Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Willis Group Sees Growth in 2004
Feb 9 2005 // Willis Group Holdings Ltd. reported results for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2004. “Despite a declining rate environment and extraordinary challenges facing the global insurance industry, we were able to...
Fla. Schedules Public Hearings on Rate Increase
Feb 7 2005 // Four public hearings have been scheduled March 1 in Florida to discuss Nationwide Insurance’s proposed 28.3 percent statewide average rate increase for homeowner’s insurance policies. Two hearings are scheduled...
N.C. DOI Scrutinizing Rate Bureau’s Request to Increase Auto Premiums
Feb 7 2005 // The request by the North Carolina Rate Bureau to increase auto insurance rates in North Carolina is being closely scrutinized by the North Carolina Department of Insurance according to Chrissy Pearson, a DOI...
Willis D&O Index Reports Rates to Decrease Even More
Feb 7 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...
Commercial Insurance Posts Full Year in Soft Market, Reports RIMS Benchmark Survey
Feb 7 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...
SURVEY FINDS RED LIGHT RUNNING AMONG TOP CAUSES OF CRASHES:
Feb 7 2005 // A new survey conducted by the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies showed more than 36 percent of motorists admitted to running a red light in the past year–an offense that is the leading cause of crashes in urban...
Emerging Risk Symposium to Focus on Global Warming
Feb 4 2005 // The Insurance Leadership Institute, a study group sponsored by GE Insurance Solutions, announced that the conference, to be held February 23, will analyze the effects of hurricanes and global warming on the Insurance...
Hurricane Center Director: Predictions Imprecise, But Keep Getting Better
Feb 3 2005 // Predicting the weather in general and hurricanes in particular can be a very imprecise science, Max Mayfield, director of the Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane Center in Miami told more than 500 Windstorm...
N.C. Rate Bureau Asks Insurance Commission for 11.5 Percent Auto Premium Increase
Feb 3 2005 // The North Carolina Department of Insurance has expressed doubts about new methodology used by the North Carolina Rate Bureau, which has just requested an 11.5 percent statewide increase in private auto insurance rates....
Lloyd’s Decreases 2005 Market Capacity; S&P Reports on Syndicates
Feb 2 2005 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has published the first of its quarterly reports on the members and syndicates at Lloyd’s. The study follows confirmation that the world’s oldest insurance market...
Fla, Committee to Discuss Revamping Homeowner’s Insurance Market
Feb 2 2005 // Florida’s Joint Select Committee on Hurricane Insurance meets in Tallahassee on Friday to discuss ways to revamp the homeowner’s insurance market. At the meeting the legislators will hear from consumer...
Premiums Decline But Combined Ratio Holds Steady Reports Groundhog Day Forecast
Feb 2 2005 // Each year before Groundhog Day, the Insurance Information Institute invites a panel of Wall Street stock analysts and industry professionals to come out of their holes, look around for their shadow and forecast the outlook...
Chubb Reports Year-End, 4Q Results Up; Premium Volume Grows 5% for 2004
Feb 2 2005 // The Chubb Corporation reported that its net income in the fourth quarter 2004 jumped to $467.6 million compared to $72.3 million in the fourth quarter 2003. Property/casualty net premiums written in the fourth quarter of...
Best Publishes P/C Special Report; 2005 Trends
Feb 1 2005 // A.M. Best Co.’s special report on the P/C industry features a tried-and-true warning: “Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised,” which it points out is “sage advice for an...
Fitch Affirms Rating for St. Paul Travelers Ratings After Asbestos Charge; Outlook is Stable
Jan 31 2005 // Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ‘A-‘ long-term issuer and senior debt ratings of The St. Paul Travelers Companies Inc. (STA), Travelers Property Casualty Corp. and Travelers Insurance Group Holdings. The...
Trade Ministers to Seek Doha Accord; Agreement Could Bolster International Insurance Market
Jan 31 2005 // Although the world’s developed and developing nations still appear to be far apart on concluding new agreements on international trade, they’ve at least agreed to make a new attempt to do so. The so-called Doha...
A.M. Best Affirms Ratings for Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Group; Outlook Stable
Jan 27 2005 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength ratings of A++ (Superior) of Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Group (SFB) (Ridgeland, Miss.). The rating outlook has been revised to stable from negative. Concurrently, A.M....
Fitch Lowers Exporters’ IFS to ‘A-‘; Outlook Stable
Jan 27 2005 // Fitch Ratings has lowered the insurer financial strength (IFS) rating on Exporters Insurance Company Ltd., a Bermuda-based group captive insurer that focuses on trade credit insurance, to ‘A-‘ from...
Nationwide Insurance Requests Fla. Statewide 28.3 Percent Rate Increase
Jan 26 2005 // Floridian homeowners with policies issued by Nationwide Insurance Company of Florida, the state’s fourth-largest insurer has asked the Office of Insurance Regulation to approve a 28.3 percent rate increase....
Farmers Survey: Red Light Running Among Top Causes of Crashes; Men More than Women Feel Need to Run
Jan 25 2005 // While most people associate fatal auto crashes with speeding or drunk driving, making a trip to the grocery store could prove just as, if not, more treacherous. A new survey conducted by the Farmers Insurance Group of...
