Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Q1 Commercial P/C Rates Hold Steady, Up 5%: MarketScout
Apr 10 2023 // In a “deliberate and modest fashion,” the composite rate for commercial property and casualty lines increases 5% during the first quarter 2023, according to MarketScout. The Dallas-based distribution and...
Viewpoint: Optimizing Agency Relationships; A Data-Driven Approach to Premium Growth
Apr 10 2023 // Reported demise of the independent insurance agency as a sales and distribution channel have been greatly exaggerated. Over the course of a decade or more of predictions about the growth of the direct-to-consumer models,...
Maryland AG Report Chronicles Decades of Child Sex Abuse and Church Cover-Up
Apr 6 2023 // Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has released his agency’s report documenting a long history of widespread child sex abuse and systemic cover-up by clergy and others associated with the Archdiocese of...
13 Years Later, Oil Drilling in Gulf Safer, But Concerns Persist, Study Shows
Apr 6 2023 // Thirteen years after the massive Deepwater Horizons spill fouled the Gulf of Mexico, regulators and industry have reduced some risks in deep water exploration in the gulf but some troublesome safety issues persist, a new...
More Severe Weather Forecast for Battered South, Midwest
Apr 5 2023 // OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – While residents across parts of the South and Midwest pummeled by deadly storms and wildfires sifted through the wreckage of their homes Monday, forecasters warned of more severe weather and fire...
Distraction, Speeding, Alcohol Drive Up 2021 Traffic Deaths
Apr 5 2023 // Nearly 43,000 people died in U.S. traffic crashes in 2021, the highest number in 16 years with deaths due to speeding and impaired or distracted driving on the rise. The 2021 final numbers, released Monday by the National...
McDonald’s Risks Employee Ire by Joining Trend of Virtual Layoffs
Apr 4 2023 // McDonald’s Corp. is the latest company asking staff to work from home during layoffs, a practice that has sparked criticism from other companies’ employees and management experts. The fast-food chain told...
Texas Auto, Homeowners Premiums Grew Double Digits in 2022, Report Shows
Apr 4 2023 // The Texas market for auto and homeowners insurance grew double digits in 2022, according to an annual report put out by the Texas Department of Insurance. Texas insurers reported direct premium written for private...
U.S. Commercial Rates Increased in Q4 — But at Slower Pace: WTW
Apr 3 2023 // U.S. commercial insurance prices grew in the fourth quarter of 2022 by an average of 4.8%, down from the rate of 5.2% in the previous quarter (Q3 2022), according to WTW’s most recent Commercial Lines Insurance...
WCRI: Consolidation of Health Care Driving Up Prices in Work Comp
Apr 3 2023 // Consolidation of physician services into larger groups owned by hospitals and health care systems is driving up the cost of care in workers’ compensation, according to a new study by the Workers’ Compensation...
EEOC Releases Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2022
Apr 3 2023 // The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its report on the agency’s performance during the 2022 fiscal year (FY). The report highlights the EEOC’s efforts that advance its mission for...
Architects & Engineers Market Sees Rising Claims Severity Amid Wave of New Projects
Apr 3 2023 // The construction industry continues to see a wave of new projects, creating plenty of work for architects and engineers. While design firms experience growth amid an expanding market, insurers providing architects and...
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Virginia’s Northern Neck Insurance
Mar 31 2023 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of Northern Neck Insurance Co. of...
Michigan Becomes First State in Decades to Repeal ‘Right-to-Work’ Law
Mar 30 2023 // Michigan, long known as a mainstay of organized labor, on Friday became the first state in decades to repeal a union-restricting law known as “right-to-work” that was passed over a decade ago by a...
APCIA Says Property Insurance Market ‘Hardest in a Generation’
Mar 29 2023 // A combination of historic high inflation and a growing frequency of natural catastrophes is creating the hardest market in a generation for property insurance, the American Property and Casualty Insurance Association says...
Georgia Lawmakers Flip the Script on Use-and-File for Auto Rate Increases
Mar 27 2023 // Georgia lawmakers have approved a bill that, if signed into law, would end the longstanding “use-and-file” mechanism on auto insurance rate filings in the state. The state Senate last week voted 49-2 in favor...
D&O 2022: Prices Down; Loss Ratios Up; Top Carriers Ranked
Mar 27 2023 // Although analysts at Fitch Ratings estimate that combined ratios for the directors and officers liability line remained below breakeven in 2022, with competition fueling price declines and the economic conditions...
Reinsurers Average 12.1% Premium Growth for Full-Year 2022: Gallagher Re
Mar 24 2023 // Reinsurers’ premium growth averaged 12.1% for full-year 2022 and 10.2% for the fourth quarter, which was driven by improved pricing for commercial lines and reinsurance business, according to Gallagher Re. However,...
High Inflation Hiked P/C Claims Costs Up to 7.5% in 2022
Mar 24 2023 // High inflation alone led to an increase in property/casualty claims of 5-7.5%, across five key markets in 2022, according to Swiss Re research. “In 2023, we expect that inflation should lead to an additional increase...
Lloyd’s of London Swings to 2022 Pre-Tax Loss on Investments but U/W Profits Up
Mar 23 2023 // Lloyd’s of London swung to a pre-tax loss in 2022 and took writedowns on its fixed-income investments, it said on Thursday. The pre-tax loss was 800 million pounds ($982.56 million), compared with a profit of 2.3...
