Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Worst Algerian Wildfires in Decades Kill at Least 65 People
Aug 12 2021 // The worst wildfires in decades have killed at least 65 people in Algeria’s forested mountains, making it the latest Mediterranean nation to be struck by devastating blazes as temperatures have risen to unprecedented...
People Moves: Gallagher Names Hughes as Aerospace Consultant; Tokio Marine HCC Hires Faubert for Credit & Political Risk; Enstar’s CFO to Step Down
Aug 11 2021 // This edition of International People Moves covers appointments for broker Gallagher in London, for insurer Tokio Marine HCC – Credit Group in Paris, and for Enstar Group in Bermuda. A summary of these new hires...
Insurance Becomes Top Operating Cost Concern for Small Canadian Firms: Survey
Aug 11 2021 // Insurance has become the top operating cost concern for small businesses in Canada with seven in ten reporting that their premiums have gone up since the beginning of the year, according to the Canadian Federation of...
Epstein Victims Fund Wraps Up After Paying More Than $120 Million in Claims
Aug 11 2021 // A fund to compensate victims of Jeffrey Epstein is concluding its claims process after awarding more than $120 million, its administrator said. The announcement Monday comes one day before the second anniversary of...
Amazon Will Pay Shoppers’ Product Claims Up to $1,000
Aug 10 2021 // Amazon.com Inc. on Tuesday said it would pay customers who suffer injuries or property damage from defective goods others sell on its U.S. platform, in a new policy that could reduce litigation. For years, consumers have...
Munich Re’s Q2 Profit Rises 91%, While COVID-19 Losses Outpace Expectations
Aug 10 2021 // German reinsurance group Munich Re said on Tuesday it would meet its 2021 profit goal as it raised its forecast for gross premiums and predicted higher pandemic-related losses than previously anticipated. Munich Re made...
Once-in-50-Year Heat Waves Now Happening Every Decade: U.N. Climate Report
Aug 10 2021 // Extreme heat waves that previously only struck once every 50 years are now expected to happen once per decade because of global warming, while downpours and droughts have also become more frequent, a U.N. climate science...
TWIA to File for Rate Increase; TDI Proposes Member Assessment Rule Change
Aug 6 2021 // The property insurer of last resort for wind and hail in counties along the Texas coast will file for a 5% rate hike for both residential and commercial properties in its required annual filing with the Texas Department of...
Progressive Insurance Hurt by Rise in Auto Claims, Low Premiums in Q2
Aug 6 2021 // Progressive Corp. reported a 56% decrease in net income to $790.1 million for the second quarter. Net income was down 9% for the first six months. The company said the largest contributor to the year-over-year decreases...
Fatal Overdoses in Kentucky Grew 49% in 2020
Aug 6 2021 // Fatal drug overdoses in Kentucky _ an ongoing scourge that has ravaged communities in the state _ surged nearly 50% last year and isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was a “major contributing factor,” a...
Allianz Posts 46% Jump in Q2 Profit, with Rosy Outlook Expected
Aug 6 2021 // FRANKFURT – German insurer Allianz on Friday posted a better-than-expected 46% jump in second-quarter net profit and provided a rosier outlook for the full year as it emerges from pressure on business caused by the...
U.S. West Consumer Survey: 4-in-10 Policyholders Don’t Talk to Insurer About Wildfire Risks
Aug 5 2021 // Most residents of the wildfire-plagued Western U.S. believe in mitigation efforts, but fewer are actually taking such steps – while more than 40% have never spoken to their insurer about wildfire risk, according to a...
Atlantic Hurricane Forecast Still Calls for an Above-Average Season
Aug 4 2021 // Conditions remain in line for the current Atlantic hurricane season to be an above-average one, according to the mid-season update by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. NOAA says there is a 65% likelihood that the...
California Workers’ Comp Written Premium Down 13%, Report Shows
Aug 4 2021 // California workers’ compensation written premium for the first quarter of 2021 was 13% below that for the first quarter of 2020, according to a quarterly experience report issued on Wednesday by the Workers’...
Houston’s CrossCover Enters E&S Property Insurance Market
Aug 3 2021 // Houston-based CrossCover Insurance Services, a new managing general underwriter targeting middle-market commercial business, is entering the excess and surplus property market. CrossCover was established in partnership...
AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings, Stable Outlook to Workers’ Comp Writer SUNZ
Aug 3 2021 // AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) to SUNZ Insurance Co. of Bradenton, Florida. The outlook assigned to these Credit...
Generali’s Operating Profit Increases 10.4% During First Half
Aug 3 2021 // Generali on Tuesday said it was on track to meet full-year targets after Italy’s top insurer reported a good performance across all business sectors to slightly beat first-half expectations. Operating profit rose...
Texas Surplus Lines Premiums Rise to $947.48M, an All-Time High
Aug 2 2021 // Texas set another record in June for the amount of surplus lines premium recorded by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX). The $947.48 million in premium reported in June brings the year-to-date total to $4.58...
Aon’s Price Tag for Scrapped Deal to Buy Willis Rises to $1.4B
Aug 2 2021 // Insurance broker Aon Plc said on Friday it could have to expend up to $400 million in additional costs tied to the termination of its mega merger deal with Willis Towers Watson, over and above the $1 billion it was...
5.44% Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease OK’d in Wisconsin
Aug 2 2021 // Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Mark Afable approved an overall 5.44% decrease in workers’ compensation insurance rates, effective Oct. 1, 2021. It’s the sixth straight year of rate decreases in Wisconsin,...
