Latest Trends Headlines

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

Rising Sea Levels Increase Threat of Arsenic in Drinking Water: Study

Mar 4 2024 // Rising seas due to climate change could exacerbate the threat of arsenic in drinking water, according to a study published in PLOS One in January. Researchers focused on arsenic in well water in Bangladesh, where up to 97%...

Continued Growth for Surplus Lines in 2023 as Premiums Up 14.6%

Mar 4 2024 // The excess and surplus lines market continued to grow in 2023, with premium reaching nearly $73 billion according to data from 15 state surplus lines offices released by the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association...

Why Totaled Auto Losses Are Hard to Pin Down

Mar 4 2024 // The auto insurance market is tough and varied. Totaled auto losses are up, down or relatively stable, depending on the data source.Ever since the personal auto segment recorded a combined ratio of 112 in 2022 – a figure...

Small Business Market: Rising Costs, Hard Market but Hope for New Opportunities

Mar 4 2024 // There are reasons to be optimistic about the small business insurance market. New businesses are opening their doors every day. Small business start-ups are booming with record-breaking new business applications reported...

Forecast: Blizzard Conditions Could Bury California Mountain Towns in Feet of Snow

Feb 28 2024 // Snow was expected to pick up across portions of Oregon, Northern California and northwestern Nevada by Wednesday night, according to AccuWeather meteorologists, who are forecasting heavy snow to expand through the northern...

Join the Future: 6 Reasons to Explore Automated Compliance and Producer Management with AgentSync

Feb 28 2024 // This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync.The insurance industry has been slow to adopt digital-first frameworks for doing business, and the part of the business that deals with compliance and regulation change...

Clyde & Co: M&A Activity to ‘Start to Increase Through 2024’

Feb 27 2024 // The number of worldwide mergers and acquisitions in the insurance sector in 2023 dropped to 346, down from 449 in the previous year, according to a new report from Clyde & Co.But the global law firm believes...

Verisk’s Annual Profit Forecast Falls Short Amid Spending Uncertainty

Feb 26 2024 // Verisk Analytics forecast 2024 adjusted profit below market estimates last Wednesday, as the broader data and analytics industry grapples with worries that an uncertain economy would potentially trigger spending cutbacks...

Agents, Brokers Achieve Record Annual Growth in 2023

Feb 26 2024 // The independent insurance agent and broker channel posted an organic growth rate of 10.3% in 2023 — the highest annual level achieved since Reagan Consulting launched its quarterly growth and profitability study in...

A Decade After MH370, Planes Still at Risk of Vanishing Off the Map

Feb 23 2024 // “Good Night. Malaysian Three Seven Zero.” Those six words were the last radio transmission from the cockpit of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, less than an hour after the aircraft took off late at night from...

3 Emerging Risks: AI-Driven Civil Unrest, Heavy EVs, Solar Panel Safety

Feb 23 2024 // Technology is poised to take over traditional markets and is rapidly creating new ones. For example, this trend is evidenced by the adoption of electric vehicles, demand for solar energy, and the blistering pace of...

That’s Gonna Leave a Mark: Large-Hail Days Hit Two-Decade High in 2023

Feb 22 2024 // Hail of two inches or greater struck the United States on 141 days last year — the highest number of annual days in two decades, according to a new CoreLogic report.Severe convective storms generated “an...

AXA’s 2023 Earnings Miss Forecasts on Higher Costs, Lifts Dividend 16%

Feb 22 2024 // France’s AXA, Europe’s second-biggest insurer, pledged on Thursday to deliver higher earnings and returns to shareholders by 2026 by growing its client base, automating processes and reducing labor costs.The...

Cyber MGA Coalition Predicts Common Vulnerabilities to Increase 25% in 2024

Feb 22 2024 // Cyber insurance provider Coalition said it expects the total number of common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) to increase by 25% in 2024 to 34,888 vulnerabilities, or roughly 2,900 per month.The insurtech’s...

Castle Key Defends 53.5% Condo Rate Hike, Blames Reinsurance, Ian, Rapid Growth

Feb 22 2024 // When Allstate’s Florida unit, Castle Key Indemnity Co., entered the surging condominium insurance market in 2020, it looked like it had made a smart bet: Within two years, the carrier had added no fewer than 123,000...

TWIA Board Votes to Increase PML to $6.5B in 2024

Feb 21 2024 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Board of Directors voted Tuesday to establish $6.5 billion as the association’s 1:100 probable maximum loss (PML) for the 2024 storm season, an increase of $2 billion over...

NHC Unveils New Hurricane Forecast Maps for 2024, Showing More Inland Warnings

Feb 21 2024 // The familiar “cone of uncertainty” map, used for years by meteorologists to show a hurricane’s predicted path, is about to get an upgrade – at least temporarily, the National Hurricane Center announced...

P&I Clubs Raise Renewal Prices to Keep Up With Claims Inflation: AM Best

Feb 21 2024 // Protection and Indemnity (P&I) clubs sought further price improvements at the February 2024 renewals in order to keep up with claims inflation, despite a relatively benign year for P&I claims in 2023, according to...

Marsh: US Commercial Lines Rates Up 3% in Q4 2023

Feb 19 2024 // Broker Marsh said the composite rate change at renewal for U.S. commercial lines was up 3% in the fourth quarter 2023, led by an 11% increase in property rates.The Marsh Global Insurance Market Index said it was the 25th...

Report: 2023 Combined Ratio Forecast at 103.9, Commercial Lines Performed Best

Feb 19 2024 // The 2023 net combined ratio for the property/casualty industry is forecast to be 103.9, with commercial lines at 97.7 and personal lines at 109.9, according to the latest underwriting projections by actuaries at the...