Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Delta Lloyd’s Solvency II Ratio Declines to 127% on Fall in Interest Rates
May 18 2016 // Delta Lloyd NV, the Dutch insurer that last month completed a rights offer to shore up its capital buffers, said its ability to absorb losses weakened in the first quarter. The Solvency II ratio, a measure of an...
Previous Telecom Efforts Flopped But Google, Apple See Future for Telemedicine
May 16 2016 // Google and Apple Inc. have some bright ideas about the future of health care. Not so long ago, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. had similar ideas: a networked world of devices and services that would...
Insurers Limit Exposure as Quakes Increase in Oklahoma
May 13 2016 // As the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma exploded into the hundreds in the last few years, nearly a dozen insurance companies moved to limit their exposure, often at the expense of homeowners, a Reuters examination has...
Number of Dog Bite Insurance Claims Falls But Average Claim Rises to $37K
May 12 2016 // The cost of dog-bite claims for U.S. insurers climbed 16 percent last year on higher medical expenses and larger settlements to resolve court disputes. The average claim increased to $37,214 in 2015 from $32,072 a year...
Medical Professional Liability Insurers’ Profits Decline But Outlook Stable: A.M. Best
May 11 2016 // The specialty medical professional liability (MPL) insurance industry remained profitable in 2015, however its net income fell nearly 36.6 percent to almost $1.1 billion in 2015. In a special report, A.M. Best said the MPL...
Agency Mergers Set Record with ‘Unstoppable Momentum’ in Q1: Optis
May 11 2016 // Insurance agency mergers and acquisitions hit an all-time high for the first quarter of a year, with 109 reported transactions in the first three months of 2016. The pace slightly outstripped 107 deals reported in the...
World Drone Business to Grow More Than 6000% by 2020 in $127B Market: PwC
May 10 2016 // Drones will soon be boosting crop yields, verifying insurance claims, and assisting in future Hollywood blockbusters in a business that’s due to boom by more than 6,000 percent by the end of the decade. The global...
Taking Stock of D&O Insurance Market: Capacity, Coverage and Culpability
May 10 2016 // The directors and officers (D&O) liability marketplace continues to find softening rates and intense competition especially in excess layers, according to industry executives. The industry is also seeing a continuing...
Personal Lines Insurance Prices Inched Up in April
May 9 2016 // Auto and home insurance buyers in the U.S. paid slightly more for their insurance in April compared to the prior six months. It’s not clear whether a pricing trend is starting or catastrophe losses drove a temporary...
AXA Plans Additional Acquisitions in Brazil’s Expanding Insurance Market
May 9 2016 // AXA SA, France’s largest insurer, is open to more acquisitions to keep expanding in Brazil even as Latin America’s largest economy suffers its deepest recession on record. AXA expects Brazil’s 360...
Report: 63 Workers in Massachusetts Died on the Job in 2015
May 6 2016 // A new report says more than 60 Massachusetts workers died on the job in 2015 — a number that soars when deaths by occupational injuries and illnesses are included. The report released last week by the Massachusetts...
Workers’ Compensation Market Improved, Grew Premium in 2015: NCCI
May 6 2016 // The workers’ compensation market is healthy and profitable. This year’s “State of the Line” report, published by the National Council of Compensation Insurance (NCCI), indicates that the...
As Minnesota’s Medical Marijuana Sites Grow, So Do Concerns
May 6 2016 // Minnesota is expected to have eight medical marijuana clinics open this summer, but some observers are wondering whether there’s enough patient demand. Minnesota Public Radio News reported that the state had...
Fosun to Focus Investments in Emerging Markets, Backing Off from U.S., Europe
May 6 2016 // Guo Guangchang, the Chinese billionaire and self-styled disciple of Warren Buffett, is looking to invest in emerging markets for the first time as his conglomerate backs off from its buying spree in developed...
JLT Re Enters U.S Mortgage Insurance Market
May 5 2016 // Reinsurance broker JLT Re has launched a new operation in North America – JLT Re Global Mortgage Solutions — to offer insurance and reinsurance to government-sponsored entities, mortgage insurers, mortgage lenders and...
Natural Disaster Losses Hit Five-Year High in April: Aon Catastrophe Report
May 5 2016 // The global economy suffered the worst April natural disaster losses for five years, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team. Earthquakes, convective storms and flooding...
U.S. Insured Catastrophe Losses from 13 Events in Q1 Add Up to Worst in Decade
May 5 2016 // Catastrophe activity in the U.S. led to $3.8 billion in insured losses in 29 states during the 2016 first quarter, with much of the damage hitting Texas. Those events were the worst in a decade in terms of frequency and...
Arraignment Set for Former California Agent in Decade-Long Scheme
May 4 2016 // Valerie Ann Verdugo, 38, of Bakersfield, Calif., is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on felony insurance fraud charges for obtaining insurance coverage without paying the carrier on those policies for more than a...
AXA’s Q1 Revenue Rises 1% on Higher P&C Premiums
May 4 2016 // AXA SA, France’s largest insurer, said first-quarter revenue gained 1 percent, helped by higher prices and volumes from property & casualty operations especially in Germany, the U.K. and faster-developing nations...
Q1 Saw Rate Decreases Continue in Commercial P/C: The Council
May 4 2016 // Commercial property/casualty rates decreased across all size accounts in the first quarter of 2016, continuing a trend that has been evident since the first quarter of 2015. This year, first quarter rates decreased by an...
