Latest Trends Headlines

All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.

A.M. Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Georgia Farm Bureau Group Members

Jul 24 2017 // A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “bbb-” of Georgia Farm Bureau...

Report: The Southeast’s Storm Surge Risk and Florida’s Hurricane Wake-Up Call

Jul 24 2017 // The Southeast has seen its fair share of natural disasters and flooding in the last several years, including two hurricanes in Florida last year – the first hurricanes to hit the state in more than a decade. But none...

Carrier Poll Shows Many Agents Expect Minor Tech Disruption by 2020

Jul 24 2017 // A new poll conducted by a Seattle, Wash.-based carrier that asked independent insurance agents what’s ahead in 2020 showed that roughly half of agents expect technology disruption to have a minor impact on their...

Surplus Lines Market Keeps Up with Demand for Cyber Liability Coverage

Jul 24 2017 // In Texas and across the nation, the surplus lines insurance market is keeping up with the increase in demand for cyber liability protection, according to the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX). SLTX recorded a...

Massachusetts Marijuana Deal Calls for Up to 20 Percent Tax on Pot Sales

Jul 19 2017 // State House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement Monday on a revamped version of Massachusetts’ voter-approved marijuana law that would allow retail pot sales to be taxed at a maximum 20 percent rate. The deal...

Blind Americans Want to Participate in Future of Driverless Vehicles

Jul 19 2017 // Anil Lewis was behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang convertible on a sunny Atlanta day in 1988, when he nearly hit a pedestrian who appeared in a crosswalk ahead of him, seemingly out of nowhere. It was then Lewis realized...

Georgia Insurance Commissioner Hudgens to Step Down at End of Term In 2018

Jul 18 2017 // Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens will not seek re-election for a third term as Georgia’s Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, according to a statement from the Georgia Department of Insurance. In a...

Devastating S. Europe Drought Scorches Crops; Farmers Question Their Future

Jul 17 2017 // Italian durum wheat and dairy farmer Attilio Tocchi saw warning signs during the winter of the dramatic drought to come at his holding a mile away from the Tuscan coast. “When it still hadn’t rained at the...

Insurance Underwriters See Risks, Opportunities in Speeding Up Infrastructure Projects

Jul 14 2017 // “We’re going to cut a lot of red tape,” President Trump said at a CEO town hall meeting as he unrolled a long, colorful flow chart showing the process required for a state government to obtain the federal...

New Study Reaffirms Virginia Flooding Predictions as Sea Levels Rise

Jul 14 2017 // A new study reaffirms predictions that parts of coastal Virginia will face chronic flooding if nothing is done about sea-level rise. The Union of Concerned Scientists said Wednesday that a city like Poquoson, Va., could...

It’s Not True that Marijuana Dispensaries Increase Crime, Say Researchers

Jul 13 2017 // A new study published in the July issue of the Journal of Urban Economics finds that contrary to popular belief, medical marijuana dispensaries (MMDs) reduce crime in their immediate areas. In the study, “Going to...

Windstorm Egon’s Insurance Loss Estimate Rises to US$314.7M: PERILS

Jul 13 2017 // The estimated property insurance losses for Windstorm Egon, which hit France and Germany on Jan. 12-13, 2017, have been revised upwards to €275 million ($314.7 million) by PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company...

Brexit Deal Must Protect Insurance Sector’s Benefits to UK Economy: ABI

Jul 13 2017 // The insurance and long-term savings sector is one of the UK’s most productive industries, adding more than £40 billion (US$51.5 billion) a year to the economy and helping Britain thrive, according to a study...

Nonstandard Auto Insurance Market Continues on Downward Path: A.M. Best

Jul 13 2017 // Loss ratios and operating ratios for the U.S. private passenger nonstandard auto insurance market fell to their worst levels in a decade, according to a report from A.M. Best. The results for the population of insurers...

A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Negative for New York’s Country-Wide

Jul 12 2017 // A.M. Best has revised its outlook to negative from stable for Country-Wide Insurance Company, a family-owned auto insurance company based in New York, N.Y. A.M. Best also affirmed Country-Wide’s Financial Strength...

Individual Health Insurance Market Stabilizing, Not Collapsing: Kaiser

Jul 12 2017 // Insurer financial data through the first quarter of 2017 suggest the individual health insurance market has been stabilizing and insurers in this market are regaining profitability, finds a new analysis from the Kaiser...

Carrier Poll Shows Many Agents Expect Minor Tech Disruption by 2020

Jul 11 2017 // A new poll conducted by a Seattle, Wash.-based carrier that asked independent insurance agents what’s ahead in 2020 showed that roughly half of agents expect technology disruption to have a minor impact on their...

Insurers Say Legal Malpractice Claims Hold Steady But Defense Costs Rise

Jul 11 2017 // Most leading legal malpractice insurers saw their claims level off in 2016 although their cost to defend claims continued to escalate. A study by insurance broker Ames & Gough finds that while the number of new...

Report: The Southeast’s Storm Surge Risk and Florida’s Hurricane Wake-Up Call

Jul 11 2017 // The Southeast has seen its fair share of natural disasters and flooding in the last several years, including two hurricanes in Florida last year – the first hurricanes to hit the state in more than a decade. But none of...

S&P Lowers Ratings of Allied World After Acquisition by Fairfax; Outlook Stable

Jul 10 2017 // S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term counterparty credit and senior debt ratings on Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings AG to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BBB+’, following the completion of the...