Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
The Challenging Future Requires Your Attention
May 5 2003 // While the hard market continues to support current rate levels, there is increasing turmoil within our industry. Is there any doubt that major changes are on the horizon? After all, who can predict the timing of the hard...
Louisiana Agent Shut Down on Multiple Fraud Allegations
May 1 2003 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley confirmed that the business of a Gonzales, La. insurance agent was halted in the latest investigation of alleged insurance fraud across the state. Department of Insurance...
State Auto Financial Profit Up 60% Over First Quarter 2002
Apr 30 2003 // Columbus, Ohio-based State Auto Financial Corp. announced record net earnings of $21.1 million for the first quarter of 2003. GAAP net earnings were 53 cents per diluted share, versus 33 cents for the same period last...
Tillinghast Study Says D&O Liability Premiums Skyrocket as Shareholder Claims Increase
Apr 28 2003 // On the heels of similar increases from the previous year, purchasers of Directors & Officers (D&O) liability insurance paid nearly 30 percent more for their D&O coverage, according to Tillinghast Towers...
Senate Bills Reportedly Increasing Choice, Lowering Premiums in La. Passes Committee
Apr 25 2003 // A Senate panel this week approved two major bills that would reportedly change the way insurance rates are regulated in Louisiana, bringing more companies and competition into the state. The measures, Senate Bill 721 and...
Erie Indemnity Q1 Net Up Slightly, Despite Operating Losses
Apr 25 2003 // Pennsylvania-based Erie Indemnity Company’s announcement of its first quarter results for 2003 contained both good and bad news. While net income increased by 3.8 percent or $1.7 million to $45.9 million, up from...
S&P Says a “Shakeout” is Due in Thailand’s General Insurance Sector
Apr 23 2003 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned a stable outlook to the financial strength of Thailand’s general insurance sector, based on “the industry’s satisfactory...
Everest Re Group Posts $104 Million Q1 After Tax Operating Income, Ups Earnings Forecast
Apr 22 2003 // The Barbados-based Everest Re Group, Ltd. reported first quarter 2003 after-tax operating income of $104.1 million, or $2.02 per diluted share, a 58% increase compared to $66.1 million, or $1.35 per diluted share in the...
State Farm Gets Rate Increases in Louisiana
Apr 21 2003 // Beginning June 15, State Farm homeowner policyholders in Louisiana will face a 12.2 percent rate increase averaging about $100 more per year. According to the New Orleans Times Picayune, the Louisiana Insurance Rating...
S&P’s Revises Fremont General Corp. Outlook
Apr 21 2003 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised its outlook on Fremont General Corp. to stable from negative and affirmed its ratings on the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company, including Fremont’s...
Risk Manager Don’t See Increased Risk from War with Iraq
Apr 21 2003 // An overwhelming 84 percent of professional risk managers think risks to their organizations’ operations have not increased at all or have increased only slightly since the start of the U.S. war with Iraq last month,...
Nationwide Mutual Outlook Neg
Apr 21 2003 // S&P’s affirmed its “A+” counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and related entities. The outlook has been revised to “negative” from...
A.M. Best Says Growth in Number of Active Captives Remained Flat in 2002
Apr 18 2003 // Captive domiciles have reportedly been touting 2002 as a banner year for new captive formations, with a record 462 new captive insurance companies being licensed, according to the special report, “Sizing Up the...
Employers, Fremont Employers Report 4Q and Full Year Financial Results
Apr 18 2003 // Employers Insurance Company of Nevada, A Mutual Company (the “Company”), a leading provider of workers’ compensation products and services, reported its statutory financial results for the fourth quarter...
Markel Corp. Ratings Affirmed; Outlook Positive
Apr 18 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has revised its outlook on Markel Corp. (Markel), Markel International Insurance Co. Ltd., and Markel’s U.S. insurance subsidiaries to positive from negative because of the historically...
Alliance Study Says P/C Guaranty Fund Assessments Hit 15-Year High
Apr 17 2003 // Payments by private insurers to state property/casualty guaranty funds have hit a 15-year high, spurred by increased insolvencies, according to a study by the Alliance of American Insurers. Net assessments paid by...
Net Premiums for Progressive Up 32% From Year Earlier
Apr 17 2003 // Leading auto insurer Progressive Corp. reported first quarter 2003 net income of $291.5 million, or $1.32 per share, compared to $176.2 million, or 78 cents per share in the first quarter last year. Net premiums written...
A.M. Best Reports: P/C Premium Growth Solid
Apr 16 2003 // The property/casualty industry continued to report strong growth in net written premiums for both the fourth quarter and full-year 2002 amid robust price increases across all sectors, according to the A.M. Best...
PIANH Gears Up for 2003 Annual Conference
Apr 15 2003 // The Professional Insurance Agents of New Hampshire Inc. will hold its 2003 annual conference May 21, at the Marriott Courtyard and Grappone Conference Center, Concord, N.H. Last year nearly 100 industry representatives...
S&P’s Says SARS Could Damage Health of Emerging Asian Companies
Apr 15 2003 // Standard & Poor’s reports that a recent outbreak of a pneumonia-like illness known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in greater China and southeast Asia is unlikely to have any immediate impact on its...
