Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Private Premiums Under Affordable Care Act 15% Below Forecast, Says CBO
Apr 15 2014 // The health law will cost $104 billion less over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office said after premiums for private Obamacare plans came in lower than the agency expected. The premium for a benchmark...
Best Upgrades Ratings for Most ACE Limited Subsidiaries; Outlooks Stable
Apr 15 2014 // A.M. Best has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A++’ (Superior) from ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “aa+” from “aa” of the North...
Municipal Bond Insurance Sales Expected to Rise With Interest Rates
Apr 13 2014 // Demand for municipal bond insurance is poised to increase as rising interest rates reduce investor appetite for riskier state and local debt, according to Janney Montgomery Scott. Bond insurance accounted for 4.4 percent...
Aon’s New Political Risk Map Highlights ‘BRICS’ Increased Risks
Apr 11 2014 // Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon plc, has unveiled its 2014 Political Risk Map, which identifies an increased risk rating for all five emerging market BRICS countries. Aon noted that “as...
NAPCO Report: Prices Decreasing, Competition Increasing in P&C Space
Apr 10 2014 // Insurers have become increasingly competitive and are reducing rates for most accounts as a result of low global insured catastrophe losses and added capacity from non-traditional market sources, according to wholesale...
IMF Sees Global Growth Gaining Along with Rising Risks in Emerging Economies
Apr 8 2014 // The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday predicted the global recovery would strengthen this year as output in richer nations picked up, but it warned of rising risks in emerging economies. In its latest global economic...
Report: Federal Inspectors Found 7,100 Metro-North Defects Over Last Decade
Apr 8 2014 // A Connecticut newspaper reports that federal inspectors found more than 7,100 defects and deficiencies in the Metro-North Railroad over the last decade, but records show regulators launched an investigation only after two...
Arthur J. Gallagher: Q1 Revenues Up 20%; 10 Mergers in Pipeline
Apr 7 2014 // Illinois-based global insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported 20 percent growth in total revenues for its brokerage and risk management units combined along with four percent growth in organic commissions...
SNL’s Top 30 E&S Writers: Berkshire On Fire with 40% Growth in 2013
Apr 7 2014 // With 40 percent premium growth in 2013, Berkshire Hathaway climbed five spots in the U.S. excess and surplus lines (E&S) ranking by SNL Financial, while QBE scaled back its North American operations and fell three...
Future Tsunamis Planned for by California Harbors
Apr 7 2014 // Five California harbors are preparing for future tsunamis under a new state project that arms them with maps that identify potential problem areas. Officials with the California Geological Survey said the participating...
Young Agents Survey – Why They Chose Insurance
Apr 7 2014 // The call to become an insurance agent is different for everyone. For Matthew Ostrow the call to become an independent agent came via social media. Thirty-year old Ostrow entered insurance just five months ago after a...
Competition Softens Rate Hikes for Architects, Engineers in 2014: Survey
Apr 7 2014 // Although most insurers providing professional liability insurance for architects and engineers sought to raise rates last year, the size of the increases generally failed to meet their expectations. Nevertheless, nearly...
A.M. Best Revises Hartford Financial, P/C Units’ Outlook to Positive
Apr 4 2014 // Rating agency A.M. Best changed the outlook associated with the “A” financial strength rating of the members of the Hartford Insurance Pool to positive from stable Thursday, citing a reduced risk from variable...
Mercury Ins. Lowers Homeowners Rates in Penn., Seeks to Grow Market Share
Apr 3 2014 // Mercury Insurance said the company is lowering its homeowners insurance rates for Pennsylvania residents by an average of 10 percent. The Los Angeles-based insurer said the rate reduction would help attract more...
Cyber Coverage Demand Increased in 2013, Trend to Continue in 2014: Marsh
Apr 3 2014 // Demand for cyber insurance rose by 21 percent across all industries in 2013 compared to 2012, and early indications in 2014 are that the buying trend is accelerating, according to a Marsh Risk Management Research...
In Maine, 3,300 Policyholders Likely to See Flood Insurance Rate Increases
Apr 2 2014 // Thousands of Maine homeowners and businesses could see their rates for flood insurance rise as the federal government attempts to put the troubled National Flood Insurance Program back on sound financial footing. Most of...
S&P Revises Outlook on CGSC to Negative; CEO Comments
Apr 2 2014 // Standard & Poor’s Rating Services announced on April 1, 2014 that it has affirmed its ‘B’ rating for Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford Ltd., but has revised its outlook on the rating to negative from...
Torus CEO Dermot O’Donohoe on the Insurer’s Future Prospects
Apr 2 2014 // When Torus Insurance was founded by first Reserve, headed by Clive Tobin in 2008, the worst effects of the financial crisis were just beginning to bite, but they bit pretty hard. The company, although well run, and...
Penn. Workers’ Comp Insurance Rates to Decline for Some Employers
Apr 1 2014 // The Pennsylvania Departments of Insurance and Labor & Industry on Monday announced a 5.15 percent workers’ compensation rate reduction, effective April 1. The officials said the reduction would save millions of...
Rhode Islanders Grapple With Rising Flood Insurance Premiums
Apr 1 2014 // Steve Morris lives in a century-old restored cottage on a tucked away corner of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. The home survived big hurricanes in 1938 and 1954, and Morris has never worried about flooding. But the home...
