Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Best Affirms Lloyd’s, Lloyd’s (China) Ratings; Outlook Positive
Jul 28 2014 // A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of Lloyd’s and Lloyd’s Insurance Company (China) Limited (LICCL)...
Aon Plunges Most Since 2012 on Reinsurance Revenue Decline
Jul 28 2014 // Aon Plc, the world’s second-largest insurance broker by market value, fell the most since 2012 after revenue missed estimates as reinsurance sales declined. Aon slipped $4.65, or 5.1 percent, to $86.32 at 4:03 p.m....
Survey: Michigan Business Owners Optimistic About Future
Jul 25 2014 // Owners of Michigan’s small and medium-size businesses have voiced their confidence in Michigan’s economic future in the latest Future Business Index, published in partnership with the Michigan Business Network...
Insurers File for 9.1% West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Loss Cost Decrease
Jul 25 2014 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has filed a proposed reduction in workers’ compensation loss cost rates in West Virginia – the tenth reduction in 10 years. NCCI, West Virginia’s rating...
AIA First-Half New Business Value Rises 23%, Led by China
Jul 25 2014 // AIA Group Ltd., the second-largest Asia-based insurer, posted a 23 percent increase in new business value in the first half, beating analyst estimates and exceeding the full-year figure for 2010 when it went public. The...
Airline War Risk Insurance Expected to Rise Due to Global Conflicts
Jul 24 2014 // Insurers are expected to hike war risk premiums for airlines following losses due to global conflicts, including the downing of a Malaysia airplane over Ukraine, insurance rating agency A.M. Best Company said on...
1 in 4 Young Adults Don’t Leave Home; Trend Expected to Rise
Jul 24 2014 // The share of young adults living with parents or other family members in the U.S. continues to grow in the aftermath of the most severe recession in the post- World War II era. A record 57 million Americans, or 18.1...
Ascent Increases U.S. Medical Billings E&O Limits, Adds Reputational Harm Cover
Jul 24 2014 // Ascent Underwriting, a managing general agent (MGA) specializing in emerging and professional risks, has enhanced its CyberPro medical billings errors and omissions product and increased limit availability to $5...
Chairman Says Vietnam Insurer PVI Holdings 1st Half Profit to Beat Forecast
Jul 23 2014 // PVI Holdings, Vietnam’s second- largest listed insurer, forecast first-half earnings will beat its target by 19 percent, buoyed by an increase in non-life- insurance revenue. After-tax profit for the first six months...
Travelers Posts $683M Q2 Profit, Misses Estimates as Catastrophe Losses Rise
Jul 22 2014 // Property and casualty insurer Travelers Cos. Inc.’s quarterly earnings fell short of analysts’ estimates as hail and wind storms in the United States increased catastrophe losses. The company, a Dow Jones...
S&P Raises Liberty Mutual’s Ratings; Outlook Revised to Stable on NICO Deal
Jul 21 2014 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has raised its ratings on Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. to ‘A/A-1’ from ‘A-/A-2’, as well as its ratings on parent company Liberty...
Typhoon Rammasun, Strongest Storm in Decades, Kills 18 in China
Jul 21 2014 // The strongest typhoon to hit southern China in four decades has killed 18 people, the government said Sunday, while in the Philippines the death toll from the storm’s earlier destruction rose to 94. Typhoon Rammasun...
Q1 P/C Direct Premium Written Up 3.5 Percent
Jul 21 2014 // Direct premium written (DPW) for property/casualty insurance companies continues to increase, albeit gradually. At year-end 2013, nearly $545 billion of DPW was reported, a record high for the industry. For 2013, total DPW...
Despite Increases Ohio Auto, Home Insurance Rates Still Among the Lowest
Jul 21 2014 // Lieutenant Governor and Department of Insurance Director Mary Taylor says Ohio’s average auto and homeowner’s rate remain among the lowest in the country despite increases taken in the past two years. In 2013,...
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...
