Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
S&P Raises Eureko Group Core Subsidiaries Outlook to Stable; Affirms Ratings
Dec 22 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on all entities of the Netherlands-based Eureko insurance group to stable from negative. At the same time, S&P said it has...
S&P Affirms Hiscox ‘A-‘ Ratings; Outlook Stable
Dec 22 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed its “A-” long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on U.K.-based P/C insurer Hiscox Insurance Co. Ltd....
Fitch Affirms Ohio Casualty’s Financial Strength and Debt Ratings; Outlook Stable
Dec 22 2004 // Fitch Ratings has affirmed the “A-” insurer financial strength ratings of Ohio Casualty Group’s intercompany pool members as the parent company’s “BBB-” long-term issuer rating and...
AXA Christmas Shopping Survey Shows Brits Spending More than Yanks
Dec 22 2004 // According to a new global survey conducted by France’s AXA Group American consumers are budgeting more for Christmas gifts this year than anyone else in the world — except the British. AXA said that the...
Best Affirms Hannover Re, Subs Ratings; Revises Outlook to Stable
Dec 22 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has affirmed the “A” (Excellent) financial strength rating of German reinsurer Hannover Rückversicherung AG (Hannover Re) and its core subsidiaries. At the same time Best also...
IIAT SAYS HOMEOWNERS RATES DOWN:
Dec 20 2004 // Homeowners who buy insurance from independent insurance agents in Texas should be seeing lower premiums and better coverages, according to a survey conducted by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas of its 1,800-member...
New York Agents See Hard P/C Insurance Market Lingering
Dec 20 2004 // Independent agents and brokers in New York see premium rates continuing to increase and coverage choices failing to improve for most lines of property casualty insurance in the state despite industry and press reports to...
Industry Sees First 9-Month Net Gain on Underwriting in Nearly Two Decades
Dec 20 2004 // Benefiting from profits on underwriting, the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry’s net income after taxes rose 28.3 percent to $26.7 billion in the first nine months of 2004 from $20.8 billion in the first nine...
HOMEOWNER PREMIUMS TO RISE:
Dec 20 2004 // Florida homeowners can expect an 8.3 percent statewide increase in the cost of homeowner’s insurance according to Bob Lotane, spokesman for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. He said worst hit areas will...
Industry Consolidation Continues to Gain Momentum, 2005 Looks Cloudy
Dec 20 2004 // Agency consolidations are likely to achieve record results for 2004 but the outlook for 2005 remains unclear. Agency acquisitions in 2004 will more than likely outpace prior years by at least 25 percent. Insurance brokers...
S&P Assigns ‘BBB-‘ Ratings, Stable Outlook to Czech Insurer CSOB Pojistovna a.s.
Dec 15 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned its “BBB-” long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings to CSOB Pojistovna a.s., the Czech Republic-based...
Aon: More than Half of Companies Studied Decide to ‘Take Up’ Some Kind of Terrorism Insurance
Dec 15 2004 // With the “new reality” created by the terrorist acts of Sept. 11, 2001, companies throughout the globe faced a new set of issues in managing the broad spectrum of risks created by these events. In a study...
Survey Points to Public Blind Eye to Fake Insurance
Dec 14 2004 // According to the General Accounting Office, the number of fake insurance policies sold to consumers is on the rise, resulting in $252 million in unpaid health insurance claims alone. According to a survey conducted by the...
S&P Raises Endurance Specialty Outlook to Positive; Affirms Ratings; Company Comments
Dec 14 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries (Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd., Endurance Worldwide...
A.M. Best Affirms Rating for Compania Internacional de Seguros S.A.; Outlook is Stable
Dec 10 2004 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of B++ (Very Good) of Compania Internacional de Seguros S.A. (IS) (Panama). The rating outlook is stable. This rating reflects IS’ solid capitalization,...
Analysts Predict Slowing of P/C Premium Growth in 2005
Dec 10 2004 // Each year the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) invites a panel of Wall Street stock analysts and industry professionals to review the prospects for the industry in the current and coming year. The survey reveals...
S&P Reports Stable Outlook for U.S. Reinsurers
Dec 9 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has published an article titled “U.S. Reinsurance Year-End 2004 Outlook: Ratings Stability in 2005, An Atoll in Stormy Seas.” The article reviews the U.S....
N.Y. Agents’ Survey Sees Lingering Hard Market
Dec 9 2004 // Independent agents and brokers in New York see premium rates continuing to increase and coverage choices failing to improve for most lines of property casualty insurance in the state despite industry and press reports to...
U.S. Personal Lines Sector Remains Strong With a Stable Outlook, Report Says
Dec 7 2004 // Fundamentals remain strong for U.S. personal lines insurance carriers, according to a report published by Standard & Poor’s. This is reflected in S&P’s decision to retain a stable outlook on the...
D&O Premiums Decline for First Time Since 1999; Hard Market to Return by 2006 Predicts Tillinghast
Dec 7 2004 // Tillinghast’s Directors & Officers (D&O) liability insurance premium index dropped 10 percent from 2003 to 2004, the first decline since 1999, according to the 2004 Directors & Officers Liability...
