Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Workers’ Compensation Drug Costs Up, Despite Reforms
Sep 21 2009 // Despite the adoption of California workers’ compensation medical reforms in 2004, a new study finds that both the average number of prescriptions and average prescription drug payments per claim are on the rise...
Feds, Regulators, Congress Eye the Future of Credit Rating Agencies
Sep 21 2009 // The nation’s insurance regulators, Congress and the SEC have eyes on credit rating agencies and the standards they must follow in the future. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) said it will...
Safety, Training Standards Lacking for Increasingly-Popular Robotic Surgery
Sep 18 2009 // Surgeons are increasingly turning to high-tech robotic equipment to operate on patients with prostate cancer and other conditions but some medical authorities worry about inadequate training and lax standards among...
Study: Dog Bite Claims Up 8.7% in 2008
Sep 17 2009 // Man’s best friend is sinking its teeth into homeowners insurance costs. Dog bites account for one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claims, costing $387.20 million in 2008, up 8.70 percent from 2007,...
Massachusetts Health Costs on the Rise Again
Sep 17 2009 // Massachusetts’ largest health insurers say they plan to raise premiums by 7 to 12 percent next year, with small businesses — like insurance agencies — and individuals expected to face the biggest...
Survey: Employees Likely to Bear Brunt If Health Reform Raises Costs
Sep 17 2009 // If U.S. health reform efforts lead to higher costs for employers, employees may end up bearing the brunt, according to a new survey. Employers will not absorb higher costs, choosing instead either to reduce benefits, lower...
Southern California Home Prices Up
Sep 16 2009 // Southern California home sales rose for the 11th consecutive month in May as sales of $500,000-plus homes started to come back, according to the real-estate research company MDA Dataquick. The median price paid increased...
Text: Senate Finance Committee’s America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009
Sep 16 2009 // Chairman’s Mark America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 Scheduled for Markup By the Senate Committee on Finance On September 22, 2009 America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 TITLE I—HEALTH CARE...
Study: U.S. Workers’ Health Costs Double Over Decade
Sep 15 2009 // U.S. workers who have health insurance for their families through employers have seen premiums more than double in the last decade, according to a survey released on Tuesday. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the...
Willis Survey Finds UK Commercial D&O Sector Resists Rate Increases
Sep 14 2009 // A new survey by Willis concludes that “the commercial sector continues to resist the sharp rate increases for Directors & Officers insurance seen in the financial institutions sector, with the average premium...
Homeowners Insurance Rates Going Up in Alabama
Sep 14 2009 // Insurance rates are going up for many Alabama homeowners. Officials with three of the four companies that insure the most homes in Alabama say that they are raising rates. The company that sells the most homeowners...
FBI Reports Crime Declined in 2008
Sep 14 2009 // According to the FBI, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation declined for the second year in a row. Motor vehicle theft crimes also declined in 2008. FBI statistics show that the estimated volume of violent...
Homeowner’s Insurance Rates to Rise 10% In Arkansas
Sep 14 2009 // Homeowner insurance premiums in Arkansas are expected to rise this year by an average of 10 percent as the industry works to rebound from 2008’s dual blows of foul weather and nasty financial markets. The Arkansas...
Study Shows California Workers Compensation Drug Costs Up
Sep 10 2009 // Despite the adoption of California workers’ compensation medical reforms and a pharmacy fee schedule in 2004, a new study finds that both the average number of prescriptions and average prescription drug payments per...
Aon Survey Finds UK’s D&O Premiums Still Below U.S. Rates
Sep 9 2009 // According to Aon’s Quarterly D&O Pricing Index, “US financial institutions (FI) saw premium increases of 15 percent on average in Q2,” as did a number of the UK’s financial institutions....
Massachusetts Commissioner Caps Premium Increase for Riskiest Drivers
Sep 9 2009 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes has laid out what she sees as the “fair” range of auto insurance premium increases for those drivers insured through the state’s residual market. In a...
S&P Affirms Allianz Russia Ratings; Revises Outlook to Negative
Sep 8 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Allianz Insurance JSC (Allianz Russia) to negative from stable and affirmed its ‘BBB-‘ long-term counterparty credit and insurer...
Tornado Threat Increases as Gulf Hurricanes Get Larger
Sep 8 2009 // Tornadoes that occur from hurricanes moving inland from the Gulf Coast are increasing in frequency, according to researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This increase seems to reflect the increase in size and...
Top 25 Workers’ Comp Insurers Show 36% Increase in Average Direct Premium Written
Sep 7 2009 // Results Based on Insurers’ Growth June 30, 2009, versus June 30, 2008 As I write this article, the unemployment rate in the United States was reported to be 9.4 percent as of the end of July. Gross Domestic Product...
Rates, Claim Frequency Still Declining in Workers’ Comp; Medical Costs Rise
Sep 7 2009 // States Are Not Equal in Handling Worker Injuries Prices for workers’ compensation insurance in the United States declined in 2008 and, in general, that trend is likely to continue in throughout 2009, according to the...
