Latest Trends Headlines

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

Study: Comp Costs Per Claim Rising in Illinois

May 10 2004 // Workers’ compensation costs per claim in Illinois are increasing rapidly, driven by higher medical costs per claim and greater use of medical services to treat injured workers, according to the Workers Compensation...

Argonaut’s Earned Premiums Up, Combined Ratio Down for Q1 2004

May 6 2004 // San Antonio-based Argonaut Group Inc. announced financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2004, reporting that earned premium rose and its combined ratio decreased from the same quarter in 2003. Net income was...

PIAA, NPDB Data Show Med-Mal Costs Still Rising

May 5 2004 // Data compiled from the physician owned and/or operated medical liability insurers that make up the Physician Insurers Association of America (PIAA) and the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) indicate that medical...

WCIRB 2003 Report on Insurers Released

May 4 2004 // The WCIRB has completed its report summarizing insurer loss and premium experience through December 31, 2003. To view the report, click the link below. WCIRB Summary of December 31, 2003 Experience

ACIC: Legislation Would Drive Up Homeowners Insurance Costs

May 4 2004 // Pending legislation purported to be pro-consumer would in fact hurt consumers by mandating insurance practices that in the long run would drive up the cost of homeowners insurance, according to the Association of...

Texas Fraud Committee Gearing Up for Legislative Action

May 3 2004 // Acknowledging that nothing significant would happen until after the Texas Legislature closes out its special session on school finance reform, members of the Texas Committee on Insurance Fraud pushed forward recently on...

P/C Income, Surplus Rise Sharply in 2003

May 3 2004 // The property/casualty insurance industry’s net income after taxes rose to $29.9 billion in 2003—nearly 10 times the industry’s $3 billion in net income in 2002. Benefiting from both the $29.9 billion in net...

GAO Study Finds Unauthorized Health Insurers Piled Up $252M in Unpaid Claims

May 3 2004 // A study conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), released at the end of February, found that unauthorized health insurers are costing workers significant amounts in unpaid benefits. The entities surveyed, who...

Alliance Looking for Broker/Agent Responses to Low Cost Auto Survey

May 3 2004 // With the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance program developing into a major issue this year, both in the Legislature and at the Department of Insurance, the American Agents Alliance is interested in finding out what...

S&P Revises NIPPONKOA Outlook-Negative to Stable

Apr 27 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised the outlooks to stable from negative on its long-term counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on NIPPONKOA Insurance Co. Ltd....

S&P Revises ACE Outlook from Negative to Stable

Apr 27 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on ACE Ltd. and its operating companies to stable from negative. S&P also affirmed its “A+” counterparty credit and...

Cat Bond Market Grew 42% Reports Guy Carpenter

Apr 27 2004 // According to findings from a new joint study by Guy Carpenter & Company, Inc. and MMC Securities Corp., the catastrophe bond market experienced substantial growth in 2003, as cat bonds remained an important complement...

Alliance Looking for Broker/Agent Responses to Low Cost Auto Survey

Apr 27 2004 // With the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance program developing into a major issue this year, both in the Legislature and at the Department of Insurance, the American Agents Alliance is interested in finding out what...

N.C. Residents Urged to Exercise Caution in Aftermath of Hurricanes; Atlantic Basin Forecast Released

Apr 27 2004 // Hurricane Isabel was directly or indirectly responsible for 50 deaths nationwide and caused an estimated $170 million of property damage in North Carolina last September. Experts predict 14 named storms and eight...

Use of Arbitration Increased in 2003

Apr 23 2004 // The use of arbitration by property/casualty insurance companies and self-insureds to resolve inter-company claims disputes increased by nearly 8 percent in 2003, with the number of arbitration filings increasing to more...

Houston Casualty Co. Affirmed, Outlook Stable

Apr 23 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced the affirmation of its “AA” counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Houston Casualty Co., Avemco Insurance Co. (Avemco), U.S. Specialty...

S&P Revises AMP Outlook to ‘Stable’

Apr 21 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised the rating outlook on Australian insurer AMP Ltd.’s key operating subsidiaries and holding company to stable from negative. S&P also...

Mass. Proposal Sees New Auto Plan by 2008

Apr 21 2004 // The campaign to change the way Massachusetts handles high risk private passenger auto policies moved forward last week with the emergence of a draft outline agreed upon by two major players in the effort, the Massachusetts...

CIAB Survey Shows Q1 Commercial P/C Easing

Apr 20 2004 // The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers has issued a report indicating that the commercial property and casualty market “continued to ease across most lines during the first quarter of 2004, with the average...

High Houston Crash Rate Drives Up Insurance Costs

Apr 20 2004 // The Houston area far exceeds the national average in the number of serious traffic collisions, contributing to skyrocketing medical costs and giving Harris County the most expensive auto insurance rates in Texas, according...