Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Gartner Survey Reports Carriers Looking to Outsourcing
Apr 1 2002 // As insurance carriers face competitive pressures to reduce operating costs and streamline business operations, many insurers are turning to business process outsourcing (BPO) and information technology outsourcing to...
NYSID Approves 19.5% Rise in Assigned Risk Plan
Apr 1 2002 // New York State Insurance Department Superintendent Gregory V. Serio revealed a series of changes in the New York Automobile Insurance Plan, the assigned risk insurer of last resort, raising rates by 19.5 percent, and...
A.M. Best Lowers Rating for Crusader Insurance, Assigns Negative Outlook
Mar 28 2002 // A.M. Best Co. has lowered the financial strength rating to A- (Excellent) from A (Excellent) for California-based Crusader Insurance Co., Woodland Hills, Calif., and assigned it a negative outlook. The rating action...
NY, NJ, Conn. Med Mal Premium Costs on the Rise
Mar 27 2002 // Pennsylvania isn’t the only Eastern State to experience precipitate increases in the cost of medical malpractice insurance. A report in the New York Times reveals premium increases of between 10 and 40 percent in...
Amerisure Insurance Sees 25 Percent Increase in Direct Written Premiums
Mar 22 2002 // Michigan-based Amerisure Insurance, a regional property and casualty insurance group, reported strong operating results for the year 2001, with net income of $15.9 million and a surplus increase of $9.6 million. Direct...
Attorney to Compare Toxic Mold Litigation with Decade-Old Asbestos Cases
Mar 22 2002 // The new wave of mold litigation cases may soon compare with the incendiary asbestos cases of the last decade, according to Peter J. Lynch, a trial attorney with Philadelphia-based Christie, Pabarue, Mortensen and Young...
Cruise Lines and Theme Parks to See Premiums Increase
Mar 21 2002 // Theme parks, cruise lines, and other tourism-driven business are watching their insurance rates rise due to the fallout of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the Bloomberg News. Carnival Cruise Lines, a Miami-based...
S&P Affirms Allianz Group Ratings, Revises Outlook to Negative
Mar 21 2002 // Standard & Poor’s affirmed all its ratings on Germany’s Allianz group, including its double-‘A’-plus long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings, and its...
WCIRB Committee Approves Filing of 10.1 Percent Increase for Advisory Pure Premium Rates
Mar 21 2002 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California’s (WCIRB) Governing Committee gave the go-ahead March 20 for a filing of a 10.1 increase in advisory pure premium rates to be effective on...
Gerling Sale Plan Leads SP to Revise Outlook
Mar 20 2002 // As plans for the sale of a majority interest in Germany’s Gerling Group become clearer, Standard & Poor’s, while reaffirming the single-‘A’-plus long-term counterparty credit and insurer...
HSBC to Increase Presence in Chinese Market
Mar 20 2002 // The Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Corp. (HSBC), which despite its name is actually based in London, announced plans to to tap the growing insurance market in mainland China by opening branches of HSBC Insurance in Beijing,...
Catastrophe Losses Set at $34.4 Billion Last Year Says Swiss Re Study
Mar 14 2002 // A sigma study by Swiss Re estimates that more than 33,000 people lost their lives as a result of natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2001, and puts the cost to the insurance industry at $34.4 billion. Over half...
PartnerRe Posts 37% Increase in January Renewal Premiums to $1.37 Billion
Mar 12 2002 // Bermuda’s PartnerRe Ltd. announced that “the Company bound contracts expected to generate $1.37 billion in premiums during its key January 2002 renewal season — an increase of 37%.” The Company the...
ASP-hosted Technology-Trend or Fad’
Mar 11 2002 // Many vendors now offer agency management systems via ASP (Application Service Provider). The ASP model moves the agency database and management system software from the agency to a data center, and agency personnel access...
ASP-hosted Technology-Trend or Fad’
Mar 11 2002 // Many vendors now offer agency management systems via ASP (Application Service Provider). The ASP model moves the agency database and management system software from the agency to a data center, and agency personnel access...
NAII Says Territorial Rating Ban Would Increase Premiums for Most Md. Drivers
Mar 7 2002 // In yet another attempt to limit an insurer’s ability to accurately assess risk in Maryland, the House Economic Matters Committee is considering eliminating the use of geographic location as a rating factor in...
ACORD Delivers eCommerce Software Solution Survey
Mar 5 2002 // ACORD has created a survey to determine what eCommerce solution providers can offer to interested insurers, brokers and reinsurers to utilize the ACORD reinsurance standards (formerly known as the Joint Venture or...
Donegal Group Posts Q4 Loss, Decline in Full Year Income
Feb 26 2002 // Donegal Group Inc. of Marietta Pa. reported an operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2001 of $572,172, or $.06 per share on a diluted basis, and operating income of $6,399,099, or $.70 per share on a diluted basis, for...
Swiss Re Reports Renewal Rate Increases, Expects 2001 Loss
Feb 26 2002 // Swiss Re reported that its property/casualty and financial services renewals in January 2002 “saw significant improvements in rates as well as terms and conditions across all lines of business.” The company...
Illinois Insurance Department Releases Credit History Survey Results
Feb 25 2002 // Illinois Director of Insurance Nat Shapo announced the release of the results of a survey on the use of consumers’ credit histories by the Illinois property and casualty insurance industry. In response to public...
