Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Downward Trend in Workers’ Comp Claims Continues in Minnesota
Apr 17 2017 // The number of paid workers’ compensation claims fell 53 percent relative to the number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees from 1997 to 2015, according to the Department of Labor and Industry’s 2015...
West Virginia Overdose Deaths Up 15% in 2016
Apr 17 2017 // The number of reported overdose deaths that occurred last year in West Virginia has continued to rise. Citing data released March 22, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that at least 844 people died in the state of drug...
California State Fund 2016 Report Shows 128K Policies Written
Apr 17 2017 // The California State Compensation Insurance Fund’s 2016 annual report shows a net income of $192 million in 2016. Other important highlights from the newly released report include: 128,000 policies written in...
Report: Traffic Deaths in L.A. Jumped Sharply in 2016
Apr 17 2017 // A report finds traffic deaths in Los Angeles jumped sharply despite a high-profile campaign by city leaders to eliminate fatal crashes. The Los Angeles Times reported that 260 people were killed in traffic crashes on city...
Smart Choice Has Record Start in 2017, Forecasts Continued Growth
Apr 13 2017 // Smart Choice added more than 100 new agency partners and more than 20 percent growth in gross commission in the first month of the year, its fastest start to a year ever, the company said in a statement. Smart Choice is...
California Farmers Get First Full Water Supply in More than a Decade
Apr 12 2017 // Farmers in a vast region of California will receive their fully contracted amount of irrigation water this year for the first time in more than a decade. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced the allocation this week...
Insurance Costs for Windstorm Egon Rise to €234M ($243M): PERILS
Apr 12 2017 // The revised estimate of property insurance losses for Windstorm Egon, which hit France and Germany on Jan. 12-13, 2017, is €234 million ($243 million), according to PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company that...
UK Car Premiums Rise by 16% to $949 with More Pain Ahead: Willis Towers Watson, Confused.com
Apr 11 2017 // U.K. car insurance premiums rose 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2017, with motorists now paying an average of £781 ($949), which is £110 ($134), or 16 percent, higher than average premiums paid in the same period...
River in Idaho Rising Along With Flood Insurance Policy Sales
Apr 10 2017 // Federal officials say the Boise River in Idaho that’s already past flood stage will be raised again as flood insurance sales spike in the region. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...
Insurance Rates for Architects, Engineers Stabilize or Decline in 2016: Survey
Apr 7 2017 // Although a slim majority of insurance companies providing architects and engineers professional liability insurance saw their rates stabilize in 2016, nearly one in three experienced modest decreases in rates. That’s...
Report: Workers’ Comp Claims, Costs Continue Downward Trend in Minnesota
Apr 6 2017 // The number of paid workers’ compensation claims fell 53 percent relative to the number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees from 1997 to 2015, according to the Department of Labor and Industry’s 2015...
IVANS Index: Commercial Rates Up in Q1 Except Workers’ Compensation
Apr 6 2017 // Insurance premium renewal rate change for the majority of standard commercial lines products including auto, business owners, general liability, property and umbrella remained in positive territory for the first quarter....
Outlook Good for Texting-While-Driving Ban, Texas Lawmakers Say
Apr 5 2017 // Note this article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. After pushing the issue for nearly a decade, key lawmakers in the Texas Legislature are optimistic that a statewide texting-while-driving ban is within...
Commercial Lines Prices Inch Up After Being Down for Long Time: MarketScout
Apr 5 2017 // For the first time in 20 months, the MarketScout composite rate index for commercial accounts in the United States measured a rate increase at plus 1 percent in the first quarter. Rates for business interruption, general...
Report: Traffic Deaths in L.A. Jumped Sharply In 2016
Apr 4 2017 // A report finds traffic deaths in Los Angeles jumped sharply despite a high-profile campaign by city leaders to eliminate fatal crashes. The Los Angeles Times reported that 260 people were killed in traffic crashes on city...
California State Fund 2016 Report Shows 128K Policies Written
Apr 4 2017 // The California State Compensation Insurance Fund’s 2016 annual report shows a net income of $192 million in 2016. Other important highlights from the newly released report include: 128,000 policies written in...
Global Momentum to Curb Climate Change Proceeds Despite Trump: UN
Apr 3 2017 // Governments have created “worldwide momentum” to slow climate change despite threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to pull out of the 2015 Paris Agreement to slash greenhouse gas emissions, the U.N.’s...
Forget Insurtech. What About Us? Young Agents Speak Out in Annual Survey Report
Apr 3 2017 // Young agents want more tech tools to compete. With so much attention lavished on insurtech startups that vow to replace them, young insurance agents feel they are being shortchanged in the race to invest in insurance...
Young Agents Enjoy Career Choice But Worry About Future Hiring
Apr 3 2017 // Despite sentiments about technology lags, the vast majority of young agents responding to Insurance Journal’s 2017 Young Agents Survey believe strongly that their career choice was the right one. The survey found...
USGS Forecasts Lower Overall Seismic Hazard for Oklahoma in 2017
Apr 3 2017 // Oklahoma experienced fewer earthquakes last year compared with 2015 and a recent study of human-induced earthquakes predicts another year of reduced seismicity for the state in 2017. The U.S. Geological Survey warns,...
