Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
S&P Revises Outlook on Montpelier Re to Positive
Feb 24 2005 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on Montpelier Reinsurance Ltd. and Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. (MRH) to positive from stable. “The outlook was revised to...
AIA: Increasing Idaho’s Speed Limit for Large Trucks will be Disastrous
Feb 24 2005 // Raising the speed limit for large trucks and other vehicles on Idaho’s state highways is a recipe for disaster, according to the American Insurance Association. S. 1133, sponsored by the Idaho Department of...
Calif. Small Business Owners Optimistic About Growth, UBOC Survey Says
Feb 23 2005 // Almost 71 percent of California small business owners polled are expecting 2005 to be an overall better year than 2004, according to the fifth annual statewide survey released today by Union Bank of California, N.A. The...
Hub Revenue Jumps, But Earnings Decline in 4Q, 2004
Feb 23 2005 // Chicago-based Hub International Limited posted a 64 percent decline in net earnings to $3.9 million from $10.7 million a year earlier, despite a 33 percent increase in revenue to $104.4 million from $78.7 million and a 1...
R.I. State Senate Bills Seek to Spur Competition in Health Insurance Market
Feb 22 2005 // Saying that a competitive insurance market is critical to making health insurance more affordable for Rhode Island consumers and businesses, Sen. Marc A. Cote has introduced a package of legislation aimed at attracting...
More than 600 Catholic Clerics Accused of Sex Abuse of Minors, Incidents Date Back Decades
Feb 21 2005 // More than 600 U.S. Catholic diocesan priests and deacons were accused in 2004 of sexual abuse of minors, with the majority of allegations of abuse occurring between 1970 and 1974. Half of these clergy had been subject of...
Commercial Insurance Posts Full Year in Soft Market, RIMS Survey Reveals
Feb 21 2005 // The commercial insurance industry experienced a full year of a soft market conditions in 2004, as the last months of the year represented the fourth consecutive quarter of declining prices, according to the RIMS Benchmark...
RATE BUREAU REQUESTS 11.5 PERCENT INCREASE IN AUTO RATES
Feb 21 2005 // The North Carolina Department of Insurance doubts new methodology used by the North Carolina Rate Bureau, which has just requested an 11.5 percent statewide increase in private auto insurance rates. NCRB is an independent...
D&O RATES TO DECREASE EVEN MORE:
Feb 21 2005 // The start of 2004 was a testing time for the global D&O market, reports Willis’ Directors & Officers Index which asked participating insurers for their views about the past three and next three months....
AIA SAYS INCREASING IDAHO’S SPEED LIMIT IS DANGEROUS:
Feb 21 2005 // Increasing Idaho’s speed limit from 65 mph to 75 mph is dangerous public policy, according to the American Insurance Association. A bill (SB 1082) introduced by the Senate earlier in February will reportedly exact a...
ProBuilders Enters N.E. Contractors’ Insurance Market
Feb 17 2005 // ProBuilders Specialty, a risk retention group managed by NationsBuilders Insurance Services, has entered a number of the New England states to offer contractors’ general liability coverage. The program will be...
HCC Sees Increased Earnings for Q4, Full Year 2004
Feb 17 2005 // Houston-based HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. released results for the fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31, 2004, reporting increased earnings for both the quarter and the year. Net earnings for the fourth quarter 2004...
Munich Re Confirms Profit Forecast with $2.34 Billion 2004 Net Earnings
Feb 16 2005 // Munich Re announced 2004 net earnings of 1.8 billion euros ($2.34 billion), confirming its earlier revised estimates of between $2.22 billion and $2.48 billion (See IJ Web site Jan.23). The move back to profitability...
Medical Protective Won’t Seek Overall Rate Increase in Texas This Year
Feb 16 2005 // The Medical Protective Company (Medical Protective), a large admitted primary medical professional liability insurer in Texas, announced it has no plans to take an overall rate increase in the state in 2005. President and...
532,000 Fla. Mobile Home Owners Could Face Costly Premium Increases
Feb 14 2005 // Six months after four hurricanes tore through Florida, more than 532,000 mobile home owners in the state could soon face costly premium increases or lose coverage according to Sam Miller, executive vice president of the...
New Residential Wrap Up Market at Lemac & Associates
Feb 14 2005 // Los Angeles-based Lemac & Associates announced that it has a new Residential Wrap-Up market. The carrier is new to the Wrap-up market, so they have a large capacity for condominium, townhouse, apartment and single...
AIA: Increasing Idaho’s Speed Limit is Dangerous
Feb 11 2005 // Increasing Idaho’s speed limit from 65 mph to 75 mph is dangerous public policy, according to the American Insurance Association (AIA). A bill (SB 1082) introduced by the Senate earlier this month will reportedly...
Commissioner Asks for Delay in Rate Increases Until After Fla. Legislature Meets
Feb 10 2005 // State Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarthy has asked property insurance companies to delay filing for rate increases until after the upcoming legislative session ends in early May. In addition to postponing new filings...
Auto Insurance Rates to Climb Slightly in 2005; 1.5% Estimate Will Mark the Smallest Increase in Five Years
Feb 9 2005 // The cost of auto insurance is expected to rise by just 1.5 percent in 2005, the smallest increase in five years, reports the Insurance Information Institute. The average cost for auto insurance nationwide for 2005 is...
MarketScout Reports Jan. Rates Up
Feb 9 2005 // Dallas-based MarketScout (www.marketscout.com) reported this week that January 2005 property and casualty rates increased by a composite rate of 1%. According to Richard Kerr, chairman and CEO of MarketScout, “The...
