Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Workers’ Comp Costs and Benefits Decline as a Share of Payroll: Study
Oct 4 2017 // Workers’ compensation employer costs as a share of payroll declined in 2015, reversing a four-year trend, and benefits as a share of payroll fell for the fourth straight year, according to a new report from the...
More Economic Growth Ahead for Midwest: Survey
Oct 4 2017 // A monthly survey of business leaders released on Oct. 2 suggests that economic conditions are still improving for nine states in the Midwest or Plains. The Mid-America Business Conditions Index rose to 58.2 in September,...
Florida’s Tower Hill Prime Gets Revised Outlooks to Negative From A.M. Best
Oct 4 2017 // A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and Long Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” of Tower Hill Prime Insurance Co.,...
Driver Concerns Over the Future of Autonomous Vehicles: AIG Study
Oct 3 2017 // Safety of the vehicles, including the risk of hacking, are key concerns when it comes to autonomous vehicles, according to a study by American International Group, Inc. on the whether or not Americans accept or reject...
Idaho Workers’ Comp Rates to Decrease for 2018
Oct 2 2017 // The Idaho Department of Insurance has received a proposal from the National Council on Compensation Insurance for an overall rate drop of 5.8 percent percent to workers’ compensation insurance. The decrease is to...
Supreme Court to Decide Future of Workers’ Class Action Suits Against Employers
Oct 2 2017 // The U.S. Supreme Court kicks off its new nine-month term on Monday with a major employment case that could deprive workers of the ability to join together to file lawsuits when taking on companies over a wide range of...
U.S. Regulator Lifts Systemic Risk Tag on Slimmed-Down AIG
Oct 2 2017 // American International Group Inc. is no longer too big to fail. That was the ruling Friday from the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which said AIG, whose collapse in 2008 reverberated throughout the U.S. economy,...
Florida Hurricane Irma Losses Keep Rising
Oct 2 2017 // With two Florida landfalls in the same day, Hurricane Irma’s destructive wind and flood damage could cost up to $65 billion for both insured and uninsured losses, according to a recent estimate by...
A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Negative for Pennsylvania’s Eastern Atlantic Insurance
Oct 2 2017 // A.M. Best has revised its outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” for Harrisburg, Pa.-based Eastern Atlantic...
New Hampshire Workers’ Comp Rates May Decrease for Sixth Year in a Row
Oct 2 2017 // New Hampshire employers could pay less for their workers’ comp insurance next year because of a filing that lowers rates and loss cost factors insurers use to develop prices. This move would mark the sixth year in a...
Rising Cost of Employee Benefits
Oct 2 2017 // It’s no secret that health insurance costs more and employers are planning for that trend to continue. Employers expect that their average cost per-employee for health benefits will rise by 4.3 percent in 2018, which...
Workers’ Comp Premiums Up 1.0% in First Half of 2017
Oct 2 2017 // Workers’ compensation insurers reported a modest increase in direct written premiums — a 1.0 percent increase — during the first six months of 2017 versus the same period in 2016. Workers’...
Despite Rise in Catastrophe Losses, Home Insurance Loss Costs Declined in Recent Years
Sep 28 2017 // In 2016, Colorado and Texas homeowners suffered the greatest percentage of catastrophic losses due to extreme weather and other perils, according to a study of home insurance trends. The six-year LexisNexis Risk Solutions...
Fire in Utah City Isn’t Expected to Drive up Insurance Rates
Sep 26 2017 // Insurance rates aren’t expected to go up in Ogden neighborhood where a wildfire destroyed three homes and caused the evacuations of hundreds. But authorities are warning the residents to be on high alert for...
S&P Assigns Odyssey Re Europe with ‘A-‘ Rating, Stable Outlook
Sep 25 2017 // S&P Global Ratings has assigned its ‘A-‘ long-term financial strength rating to Odyssey Re Europe S.A. (ORESA), with a stable outlook. The rating on ORESA is based on an explicit guarantee provided by...
Unemployment Is Top Business Risk, Says WEF Survey, Published by Zurich, Marsh
Sep 21 2017 // Unemployment is the biggest risk for businesses globally, according to a World Economic Forum survey of business leaders published on Wednesday. The company executives put unemployment or underemployment as the top risk...
‘Future-Proofing’ Texas a Political, Bureaucratic Challenge for Harvey Recovery Czar
Sep 18 2017 // The man tasked with overseeing Texas’ Hurricane Harvey rebuilding efforts sees his job as “future-proofing” before the next disaster, but he isn’t empowered on his own to reshape flood-prone Houston...
Employers Expect Above-Average Rise in Cost of Employee Benefits in 2018: Mercer Survey
Sep 18 2017 // Employers expect that their average cost per-employee for health benefits will rise by 4.3 percent in 2018, which is above the average increase of 3 percent of the past five years. Early responses from Mercer’s...
Hurricanes to Usher in Short-Term Hard Market for Property Risks: Survey
Sep 18 2017 // Damage left by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey will lead to a hardened property market and pricing correction, at least in the short-term according to a new KPMG survey. In related analysis, a new Morgan Stanley report...
Britain to Lose Out on 10,000 Finance Jobs in First Wave of Brexit Reaction: Reuters Survey
Sep 18 2017 // Around 10,000 finance jobs will be shifted out of Britain or created overseas in the next few years if the UK is denied access to Europe’s single market, according to a Reuters survey of firms employing the bulk of...
