Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Best Affirms GE Frankona ‘A’ Rating; Lowers Outlook
Mar 4 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has affirmed the financial strength rating of “A” (Excellent) of the GE Frankona Group’s reinsurance subsidiaries, and has revised its outlook to negative from...
Best Affirms Zurich Specialties ‘A’ Rating; Assigns Stable Outlook
Mar 4 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has affirmed the financial strength rating of “A” (Excellent) of Zurich Specialties London Limited (ZSL); has removed the rating from under review with negative implications, and...
S&P Report Examines U.S. Insurer Failures in 2003
Mar 3 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings announced that it has published an article that examines failures among U.S. insurers in 2003. “The number of U.S. insurance failures fell to its lowest five-year level in 2003...
New Swiss Re Sigma Study Reviews 2003 CAT Losses
Mar 3 2004 // Natural and man-made catastrophes caused the deaths of more than 60,000 people worldwide last year, according to Swiss Re’s latest sigma report. Over two thirds of these were the victims of earthquakes. Overall...
PWC Survey Finds Challenges with Insurer Enterprise Risk Management Implementation
Mar 3 2004 // A new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers has confirmed that enterprise risk management (ERM) is on the boardroom agenda as a key driver for a competitive edge in the insurance industry, but some leading insurers need to close...
Fitch: Competition May Brake Auto Rate Increases
Mar 1 2004 // The U.S. auto insurance sector may be approaching a yield sign of increased competition after cruising through favorable pricing conditions for the last three years, according to a special report by Fitch Ratings. Though...
Market Analyst Summarizes Calif. Results in 2002 NAIC Report on W.C. Profitability
Mar 1 2004 // In late January 2004, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) released its “Report on Profitability by Line by State” for 2002. The NAIC report provides complete, direct income statement data...
IIABNY Survey Finds Most Northeast In-Home Businesses Vulnerable
Mar 1 2004 // A survey, conducted by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York Inc, found that “tens of thousands of home-based businesses in New York and eight other Northeast states are needlessly at risk...
Farmers Cuts N.D. Homeowners Rates Up to 15%
Feb 26 2004 // Captive agency carrier the Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. announced the introduction of the new home/life discount for its North Dakota homeowners customers. Customers who have both a life insurance policy and a...
Survey Reports Organizations at Risk, Unprepared to Secure Networked and Distributed Stored Data
Feb 26 2004 // The Emmes Group (www.emmesgroup.com), a strategy consulting and market research organization, and NeoScale Systems Inc. (www.neoscale.com), a provider of enterprise storage security solutions for the networked storage and...
Munich Re Releases 2003 Catastrophe Study
Feb 26 2004 // Munich Re has released its 2003 study of natural catastrophes, which concludes that “after three years of relative calm, no fewer than five great natural catastrophes(based on U.N. criteria) occurred in...
Best Affirms ‘A’ Rating of Inter-Ocean Subsidiaries; Revises Outlook to Negative
Feb 26 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has affirmed the financial strength rating of “A” (Excellent) of the reinsurance subsidiaries of Inter-Ocean Holdings Ltd. (Inter-Ocean) (Bermuda). The rating applies to...
Argonaut Group Ratings Affirmed, Outlook Revised
Feb 25 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it affirmed its ratings on Argonaut Group Inc. and its insurance company affiliates, including its “BBB+” counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on...
AUTO RESIDUAL MARKET LOSSES RISE
Feb 23 2004 // The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America reported that residual market plans for private passenger auto insurance continue to result in significant losses. The private passenger auto residual market increased...
RIMS: Commercial Rates Going Down; Benfield: Reinsurance Rates Holding
Feb 23 2004 // As Abbott and Costello famously observed, “Who’s on First?” A new report from independent insurance intermediary Benfield concludes that despite “ample capacity and signs of resurgent competition,...
RIMS: Commercial Rates Going Down; Benfield: Reinsurance Rates Holding
Feb 23 2004 // As Abbott and Costello famously observed, “Who’s on First?” A new report from independent insurance intermediary Benfield concludes that despite “ample capacity and signs of resurgent competition,...
WCIRB Report on Q3 2003 Insurer Results Released
Feb 18 2004 // The WCIRB has compiled a summary of insurer reports of loss and premium experience valued as of September 30, 2003. The report shows that statewide insurer written premium for the first three quarters of 2003, prior to...
ING to Exit Argentine Insurance Market
Feb 18 2004 // Holland’s ING Group announced that it will reorganize its insurance activities in Argentina, effectively leaving the market with the resulting loss of 650 jobs. A company announcement said it had made the decision...
Swiss Re Reports 7% P/C Renewal Premium Growth
Feb 17 2004 // Swiss Re announced that it has registered a seven percent increase in P/C premium growth following the latest round of renewals, occasioned by a “combination of further rate increases and portfolio...
Converium 2003 Net up 73% at $185 Million
Feb 17 2004 // Swiss-based reinsurer Converium boosted its net earnings by 73.3 percent last year to $185.1 million, compared to $106.8 million in 2002. Gross premiums written were up 19.5 percent to $4.2239 billion from $3.5358 billion...
