Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Survey: Investigations into Industry Practices to Expand in 2005
Jan 24 2005 // Leaders of the property/casualty insurance industry expect the investigations into certain industry practices by state attorneys general and insurance departments will continue to expand in 2005, according to a survey...
Munich Re 2004 Profit Forecast $2.22- $2.48 Billion Despite HVB Writedowns
Jan 24 2005 // In a brief announcement the Munich Re Group said its consolidated profit for the year 2004 would be between 1.7 and 1.9 billion euros ($2.22-$2.48 billion) despite special writedowns by the HVB Group. “The HVB Group...
Broker Survey Shows 4Q Premiums Drop
Jan 24 2005 // More than 80 percent of small and large commercial property/casualty accounts and 90 percent of medium accounts found their insurance premiums either stable or down by as much as 20 percent during the fourth quarter of...
Best Affirms Generali Ratings; Outlook Now Stable
Jan 21 2005 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has affirmed the financial strength rating of “A+” (Superior) and assigned an issuer credit rating of “aa-” to Italy’s largest insurer Assicurazioni Generali...
Happy with Your Boss’ New Survey Reports Contempt for Managers Across the Board
Jan 21 2005 // More than half of American workers question the basic morality of their organizations’ top leaders and say that their managers do not treat them fairly, according to results of a just-released, representative,...
S&P Sees No Rating Change for Alea after Lower Earnings Forecast
Jan 20 2005 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a bulletin indicating that its ratings and outlook on the operating subsidiaries that comprise the Alea group – currently rated “A-” with a stable...
Big ‘I’ Study Shows Growth in Premium, Market Share
Jan 19 2005 // The overall property/casualty market grew 9.5 percent in 2003, and independent agents and brokers produced 59.4 percent of this market, according to “The 2003 Property Casualty Insurance Market” report recently...
Liberty Mutual Asks for 22.3 Percent Fla. Rate Increase
Jan 17 2005 // Liberty Mutual has asked the Florida Department of Insurance Regulation to approve a 22.3 percent rate increase. If approved, the increase would take effect March 14 for new customers and May 4 for renewals. Liberty Mutual...
S. Fla. Cracks Down: Car-wreck Insurance Fraud Con Artists Targeted
Jan 17 2005 // South Florida insurance fraud artists are becoming so rampant in the area that authorities have launched a campaign to catch area con artists who stage car wrecks and bilk insurance companies of hundreds of thousands of...
Calif. Governor Predicts 30% Increase in State’s Costs Despite Reforms
Jan 16 2005 // California’s workers’ compensation costs are going down, even if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal includes big increases in the state’s costs for the program. The Republican...
Survey: Investigations into Industry Practices to Expand in 2005; Respondents Expect Consolidation to Continue
Jan 14 2005 // Leaders of the property/casualty insurance industry expect the investigations into certain industry practices by state attorneys general and insurance departments will continue to expand in 2005, according to a survey...
Europe Counts Storm’s Costs, as Clean-up Begins
Jan 13 2005 // California isn’t alone in trying to cope with deadly weather. Northern Europe has been lashed by the most powerful storm to hit the continent since Lothar and Martin ravaged France, Switzerland and Germany in...
Willis Group Releases Annual Forecast of Marketplace
Jan 13 2005 // Willis Group Holdings announced the release of its annual review and forecast of insurance marketplace conditions, Marketplace Realities and Risk Management Solutions. Exploring the theme “A World of Risk”, the...
Aon Study: Board of Directors Pay Up 23% in 2003-04
Jan 12 2005 // According to an analysis of 1,475 public company proxies, Aon has found that increased scrutiny over corporate governance and the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley have not come without a price. A recent study showed that Board of...
Weiss: Insurance Company Failures Decline 48% in 2004
Jan 10 2005 // With the economy continuing to strengthen, the number of insurance companies that failed in 2004 declined 48 percent, to 13 compared to 25 insurer insolvencies in 2003, according to Weiss Ratings Inc., an independent...
Guy Carpenter & Co. Report Finds U.S. Reinsurance Market Flat, Slightly Down
Jan 10 2005 // Guy Carpenter & Company Inc., part of the Marsh & McLennan Companies, has released its annual report on pricing at renewals, U.S. Reinsurance Renewals at Jan. 1, 2005, which found pricing generally to be flat to...
Motorcycle Fatalities in Maine Highest in Decade
Jan 7 2005 // The number of motorcycle fatalities hit the highest level in a decade in Maine in 2004, and riders who die are more likely to be baby boomers than teenagers on sport bikes, according to state officials. The number of...
Best Revises Infrassure Rating Outlook to Positive; Affirms ‘B++’ Rating
Jan 7 2005 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has revised the rating outlook to positive from stable of Switzerland’s Infrassure Ltd. and has affirmed the group’s “B++” (Very Good) financial strength...
Best Affirms Rating for The Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association; Outlook Stable
Jan 6 2005 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) of The Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Ltd (Steamship London) (London, England). The outlook has been changed to stable from negative, in...
Study Finds Class Action Securities Fraud Lawsuits Take a 17% Jump in 2004
Jan 4 2005 // While the number of federal securities fraud class actions filed in 2004 increased only moderately from 2003 levels, rising to 212 companies sued from 181, the decline in stock market capitalization corresponding to these...
