Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Moratoriums Add Up in Calif.’s Nonstandard Market
May 29 2000 // Could it be that the California nonstandard auto market is hardening? Looking back to the beginning of the year, many companies lowered their personal auto rates in California in an effort to gain market share, but...
S&P Has Negative Outlook on German P&C Insurers
May 22 2000 // Citing consistent downward trends over the last three years, Standard & Poor’s Rating’s Services forecasts problems for German P&C insurers. “Underlying performance in the German...
A BRIEF HISTORY OF AUTOMATION: The Past, Present and Future of the Industry
May 15 2000 // In 1981, IBM introduced its personal computer (PC) for use in the home, office and schools. Prior to that time, there had been several MS-DOS compatible personal computers that ran DOS programs. As computers became more...
Head of Kiln Plc Sees Rate Increases in Lloyd’s Market
May 12 2000 // David Gilchrist, Chairman of Lloyd’s vehicle Kiln Plc, which owns 46 percent of four Lloyd’s syndicates, told Reuters News Agency that despite 1999 losses of £6.7 million ($10.4 million) he “expects to...
Quotesmith.com CEO Reports on Momentum in 2000
May 12 2000 // Speaking before a group of investors at the 28th annual Chase H&Q Technology Conference in San Francisco, Quotesmith.com CEO and president Robert Bland said that the company expects 2000 revenue to grow by more than...
Arizona’s Surplus Line Premium Volume up in 1999
May 11 2000 // According to figures released by the Surplus Line Association of Arizona, written surplus line premium volume in the state totaled $106.9 million in 1999, compared with $90.2 million in 1998–an increase of 18.5...
Survey Reveals Teens Drink, Drive and Do Not Wear Seatbelts
May 10 2000 // A new national survey reveals that 77 percent of teen-agers speed when driving, 39 percent never wear seat belts or wear them only occasionally and 21 percent drive after drinking. This information is the result of a new...
Lloyd’s Keeps A.M. Best’s A (Excellent) Rating With Continued Negative Outlook
May 2 2000 // The losses at Lloyd’s, actual and projected, were not deemed serious enough, as yet, to warrant any change in Lloyd’s A (Excellent) rating by A.M. Best. It affirmed Lloyd’s capital strength, based on the...
Internet Insurance, Risk Purchases Will Increase Significantly
May 2 2000 // While U.S. corporations make minimal use of the Internet today for commercial insurance or risk management needs, a significant increase is expected over the course of the next 24 months, according to a survey by the...
ABD Jumps From Fifth to Third Largest D&O Broker in Annual Survey
May 2 2000 // ABD Insurance and Financial Services now ranks as the third largest U.S. broker of D&O liability insurance, according to the 1999 Annual Tillinghast-Towers Perrin Survey. As one of the nation’s premier D&O...
Kemper Outlook is Stable
May 1 2000 // DCR assigned an “A” claims paying ability rating to the Kemper Insurance Cos. (KIC). The rating applies to Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co. (KIC’s primary insurance subsidiary) and three affiliated...
Study Finds 1999 a Disastrous Year for Workers’ Comp
May 1 2000 // Recent findings of the nonprofit Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) of California present a rather bleak picture of the current state of California’s workers’ comp...
S&P Maintains Hannover Re Ratings, But Lowers Outlook
Apr 30 2000 // Standard & Poor’s, while affirming Hannover Re’s overall ratings of AA- or better, revised its outlook from stable to negative, reflecting concerns over the German reinsurer’s rapid rate of...
Kenny Waldt is Banking on his Future
Apr 24 2000 // Meet Kenny Waldt, independent agent from Houston. When I last checked in, back in November, he was toying with selling his $1.2 million revenue agency to a bank. Feeling pretty righteous about the value of his agency, he...
Progressive Losses Stack Up
Apr 19 2000 // Progressive Corp.’s first-quarter report shows $47 million in losses, mostly due to payments on claims from U.S. storm damage last year. The Ohio-based insurer reported a net loss of $46.6 million, down from a profit...
Survey Shows Growing Momentum of Online Insurance
Apr 19 2000 // A national consumer opinion survey commissioned by QuickenInsurance and Electronic Financial Services Council, shows 25 percent of U.S. households with Internet access will use the web to comparison shop or purchase...
New Zealand Nonlife Rates To Rise
Apr 4 2000 // Excess capacity, intense competition, inadequate premium rates and a high level of claims resulted in a very poor earnings performance in the New Zealand nonlife insurance market in 1999. So said Ian Thompson, Standard...
Kenny Waldt is Banking on his Future
Apr 3 2000 // Meet Kenny Waldt, independent agent from down there in Houston. When I last checked in, back in November, he was toying with selling his $1.2 million revenue agency to a bank. Feeling pretty righteous about the value of...
Award Increases Cause Rise in U.K. Premiums
Feb 29 2000 // The distinct possibility that damage awards arising from automobile accident claims will substantially increase in the U.K. has prompted the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to warn of possible big increases in...
Lloyd’s Publishes “Priorities for Growth 2000-2003”
Feb 10 2000 // With a heavy emphasis on growing e-commerce business, Chairman Max Taylor announced the publication of Lloyd’s new business plan, “Priorities for Growth 2000-2003,” calling it a “Manifesto for the...
