported net income for the first quarter of 2009 was $3.3 million or 12 cents per diluted share, down from a net income of $20.1 million or 74 cents per diluted...
California Commissioner Asks Workers’ Comp Board to Withdraw Rate Increase
Apr 28 2009 // At a rate hearing on Tuesday, April 28, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner urged the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) to withdraw its request for an increase in the workers’...
Florida’s Property Insurance Market: An Overview by Commissioner McCarty
Apr 24 2009 // It is always interesting, and frequently amusing, to read various “research” pieces on the Florida property insurance market. While I, like every other insurance regulator, industry professional and observer in...
North Carolina Coastal Insurance Rates to Rise May 1
Apr 23 2009 // Homeowners in 18 coastal North Carolina counties whose homes are insured by a state-backed insurance pool shouldn’t expect a delay of higher rates taking effect May 1. A powerful state legislator said a comprehensive...
Europe Votes to Adopt New Solvency Rules for Insurance by 2012
Apr 23 2009 // The European Parliament voted this week for new regulation of insurers that aims to cut costs by giving one national regulator the lead role in monitoring insurance companies operating across several EU nations. EU...
Hurricane Prediction Lowered
Apr 20 2009 // While lawmakers in coastal states debated property insurance rates and reforms, forecasters lowered their 2009 Atlantic forecast to 12 tropical storms, of which six could become hurricanes. The Colorado State University...
Cat 5 Litigation in the Forecast?
Apr 20 2009 // As 2008 Hurricane Claims Enter Court and New Season Approaches, Katrina Issues Linger The 2008 hurricane season was the sixth most active tropical storm season recorded since data collection began in 1851. Six storms made...
