Latest Market Headlines

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

Turning 50, Invest High School Program Eyes Apprenticeships for Independent Agencies

Mar 19 2020 // A new apprenticeship program aimed at attracting and developing talent in the independent agency system is being rolled out by an insurance education organization that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.Invest, the...

Proposed N.J. Bill Would Require Insurers to Pay COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims

Mar 19 2020 // A proposed New Jersey bill, which aims to create business interruption insurance coverage for COVID-19 related claims despite virus exclusions in many policies, has drawn concern about the constitutionality of legislation...

RMS Appoints Steel as Global Head of Business Development

Mar 16 2020 // RMS, the catastrophe risk modeling company, announced the appointment of Michael Steel as global head of Business Development, joining the RMS Executive Committee.Steel first joined RMS in 2016 to help drive innovations to...

Swiss Re Launches Digital Market Center Supported by Microsoft Data Analytics, AI Tools

Mar 12 2020 // Swiss Re has formed a strategic alliance with Microsoft Corp., which is providing digital tools to support Swiss Re’s new Digital Market Center.The Digital Market Center is designed to help develop next-generation,...

U.S. Commission Explains Why It Thinks Insurance Is Failing Cybersecurity

Mar 11 2020 // The following excerpt is from the new report, “A Warning from Tomorrow,” on U.S. cybersecurity strategy by the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. The report contains about 75 recommendations on what the country...

U.S. Cybersecurity Report Calls for Major Government Role in Cyber Insurance

Mar 11 2020 // A major government report on cybersecurity that warns the nation is seriously underprepared for cyber attacks calls for the creation of a federally-funded center to develop cybersecurity insurance certifications and a...

Insurance Industry Is Being Dragged Into Subsidizing Illegal Marijuana Grow Houses

Mar 11 2020 // GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — While California has a $1.4 billion legal marijuana market, a black market of perhaps equal size is thriving. Some enterprising growers are working on ways to get home insurers to cover their...

How Much U.S. P/C Insurance Bottom Line Grew in 2019: A.M. Best

Mar 10 2020 // Net underwriting income for the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry in 2019 grew by $4.9 million from 2018, A.M. Best said in a new report.Underwriting income hit $4.1 billion in 2019, from a loss of $800 million in...

What Small Business Wants

Mar 9 2020 // Small business doesn’t mean small-in-size when it comes to the commercial insurance market.Direct written premiums ranged between $99 billion and $103 billion in 2013, up from $91 billion in 2011, according to...

Agency M&As: Private Equity Still in Driver’s Seat; Digital Agencies Attract Attention

Mar 2 2020 // The private equity bandwagon continued to roll through the insurance agency and brokerage mergers and acquisitions territory in 2019. As many as two-thirds of all deals involved private equity, according to experts. Most...

Nicolopoulos Confirmed as New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner

Feb 27 2020 // The New Hampshire Insurance Department has announced that Chris Nicolopoulos was confirmed by the New Hampshire Executive Council as insurance commissioner succeeding John Elias, who resigned in December less than two...

Florida Carriers Seek Staggering Rate Increases Amid Market Turmoil

Feb 25 2020 // It’s no surprise that Florida carriers are raising homeowners’ insurance rates given several years of catastrophes and losses from litigation related to assignment of benefits and water damage claims.What may...

A Tale of Two Californias: Managing Wildfire Risk in the Year 2030

Feb 24 2020 // For most of the 20th century, the insurance industry considered wildfires to be little more than a nuisance. They were frequent but rarely resulted in more than a handful of claims, and underwriters priced for them in the...

Specialty Broker Shares Thoughts on Today’s Marina Market

Feb 24 2020 // Barbara Galgiani has spent her entire career specializing in both recreational and commercial marine industry – marinas, boat yards, hospitality, excursion boats and marine contractors. Roughly 90% of her revenue...

Coronavirus Raises Insurance Questions But Catastrophe-Tested Insurers Are Prepared

Feb 20 2020 // As the coronavirus outbreak continues to cause concern around the globe, the insurance industry is facing a potentially far-reaching impact but has the experience to handle what might come its way.Based on what the...

Viewpoint: 4 Things Insurance Firms Can Do to Improve Efficiency, Data Use

Feb 20 2020 // Digital transformation is making it possible for the insurance industry to engage customers with personalized interactions that lead to products and services tailored to their individual insurance needs.Unfortunately, the...

Employment Liability Insurers See Plenty to Worry About, From Biometrics to Harassment

Feb 19 2020 // After Back to the Future 2 was released in 1989, moviegoers could observe Marty McFly as he traveled to his version of 2015 where fingerprints were used to identify a person, to unlock the front door of a house and to pay...

B3i’s Blockchain Platform Places 30 Reinsurance Contracts, Including Cat XoL Treaties

Feb 14 2020 // B3i Services AG, a two-year-old company owned by members of the insurance industry, announced that 30 contracts of reinsurance have been concluded on its platform, including some of the most complex catastrophe excess of...

Private Equity Still Driving Agency M&As

Feb 10 2020 // Digital Buys Getting Some Attention; Buyers Getting Bigger; Prices Going Higher; Eyes on DigitalThe private equity bandwagon continued to roll through the insurance agency and brokerage mergers and acquisitions territory...

20 Things to Know About Surplus Lines Insurance in 2020

Feb 10 2020 // As we embark upon a new decade, the surplus lines insurance market has never been stronger. Growth in specialty products and demand for insurance protection in an increasingly dynamic, technological climate necessitates a...