Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
IJ, Kinetic Information Team Up for Agency Automation Survey
Nov 10 2005 // Insurance Journal is working with Kinetic Information LLC on a special study of how insurance agencies and brokers are being affected by technology, both in their internal operations and their relationships with insurance...
S&P Raises White Mountains Ratings to ‘BBB’; Outlook Stable
Nov 8 2005 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has raised to “BBB” from “BBB-” its counterparty credit and senior debt ratings on White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd. (WTM) and Fund...
IEA Study Forecasts 50% Growth in Energy Use; 52% Increase in Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Nov 8 2005 // An in depth study conducted by the Paris-based International Energy Agency forecasts a 50 percent rise in energy use between now and 2030. It also predicts a concurrent 52 percent rise in greenhouse gas emissions,...
ARIZONA AUTO INSURANCE RATES RISING
Nov 7 2005 // Automobile ins-urance costs in Arizona are on the rise and remain on the high side nationally. The average rate has gone up 16.6 percent in Arizona in the latest five-year measurement, although the increase is lower than...
Best Affirms Munich Re, American Re FSR; Removes from Review; Assigns Negative Outlook
Nov 4 2005 // A.M. Best Co. announced rating actions on Germany’s Muenchener Rueckversicherungs (Munich Re) and its U.S. subsidiary American Re Corporation Group. Best affirmed its financial strength ratings on the companies,...
Conning: Despite Storms and Competition, P&C Outlook is Good
Nov 3 2005 // Property casualty insurance industry results should be relatively strong from 2005 through 2007, despite 2005’s hurricane activity and an increasingly competitive market, according to a new report by Conning Research...
One Year After Spitzer, Brokers and Risk Managers Report Shifting Roles
Nov 3 2005 // A year after the contingent commission scandal rocked the commercial insurance industry, new research from Advisen Ltd. has found significant shifts in the relationship between commercial insurance buyers and their brokers...
Fla. Attorney General: Price Gouging Complaints Rise for Repairs, Cleanup
Nov 2 2005 // With Floridians beginning the rebuilding process in the wake of Hurricane Wilma’s assault one week ago, Attorney General Charlie Crist said his office’s Price Gouging Hotline has seen a spike in repair and...
N.H. Workers’ Comp Rates Going Down
Nov 2 2005 // The New Hampshire Insurance Department has approved a workers’ compensation voluntary market loss cost rate decrease averaging 3.9 percent and an average decrease of 4.6 percent for assigned risk rates. The revised...
Rate Decrease Granted for W. Va. Mutual Insurance Co.
Nov 1 2005 // The West Virginia Mutual Insurance Company has been granted a 5 percent rate increase according to Insurance Commissioner Jane L. Cline. The new rates take effect Jan. 1, 2006. West Virginia Mutual filed for the rate...
After Hurricane Wilma: Claims Piling Up As Cleanup Begins in Naples; In Some Areas Power Could Be Out for Weeks
Oct 28 2005 // Southwest and South Florida are recovering, very slowly, from the after-effects of Hurricane Wilma, which crossed over Naples on Monday and then speedily traveled due east to Miami and South Florida. Margaret M. Weems,...
Earnings Up, Losses Down in Commerce Group 3d Quarter
Oct 27 2005 // The Commerce Group, Inc. reported 2005 third quarter results showing increased net earnings and decreased losses. Net earnings were $59.8 million, or $1.77 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $54.3 million or...
Fitch: Hurricane Wilma Further Strains a Delicate Florida Insurance Market
Oct 26 2005 // Fitch Ratings today said Hurricane Wilma represents a major blow to an already weak Florida property insurance market. If actual insured losses come in at the high end of the estimated range ($4 billion to $10 billion),...
Iuppa Addresses Future of Regulation at PCI Meeting
Oct 26 2005 // Taking up the banner for the current state-based insurance regulatory system in the face of sometimes hostile critics, Maine Superintendent of Insurance Alessandro Iuppa defended the system and approaches taken by the...
Commercial P/C Market Gets Ready for Post-Katrina Price Increases
Oct 24 2005 // Commercial insurance brokers from across the country say so far, the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has been minimal, but they are bracing for higher prices, reduced capacity, increases in deductibles and tighter...
Pa. Governor Hails Improvements in Med-Mal Insurance Market
Oct 24 2005 // Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell said that his state has turned the corner on improving its medical malpractice insurance market thanks in part to recent legislative and court reforms and he urged legislators to...
RIMS Benchmark Survey Reports Major Downturn in Commercial Rates
Oct 20 2005 // Commercial insurance premiums took a sharp downward turn in the third quarter, according to the RIMS Benchmark Survey, an industry survey of current policy renewal prices as reported by corporate risk managers. But some...
Best Downgrades Rosemont Re Ratings; Outlook Negative
Oct 19 2005 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to “B” (Fair) from “A-” (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “bb” from “a-” of...
Study Accuses FEMA of Lax Implementation of Flood Program Changes Passed in 2004
Oct 19 2005 // A government report has found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the national flood insurance program, has not fully implemented reforms mandated by Congress in 2004, including improved...
Best Removes Allmerica from Under Review; Assigned Stable Outlook
Oct 18 2005 // A.M. Best Co. has removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” of the publicly-traded holding...
