Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Marsh’s ‘Business Continuity Management’ Survey Finds Firms ‘Over-optimistic’
Apr 1 2008 // A new survey from Marsh has determined that “many European firms are failing to overcome a ‘perception gap’ in their approach to business continuity management (BCM). Marsh’s latest research, The...
Disaster Derivatives Set to Grow in 2008
Apr 1 2008 // With the United States bracing for big hurricanes this year, new derivatives to trade catastrophe risks offer insurers the extra protection they crave against multi-billion-dollar storms. Trading of “catastrophe...
2008 Aviation Outlook Unclear
Mar 31 2008 // Capacity for aviation coverage appears to be increasing, but, as claims are also on the rise, the outlook for the year ahead is not one that is easy to predict. Aon aviation industry analyst, Magnus Allan, commented...
Texas’ Minimum Auto Liability Limits to Increase on April 1
Mar 25 2008 // The minimum amount of automobile liability insurance Texas drivers are required to carry for bodily injury/property damage will increase on April 1 from the current $20,000/$40,000/$15,000 (“20/40/15”) coverage...
Va. Tech Says Security Costs Increased $10M Since Shootings
Mar 24 2008 // Virginia Tech President Charles Steger says the university has spent more than $10 million to increase security since the killing of 32 students and faculty by a deranged student last April. Steger spoke to about 70...
Study: Massachusetts Workers Comp Claims Costs Grew Rapidly
Mar 24 2008 // Workers’ compensation costs per claim in Massachusetts were typical among 14 study states, but grew rapidly in four out of five study years, including a nearly 10 percent increase in 2005 claims evaluated in...
Best Removes Swiss Re Ratings from Review; but Outlook is Negative
Mar 21 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has removed from under review with negative implications the financial strength rating of ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa” of Swiss Reinsurance Company and...
Aon Says Failures May Increase Premiums for Space Vehicles
Mar 21 2008 // The failures of the Sea Launch rocket carrying the NSS-8 satellite, the Proton carrying JCSat 11 and the recent failure of the Proton rocket carrying the AMC-14 satellite, could cause space insurers to increase premiums by...
Insurers Could Pay Up to $730 Million to Cover Costs of PCB Cleanup in Wis.
Mar 19 2008 // Nine insurance companies should cover the costs assessed to the former Appleton Papers Inc. for cleanup of the industrial chemical PCBs in the Lower Fox River, a jury decided Monday. After a five-week trial, the jury took...
Farmers Files Homeowners Rate Increase in Texas
Mar 18 2008 // Stating it’s the first rate change in two years for its “Texas Family Home Policy,” Farmers Insurance Group, through Texas Farmers Insurance Company, filed a rate increase for the policy with the Texas...
Study Finds Using Airbags without Seatbelts Increases Injury Risk
Mar 17 2008 // In motor vehicle crashes resulting in airbag deployment, drivers and passengers who are not wearing seatbelts are at higher risk of cervical spine (neck) fractures and other spinal cord injuries, according to a study in...
Massachusetts Workers Comp Claims Costs Grew Rapidly, Study Finds
Mar 13 2008 // Workers’ compensation costs per claim in Massachusetts were typical among 14 study states, but grew rapidly in four out of five study years, including a nearly 10 percent increase in 2005 claims evaluated in...
2007 Cat Losses Top $70 Billion Swiss Re <em>sigma</em> Study Finds
Mar 12 2008 // Swiss Re’s latest sigma study – “Natural Catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2007” – examines catastrophe-related economic losses from natural and man-made disasters last year, which...
Coastlines at Risk from Increased Development
Mar 12 2008 // As more and more of the world’s population moves closer to the sea, the coastal developments being constructed to accommodate the migration raise growing concerns about coastal erosion. That’s the message in an...
S&P Raises Fairfax Financial’s Rating Outlook to ‘Watch Positive’
Mar 12 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (FFH), FFH’s operating insurance companies...
S&P Revises Cunningham Lindsey Outlook to Stable; Affirms ‘B-‘ Rating
Mar 12 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Cunningham Lindsey Group Inc. (LIN) to stable from negative. S&P also affirmed its ‘B-‘ counterparty credit rating on LIN. The...
Expect Consolidation in Nonstandard Auto Insurance Market, Conning Says
Mar 11 2008 // The nonstandard auto insurance market is being redefined by the influence of technology and other external forces, according to a new study by Conning Research and Consulting. “As predictive modeling has become more...
Windstorm Liability Limits Increased for Certain Property in Texas
Mar 11 2008 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin recently signed an order increasing the maximum limits of liability from $3,390,000 to $4 million for a commercial or government building insured for wind and hail by the Texas...
State Farm Reports 3% Profit Increase For 2007
Mar 10 2008 // Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm Insurance announced that profit rose 3 percent last year on the strength of higher auto policyholder dividends despite a steep decline in property casualty underwriting. The company said...
Storm Losses Blamed on Coastal Growth, Not Global Warming
Mar 10 2008 // A hurricane that hit Miami in 1926 would cause up to $157 billion in damage if it were to strike today, according to a recent study. U.S. storm costs are rising because of higher populations and wealth on the coasts, not a...
