Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
What’s in a Blog? Blogging About What’s Trending – Part 3
Apr 9 2013 // This post is part of a series on insurance marketing and training sponsored by Astonish. In part one and part two, I shared some secrets on what to blog about to attract web visitors to your website. This is the final...
Best Affirms Baldwin & Lyons and Operating Subs Ratings; Outlook Stable
Apr 8 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Protective Insurance Company (PIC) and its wholly owned subsidiary,...
Commercial Rates Continued Up in March, Even for Large Accounts: MarketScout
Apr 5 2013 // Commercial insurance rates were up about five percent in March, according to the latest barometer from MarketScout and the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research. Manufacturing continues to post the largest...
Survey Shows Growth in Midwest Economy
Apr 3 2013 // A monthly economic survey index for nine Midwest and Plains states jumped last month, suggesting improving economic growth for the region over the next three to six months. The Mid-America Business Conditions index hit...
State Fund 2012 Annual Report Shows Net Income Increase
Apr 2 2013 // California’s State Compensation Fund’s annual report for 2012 was released online Tuesday, and it reflects an increase in net income for California’s largest workers’ comp insurer. The report comes...
Nearly 40% of Texans Admit Being Scared by Texas Weather: Survey
Apr 2 2013 // Thirty-seven percent of Texans say Lone Star State spring storms scare them, and more than a third say they feel the weather is getting worse year after year, according to a new survey by Allstate Insurance Co. The number...
Willis Re Sees Increased Capital Inflows as Threat to Reinsurers
Apr 2 2013 // A report from Willis Re, the reinsurance brokerage arm of Willis Group Holdings, concludes that “many traditional reinsurers now see the flow of capital coming into the reinsurance market as a direct threat to their...
PERILS Updates European Cat Exposure Database for 2013; 1.9% Rise in Values
Apr 2 2013 // PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company providing industry-wide European catastrophe insurance data, has released an update for 2013 of its European Industry Exposure Database, which contains updated market-wide...
UK’s New Regulators Take Over; FCA Now Responsible for Insurance Sector
Apr 1 2013 // In a move that is certainly not an April Fool’s Day joke, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which has been responsible for regulating the UK’s financial services industry since 1997, including insurance...
Best Affirms Fairfax Financial and Subs Ratings; Outlook Stable
Mar 29 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb” and the unsecured debt and preferred equity ratings of Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, and has also affirmed the financial...
Study Shows Medical Claims Cost Increasing in Delaware
Mar 28 2013 // A new study says medical claims costs in Delaware will increase by almost 30 percent for individual policies under President Obama’s health care reform plan. The report released Tuesday by the Society of Actuaries...
A.M. Best: Outlook Negative for Columbia Mutual Insurance Co.
Mar 28 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” of Columbia Mutual Insurance Co....
P/C Mergers Down in 2012 But Private Equity Still Favored Brokers: Conning
Mar 28 2013 // Amounting to just $4.7 billion in aggregate deal value, the 46 merger and acquisition transactions announced in the property/casualty insurance sector in 2012 were near record low levels, according to the latest annual...
North Carolina’s ‘Other’ Auto Insurance Market
Mar 27 2013 // I’ve already covered in these pages some of the things the editorial pages of North Carolina’s leading newspapers are getting wrong about S.B. 154, legislation to modernize the state’s system of setting...
A.M. Best: Outlook Negative for Ellington Mutual Insurance Co.
Mar 27 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and issuer credit rating of bbb- of Ellington Mutual Insurance Co. (EMIC) of Hortonville, Wis. Best said...
Emerging Powers China, Brazil Move Closer to Non-Dollar Trade Pact
Mar 27 2013 // China and Brazil agreed on Tuesday to swap up to the equivalent of $30 billion in each other’s currencies if need be so that their fast-growing commercial ties will not suffer if a new banking crisis causes dollar...
Swiss Re Study for 2012 Losses: $77 Bn Insured; $186 Bn Economic
Mar 27 2013 // Swiss Re has released its latest sigma study, which found that economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters reached $186 billion in 2012. Insured losses amounted to $77 billion, making 2012 the third...
Outlook for National Fire and Indemnity Exchange Revised to Negative
Mar 26 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” of National Fire and Indemnity Exchange (NIE)...
North Carolina Approves 7% Home Insurance Rate Increase
Mar 25 2013 // North Carolina is allowing companies to raise homeowners’ insurance rates by a statewide average of seven percent a year starting in July. Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin agreed to the increase for less than the...
Number of Companies Buying Cyber Insurance Up by a Third in 2012: Marsh
Mar 25 2013 // More companies are turning to cyber insurance to protect their organizations from the financial consequences of a data breach or cyber attack, according to a report issued by Marsh. The number of Marsh US clients...
