Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Farmers Survey Says Some Drivers Have the Rage
Nov 15 2004 // More than 10 percent of drivers admit they have intentionally cut off other drivers or have wanted to force them off the road during the past year, according to a recent survey by Farmers Insurance Group. Of the 1,001...
Hannover Re Hit by Q3 Cat Losses; 9-month Operating Profit Down 18.1 % to $527 Million
Nov 12 2004 // Germany’s Hannover Re – ranked by Standard & Poor’s as the world’s fifth largest reinsurer – announced third quarter earnings that were heavily impacted by the Florida hurricanes and...
S&P Rates PartnerRe Preferred Stock Issue ‘BBB+’; Affirms Rating, Stable Outlook
Nov 11 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned its “BBB+” preferred stock rating to Bermuda-based PartnerRe Ltd.’s (PRE’s) proposed $200 million Series D Cumulative...
S&P Raises SCOR Outlook; Affirms ‘BBB+’ Rating
Nov 10 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on French reinsurer SCOR and its guaranteed subsidiaries to positive from stable. At the same time, S&P affirmed its...
Benfield Report Looks at 2004 Hurricane/Typhoon Season and Destruction Left Behind
Nov 10 2004 // Between Atlantic hurricanes and Pacific typhoons, the 2004 storm season has already generated record catastrophe (CAT) losses which will reportedly encourage many insurers to rethink their CAT reinsurance coverage. The...
Minnesota, Louisiana at Different Ends of Health Spectrum Following Survey
Nov 10 2004 // Despite having to deal with some of the nation’s worst wintertime weather, Minnesota emerged as the nation’s healthiest state, while far to the south, Louisiana is the least healthy, a ranking it has been...
Mo. Malpractice Claims Fall But Premiums Rise
Nov 9 2004 // The number of medical malpractice claims filed and paid is declining in Missouri, yet physicians’ premiums are rising, according to a report from the state Insurance Department. New medical malpractice claims dropped...
The Feds are Endangering Future of Crop Insurance
Nov 8 2004 // Ten years ago, the Federal Multi-Peril Crop Insurance Program covered fewer than 100 million acres of U.S. farmland. That number has more than doubled since 1994, and today it is close to 220 million acres. This is...
S&P Revises Overall Property/Casualty Outlook to Negative
Nov 8 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on the U.S. property/casualty commercial lines sector to negative from stable. “The outlook revision follows allegations of widespread misconduct...
WASH. BUSINESS COSTS RISING:
Nov 8 2004 // The WashACE annual report that lists key indicators of the state’s business climate in relation to other states reportedly shows that, despite signs of the slowly recovering state economy, Washington has fallen in...
R&M Adds Marine, Aviation and Transport 2003 Study
Nov 5 2004 // Dublin-based Research and announced the addition of Marine, Aviation and Transport Insurance 2003 to their offering. The report “gives an indispensable overview of the global market in these sectors, containing...
Oklahoma Okays Rate Increase for Med-Mal Insurer
Nov 5 2004 // The Oklahoma Insurance Department reported that a requested rate increase for medical professional liability insurance carrier NCMIC Insurance Company has been approved. NCMIC applied for a rate increase in August 2004,...
Big ‘I’ Congratulates Winners, Looks to Future
Nov 4 2004 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) has congratulated President George W. Bush and all of the winners in House and Senate races, and looks forward to working with all of the...
Fitch Affirms Safeco P/C Group Ratings; Outlook Stable
Nov 4 2004 // Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ‘AA-‘ insurer financial strength rating on the Safeco property/casualty group (Safeco P/C). In addition, Fitch has affirmed ‘A-‘ long-term and senior debt ratings on...
Best Lowers Outlook for Employers Re Group, Westport, First Specialty to Negative
Nov 3 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has revised the rating outlook to negative from stable on the “A” (Excellent) financial strength ratings for Employers Reinsurance Corporation of Overland Park, Kan. and GE...
Poll: Republicans Blame Malpractice Lawsuits for Rising Health Costs; Democrats Blame Insurers
Nov 2 2004 // Republicans were three times as likely as Democrats to blame rising health costs on malpractice lawsuits, according to a poll conducted for The (Baltimore) Sun, and Democrats were twice as likely as Republicans to blame...
S&P Affirms ACE Ratings; Revises Outlook to Negative
Nov 1 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on Bermuda-based ACE Ltd. and some of its subsidiaries to negative from stable. At the same time, S&P assigned preliminary debt...
S&P Announcement on AIG Ratings; Outlook Negative
Nov 1 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has republished an earlier article, issued last Friday, October 29, concerning the revision of its outlook on the American International Group from stable to negative. S&P...
TDI Cracks Down on Sales of Bogus Health Insurance
Nov 1 2004 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced it has imposed stiff sanctions against a Florida man found to be recruiting and training Texas agents to sell unauthorized health insurance plans. Texas Insurance Commissioner...
Nev. Commissioner Denies Request to Increase Auto Insurance Rates
Nov 1 2004 // Nevada Insurance Commissioner Alice Molasky-Arman has denied the request of the Progressive Companies that are marketed through independent agents for a 5.3 percent increase in auto insurance rates. This filing would have...