Latest Trends Headlines

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

Insurance Fraud Rises as State Bureaus’ Budgets Fall

Jan 24 2010 // State insurance fraud fighting bureaus are seeing a significant spike in fraud cases while trying to manage with lower budgets and staffing in the down economy of 2009. Cases increased in all 15 types of fraud schemes,...

Best Raises PARIS RE and Affiliates Ratings to ‘A’; Outlook Positive

Jan 22 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A’ (Excellent) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a+” from “a-” of PARIS RE and...

Nevada Commissioner Approves Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease

Jan 21 2010 // Nevada Insurance Commissioner Scott Kipper has approved a filing for an average decrease of 7.6 percent for workers’ compensation insurance voluntary loss costs and a 3.7 percent average decrease for workers’...

Private Insurance Market in Haiti Small

Jan 14 2010 // Haiti’s private insurance market is very small but its government did provide a level of insurance coverage to its citizens by participating in a regional risk sharing pool. “Haiti is the poorest country in the...

Insurance Fraud Rises As State Bureaus’ Budgets Fall

Jan 11 2010 // State insurance fraud fighting bureaus are seeing a significant spike in fraud cases while trying to manage with lower budgets and staffing in the downturned economy of 2009, according to a survey by the Coalition Against...

Report: Deregulation Made Massachusetts Auto Insurance Market Worse

Jan 10 2010 // The deregulation of the Massachusetts auto insurance market has driven up prices, boosted insurer profits, reduced consumer protections and generally created confusion in the marketplace, according to a new report by the...

Auto Premiums Decline in Ohio; Homeowners Rates Rise

Jan 10 2010 // The Ohio Department of Insurance reports that auto insurance rates in that state declined for the third consecutive year but homeowners rates have risen slightly. The department based its assessments on data released by...

Florida Touts Competitive Workers’ Comp Market Helped by 2003 Tort Reforms

Jan 10 2010 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation says that the state’s workers’ compensation insurance market is competitive. In a new report based on data from 2008, the OIR found the Florida market features 251...

Trends for 2010

Jan 10 2010 // Soft Market, Economy, Taxes and the Producer Dilemma on the Frontlines for Agents To be proactive, one needs to understand and exploit current and future trends. Most trends can be predicated by understanding recurring...

Most Property Reinsurance Rates Down at January Renewal As Capital Rebounds

Jan 10 2010 // Reinsurance rates across most lines of property catastrophe business declined at the Jan. 1, 2010 renewal, according to a briefing by Guy Carpenter & Co. LLC. Guy Carpenter’s World Catastrophe Rate on Line (ROL)...

RMS Forecasts Increased Growth for Insurance Linked Securities in 2010

Jan 7 2010 // A bulletin from Risk Management Solutions notes that the fourth quarter of 2009 was the “most active… ever for catastrophe bond issuance, reaching almost $1.1 billion in total volume, eclipsing the previous...

Insurers to Curb Agency Compensation in 2010, Consultant Study Finds

Jan 7 2010 // Total property/casualty insurance agency compensation is expected to decrease slightly in 2010, largely due to contingent commission changes, according to a new compensation study. Four out of 10 insurance companies plan...

Most Property Reinsurance Rates Down at January Renewal As Capital Rebounds

Jan 5 2010 // Reinsurance rates across most lines of property catastrophe business declined at the Jan. 1, 2010 renewal, according to a briefing by Guy Carpenter & Co., LLC. Guy Carpenter’s World Catastrophe Rate on Line...

Washington Not Increasing Minimum Wage in 2010

Dec 31 2009 // Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries reminded employers that for the first time since voters passed an initiative 11 years ago indexing the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index, the state minimum...

Car Insurance Premiums to Rise for Many Louisiana Drivers

Dec 31 2009 // A law that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2010, increasing the required minimum liability auto insurance coverage is expected to increase insurance rates for more than 1 million Louisiana motorists. Though the change was...

Homeowners Average Insurance Premiums Up Slightly in Ohio

Dec 30 2009 // Ohio Department of Insurance Director Mary Jo Hudson announced that on average Ohioans paid slightly more for homeowners insurance in 2007 than in 2006, according to a report issued by the National Association of Insurance...

Swiss Re Forecasts Increasing Demand for Natural Catastrophe Coverage

Dec 29 2009 // Swiss Re has concluded that, despite the unusually quiet 2009 hurricane season, “overall natural catastrophe losses have increased significantly over time and are expected to grow further. “The premium for our...

Report: Deregulation Made Massachusetts Auto Insurance Market Worse

Dec 28 2009 // The deregulation of the Massachusetts auto insurance market has driven up prices, boosted insurer profits, reduced consumer protections and generally created confusion in the marketplace, according to a new report by the...

Best Revises Samsung Fire Outlook to Positive; Affirms ‘A+’ Ratings

Dec 28 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa” of South Korea’s...

Best Affirms Allstate New Jersey ‘A-‘ Ratings; Outlook Stable

Dec 23 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” of Allstate New Jersey Insurance Group and its members. The outlook for all...