Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hales Reports Brokerage M&As Down 40% in 2009; Expects Better 2010
Feb 7 2010 // A prolonged soft market coupled with the worst economic period since the Great Depression as well as uncertainty related to national health care reform, caused insurance brokerage buyers and sellers to struggle with how to...
Game Day Prediction: Pizzerias and Insurers Win on Super Bowl Sunday
Feb 5 2010 // February 7 — Super Bowl XLIV Sunday — may be the most hyped-up day of the year for football fans, and it’s also the most exciting day of the year for many pizza parlors that see record sales that day. Yet...
Zurich 2009 Net Income up 6% to $3.2 Billion; Farmers Boosts Profits
Feb 4 2010 // The Zurich Financial Services Group posted across the board income gains in all of its core business segments and targeted growth in profitable market areas, particularly in Global Life and from Farmers. The Group...
Best Assigns ‘B+’ Rating to Petrovietnam Insurance; Outlook Positive
Feb 3 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘B+’ (Good) and an issuer credit rating of “bbb-” to Vietnamese insurer Petrovietnam Insurance JSC (PVI), with a positive outlook on both...
A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Positive for MGA Insurance Co., Gainsco
Feb 3 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of B (Fair) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bb+” of MGA Insurance Company Inc. (MGA) of Dallas, Texas....
Last Chance: Young Insurance Agents Survey
Feb 3 2010 // Young insurance agents, 40-and-younger, what are you thinking? Young property/casualty insurance agents and brokers across the U.S. are being called upon to answer some questions … and have some fun. It’s your...
Agents’ Group: On a Cost per Home Value Basis, Texas Rates Are Down
Feb 2 2010 // Texas insurance agents — want to show your customers that the common perception that homeowners rates in Texas always go up but never come down is false? Look to your agency management system, say educators from the...
Calif. Low Cost Auto Insurance Program Participation Up 19%
Feb 1 2010 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program (CLCA) saw an 18.9 percent increase in use in 2009, compared with the year before. An aggressive outreach...
Insurance Agents 40-and-Younger: What Are YOU Thinking? Exclusive Young Agents Survey
Feb 1 2010 // Young property/casualty insurance agents and brokers across the U.S. are being called upon to answer some questions … and have some fun. Who are you? What do you really think about your career? About your industry?...
Hales Reports Brokerage M&As Down 40% in 2009; Expects Better 2010
Jan 28 2010 // A prolonged soft market coupled with the worst economic period since the Great Depression as well as uncertainty related to national health care reform, caused insurance brokerage buyers and sellers to struggle with how to...
U.S. Businesses Face Increasing Threats From Chinese Cyber Attacks
Jan 27 2010 // U.S. businesses and government agencies are facing increasing risks of potential cyber attacks from China, according to a recent report. And IT departments that react defensively to such attacks may not be doing enough to...
Insurance Agents 40-and-Younger: What Are YOU Thinking? Exclusive Young Agents Survey
Jan 27 2010 // Young property/casualty insurance agents and brokers across the U.S. are being called upon to answer some questions … and have some fun. Who are you? What do you really think about your career? About your industry?...
Securities Lawsuit Filings Decline in 2009
Jan 24 2010 // What a difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago, the subprime and credit crisis litigation wave was in full spate, and the onslaught of Madoff and other Ponzi scheme lawsuits had just begun to surge. While both of those...
Insurers to Curb Agency Compensation in 2010, Ward Group Study Finds
Jan 24 2010 // Total property/casualty insurance agency compensation is expected to decrease slightly in 2010, largely due to contingent commission changes. Four out of 10 insurance companies plan to modify their agent compensation plans...
How Rising Capital Gain Tax Rates Might Impact Tomorrow’s M&A Market
Jan 24 2010 // Agencies Contemplating Selling Soon Should Understand Their Opportunity Costs First Capital gain tax rates will increase when the current legislation sunsets at the end of 2010. The best case scenario is the current 15...
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...
