Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Survey: Health Reform Key Election Issue
Mar 29 2004 // Rising health care costs and growing instability in insurance coverage have made health reform a key issue in this election year, a Commonwealth Fund survey released today shows. Nearly six in 10 Americans (57%) say...
S&P Upgrades NZ Insurer Promina Outlook to Positive
Mar 29 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised the rating outlook on Promina Group Ltd. to positive from stable, and affirmed the holding company’s “A-” long-term counterparty...
Nevada Rate Increase Sought by Malpractice Insurance Company
Mar 26 2004 // Medical Protective Co., which provides malpractice insurance for 200 doctors located mainly in southern Nevada, has filed for a 24 percent rate increase. The state Insurance Division says MedPro wants the increase to take...
S&P Upgrades Outlook on 7 Japanese Insurers
Mar 24 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised the outlooks to stable from negative on its financial strength and long-term counterparty credit ratings on seven Japanese insurance...
Liberty Mutual Reports Net Income Up 67% in Busy 2003
Mar 23 2004 // Liberty Mutual Group in Boston reported net income of $851.3 million for the 12 months ended 2003, a 67.4% increase over the same period in 2002. “I am very pleased with our overall operating performance in...
Terrorism and TRIA – What’s in Store for the Future’
Mar 22 2004 // Two years later, fate of the historic act remains unknown If a camel is a “horse made by a committee” then the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), passed by Congress in November 2002, is a law made by several...
Argonaut Group Affirmed, Outlook Stable
Mar 22 2004 // S&P affirmed its ratings on Argonaut Group Inc. and its insurance company affiliates, including its “BBB+” counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on the affiliates, and revised the outlook on...
Highmark Ratings, Outlooks Revised
Mar 22 2004 // A.M. Best Co. affirmed the majority of the financial strength ratings and a senior debt rating of Pittsburgh-based Highmark Inc. However, the rating outlook was revised to negative from stable. Best also noted it has...
PIC Wisconsin Med-Mal Rates to Increase in Nevada
Mar 18 2004 // Nevada Insurance Commissioner Alice Molasky-Arman has approved the request of Physicians Insurance Company of Wisconsin Inc. (PIC) for a 15 percent increase for medical malpractice insurance. In addition to the 15 percent...
ACE USA Appoints New VP Head of Emerging Issues
Mar 17 2004 // ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operations of the ACE Group of Companies, has announced the appointment of Kathleen Muedder, CPCU, as Senior Vice President, Emerging Issues. She will focus on identifying strategic...
CRM Underscores NY Health Care Trust Financial Strength, Continues Growth of Customer Base
Mar 17 2004 // Compensation Risk Managers announced from its Poughkeepsie headquarters that its Healthcare Industry Trust of New York (HITNY) product remains on solid financial ground and continues to provide “high quality,...
S&P Reports Top Layer Reinsurance Ltd. ‘AA’ Ratings Affirmed; Outlook Stable
Mar 17 2004 // Standard & Poor’s has affirmed its ‘AA’ counterparty and financial strength ratings on Top Layer Reinsurance Ltd. The outlook is stable. Top Layer Re is a 50%/50% joint venture between State Farm...
Fla. House Says Thumbs Up to Premium Tax Database Bill; Off for Vote in Senate
Mar 16 2004 // A bill creating an electronic database for insurers to use in allocating insurance property and casualty premium taxes was passed Tuesday by Florida’s House and is headed for a vote in the Senate. “We’ve...
Aegon Reports 16% 2003 Profit Rise to $2.187 Billion
Mar 15 2004 // Aegon, the Netherlands’ insurer and financial services giant, reported fourth quarter net income rose 32 percent to 470 million euros ($573 million), while full year earnings rose 16 percent to 1.793 billion euros...
Moody’s Downgrades Lloyd’s Syndicate 1007; Revises Syndicate 2147 Outlook to Stable
Mar 15 2004 // Moody’s Investors Service announced that it has downgraded the A1 Insurance Financial Strength Rating (IFSR) of Lloyd’s syndicate 1007, SVB Syndicates Limited, to A2 and assigned a stable outlook. It also...
Customer Survey Gives IWIF High Marks
Mar 15 2004 // Maryland’s Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund announced the results of a recent survey, which gave the organization high marks for its services, especially from agents and brokers, 97 percent of whom said they...
Risk and Insurance Management Benchmark Survey Chronicles Turbulent Year for 2003
Mar 10 2004 // Commercial insurance buyers experienced a turbulent past year as the hard market reached its peak and then began its current softening trend, according to the annual market survey from the Risk and Insurance Management...
Commercial Rates Going Down, Reinsurance Rates Holding Firm
Mar 8 2004 // As Costello famously asked Abbott, “Who’s on first?” A new report released by leading independent insurance intermediary Benfield concludes that despite “ample capacity and signs of resurgent...
SLSOT Sees Slowing of Surplus Lines Rate Increases
Mar 8 2004 // The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas was established in 1988 as a result of legislation drafted by a committee that included Texas Surplus Lines Association members, Texas Department of Insurance staff and other...
Survey Reports Organizations at Risk, Unprepared to Secure Data
Mar 8 2004 // The Emmes Group, a strategy consulting and market research organization, and NeoScale Systems Inc., a provider of enterprise storage security solutions for the networked storage and data storage management markets,...
