Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Emerging Markets to Drive Global Insurance Growth over Next Decade: Swiss Re’s Sigma
Mar 8 2019 // Emerging markets will remain the growth engine of the global economy and insurance industry over the next decade, reflecting a continuing shift of economic power from west to east, according to Swiss Re Institute’s...
Report: 11 Minnesotans Died From Medical Mistakes in 2018
Mar 5 2019 // Health officials say 11 people died and 118 were injured in Minnesota hospitals and surgery centers last year from medical mistakes that were preventable. The Minnesota Department of Health’s annual report says the...
Insurance Agencies’ Profitability Fell But Organic Growth Continued in 2018: Reagan
Mar 4 2019 // Independent insurance agencies just closed the books on a year in which profitability fell slightly but they continued to grow organically and each major line of business grew, according to the latest survey from Reagan...
Highway Fatalities Level Off After Years of Increasing Rates: National Safety Council
Mar 4 2019 // For the first time since the Great Recession, the U.S. has experienced three straight years of at least 40,000 automobile-related deaths, according to estimates from the National Safety Council. In 2018, an estimated...
2019 Outlook: Rates, Deductibles Likely to Rise Again in Texas Homeowners Insurance Market
Mar 4 2019 // Texas independent insurance agents might want to warn their homeowner insurance customers that premium hikes and/or increases in deductibles could be on the horizon this year. Homeowners insurers have been filing for rate...
Nevada OKs Workers’ Comp Loss-Cost and Assigned-Risk Rate Decreases
Mar 1 2019 // Nevada Insurance Commissioner Barbara D. Richardson approved a filing from the National Council on Compensation Insurance for an average decrease of 8.1 percent for Nevada workers’ compensation voluntary insurance...
State Agency Shifts Focus as Medical Marijuana Demand in Oklahoma Rises
Mar 1 2019 // The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority has temporarily closed its customer service center to free up more staff to respond to the high volume of applications for medical marijuana cards. The number of applications...
Agents, Brokers and the Future of Insurance Distribution
Feb 26 2019 // A funny thing is happening on the way to the future. As consumers’ and carriers’ behaviors, attitudes and expectations have been changing, independent agents are evolving to better serve both customers and...
‘Sextortion’ Is Emerging Cyber Risk for Businesses, Warns Beazley
Feb 21 2019 // A new form of online bribery is emerging where cyber criminals attempt to extort cryptocurrency by claiming to have potentially embarrassing evidence of people using adult websites on work computers, according to a report...
Swiss Re 2018 Net Profit Rises 27% Despite Spate of Natural, Man-Made Disasters
Feb 21 2019 // Reinsurer Swiss Re on Thursday posted a 27.2 percent jump in 2018 net profit, despite claims from large-scale natural catastrophes and man-made disasters. Net profit for the full year came in at $421 million, compared with...
As Health Plan Deductibles Rise, Expect More Workers’ Compensation Claims
Feb 20 2019 // Are employees injured at work more likely to file under workers’ compensation instead of group health insurance when their group health plan has a higher deductible? The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI)...
Vermont Workers’ Comp Rates to Decrease for Third Year in a Row
Feb 20 2019 // Workers’ compensation insurance will continue to cost less for most Vermont employers when new rates approved by the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) become effective on April 1, 2019. This is the third rate...
SCOR’s Net Profit in 2018 Rises 13% Despite Spate of Q4 Natural Disasters
Feb 20 2019 // French reinsurer SCOR, which was the target of a thwarted acquisition by rival Covea last year, posted a surge in overall 2018 net profits despite making a loss in the fourth quarter caused by a spate of natural...
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Florida-Based Universal North America
Feb 20 2019 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” of Universal North...
How Pricing Insurance for Cars of Future Could Bring Insurers, Carmakers Together
Feb 19 2019 // Dan Peate, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur in Southern California, was thinking of buying a Tesla Model X a few years ago—until he called his insurance company and found out how much his premiums would...
Outlooks Revised to Positive for Michigan’s Auto Club Group
Feb 19 2019 // 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 Ratings of “a-” of Dearborn, Michigan-based Auto Club...
North Carolina Insurers Request 19% Rate Increase for Mobile Home Policies
Feb 19 2019 // The North Carolina Rate Bureau has filed a request to increase homeowners’ insurance rates for mobile home policies of at least 19 percent, according to the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI). The NCRB,...
State Farm Announces 4.9% Auto Insurance Rate Decrease in Virginia
Feb 15 2019 // State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company will cut its rates in Virginia for the second time in two years. As a result, its overall personal auto rate will drop by 4.9 percent. The total state-wide expected impact for...
New Ventures, Driver Shortage Among Challenges in Trucking Insurance Market
Feb 15 2019 // The transportation industry is considered a barometer of the U.S. economy. If freight is trending up, so too is the U.S. economy. But capacity constraints for trucking – including a shortage of qualified drivers, low...
Expect Direct Online to Gain in Small Commercial Insurance Market Share: Novarica
Feb 14 2019 // Changes in small business owners’ online habits and new market entrants are driving market demand for online purchasing of insurance, according to a report from advisory firm Novarica, which sees direct online sales...
