Latest Trends Headlines

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

Moody’s, Amwins Expect Continued Cyber Market Growth

Sep 12 2024 // Two organizations recently expressed optimism that the softening cyber market that emerged in 2023 will remain favorable into the future. In separate reports, Moody’s Ratings and Amwins Brokerage offered insights on...

US Nuclear Verdicts Break Records and Drive Social Inflation to 7% in 2023: Report

Sep 11 2024 // Nuclear verdicts in the United States are breaking records with 27 court cases each awarding compensation of more than US$100 million during 2023, according to Swiss Re executives.Social inflation in US rose to 7% in 2023...

Treaty Reinsurance Premiums in London Company Market Grew by 32% in 2023: IUA

Sep 11 2024 // Treaty reinsurance written in the London company market grew by almost one-third in 2023, with the sector generating premiums of £10.889 billion (US$14.2 billion), up from £8.248 billion ($10.8 billion) in 2022,...

VW Scraps Three-Decades-Old German Jobs Pledge to Cut Costs

Sep 10 2024 // Volkswagen AG is ending job protections for auto workers in Germany as part of its cost-cutting push, setting up a showdown with unions as the country’s most important industry fights for its future.The manufacturer...

Summer 2024 Was World’s Hottest on Record: EU Climate Change Monitor

Sep 9 2024 // The world is emerging from its warmest northern hemisphere summer since records began, the European Union’s climate change monitoring service said on Friday, as global warming continues to intensify.The boreal summer...

Fitch Ratings Shifts Global Re Outlook to Neutral; Pricing Past Peak

Sep 6 2024 // Fitch Ratings announced that it shifted its outlook on the global reinsurance sector to neutral yesterday but the downward shift came with an expectation of continued profitability—and a forecasted combined ratio around...

Germany Cracks Down on China Green Fraud in Deepening Scandal

Sep 6 2024 // German authorities have rejected €18 million ($20 million) worth of carbon credits after finding “irregularities” in China-based projects that were meant to lower emissions.The initiatives, which were run by...

New Hampshire Approves 5.6% Workers’ Compensation Loss Cost Decrease for 2025

Sep 6 2024 // The New Hampshire Insurance Department (NHID) reports that it has approved a workers’ compensation rate proposal that will reduce voluntary loss costs by 5.6% on average.The new lower rates will apply to voluntary...

NCCI Calls For Tiny Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease for Florida After New Doctor Fees

Sep 4 2024 // Annual workers’ compensation rate cuts in the double digits have become routine in almost every U.S. state in recent years. That trend may have now come to an end in Florida, where the National Council on...

Canada’s Insurance Sector Faces Deluge of Climate-Related Catastrophe Claims

Sep 3 2024 // Hotter summers in Canada that have sparked wildfires in tourist areas, intense hailstorms and thunderstorms with severe flooding in major cities, all likely linked to climate change, are leading to personnel shortages and...

Hurricane Debby Claims Already Two-Thirds of Idalia Claims in Florida, as Insurance Market Strengthens, Regulator Says

Sep 2 2024 // The number of Florida claims from Hurricane Debby, filed within 10 days of the storm, stood at almost two-thirds of the number of claims filed from Hurricane Idalia in a three-month period.Debby claims by Aug. 16 had...

Network Growth in Hard Market

Sep 2 2024 // For more than a decade, Insurance Journal has recognized some of the nation’s largest agency partnerships and networks in its annual Top 20 ranking.In 2014, Insurance Journal’s Top 20 Agency Partnerships...

Sica Fletcher Index: Agency-Broker M&A Down Slightly in First Half 2024

Sep 2 2024 // The 22 acquirers that make up the Sica Fletcher Index were involved in 242 agent-broker deals in the first six months of 2024, totaling $635 million in revenue. That is a 45% drop in revenue from what was acquired during...

TDI to Hold Two Public Meetings on TWIA’s Filing of 10% Rate Increase

Aug 30 2024 // The Texas Department of Insurance will hold two public meetings in September on the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association’s annual rate filing increase of 10% for residential and commercial properties.TDI will host a...

Lithium Startups Bet on High Demand in Battery-Powered Future

Aug 30 2024 // As the world leans into electrification, it will need more lithium. A key ingredient in the batteries that power everything from electric vehicles to cell phones, demand is projected to accelerate over the next decade.To...

AM Best Revises Outlook to Negative for Ohio’s Buckeye State Mutual

Aug 28 2024 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb-” (Good) of Buckeye State Mutual Insurance Company...

UK Tones Down Worker ‘Right to Switch Off’ Demands on Firms

Aug 28 2024 // Britain’s Labour government is watering down ambitions to give employees a legal right to ignore work demands outside office hours, favoring softer rules that had limited impact for workers in Ireland.Rather than...

Australian Homeowners Struggling to Afford Insurance as Climate Risks Grow: Report

Aug 26 2024 // Home insurance is becoming unaffordable for a growing number of Australian households as increased climate threats drive up their premiums, potentially putting billions of dollars in mortgage loans at risk, a report said...

Ping An Profit Rises Nearly 7% as Market Recovery Bolsters Returns

Aug 23 2024 // Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. said profit rose nearly 7% in the first half, after a stock-market recovery helped bolster investment returns at China’s second-largest insurer by market value.Net income climbed to 74.6...

WV Volunteer Fire Official Pleads to Insurance Fraud After Burning Down His Home

Aug 23 2024 // A former West Virginia volunteer fire official is awaiting sentencing after he admitted to setting fire to his home, filing an insurance claim, and using the fire department’s credit card for personal gain.Donald A....