Latest Trends Headlines

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

Fla. Cancels Two Insurers’ ‘True-Up’ Rate Filing Requests

Aug 13 2007 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation disapproved Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Co.’s and Metropolitan Property & Casualty Insurance Co.’s rate filings because they lacked the legally required...

Aviva’s First Half Global Sales up 25% to $38.8 Billion

Aug 13 2007 // Aviva, the UK’s largest insurer, also reported some of the largest growth figures for the first half of 2007, with “worldwide sales” up 25 percent to £19.294 billion ($38.816 billion). Other earnings...

Calif. Surplus Lines Premiums Down 11%

Aug 9 2007 // The Surplus Line Association of California is reporting that premiums in the Golden State are trending down. According to the group, “premiums processed in the first three months of 2007 decreased by 11.75 percent....

Gray Lowers Hurricance Forecast to 4 Intense Storms

Aug 8 2007 // Noted hurricane researcher William Gray from Colorado State University has lowered his 2007 forecast slightly, citing cooler water in the Pacific and more atmospheric dust from Africa in predicting 15 named storms and...

Q2 Net Income, Premiums Down at Safety Insurance Group

Aug 6 2007 // Safety Insurance Group, Inc. reported that its second quarter net income was $22.9 million, or $1.42 per diluted share, compared to $29.1 million, or $1.81 per diluted share, for the comparable 2006 period. Net income for...

S.C. wind pool rates rise 35%

Aug 6 2007 // Rates for the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association went up an overall 35 percent beginning July 19 under an approval from Scott H. Richardson, director of the South Carolina Department of Insurance. In...

COMMERCIAL P/C PRICES STILL DROPPING, RISK MANAGER SURVEY FINDS

Aug 6 2007 // Commercial insurance premiums continued to decline during the second quarter of 2007, according to the RIMS Benchmark Survey, a survey of current policy renewal prices as reported by corporate risk managers. RIMS Benchmark...

Kansas ranks third, survey says

Aug 6 2007 // N.D. HAS BEST ROADS IN U.S. Redlining or effective predictor? THE RUSSIANS AREN’T COMING No Russian firefighting aid yet

S.C. wind pool rates rise 35%

Aug 6 2007 // Rates for the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association went up an overall 35 percent beginning July 19 under an approval from Scott H. Richardson, director of the South Carolina Department of Insurance. In...

Kansas ranks third, survey says

Aug 6 2007 // N.D. HAS BEST ROADS IN U.S. Redlining or effective predictor? THE RUSSIANS AREN’T COMING No Russian firefighting aid yet

Aon Eyes Sale of Life Unit; Reports 2d Quarter Net Up 24%

Aug 1 2007 // Aon Corp. reported that it is considering “strategic options” for its life insurance subsidiary, including a possible spinoff or sale of the company. Aon disclosed the strategy in announcing its second quarter...

Ark. Traffic Deaths Rise as Nationwide Average Drops in 2006

Jul 31 2007 // Deaths from traffic crashes in Arkansas slightly increased last year, as the nationwide average dropped, new federal statistics show. The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration recorded 665 fatal crashes in...

What is Future of Shrinking U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission?

Jul 30 2007 // The Consumer Product Safety Commission could soon shrink to the point where it can’t effectively protect the public, veteran Commissioner Thomas Moore says. Many employees at the agency responsible for overseeing the...

Commerce Group Net Earnings Dip, Loss Ratio Rises in 2Q

Jul 27 2007 // The Commerce Group, Inc. in Webster, Mass. reported 2007 second net earnings were $41.5 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $58.6 million or $0.86 per diluted share for 2006. Included in the...

One-Third on Coast Will Resist Evacuation, Says Harvard Survey

Jul 26 2007 // According to a new survey of people in high-risk hurricane areas, one-third (31 percent) of residents said if government officials said they had to evacuate due to a major hurricane this season, they would not leave. This...

Still time to register for Private Sector Summit on Florida property insurance market

Jul 26 2007 // Property insurers in Florida are facing a crisis as they try to deal with the impact of drastic changes imposed on them with the recent enactment of the property insurance law (HB 1A) that contains new mandates. How to...

Declining Traffic Deaths Lead to Lowest Highway Fatality Rate Ever Recorded

Jul 24 2007 // The number of people who died on the nation’s roads fell last year, leading to the lowest highway fatality rate ever recorded and the largest drop in total deaths in 15 years, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E....

State Rejects Fla. Farm Bureau Home Insurance Rate Increase

Jul 23 2007 // The state will deny a planned home insurance rate increase by Florida Farm Bureau’s two property insurance companies, which have about 140,000 homeowners policies, the Office for Insurance Regulation said. Florida...

S.C. ‘Wind pool’ Insurance Rates Likely to Rise

Jul 23 2007 // Insurance rates for people along the South Carolina coast who can’t find regular coverage for hurricane and wind damage will likely be going up this fall, although the amount of the increase has not been...

Premium Growth: Top 25 P/C premium gainers for first quarter 2007

Jul 23 2007 // I am certain that Erik Erikson, Stella Chess and Jane Whitbread were not thinking of the insurance industry when they wrote this but they could have been. The 25 property/casualty insurers with the largest increase in...