Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Painkiller Prescribing Highest in South; Florida Reverses Trend
Jul 21 2014 // Health care providers in some states prescribe far more painkillers than those in other states, according to a new government report. Health care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid painkillers in 2012...
Fitch Forecasts Shrinking P/C Insurer Profits
Jul 17 2014 // Fitch Ratings is forecasting that 2014 will end up as the second consecutive year of underwriting profits for the property/casualty industry with modest increase in the combined ratio. But the results for 2014 won’t...
Emerging Capital May Sell Stake in Nigeria’s Continental Re
Jul 17 2014 // Emerging Capital Partners, a private-equity firm that has raised more than $2 billion for investments in Africa, is considering selling its majority stake in Nigeria’s Continental Reinsurance Plc. The buyout...
Insurance Journal Co-Sponsors MarshBerry Market & Financial Survey
Jul 16 2014 // How are agencies targeting new business today? Will historical growth rates be sustainable? And just how much do agencies need to reinvest to achieve desired growth and enable perpetuation? These are some of the questions...
S&P Affirms Argo Group US & Operating Companies Ratings; Outlook Stable
Jul 16 2014 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on U.S.-based intermediary holding company Argo Group US Inc. (AGUS) and its U.S. operating subsidiaries to stable from negative. S&P also affirmed...
Report: Data Breaches Cost N.Y. Businesses $1.37B Last Year
Jul 15 2014 // Security breaches exposing consumers’ personal information are becoming larger and more frequent in New York, costing businesses more than $1.37 billion last year, the state attorney general’s office said. Data...
Lloyd’s Comments on its World Cup Predictions; Saw Germany as Winner
Jul 15 2014 // A bulletin on the Lloyd’s website asks “how did our insurable value measures fare as predictors of success on the pitch,” following the conclusion of the World Cup in Brazil? Lloyd’s said its...
Texas-Based Insurance Agency Aggregator, CAA, Grew by 21% in 2013
Jul 14 2014 // Austin, Texas-based Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA) announced that through organic and membership growth the insurance agency aggregator grew by 21 percent in 2013. CAA wrote more than $707.8 million in...
Golf Ball-Sized Hail Batters South African Insurers’ Earnings Outlook
Jul 11 2014 // Angela Dike was showing clients how to make duck red curry and chocolate spring rolls in her Thai cooking class when hail stones as big as golf balls started slamming into the 18 cars parked outside. Windscreens and...
Despite Increases Ohio Auto, Home Insurance Rates Remain Low
Jul 10 2014 // Lieutenant Governor and Department of Insurance Director Mary Taylor says Ohio’s average auto and homeowners insurance rates remain among the lowest in the country despite recent increases. In 2013, the average rate...
Dryad Maritime Reports ‘Increasing Threat’ of Piracy in Southeast Asia
Jul 10 2014 // Marine intelligence specialist Dryad Maritime has issued a warning of an increasing threat from Southeast Asia piracy following the release of their second quarter figures, which show that the area continues to experience...
Chemical Spill Caused Health Effects for 1 in 5 West Virginians: Survey
Jul 9 2014 // One in five West Virginians who responded to a survey thought they had health issues after a chemical spill into the water supply in January. In the survey conducted in April by state and federal health officials, 36...
Cat Bonds Totaling $4.5 Billion Issued in Q2 2014: Aon Benfield ILS Study
Jul 9 2014 // Aon Benfield Securities, the investment banking division of global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor Aon Benfield in its latest report on the insurance-linked securities (ILS) sector, reveals that 12 catastrophe...
Study Tracks Rise in Attorney Involvement in Auto Insurance Claims
Jul 8 2014 // Attorney involvement in auto insurance claims is on the rise and varies significantly by state, according to an insurance industry study. The percentage of auto injury claimants represented by attorneys rose to 36 percent...
Swiss Re’s New SONAR Report Investigates 26 Emerging Risks
Jul 8 2014 // Swiss Re has released a report, “New emerging risk insights,” which is based on the reinsurer’s SONAR process, described as a “unique tool which uses Swiss Re’s internal risk management...
The PPACA: What Employers Don’t Understand About Emerging Exposures
Jul 7 2014 // The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the emerging regulatory environment present difficult challenges to employers. As employers, regulators, administrators and courts begin to struggle with...
MAPFRE Insurance Enters Pennsylvania Auto, Home Insurance Market
Jul 3 2014 // MAPFRE Insurance has entered the Pennsylvania insurance market. MAPFRE’s operations in Pennsylvania will be headquartered in King of Prussia and the company will offer private passenger automobile and homeowners...
How Insurers Would Wind Down If Needed to Avoid Future Bailout
Jul 3 2014 // American International Group Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc. told regulators they could divest units and halt policy sales to avoid taking a bailout in a future crisis. AIG, the insurer that repaid a U.S. rescue in...
Canadian Farm Flooding Seen Increasing Claims for Crop Insurance
Jul 3 2014 // Saskatchewan, Canada’s biggest producer of wheat and canola, expects insurance payouts on crops to increase after floods wiped out acreage. “It’s a very large area that’s impacted, so we expect to...
Painkiller Prescribing Varies By State, Highest in South; Florida Reverses Trend: CDC
Jul 2 2014 // Health care providers in some states prescribe far more painkillers than those in other states, according to a new government report. Health care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid painkillers in 2012 –...
