Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
HOMEOWNER PREMIUMS TO RISE:
Dec 20 2004 // Florida homeowners can expect an 8.3 percent statewide increase in the cost of homeowner’s insurance according to Bob Lotane, spokesman for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. He said worst hit areas will...
Industry Consolidation Continues to Gain Momentum, 2005 Looks Cloudy
Dec 20 2004 // Agency consolidations are likely to achieve record results for 2004 but the outlook for 2005 remains unclear. Agency acquisitions in 2004 will more than likely outpace prior years by at least 25 percent. Insurance brokers...
S&P Assigns ‘BBB-‘ Ratings, Stable Outlook to Czech Insurer CSOB Pojistovna a.s.
Dec 15 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned its “BBB-” long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings to CSOB Pojistovna a.s., the Czech Republic-based...
Aon: More than Half of Companies Studied Decide to ‘Take Up’ Some Kind of Terrorism Insurance
Dec 15 2004 // With the “new reality” created by the terrorist acts of Sept. 11, 2001, companies throughout the globe faced a new set of issues in managing the broad spectrum of risks created by these events. In a study...
Survey Points to Public Blind Eye to Fake Insurance
Dec 14 2004 // According to the General Accounting Office, the number of fake insurance policies sold to consumers is on the rise, resulting in $252 million in unpaid health insurance claims alone. According to a survey conducted by the...
S&P Raises Endurance Specialty Outlook to Positive; Affirms Ratings; Company Comments
Dec 14 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries (Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd., Endurance Worldwide...
A.M. Best Affirms Rating for Compania Internacional de Seguros S.A.; Outlook is Stable
Dec 10 2004 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of B++ (Very Good) of Compania Internacional de Seguros S.A. (IS) (Panama). The rating outlook is stable. This rating reflects IS’ solid capitalization,...
Analysts Predict Slowing of P/C Premium Growth in 2005
Dec 10 2004 // Each year the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) invites a panel of Wall Street stock analysts and industry professionals to review the prospects for the industry in the current and coming year. The survey reveals...
S&P Reports Stable Outlook for U.S. Reinsurers
Dec 9 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has published an article titled “U.S. Reinsurance Year-End 2004 Outlook: Ratings Stability in 2005, An Atoll in Stormy Seas.” The article reviews the U.S....
N.Y. Agents’ Survey Sees Lingering Hard Market
Dec 9 2004 // Independent agents and brokers in New York see premium rates continuing to increase and coverage choices failing to improve for most lines of property casualty insurance in the state despite industry and press reports to...
U.S. Personal Lines Sector Remains Strong With a Stable Outlook, Report Says
Dec 7 2004 // Fundamentals remain strong for U.S. personal lines insurance carriers, according to a report published by Standard & Poor’s. This is reflected in S&P’s decision to retain a stable outlook on the...
D&O Premiums Decline for First Time Since 1999; Hard Market to Return by 2006 Predicts Tillinghast
Dec 7 2004 // Tillinghast’s Directors & Officers (D&O) liability insurance premium index dropped 10 percent from 2003 to 2004, the first decline since 1999, according to the 2004 Directors & Officers Liability...
S&P Revises Outlook on HRH to Negative; Cites Contingent Commission Investigations
Dec 6 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on its ‘BB’ counterparty credit rating on Hilb, Rogal and Hobbs (HRH) to negative from stable. “The outlook revision...
Survey Shows Gain in Market Conduct Uniformity
Dec 6 2004 // An industry survey of property/casualty, health and life insurance companies regarding market conduct examination practices claims to demonstrate that state insurance regulators are striving to adhere to uniformity...
MASS. MALPRACTICE CLAIMS DECLINE:
Dec 6 2004 // The number of medical malpractice payments made by Massachusetts doctors peaked in 2001 and has begun to gradually decline, while the average size of those payments continues to soar, according to a new government report....
Nov. Composite Rate Increase for P/C Stays at 2%
Dec 6 2004 // According to MarketScout, the November composite rate increase for property and casualty insurance remained at 2%. Richard Kerr, chairman and CEO of MarketScout (www.marketscout.com) commented, “We expect the market...
OHIO COMP MEDICAL COSTS DOWN 6.7%:
Dec 6 2004 // The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation announced recently that paid medical costs for workers’ compensation claims were down 6.7 percent, about $15 million lower than expected for the first quarter of fiscal...
Turning 35: The National Alliance Looks Back … and Into the Future
Dec 6 2004 // Insurance education society has served more than 130,000 participants. 1969. It was the dawning of the age of Aquarius, it was one giant leap for mankind, it was the Summer of Love, it was Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida, baby. And, it...
FOCUS ON THE FUTURE: Come 2014, Industry Should Look Very Familiar
Dec 6 2004 // Ten years from now, some of the players within the property casualty insurance industry will have changed but the industry itself will not look dramatically different from what it is today: Smaller companies and...
W. VA. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AUDIT REPORTS POSITIVE TRENDS:
Dec 6 2004 // An independent audit report for fiscal 2004 shows continued positive financial trends for the West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, according to Gregory Burton, executive director. The report cites a...
