Latest Trends Headlines

All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Minority and Women Agents Look to Tap Emerging Markets

Jun 23 2003 // Insurance is about numbers, and right now the numbers are depressing when it comes to minority and women agents in the business. In spite of the tremendous growth of minority populations in the United States and the...

S&P Affirms State Farm Group Members Rtgs; Outlook Stable

Jun 19 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has affirmed its ‘AA’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (SFMA) and five other interactively rated members of the State...

IBC Analysis Confirms Increased Auto Claims Costs

Jun 18 2003 //

Report No IPO for Poland’s PZU before May 2004

Jun 18 2003 // The long-delayed initial public offering of shares in Poland’s largest insurer, Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen SA (PZU) has now been put off once again – until May 2004 at the earliest. According to a report...

Progressive’s May Premiums Up 29 Percent

Jun 17 2003 // Mayfield Village, Ohio-based vehicle insurer Progressive Corp. reported that for May 2003, the company produced a GAAP combined ratio of 88.3. Net premiums written increased 29 percent to $910.9 million for the month,...

NAII Says R.I. “Vicarious Liability” Bill Could Increase Auto Premiums

Jun 17 2003 // The National Association of Independent Insurers has issued a bulletin indicating that a bill, scheduled to be considered by the Rhode Island’s House Judiciary Committee, would expand liability for car renters and...

Survey Reports Malpractice Lawsuits Threaten Healthcare on Long Island

Jun 12 2003 // Pennsylvania isn’t the only state having problems with medical malpractice claims. According to the results of a new survey of Long Island physicians, conducted by The New York Medical Staff Leadership Council,...

Calif. Commissioner Approves 7.2 Percent Rate Increase on Pure Premium Rates

Jun 9 2003 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi issued a decision June 6 on the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s (WCIRB) July 1, 2003 pure premium rate filing that was submitted on April 2,...

IIABA SURVEY REPORTS NEARLY 2.5 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS LOST HOMEOWNERS COVERAGE PAST TWO YEARS:

Jun 9 2003 // A new independent consumer survey conducted for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) confirms that non-renewals and premium increases are becoming more common in the current homeowners...

Ace Affirmed, Outlook Neg.

Jun 9 2003 // S&P’s has assigned its “BBB-” preferred stock rating to Ace Ltd.’s $500 million ($575 million if over-allotment exercised) 7.80 percent cumulative redeemable preferred shares, Series C...

Burns & Wilcox Chairman Reflects on Decades of Business

Jun 9 2003 // Recently, Insurance Journal sat down with Alan Kaufman, chairman, president, and CEO of the H.W. Kaufman Financial Group and its subsidiary, Burns & Wilcox Ltd. As chairman, Kaufman has played an active role through a...

Execs Talk Future of Industry at 9th Annual ITC Forum

Jun 9 2003 // “Amateur hour is over.” Those were the words of the Sullivan Group president Gerald J. Sullivan, addressing a roomful of industry executives recently at the 9th Annual Insuring the Children Forum....

Burns & Wilcox Chairman Reflects on Decades of Business

Jun 9 2003 // Recently, Insurance Journal sat down with Alan Kaufman, chairman, president, and CEO of the H.W. Kaufman Financial Group and its subsidiary, Burns & Wilcox Ltd. As chairman, Kaufman has played an active role through a...

Ace Affirmed, Outlook Neg.

Jun 9 2003 // S&P’s assigned its “BBB-” preferred stock rating to Ace Ltd.’s $500 million, 7.80 percent cumulative redeemable preferred shares, Series C offering. Ace may redeem these shares any time after...

Emerging Exposures Lead To New Coverage Issues

Jun 9 2003 // Coverage for technology torts—”techno-torts” or “cybertorts”—is limited under the standard general liability policy. “Coverage A” of the standard CGL form requires bodily injury or...

Hartford Survey Says With More at Stake, Small Businesses are Least Ready for Natural Disaster

Jun 6 2003 // Although they have the most at stake, small businesses are less prepared than larger companies to withstand a natural disaster, according to a recent national survey of small and mid-sized businesses by The Hartford...

Aon CEO Says Rates Will Grow Slowly Until Early 2004

Jun 4 2003 // Aon CEO Patrick Ryan told a group of journalists that premiums will grow slowly through the end of 2003 and into early 2004, according to Reuters. Ryan predicted rates would rise over the next five to seven years. Certain...

N.Y. Healthcare Alliance Warns of Cuts as Med Mal Premiums Rise

Jun 4 2003 // The New York Healthcare Alliance (NYHA), a coalition of healthcare providers and workers from approximately 75 hospitals throughout the state, has issued a warning that, as a result of a recent court ruling, “New...

Conning Research Says P/C Outlook Not as Bright as Rising Premium Rates Suggest

Jun 3 2003 // Despite substantial rate increases over the past three years, Property/Casualty insurers will not see any dramatic improvement in their financial results by 2004, according to Conning Research & Consulting,...

S&P Revises Navigators Outlook to Stable

Jun 3 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has revised its outlook on Navigators Insurance Co. and NIC Insurance Co. (collectively referred to as Navigators) to stable from positive because of the belief that Navigators’s capital...