Latest Trends Headlines

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

U.S. Trucking Sector Struggles with Rising Rates, Driver Shortage

Nov 1 2021 // U.S. commercial auto insurers continue to face disruptions on their road to profitability due to inflation and the spotty post-pandemic economic recovery, according to a Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings...

Uncovering Opportunities in the Shifting Landscape Emerging from COVID-19

Nov 1 2021 // As I write this, in the fall of 2021, it’s now clear that we are going to be living and working with COVID-19 for the indeterminant future – perhaps forever. Regardless of one’s opinions about vaccines,...

First Half of Year Recorded 18% increase in Road Fatalities

Oct 29 2021 // Traffic deaths across the country soared by 18.4% in the first six months of 2021, the largest number of projected fatalities in that time period since 2006.The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic...

Reinsurers Increasingly Using ILS to Transfer Risks

Oct 28 2021 // Reinsurers are increasingly relying on third-party capital to support their retrocession needs, in which they transfer risks they have assumed to other counterparties.According to a report from S&P Global Ratings,...

Chubb Sees Profit Jump on Premium Growth, Underwriting Income

Oct 27 2021 // Global insurer Chubb’s third quarter net income soared more than 58 percent year-over-year, as premium gains continued their double-digit climb.The insurer’s Q3 net income reached $1.83 billion during the...

As Strikes, Riots and Civil Commotion Risks Increase, Insurers Respond With Exclusions

Oct 27 2021 // Insurers traditionally have offered protection against strikes, riots and civil commotion (SRCC) at no extra cost, but the increased frequency and severity of these risks means property insurers have begun excluding events...

Ping An Insurance Profit Falls 31.2% as Returns, Premiums Shrink

Oct 27 2021 // SHANGHAI/BEIJING — Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd., the country’s largest insurer by market value, posted a 31.2% fall in third-quarter net profit on Wednesday as its premium income shrank on a weak...

AM Best Downgrades Outlook for Journey Insurance

Oct 27 2021 // AM Best credit rating agency has given Florida-based Journey Insurance Co. a financial strength rating of “excellent,” but downgraded the company’s outlook from stable to negative, due to its parent...

TWIA Policies Expected to Grow by 5.2% in 2022

Oct 26 2021 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association expects policies in-force to increase by 5.2% in 2022, according to preliminary budget information shared at a Board of Directors meeting Oct. 25.Policies will increase from a...

Global Commercial Insurance Rates Rise 15% in Q3 as Moderation Continues: Marsh

Oct 26 2021 // Global commercial insurance prices increased 15% in the third quarter of 2021, which was the same rate of increase recorded in the previous quarter, according to the Global Insurance Market Index released by insurance...

Reinsurance Price Increases Support Improving Outlook for Sector: Fitch

Oct 26 2021 // Reinsurers’ plans to continue raising premium rates during the January 2022 renewals are likely to contribute to stronger profitability and an improving sector outlook, according to Fitch Ratings.Fitch said it...

More ‘Missing’ Rolexes Turn Up; Owner Charged with Fraud

Oct 26 2021 // North Carolina authorities announced Monday that a Raleigh man has been charged with falsely claiming that two Rolex watches had been stolen, an apparent ruse to gain insurance payments.James Henry Weeks III, 47, was...

Greenhouse Gas Levels Hit Record in 2021 as World Fails to Cap Rising Temperatures

Oct 25 2021 // GENEVA/GLASGOW – Greenhouse gas concentrations hit a record last year and the world is “way off track” on capping rising temperatures, the United Nations said on Monday, showing the task facing climate talks...

AM Best Drops Florida Farm Bureau Outlook to Negative After Surplus Declines

Oct 21 2021 // Credit-rating agency AM Best has downgraded its outlook for Florida Farm Bureau Casualty Co., from stable to negative, due to the company’s declining surplus in a disaster-prone state.“The revised outlooks...

Asset Managers, Including Allianz, to Cut Portfolio Emissions by at Least 25% by 2025

Oct 21 2021 // By 2025, 29 of the world’s biggest pension funds and investment firms, including Allianz SE and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, intend to have cut the emissions of their portfolio holdings...

Great Shakeout Highlights Dwindling Missouri Earthquake Insurance Market

Oct 20 2021 // Millions of Americans will participate in the Great Shakeout on Oct. 21, a day designated to earthquake education and awareness. Annually held on the third Thursday of October, the Great Shakeout encourages schools and...

Treasury Report Offers Insight Into Surge in Ransomware Activity in 2021

Oct 19 2021 // There was $590 million in suspicious activity related to ransomware in the first six months of 2021, exceeding the entire amount in 2020, when $416 million was reported, according to a report released Friday by the U.S....

Insurance Agency M&As Up 13% Thus Far in 2021: Optis

Oct 19 2021 // There were 553 announced insurance agency mergers and acquisitions during the first three quarters of 2021, up from 490 in 2020, According to an OPTIS Partners’ M&A report, that was the highest recorded total for...

Mobility Sector Will Need New Insurance Products to Continue to Grow: Marsh

Oct 18 2021 // For the sharing economy and mobility sectors to continue to grow, they will need new forms of insurance, including programs to support gig-workers at scale, advises a report from insurance broker Marsh.According to the...

Munich Re, Hannover Re Expect Rising Prices After Floods in Germany

Oct 18 2021 // German reinsurance companies Munich Re and Hannover Rueck said on Monday they expect rising prices for their business in Europe next year, citing mid-July floods in central Europe, inflation and the coronavirus...