Latest Trends Headlines

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

A separate survey

Jul 24 2006 // A separate survey released in May by the National Hurricane Survival Initiative (www.hurricanesafety.org) also revealed a high percentage of residents in hurricane-vulnerable states aren’t prepared, don’t take...

Prime Receives A. M. Best Rating Upgrade to “B+” With a Stable Outlook

Jul 20 2006 // Sandy, Utah and Chicago, Illinois – Prime Holdings Insurance Services, Inc. announced today that its property and casualty insurance subsidiary, The Prime Insurance Syndicate, Inc. (“Syndicate”), was...

Nearly 29% of Employees Considered Unproductive, Survey Found

Jul 19 2006 // Nearly 29 percent percent of company time in America is unproductive, according to the results of a new study by management consulting firm, Proudfoot Consulting. The estimated cost of poor productivity in the U.S. is $598...

Highway Deaths Way Up Where Speed Limits Hiked, Indiana Paper Reports

Jul 18 2006 // Traffic fatalities on Indiana’s six main interstates have climbed 40 percent in the year since the General Assembly voted to increase the speed limit to 70 mph, according to a newspaper analysis. Despite the increase...

Acquisition Broadens Ebix’s Insurance Market Presence

Jul 14 2006 // Ebix Inc., an Atlanta based software developer and supplier of e-commerce software has announced that effective May 1, 2006, it completed the acquisition of substantially all the operating assets of Reston, Va. and...

Florida State University Wins $6.2M Grant to Foretell Future Hurricane Strength

Jul 11 2006 // The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a $6.2 million, five-year grant to the Florida State University Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Studies to develop a new tool that could possibly see the...

Survey Shows Texans 50% Ready for Major Hurricane

Jul 7 2006 // Insured homeowners in Eastern and Southern Coastal Texas have, on average, taken roughly 50 percent of the steps to prepare their homes and property to recover from a major hurricane, according to a new Hurricane Readiness...

TWIA Reminds Agents of Binding Procedures, Sept. 1 Rate Increases

Jul 7 2006 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association posted a bulletin on its Web site to assist agents with its coverage binding procedures in the event a hurricane threatens the Texas coast. TWIA said no new or additional coverages...

S&P Affirms Norwegian Hull Club ‘A’ Ratings, Stable Outlook

Jul 6 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its “A” long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Norway’s marine insurer Norwegian Hull Club (NHC or the club)...

California Workers’ Compensation Loss Ratios Down Significantly

Jul 6 2006 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has completed its report summarizing insurer loss and premium experience through March 31, 2006. According to the report, workers’ comp reforms...

Ark. Police See Rise in Copper Thefts

Jul 5 2006 // Record prices for copper have made the metal an attractive target for thieves in Arkansas, police say, just as it is elsewhere in the country. Little Rock police say copper thefts are “rampant.” Thieves even...

GMAC/ABA Seguros enters Mexico Tourist Auto Insurance Market

Jul 5 2006 // Flagstaff, Arizona – As the premium volume for Mexico tourist insurance continues to boom, fueled by an increase in the Hispanic market and escalating tourism to Mexico, another well-respected insurer has entered the...

California earthquake insurance rates decreasing

Jul 3 2006 // California earthquake insurance policies issued by the California Earthquake Authority will see rate decreases by an average of 22.1 percent. Approximately 85 percent of CEA policyholders will see their rates reduced...

Farms Increasingly Rely on Subcontracted Farmworkers

Jun 29 2006 // After 33 years of planting, pruning and harvesting grapes that make world-renowned wine, Jorge de Haro is about to lose the only job he’s ever had. De Haro and his co-workers at Charles Krug’s Napa Valley,...

Swiss Re Economists Analyze Global Situation; Insurance Outlook

Jun 28 2006 // Swiss Re’s economists held their “Mid-year Economic and Insurance Industry” teleconference yesterday, June 27, covering concerns on inflation, interest rates, high oil prices and the outlook for the...

Compensation Survey: Agencies Reward on Organic Growth, Profitability, Retention

Jun 27 2006 // With fewer large books of business changing hands recently, insurance agencies are relying on staff-driven, organic growth to expand their operations. Compensation packages and new recruitment and training strategies have...

California State Fund Raised $50,000 for Community Programs in Past Decade

Jun 22 2006 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund’s Santa Rosa District Office employees have raised nearly $50,000 during the past decade for various charities including $3,000 at the recent 25th annual...

California Earthquake Insurance Rates Decreasing

Jun 20 2006 // California earthquake insurance policies issued by the California Earthquake Authority will see rate decreases by an average of 22.1 percent, said Nancy Kinkaid, CEA spokeswoman. Approximately 85 percent of CEA...

Lloyd’s forecast for Northeast: Storms, global warming threats are real

Jun 19 2006 // The prospect of another nasty hurricane season has everyone in the insurance industry braced for a white-knuckle ride. The spectre of a hurricane hitting a major Northeast population center is hardly the stuff of Hollywood...

Florida’s home insurance market: domiciled insurers persist

Jun 19 2006 // At the outset of 2006, the 21 Florida-domiciled insurers rated A or better by Demotech Inc., had an 18 percent share of the voluntary market. Their total 2005 writings were $977 million. Over a dozen have begun writing...