Latest Trends Headlines

All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Research and Markets Issues Malaysia ‘Snapshot’ Survey

Oct 18 2007 // Research and Markets has added “Snapshots Malaysia Insurance 2007” to their offering as part of the research firm’s Snapdata series. R&M said the new report “provides 2005 year-end market size...

Survey: Satisfied Buyers of Homeowners Coverage Subscribe to More Than One Policy

Oct 18 2007 // Homeowners insurance policyholders who subscribe to at least one additional policy with their insurer tend to be more satisfied than those who only have a homeowners insurance policy, according to the J.D. Power and...

Texas District Judge Allows Allstate Texas Lloyd’s Rate Increase

Oct 17 2007 // On Oct. 15, Travis County District Judge Margaret Cooper ruled in favor of Allstate Texas Lloyd’s in the company’s quest to preserve an already-implemented homeowners rate increase. Cooper granted the...

Florida Subpoenas Allstate Over Home Insurance Rate Increases, Industry Ties

Oct 16 2007 // Florida officials have subpoenaed Allstate Insurance and its subsidiaries to get the insurer to explain why it is not lowering homeowners insurance rates in the state and to defend its dealings with the industry’s...

Total Bank Insurance Revenue Up in First Half of 2007

Oct 16 2007 // The nation’s bank holding companies increased their total insurance revenue 1.0 percent to $21.7 billion in the first half of 2007 from $21.4 billion during the same period in 2006. CitiGroup (NY), Wells Fargo &...

Survey Reports Drop in New Lawsuits, Actions Filed Against U.S. Companies

Oct 15 2007 // It may be too early to say that conflict has become passé, but U.S. businesses report a distinct drop in the number of lawsuits filed against them in the past year, according to the latest Litigation Trends Survey...

Agents Fear N.Y. Coast Insurance Market Worse; Pols Weigh Options

Oct 11 2007 // New York lawmakers are considering taking action to improve coastal insurance availability while insurance agents are telling them they fear market restrictions are worsening. Insurance companies, meanwhile, claim the...

Actuaries Urged to Watch for Emerging Benzene, Lead, Welding Rod Torts

Oct 10 2007 // Actuaries need to be on the look out for emerging mass tort claims related to benzene, lead paint, and welding rods, despite the fact that significant legal hurdles in these cases remain. The large pool of potential...

Conn. AG Alleges Reinsurance Antitrust Conspiracy Drives Up Consumer Prices

Oct 9 2007 // A lawsuit against a major reinsurance broker for alleged antitrust activity in Connecticut is being used to raise broader questions about the largely unregulated reinsurance business. Connecticut Attorney General Richard...

Insurance Complaints Decline in Texas

Oct 9 2007 // For the fourth year in a row Texans filed fewer complaints against their insurance companies with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), the Insurance Council of Texas reported. According to information from TDI’s...

Oregon to decrease workers’ comp rates 2.3%

Oct 8 2007 // Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services has announced it is decreasing the workers’ compensation pure premium rate in 2008 by 2.3 percent. Meanwhile, the workers’ comp premium assessment,...

Best Affirms Catlin’s Ratings; Outlook Now Stable; Company Comments

Oct 4 2007 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength ratings of “A” (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Bermuda-based Catlin Insurance Company Limited (CICL), Catlin Insurance...

Safety Group Opposes Ill. Senate Bill that Increases Truck Speed Limits

Oct 4 2007 // A safety group is speaking out about the what they say are the dangers of the override of Illinois SB 540, which allows large tractor-trailer trucks to travel on rural, four-lane highways at the same speed limits as...

Affluent Individuals More Concerned Over Estate Tax, Survey Shows

Oct 4 2007 // Wealthy Americans, especially those with more than $2 million in net worth, say they are more concerned than just a year ago about their families having to surrender significant chunks of an estate to federal taxes,...

Report Finds Accidents at Nation’s High-Risk Biolabs Increasing

Oct 3 2007 // American laboratories handling the world’s deadliest germs and toxins have experienced more than 100 accidents and missing shipments since 2003, and the number is increasing steadily as more labs across the country...

Fla. Releases Medical Malpractice Report, Favorable Trend Continues

Oct 3 2007 // A recent state-sponsored report showed a continuing trend of recovery for the Florida medical malpractice industry – an industry that experienced double-digit rate increases and lack of availability prior to the 2003...

Insurance Commissioner Group’s 2008 Budget Anticipates Revenue Growth

Oct 2 2007 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has begun setting its 2008 budget. The group will have more money to work with than it did in 2007. The 2008 budget proposes revenues and expenses of $68.2 million and...

Mo. Governor: 2006 Med Mal Report Shows Positive Results

Oct 2 2007 // The medical malpractice insurance market has stabilized following escalating medical malpractice costs that caused a downturn in the market from 1999 – 2003, according to the 2006 Medical Malpractice Report recently...

Nationwide Decreases Calif. Homeowners Rates

Oct 2 2007 // Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Insurance Company of America announced it is cutting homeowners insurance rates in California an average of 9.4 percent. The decrease takes effect today, Oct. 2, 2007. Nationwide is also...

Survey Projects Annual Employee Cost for Health Care to Exceed $9,300

Sep 26 2007 // New data from Towers Perrin indicate that the average corporate health benefit expenditure in 2008 will be $9,312 per employee — an increase of 7 percent over 2007. According to Towers Perrin’s annual Health Care...