Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
FTP of California Continues Growth Trend with Expanded Limit Exclusive Property Program
Mar 20 2020 // San Diego, CA, March 19, 2020 – FTP of California, LLC, announced today a new property program with high limits and extreme flexibility in risk coverage. The exclusive program is backed by A.M. Best ‘A’ rated...
Spring Forecast: 65% Chance of No El Niño or La Niña
Mar 18 2020 // There is about a 65% chance that neutral weather conditions will prevail in the Northern Hemisphere this spring with no El Niño or La Niña, up from 60% last month, a U.S. government weather forecaster said March 12. The...
AM Best to Test Insurers for Coronavirus Impact; Fitch Lowers Allstate Outlook
Mar 18 2020 // Ratings firm AM Best said it is developing stress testing that it will conduct on its rated insurance companies’ balance sheets to gauge the impact of the COVID-19 virus fallout on their risk-adjusted capital levels,...
Report: Testers in California Logged 2.8M Autonomous Miles Last Year
Mar 17 2020 // Each year technology’s promise of having autonomous vehicles ruling the roads seems to be a bit more fleeting, or at least a bit further off, but that hasn’t stalled the efforts of would-be makers of...
Innovation, Economic Growth Depend on Taking Risks, Tolerating Failure: Viewpoint
Mar 17 2020 // While concerns loom over an impending recession caused by the spread of COVID-19, policymakers and business leaders have implemented radical strategies, such as slashing interest rates to invigorate the country’s...
VW Launches Software It Hopes Will Make Car Accidents Obsolete by 2050
Mar 13 2020 // Volkswagen will launch a new software operating system this year that it hopes will make accidents involving its cars a thing of the past by 2050, the company said on Thursday. Next generation cars will be equipped with...
Return-to-Work Rates on the Rise in Texas Workers’ Comp System: Report
Mar 12 2020 // The return-to-work (RTW) rate for employees in the Texas workers’ compensation system who received temporary income benefits (TIBs) for their injuries increased by 5% over the decade from 2007 to 2017. That’s...
How Much U.S. P/C Insurance Bottom Line Grew in 2019: A.M. Best
Mar 10 2020 // Net underwriting income for the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry in 2019 grew by $4.9 million from 2018, A.M. Best said in a new report. Underwriting income hit $4.1 billion in 2019, from a loss of $800 million in...
Surplus Lines Late Filing Report for 2019 to Be Generated on March 19
Mar 9 2020 // The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) said its late filing report, which lists all Texas surplus lines policies that were not timely filed in 2019, will be generated on March 19, 2020. Policies are considered...
A&M Study: Texas’ Future Depends on Climate Preparedness
Mar 6 2020 // Texans should expect warmer weather, more wildfires and urban flooding, and increased impact from hurricanes through 2036 thanks to climate change, according to a new study from the Office of the Texas State Climatologist...
Direct Sales of Small Business Insurance Poised to Grow to $12B by 2025: Novarica
Mar 4 2020 // Over the past decade, selling small commercial insurance directly online to customers has gone from an outlandish idea to a reality. In a new report, research and advisory firm Novarica projects significant growth in the...
Outlooks Revised to Positive for Iowa’s Midwest Family Insurance Group
Mar 2 2020 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” of Iowa-based Midwest Family Mutual Insurance...
Future-at-Lloyd’s Modernization Project Moves from Blueprint to Construction
Feb 26 2020 // Since Lloyd’s first announced the blueprint for its Future at Lloyd’s project on Sept. 30, it has been busy working to get the ideas off the page and convert them into a set of actions that can be implemented...
Coronavirus Fears Drive Up Credit Risk for Gulf Crude Exporters
Feb 25 2020 // The cost of insuring against sovereign debt defaults by Gulf Arab states has risen in recent days as markets price the risk the coronavirus outbreak represents for the crude export-dependent region. Conventional spreads on...
Coronavirus Update: On Decline in China But of Rising Concern in South Korea, Italy, Iran
Feb 25 2020 // Iran’s coronavirus death toll rose to 16 on Tuesday, the most outside China, heightening its international isolation as dozens of worst-hit nations from South Korea to Italy accelerated emergency measures to curb the...
Report: Kentucky Highway Traffic Fatalities Increased in 2019
Feb 25 2020 // Highway traffic fatalities in Kentucky increased by 10 last year, according to a preliminary count. According to initial data, there were 734 fatalities in 2019, compared to 724 in 2018, the Kentucky Transportation...
Florida Carriers Seek Staggering Rate Increases Amid Market Turmoil
Feb 25 2020 // It’s no surprise that Florida carriers are raising homeowners’ insurance rates given several years of catastrophes and losses from litigation related to assignment of benefits and water damage claims. What may...
Brazil’s Vale Knew Deadly Tailings Dam Was Unsafe as Far Back as 2003: Report
Feb 24 2020 // An independent investigation requested by Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA into the causes of the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster that killed 270 people a year ago found the company knew about the problem but failed to...
Berkshire Hathaway P/C Insurance Profit Down in 2019
Feb 24 2020 // Full-year insurance results at Berkshire Hathaway disappointed in 2019, with after-tax earnings from underwriting falling to $325 million in 2019 compared to $1.6 billion in 2018. Earnings from primary insurance operations...
CoreLogic: 2019 Was 7th Year in Last Decade with 10 or More Disasters of $1B-Plus
Feb 24 2020 // Last year was a particularly hazardous one, with natural catastrophes causing excessive damages in what appears to be an ongoing trend of higher losses in the past decade, while also posing a danger in many U.S....
