Latest Trends Headlines

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

FBI Report Shows Property Crimes Decrease Again in 2006

Sep 25 2007 // For the fourth year in a row the estimated number of property crimes decreased, according to statistics released by the FBI’s 2006 edition of “Crime in the United States,” a statistical compilation of...

U.S. fire report: More fires; fewer deaths and injuries; rise in property losses

Sep 24 2007 // Fire departments in the United States responded to an estimated 1.6 million fires during 2006. These fires caused 3,245 civilian deaths and 16,400 injuries, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The...

HAWAII INSURERS FILE 16.8 PERCENT WORKERS’ COMP COST DECREASE

Sep 24 2007 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance has filed a request to decrease workers’ compensation loss costs in Hawaii by 16.8 percent, beginning Jan. 1, 2008, according to the state Department of Commerce and...

Wash. wants comp rate increase

Sep 24 2007 // Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries has proposed raising workers’ compensation rates 3.2 percent in 2008, with the average premium increasing by just more than 2 cents per hour worked. L&I...

U.S. fire report: More fires; fewer deaths and injuries; rise in property losses

Sep 24 2007 // Fire departments in the United States responded to an estimated 1.6 million fires during 2006. These fires caused 3,245 civilian deaths and 16,400 injuries, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The...

Health premiums rise 6.1%; average family coverage costs $12,000

Sep 24 2007 // Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 6.1 percent in 2007, less than the 7.7 percent increase reported last year but still higher than the increase in workers’ wages (3.7 percent) or the...

Eight major mistakes employers make when workers’ comp rates go down

Sep 24 2007 // Employers must view coverage more as a comprehensive risk management tool than necessity Throughout much of the country, declining workers’ compensation rates are music to employers’ ears. After all, that seems...

Health premiums rise 6.1%; average family coverage costs $12,000

Sep 24 2007 // Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 6.1 percent in 2007, less than the 7.7 percent increase reported last year but still higher than the increase in workers’ wages (3.7 percent) or the...

Hawaii insurers file 16.8 percent workers’ comp cost decrease

Sep 24 2007 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance has filed a request to decrease workers’ compensation loss costs in Hawaii by 16.8 percent, beginning Jan. 1, 2008, according to the state Department of Commerce and...

Eight major mistakes employers make when workers’ comp rates go down

Sep 24 2007 // Declining rates act as blinders for many employers. With lower prices it’s easy to shift focus away from injury management and cost containment to other more pressing business matters. Throughout much of the country,...

IISS Sees Increasing Terrorist Threats

Sep 24 2007 // While global warming may ultimately prove to be the biggest crisis the world’s people have ever faced, it’s not as immediate a threat as that posed by global terrorism. After Sept. 11 and the Madrid and London...

S.C. Rejects 23.7% Increase in Workers’ Compensation Rates

Sep 20 2007 // The South Carolina Department of Insurance disapproved a request made by the National Council on Compensation Insurance to increase loss costs statewide by 23.7 percent. NCCI State Relations Executive, Amy Quinn, said...

SoCal Wildfires Near Containment, Ahead of Windy Forecast

Sep 20 2007 // Fire crews were bracing for strong winds as they sought to finish surrounding a wildfire that forced hundreds of people to flee this mountaintop community in the San Bernardino National Forest, authorities said. Winds in...

Oregon To Decrease Workers’ Comp Rates 2.3%

Sep 19 2007 // Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services has announced it is decreasing the workers’ compensation pur premium rate in 2008 by 2.3 percent. Meanwhile, the workers’ comp premium assessment,...

Fla. Denies Rate Increases for Hartford Insurance Companies

Sep 14 2007 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty denied eight rate filings submitted by insurance companies of The Hartford Financial Services Group. The filings submitted were not actuarially justified and lacked supporting...

S&P Forecasts ‘Healthy Growth’ for Latin America Reinsurance

Sep 13 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Rating Services has issued a new report in its current series analyzing global reinsurance. The study – “Reinsurance In Latin America, Especially Brazil, Shows Growth Potential...

Hawaii Proposes 16.8 Percent Workers’ Comp Loss Cost Decrease

Sep 13 2007 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance has filed a request to decrease workers’ compensation loss costs in Hawaii by 16.8 percent, beginning Jan. 1, 2008, according to the state Department of Commerce and...

Health Premiums Rise 6.1%; Average Family Coverage Costs $12,000

Sep 12 2007 // Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 6.1 percent in 2007, less than the 7.7 percent increase reported last year but still higher than the increase in workers’ wages (3.7 percent) or the...

S.D. Seatbelt Use Up from 2006

Sep 12 2007 // More South Dakotans have gotten in the habit of buckling up in the past year. The state Office of Highway Safety said 73 percent of drivers and passengers now use their seatbelt. That’s up from 71 percent last...

Maine Governor Forecasts Increased Competition for Health Plans

Sep 11 2007 // The Baldacci administration is anticipating heightened competition in Maine’s health insurance market as Harvard Pilgrim Health Care becomes the state’s partner in administering Dirigo policies, saying...