Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Survey Shows Majority of Risk Managers Say Contingent Commission Practice is Conflict of Interest
May 24 2004 // A majority of commercial insurance buyers believe that the commission arrangements between insurance brokers and insurance carriers, known as contingent commissions or placement service agreements (PSAs), are a conflict of...
Best Upgrades Rating of France’s CCR to ‘A+’; Revises Outlook to Stable
May 24 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has upgraded the financial strength rating to “A+” (Superior) from “A” (Excellent) of France’s Caisse Centrale de Reassurance (CCR), and has revised its outlook...
Lloyd’s Issues 2003 Annual Report
May 21 2004 // Lloyd’s has issued its 2003 Annual Report, giving details of the year’s results, and describing the London market’s general financial condition and future prospects. The introduction described 2003 as a...
U.K.’S Cox Reports 22% 2003 Profit Increase; Announces Outsourcing Plans
May 21 2004 // Cox Insurance Holdings, plc., the U.K.’s largest motorcycle insurer, which operates primarily out of the Lloyd’s market, announced a hefty 22 percent increase in profits for 2003 to £52.1 million ($92.8...
S&P Affirms AFG Ratings; Raises Outlook
May 19 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on American Financial Group Inc. and the members of the Great American Insurance Co. pool, the Republic Indemnity Co. pool, the...
U.K. Survey Finds Compensation Culture Concerns
May 19 2004 // A recent survey commissioned by Norwich Union, a division of the Aviva group, and the U.K.’s largest b general insurer, has concluded that the “compensation culture,” i.e. the unbridled tendency to file a...
Best Affirms Ratings for PXRE; Outlook Stable
May 18 2004 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) for the reinsurance subsidiaries of PXRE Group Ltd. This rating action applies to PXRE Reinsurance Company (Hartford, Conn.) and PXRE Reinsurance...
Malpractice Rates Rise for Many Wyoming Doctors
May 17 2004 // One of Wyoming’s major malpractice insurance providers has been granted an 11.9 percent increase in rates charged to doctors. The Doctors Co., which is based in Napa, Calif., and serves 31 percent of the...
REPORT SAYS HIGHWAY DEATHS ROSE IN 2003:
May 17 2004 // The nation’s report on fatalities shows there were 43,220 deaths overall on U.S. highways in 2003, up from 42,815 in 2002. At the same time, injuries from motor vehicle crashes declined slightly in 2003, to the...
N.C. RESIDENTS URGED TO PREPARE FOR HURRICANE SEASON; ATLANTIC BASIN FORECAST RELEASED:
May 17 2004 // Hurricane Isabel was directly or indirectly responsible for 50 deaths nationwide and caused an estimated $170 million of property damage in North Carolina last September. Experts predict 14 named storms and eight...
N.J. Chiropractor Has Back Up Against Wall; Guilty Plea Offered in Fraud Case
May 13 2004 // New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey announced that a Morris County chiropractor has pleaded guilty to theft for billing an insurance company for chiropractic treatments never performed. According to Vaughn McKoy,...
S&P Report: Property Catastrophe Reinsurance Shows Good Year, Despite Higher Losses
May 13 2004 // Despite higher insured catastrophe losses in the U.S. in 2003, companies writing property catastrophe reinsurance realized very strong operating performance, according to a report published by Standard & Poor’s...
S&P Affirms Montpelier Re Ratings; Outlook Stable
May 12 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed its “A-” counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Montpelier Reinsurance Ltd. and its ‘BBB’ counterparty...
DM&A Hires Hernandez to Head Up Risk Services
May 11 2004 // Los Angeles-based David Morse & Associates has announced the hiring of insurance veteran Adolph Hernandez to head up its Risk Services Division. The division specializes and expands DM&A’s claims practice...
Study: Comp Costs Per Claim Rising in Illinois
May 10 2004 // Workers’ compensation costs per claim in Illinois are increasing rapidly, driven by higher medical costs per claim and greater use of medical services to treat injured workers, according to the Workers Compensation...
Argonaut’s Earned Premiums Up, Combined Ratio Down for Q1 2004
May 6 2004 // San Antonio-based Argonaut Group Inc. announced financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2004, reporting that earned premium rose and its combined ratio decreased from the same quarter in 2003. Net income was...
PIAA, NPDB Data Show Med-Mal Costs Still Rising
May 5 2004 // Data compiled from the physician owned and/or operated medical liability insurers that make up the Physician Insurers Association of America (PIAA) and the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) indicate that medical...
WCIRB 2003 Report on Insurers Released
May 4 2004 // The WCIRB has completed its report summarizing insurer loss and premium experience through December 31, 2003. To view the report, click the link below. WCIRB Summary of December 31, 2003 Experience
ACIC: Legislation Would Drive Up Homeowners Insurance Costs
May 4 2004 // Pending legislation purported to be pro-consumer would in fact hurt consumers by mandating insurance practices that in the long run would drive up the cost of homeowners insurance, according to the Association of...
Texas Fraud Committee Gearing Up for Legislative Action
May 3 2004 // Acknowledging that nothing significant would happen until after the Texas Legislature closes out its special session on school finance reform, members of the Texas Committee on Insurance Fraud pushed forward recently on...
