Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Bank Insurance Program Productivity Up 12.5% in 2009
Sep 29 2009 // The production of insurance brokerage fee income per bank employee continued to rise through the first two quarters of 2009 to exceed year-end 2008 productivity by 12.5 percent, according to the Michael White-Prudential...
High Tech May Pinpoint Antarctica, Greenland Sea Level Rise Risks
Sep 28 2009 // Dismayed by ice and storms, British explorer Captain James Cook had no regrets when he abandoned a voyage searching for a fabled southern continent in 1773. Finding only icebergs after he was the first to cross the...
AAA Survey: 1 Out of 5 Drivers Admits to Texting While Behind the Wheel
Sep 28 2009 // Nearly one out of five U.S. drivers surveyed has read or sent a text message while behind the wheel, even though nearly all of the respondents in an AAA survey released on Friday considered such action...
Best Affirms HDI-Gerling Ratings; Revises Outlook to Stable
Sep 25 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a” of German insurer HDI-Gerling Industrie Versicherung AG. Best also...
Best Affirms Rating, Revises Outlook to Stable for HDI, Talanx AG
Sep 25 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a” of German insurer HDI Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie V.a.G....
Lloyd’s First Half 2009 Pretax Profits up 29% to $2.18 Billion
Sep 24 2009 // Lloyd’s conservative management, combined with a notable lack of major natural catastrophes, has resulted in a £1.32 billion ($2.18 billion) pretax profit for the first half of 2009, compared to £949...
Insurance Premium Hikes in Oklahoma Double That of Wage Increases
Sep 24 2009 // A report from the White House says health insurance premiums in Oklahoma have risen twice as much as wages since 1999. The report says the cost of premiums is up by 96 percent while wages rose by 47 percent. The 96 percent...
Washington Workers’ Compensation Rates Could Rise 7.6 Percent
Sep 23 2009 // The state of Washington yesterday announced higher workers’ compensation insurance premiums for 2010 than earlier forecasted. In June, the state’s Department of Labor and Industries advised the Workers’...
S&P Revises Outlook on Willis to Stable; Rates New Debt Issue ‘BBB-‘
Sep 23 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Willis Group Holdings Ltd. to stable from negative, and has affirmed our ‘BBB-‘ counterparty credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on...
UN Seeks Momentum in Climate Talks as Obama, Hu Speak
Sep 22 2009 // China and the United States, the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters, will try to ignite efforts Tuesday to secure a U.N. global warming pact as worries grow of a “dangerously close” deadlock in...
California Workers’ Compensation Drug Costs Up, Despite Reforms
Sep 21 2009 // Despite the adoption of California workers’ compensation medical reforms in 2004, a new study finds that both the average number of prescriptions and average prescription drug payments per claim are on the rise...
Feds, Regulators, Congress Eye the Future of Credit Rating Agencies
Sep 21 2009 // The nation’s insurance regulators, Congress and the SEC have eyes on credit rating agencies and the standards they must follow in the future. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) said it will...
Safety, Training Standards Lacking for Increasingly-Popular Robotic Surgery
Sep 18 2009 // Surgeons are increasingly turning to high-tech robotic equipment to operate on patients with prostate cancer and other conditions but some medical authorities worry about inadequate training and lax standards among...
Study: Dog Bite Claims Up 8.7% in 2008
Sep 17 2009 // Man’s best friend is sinking its teeth into homeowners insurance costs. Dog bites account for one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claims, costing $387.20 million in 2008, up 8.70 percent from 2007,...
Massachusetts Health Costs on the Rise Again
Sep 17 2009 // Massachusetts’ largest health insurers say they plan to raise premiums by 7 to 12 percent next year, with small businesses — like insurance agencies — and individuals expected to face the biggest...
Survey: Employees Likely to Bear Brunt If Health Reform Raises Costs
Sep 17 2009 // If U.S. health reform efforts lead to higher costs for employers, employees may end up bearing the brunt, according to a new survey. Employers will not absorb higher costs, choosing instead either to reduce benefits, lower...
Southern California Home Prices Up
Sep 16 2009 // Southern California home sales rose for the 11th consecutive month in May as sales of $500,000-plus homes started to come back, according to the real-estate research company MDA Dataquick. The median price paid increased...
Text: Senate Finance Committee’s America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009
Sep 16 2009 // Chairman’s Mark America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 Scheduled for Markup By the Senate Committee on Finance On September 22, 2009 America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 TITLE I—HEALTH CARE...
Study: U.S. Workers’ Health Costs Double Over Decade
Sep 15 2009 // U.S. workers who have health insurance for their families through employers have seen premiums more than double in the last decade, according to a survey released on Tuesday. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the...
Willis Survey Finds UK Commercial D&O Sector Resists Rate Increases
Sep 14 2009 // A new survey by Willis concludes that “the commercial sector continues to resist the sharp rate increases for Directors & Officers insurance seen in the financial institutions sector, with the average premium...
