Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Best Revises Transatlantic Outlook to Stable; Affirms ‘A’ Ratings
Nov 12 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has revised its rating outlook on Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. And its subsidiaries o stable from negative for. Best also affirmed Transatlantic’s financial strength ratings of ‘A’...
California’s SCIF Announces Five Percent Rate Increase
Nov 11 2009 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund today announced it has filed a 5 percent rate increase in collectible premium. The revised rate will apply to new and renewal workers’ compensation policies...
Rate of Workplace Nonfatal Injuries, Illnesses Down in Texas for 2008
Nov 10 2009 // Private industry workplaces in Texas reported a total of 234,559 nonfatal injuries and illnesses during 2008. The incidence rate of 3.1 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers marks the sixth consecutive year that the...
New York Insurers Say No-Fault Claims are Driving Up Costs
Nov 6 2009 // No-fault payments for medical claims by auto accident victims in New York have seen a dramatic increase over the last several years, one industry group says, and the state and insurance companies need to redouble efforts...
Political Risk Premiums Rising in Response to Resource Nationalism
Nov 5 2009 // Political risk insurance premiums have risen across emerging markets in the last year, fuelled by rising resource nationalism and unrest linked to the financial crisis as well as a renewed concern over risk amongst...
Survey: Despite Slow Growth, Carriers Still Upbeat About Program Market
Nov 5 2009 // Though fewer of them than a year ago perceive a growing market, carriers still have what must be considered an upbeat opinion of the nation’s program administrators and managing general agents marketplace in light of...
Feds Improve Flood Prediction in Washington State
Nov 4 2009 // Federal weather officials are beefing up their storm detection abilities in the Green River basin south of Seattle in hopes of better predicting flood threats, according to an article in the Seattle Times. Next month, the...
Swiss Re Q3 Profit Tops Forecasts; Capital Strengthened
Nov 3 2009 // Swiss Re strengthened its capital in the third quarter, it reported on Tuesday, boosting its chances of repaying a costly convertible loan from Warren Buffett as it beat operating profit forecasts in its core...
A.M. Best Study: P/C Industry’s Risk-Adjusted Capital Fell in 2008
Nov 3 2009 // The U.S. property/casualty industry experienced a 17 percentage point decline in risk-adjusted capitalization in 2008, according to A.M. Best Co., which conducted a four-year study. However, the capital still exceeded...
Q3 Profit Rises at CNA; CEO Motamed Sees ‘Encouraging’ Rate Trends
Nov 2 2009 // CNA Financial Corp.’s third quarter 2009 results included net operating income of $331 million and net income of $263 million along with a combined ratio for property/ casualty operations of 101.0%. Net operating...
Forecast: Still Soft
Nov 1 2009 // Analysts Forecast Healthy Q3 Reports from Insurers promised the headline on Insurance Journal Oct.22. Reuters was reporting that third-quarter earnings reports from insurers would look a lot better than they did a year ago...
Louisiana Citizens Rate Increase Will Be Less Than Expected
Nov 1 2009 // A projected 10 percent increase in rates for clients of the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will “probably be less than that,” the company’s CEO John Wortman said. Instead, the average...
Decades in the Making, NAIC Outlines Natural Catastrophe Plan
Nov 1 2009 // White Paper Approved at Fall Meeting with Near-Unanimous Vote Though it may seem like the debate over the creation of a national catastrophe insurance plan is a relatively recent phenomenon, the National Association of...
Forecast: Still Soft
Nov 1 2009 // Analysts Forecast Healthy Q3 Reports from Insurers promised the headline on Insurance Journal Oct.22. Reuters was reporting that third-quarter earnings reports from insurers would look a lot better than they did a year ago...
Best Affirms Hiscox Operating Companies ‘A’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
Oct 30 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength ratings (FSRs) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICRs) of “a” of Hiscox Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited, the UK-based Hiscox...
AXA Sees Better Market Conditions, Despite Decrease in 9-Month Sales
Oct 29 2009 // France’s AXA Group, which ranks alongside Allianz as Europe’s two biggest insurers, said its business environment was getting better despite reporting a dip in nine-month sales on Thursday. Sales fell to...
California Has Rise in Auto Insurance Fraud
Oct 26 2009 // In the year 2008, there was a 25 percent increase in suspected vehicle arson fraud in California, according to the state commissioner. Department of Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said that recently compiled...
Louisiana Citizens Rate Increase Will Be Less Than Expected
Oct 23 2009 // A projected 10 percent increase in rates for clients of the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will “probably be less than that,” the chief executive officer of the state’s insurer of last resort...
Analysts Forecast Healthy Q3 Reports from Insurers
Oct 22 2009 // If the stock market and weather are any indication, third-quarter earnings reports from insurers will look a lot better than they did a year ago. The big companies, which began their reporting season today with Travelers...
State Auto’s Net Income Up, Combined Ratio Down in Q3 2009
Oct 22 2009 // Columbus, Ohio-based State Auto Financial Corporation reported third quarter 2009 net income of $13.0 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $14.7 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, for the third...
