Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Washington Liquor Sales Still Up After Privatization
Dec 6 2012 // Sales of hard liquor increased in the four months after the state privatized liquor sales on June 1, compared with sales during the same four-month period a year ago, the Washington state Department of Revenue said...
Commercial Lines Rates Up 5% in November: MarketScout
Dec 6 2012 // The overall composite rate for insuring commercial accounts in the United States ticked up 5 percent in November 2012 compared to the same month in 2011. According to MarketScout’s Commercial Lines Market Barometer,...
S&P Affirms Liberty Mutual Group’s Ratings; Outlook Revised to Stable
Dec 6 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Rating Services has affirmed its ‘BBB-‘ counterparty credit and senior debt ratings on Liberty Mutual Group Inc. as well as its ‘A-‘ counterparty credit and financial...
Obamacare Medical Loss Ratio Saved $1.5 Billion in 2011: Report
Dec 5 2012 // Consumers saw nearly $1.5 billion in insurer rebates and overhead cost savings in 2011, due to the Affordable Care Act’s medical loss ratio provision requiring health insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premium...
Building Momentum in the Construction Market
Dec 5 2012 // After four years of one of the most challenging construction markets, construction insurance experts are beginning to see signs of a slow recovery with some of their contractor and builder accounts. The current...
Study: North Dakota Health Insurance Market Near Monopoly
Dec 5 2012 // An American Medical Association study concludes that North Dakota’s health insurance market is almost a monopoly but the state’s dominant health insurer says consumers are not getting gouged. The study says a...
Best’s Report on Bermuda Re/Insurers Sees over 10% ROE for 2012
Dec 4 2012 // There are still several weeks until the end of the year, but forecasts are unlikely to change very much as far as Bermuda’s re/insurers are concerned. A new special report from A.M. Best indicates that “2012 is...
Best Affirms Munich Re and Subs ‘A+’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
Dec 3 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Munich Reinsurance Company and its subsidiaries. Best also affirmed all...
Rising Cost of Sandy Damages
Dec 3 2012 // It’s been a month since Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc along the East Coast, devastating coastal towns and bringing a record storm surge and flooding and prolonged power outages. And the cost keeps rising. On Nov....
Surplus Lines Premiums on the Rise in Texas
Dec 3 2012 // The amount of surplus lines insurance premium written in Texas rose by 25 percent as of the end of October compared with the same period the year before, signaling a boost to companies operating in this sector. Texas also...
Surplus Lines Premium on the Rise in Texas
Nov 30 2012 // The amount of surplus lines insurance premium written in Texas rose by 25 percent as of the end of October compared with the same period the year before, signaling a boost to companies operating in this sector. The state...
New York Gov. Cuomo Orders Insurers to Speed Up Sandy Claims
Nov 30 2012 // New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday imposed emergency regulations on insurers to speed the processing of claims from hundreds of thousands of state residents whose properties were damaged or destroyed when...
Health Care Workers’ Comp Claim Severity On the Rise: Aon
Nov 29 2012 // Workers’ compensation claim frequency is expected to decrease but claim severity will rise in 2013 for the health care industry, according to a new report. Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of...
Munich Re Study Focuses on Rising ‘Cyber Crime’
Nov 29 2012 // “Cyber attacks are a reality and companies need to prepare themselves,” warns Munich Re in a recently released study – “Cost of Cyber Crime” – conducted by the Ponemon Institute....
Torus Survey: Top Issues in Management Liability & Professional Lines Market
Nov 29 2012 // A recent survey* undertaken by global specialty insurer Torus has highlighted a myriad of current issues facing the management liability and professional lines market. Designed to identify key trends affecting this...
Best Affirms Zurich Insurance and Group ‘A+’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
Nov 28 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa-” of Swiss-based Zurich Insurance Company Limited...
Survey Finds Safety Concerns Among Southern California’s MTA Employees
Nov 27 2012 // In a survey of Metro transit workers, most gave the agency in Southern California high marks for safety overall, but nearly half said they have encountered close calls on the job that could have resulted in serious injury...
Agency E&O Outlook: Competition, Hard Market, Healthcare Effects and More
Nov 27 2012 // Firmer insurance prices and an upward trend in agency revenues are signs of good times for most independent agencies. These same trends, however, are reflected in today’s insurance market for agency errors and...
New Land, but also Costs, as Nordic Nations Rise from the Sea
Nov 27 2012 // A Stone Age camp that used to be by the shore is now 200 km (125 miles) from the Baltic Sea. Sheep graze on what was the seabed in the 15th century, and Sweden’s port of Lulea risks getting too shallow for ships. In...
New Jersey Shore Towns to Get New Flood Maps by 2013
Nov 26 2012 // Some residents of New Jersey’s coastal towns may soon be required to purchase flood insurance, and not just because of the recent devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy. By next year, the Federal Emergency Management...
