Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Best Upgrades RLI to ‘A+’; Outlook Stable
May 28 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has upgraded the financial strength rating of Peoria, Ill.-based property/casualty insurer RLI Group to “A+” (superior) from “A” (excellent) of RLI Group...
California Commissioner Recommends 20.9 Percent Decrease in Workers’ Comp Rates
May 28 2004 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has recommended that California workers’ compensation insurers lower their rates by 20.9 percent for policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2004....
Chubb Survey: One in Four Private Companies Sued by Employees, Former Employees
May 25 2004 // One in four privately held companies has been sued by an employee or former employee in the past few years, according to a survey sponsored by the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies (www.chubb.com). Executives at as many...
Xerox Survey Reports Productivity as Top Business Priority for ACORD LOMA Attendees
May 25 2004 // In a survey of property, casualty, life and annuities professionals, 39 percent of respondents indicated that increasing productivity is their first priority in improving business processes, while 33 percent cited the need...
Accenture Survey Targets Industry Fraud
May 25 2004 // The majority of Americans say insurance fraud occurs because people believe they can get away with it, according to results of a survey released today by Accenture. The survey, based on a random sample of more than 1,000...
Best’s 34-Year P/C Insolvency Study Finds Industry Remarkably Resilient
May 24 2004 // A.M. Best Co. has just released a new study of the U.S. property/casualty industry in the past decade, which concludes that it has “shown resiliency and improved risk management amid extraordinary events.” The...
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...
