Latest Pricing Trends Headlines

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

Michigan Nixes Rate Hike Request from Insurer of Last Resort

May 19 2008 // Michigan’s Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR) Commissioner Ken Ross recently issued an order disapproving a rate filing for Michigan Basic Property and Insurance Association (Michigan Basic), the...

State Farm Files Request for California Rate Increase

May 19 2008 // Reflecting the general upward trends in the cost of property and liability insurance claims, State Farm General Insurance Co. has filed a request for an average statewide 6.9 percent rate increase with the California...

State Farm Files Request for California Rate Increase

May 9 2008 // Reflecting the general upward trends in the cost of property and liability insurance claims, State Farm General Insurance Co. has filed a request for an average statewide 6.9 percent rate increase with the California...

Mass. Denies Hike in FAIR Plan Home Insurance Rates

May 8 2008 // Massachusetts insurance officials have blocked a 13.2 percent statewide rate hike by the state’s residual market home insurer.The decision by Insurance Commissioner Nonnie S. Burnes also kills a 25 percent increase...

Top Agencies Have Strategies to Weather Soft Market

May 7 2008 // Insurance Journal readers were reminded by our recent coverage on how agents are faring in the recession that the effects of the economic downturn vary by agency and region. Some agencies and customers are feeling the...

Court Denies Allstate’s Request to Avoid Rate Decrease

May 5 2008 // A San Francisco judge has refused Allstate’s request to block a 15.9 percent automobile insurance rate decrease. Thus, the California Department of Insurance said the rate decrease should take effect immediately, and...

A Soft Market Solution: MGAs and Risk Sharing

May 5 2008 // Editor’s Note: The following is part one of a discussion of the risk retention options available to MGAs, the sundry variables which may affect their execution, and the means and modes of analysis available.The...

Analysts See Increase in P/C Mergers Ahead; Rate Climate Top Challenge

May 5 2008 // Insurance equity analysts expect a significant increase in property/casualty mergers and acquisitions this year, according to findings of a global survey by Accenture.More than two-thirds (71 percent) of all P/C analysts...

Industry Douses Consumer Group Praise for Prior Approval of Auto Rates

May 5 2008 // A nationwide consumer study of automobile insurance regulation says that rates have risen more slowly over the past two decades in the 15 states that require insurers to receive advance approval of rate increases from the...

Consumer Group Alleges New Rules Will Raise Insurance Rates in Calif.

May 2 2008 // A consumer group this week accused California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner of adopting emergency regulations that would lead to higher rates for auto, homeowner and most other types of insurance coverage.In a...

California Court Denies Allstate’s Request to Avoid $250 Million Rate Reduction

Apr 25 2008 // A San Francisco judge has refused Allstate’s request to block a 15.9 percent automobile insurance rate decrease. According to the California Department of Insurance, the rate decrease should take effect immediately,...

Consumer Group Criticizes California’s Rate Approval Regulations

Apr 24 2008 // A consumer advocacy group is condeming California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner’s action in issuing emergency regulations governing the state’s prior approval insurance rate system.According to The...

Workers’ Compensation Rates Continue to Decline in Arkansas

Apr 24 2008 // Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman announced a decrease in workers’ compensation rates effective July 1, 2008.Since the passage of an all-encompassing workers’ compensation legislative...

In Midwest, Recession Makes Soft Market Even Tougher

Apr 22 2008 // When it comes to dealing with a recession, independent agents in Michigan carry the dubious distinction of having more experience than their counterparts in other Midwestern states. Michigan has been knee deep in a...

Recession, Soft Market Forcing Western Agents to Refocus

Apr 22 2008 // Whether the nation is in a true recession may still be up for debate, but it’s difficult to ignore the signs of economic slowdown throughout the West — and its effect on the insurance industry. New home...

Mississippi Wind Pool Rates Reduced

Apr 21 2008 // Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney approved an average 11 percent rate reduction filed by the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association. The reductions vary according to geographic zones and go into effect...

Soft Market’s Effect on Premium Volume Doesn’t Have to Hinder Revenue

Apr 21 2008 // Premium volume may be down for independent agencies across the country but that doesn’t mean agency revenue is down for some of the nation’s top performing agencies. Diversifying an agency’s revenue...

Premium Growth: Top 25 P/C Premium Gainers in 2007 Versus 2006

Apr 21 2008 // President Calvin Coolidge noted that “All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.” That being the situation, the following 25...

Texas Regulators Explain State Farm Homeowners Rate Hike

Apr 14 2008 // In its “Straight Talk About Insurance” column on its Web site, the Texas Department of Insurance has updated information on the decision to approve an increase in State Farm Insurance Company’s homeowners...

Analysts See Increase in P/C Mergers Ahead; Rate Climate Change Top Issue

Apr 14 2008 // Insurance equity analysts expect a significant increase in property/ casualty mergers and acquisitions this year, according to findings of a global survey by Accenture.More than two-thirds (71 percent) of all P/C analysts...