Latest Trends Headlines

All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Aon Benfield ILS Report Notes $1.89 Billion Issued in Q4; $6.25 Billion in 2012

Jan 16 2013 // In its latest report on the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, which reviews the key trends witnessed during the fourth quarter of 2012, Aon Benfield Securities, the investment banking division of global reinsurance...

Who’s Worth What? Take IJ’s Agency Salary Survey Today

Jan 15 2013 // Insurance Journal is once again polling insurance agency owners, producers, CSRs and other agency staff to find out who’s worth what in the independent agency system. Don’t miss out on your chance to...

Zurich’s European Survey Confirms Insurance Isn’t a Luxury in Economic Crisis

Jan 15 2013 // A survey conducted by GfK on behalf of Zurich Insurance Group analyzed how the people in seven different European countries are dealing with their insurance needs in the light of the ongoing economic crisis. Insurance...

2012 Landmark Year for Workplace Class Action Litigation: Study

Jan 14 2013 // When it comes to complex employment-related legal disputes, 2012 will be considered a landmark year, according to a new report on employment class action litigation. Many of the key rulings of 2012 in class action cases...

Rising Premiums Do Not Curtail Insurance Spending: Survey

Jan 14 2013 // More than a third of Americans spent more on insurance during the past year, according to a new survey. Some 37 percent of people responding to the survey spent more on insurance over the past year while only 7 percent...

Flood Walls for Subways: N.Y. Commission Urges Safeguards Against Future Storms

Jan 14 2013 // A commission formed to examine ways to guard against storms like Sandy released a report Jan. 11 that calls for flood walls in subways, water pumps at airports and sea barriers along the coast. The final report was first...

How to Exploit Current Trends for 2013

Jan 14 2013 // One needs to understand and exploit current and future trends in order to be proactive. It is easy to predicate trends by understanding recurring cycles and applying that knowledge to the current insurance marketplace. So...

P/C Direct Premium Written Up 4% Through Third Quarter 2012

Jan 14 2013 // The direct premium growth for property/casualty insurance companies continues to be encouraging. Overall, P/C insurance companies continued to serve their clients during catastrophic events, difficult economic conditions...

What To Expect: Premium Growth

Jan 11 2013 // Putting together views on the economy and pricing momentum, analysts who supplied premium growth forecasts for 2013, put them in the 3-5 percent range. Conning: Supporting a 4.6 percent forecast for net premium growth,...

Double-Digit Returns Absent From Year-End, 2013 Financial Forecasts

Jan 11 2013 // Although analysts following the property/casualty insurance industry expect underwriting results for 2012 to be better than 2011 when full-year numbers are tallied, double-digit overall returns-on-equity are still not...

Best Affirms Amlin AG, Amlin plc, Lloyd’s Syndicate 2001 Ratings; Outlook Stable

Jan 11 2013 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa-” of Lloyd’s Syndicate 2001, which is...

Study: Uninsured Driver Problem Costs Oklahoma $8.8M a Year

Jan 9 2013 // A new evaluation by the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) found that the state of Oklahoma is losing $8.8 million a year in premium taxes from drivers who fail to obtain the state-required minimum coverage for auto...

Shipping Losses Up in 2012 But Down Over 10-Years: AGCS Report

Jan 8 2013 // There have been 106 ship losses reported worldwide in the 12 months since last to November 25 – an increase of 91 ships from the previous year but a 27 percent decrease on the 10- year average of 146 ships per annum. The...

Costs Rising in Minneapolis Water Main Break

Jan 7 2013 // Minneapolis, Minn., officials said they haven’t begun to tally the costs of a massive water main break that sent 14 million gallons of water gushing into downtown streets last week, submerging dozens of vehicles and...

Fargo, North Dakota DUIs Down Nearly 10% in 2012

Jan 3 2013 // Drunken driving arrests in North Dakota’s largest city dropped nearly 10 percent last year after a record 2011. Preliminary data show officers made 1,019 arrests for driving under the influence last year, down from a...

Even Without Big Storms, Florida Property Insurance Costs Rise

Jan 3 2013 // Marco Tarafa was stunned to find that his homeowners’ policy is increasing by nearly $1,000 a year —all because inspectors couldn’t get into his attic, where there was no crawl space and about 24 inches of...

Munich Re 2012 Cat Report Underscores Extreme Weather in U.S.; Sandy Losses

Jan 3 2013 // The figures for natural catastrophse that occurred in 2012 are “dominated by weather extremes in the USA,” according to a report from Munich Re. The reinsurers said the U.S. “accounted for a higher...

Kentucky Highway Death Toll Up from 2011

Jan 2 2013 // Kentucky’s highway death toll in 2012 was running slightly ahead of last year’s pace and the state’s top transportation official this week promised continued efforts in the next year to promote safe...

Willis Re Sees No Rate Increases for Jan. 1 Renewals despite Sandy Impact

Dec 31 2012 // Willis Re’s Jan. 1 renewal report points out that 2012 natural catastrophe losses are estimated to be “50 percent less than last year’s losses of $120 billion.” As a result the report concludes that...

Lloyd’s: Increasing Civil Unrest Driving Political Violence Coverage Demand

Dec 31 2012 // A report from Lloyd’s of London concludes that the increasing demand for political risk insurance “has been rising as civil unrest and political violence continue to threaten businesses around the...