Latest Trends Headlines

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

AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings, Stable Outlook to Workers’ Comp Writer SUNZ

Aug 3 2021 // AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) to SUNZ Insurance Co. of Bradenton, Florida. The outlook assigned to these Credit...

Generali’s Operating Profit Increases 10.4% During First Half

Aug 3 2021 // Generali on Tuesday said it was on track to meet full-year targets after Italy’s top insurer reported a good performance across all business sectors to slightly beat first-half expectations.Operating profit rose...

Texas Surplus Lines Premiums Rise to $947.48M, an All-Time High

Aug 2 2021 // Texas set another record in June for the amount of surplus lines premium recorded by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX).The $947.48 million in premium reported in June brings the year-to-date total to $4.58...

Aon’s Price Tag for Scrapped Deal to Buy Willis Rises to $1.4B

Aug 2 2021 // Insurance broker Aon Plc said on Friday it could have to expend up to $400 million in additional costs tied to the termination of its mega merger deal with Willis Towers Watson, over and above the $1 billion it was...

5.44% Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease OK’d in Wisconsin

Aug 2 2021 // Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Mark Afable approved an overall 5.44% decrease in workers’ compensation insurance rates, effective Oct. 1, 2021. It’s the sixth straight year of rate decreases in Wisconsin,...

University Study Poses Possible Future for Western Wildfires as a Decade-Long Burst, Followed by Gradual Decline

Jul 28 2021 // Newswise — In recent years, wildfires on the West Coast have become larger and more damaging. A combination of almost a century of fire suppression and hotter and drier conditions has created a tinderbox ready to ignite,...

Update: Aon and Willis Terminate $30B Merger; Aon to Pay $1B Break-up Fee

Jul 26 2021 // Aon plc and Willis Towers Watson announced that the firms have agreed to terminate their $30 billion business combination agreement and end litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).The proposed combination was...

Pennsylvania Joining National Survey on Climate Risk in the Insurance Industry

Jul 23 2021 // The Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) is joining with other states around the country in conducting the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Climate Risk Disclosure Survey. The survey allows...

London Staff Want Big Pay Raises Before Returning to Their Desks Full-Time: Survey

Jul 23 2021 // London office workers want an average pay rise equivalent to the cost of some annual railway season tickets to return to their desks full-time after the pandemic, according to a survey.With COVID-19 restrictions leaving...

Hippo Enters Commercial Insurance Market With Homeowners Association Product

Jul 23 2021 // Home insurtech Hippo is jumping into the commercial insurance market.The California-based managing general agency startup said its expansion will focus on “targeted commercial insurance” customers. Its first...

5% Rate Increase Recommended for Texas Windstorm Insurer

Jul 22 2021 // The Actuarial & Underwriting Committee for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has recommended that the association’s board vote at its Aug. 3 meeting to file for a 5% rate increase for residential...

5.44% Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease Approved in Wisconsin

Jul 22 2021 // Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Mark Afable has approved an overall 5.44 percent decrease in worker’s compensation insurance rates, effective Oct. 1, 2021.This is the sixth straight year of rate decreases in...

Germany’s Floods Will See ‘Sizable’ Protection Gap. Could Insurance Demand Increase?

Jul 22 2021 // With an insured price tag of €4 billion to €5 billion (US$4.7 billion to $5.9 billion), economic losses from Germany’s recent floods are likely to be significantly higher, which highlights a sizable insurance...

California Workers’ Comp Report: Private Self-Insured Indemnity Claim Frequency, Paid & Incurred Losses Spiked in 2020

Jul 21 2021 // Workers’ comp claim frequency among California’s private self-insured employers rose in 2020, fueled by a big increase in the incidence of indemnity claims, offsetting a decline in medical-only claim frequency,...

Credit Rating Outlook Changed to Negative for Missouri’s Cameron Mutual Insurance

Jul 21 2021 // AM Best revised the outlook to negative from stable for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B (Fair) and the Long-Term ICR of “bb+” (Fair) of...

UK’s Q2 Auto Insurance Premiums Drop to Lowest Level Since Early 2016: Survey

Jul 21 2021 // The cost of a comprehensive car insurance policy in Britain fell 12% in the second quarter to its lowest level since early 2016 due to COVID-19 lockdowns, although it might rebound to pre-pandemic levels as restrictions...

Surplus Lines Insurers Report 21.9% Premium Hike in First Half of 2021

Jul 20 2021 // Surplus lines premium exceeded $24 billion and premium bearing transactions exceeded 2.6 million through the first six months of 2021, according to the 2021 Midyear Report of the U.S. Surplus Lines Service and Stamping...

P/C Agency Mergers Rise 10% in First Half of 2021: OPTIS Partners

Jul 19 2021 // There were 339 announced property/casualty insurance agency mergers and acquisitions during the first half of 2021, up from 307 in 2020.According to OPTIS Partners’ M&A report, it was the highest recorded total...

The Safe Bet: Comparing the Admitted vs. Non-Admitted Insurance Markets

Jul 19 2021 // Why would anyone in their right mind choose an insurance market with no state guaranty fund protection? What makes the excess and surplus lines non-admitted insurance market a viable option? Well, I will tell you why I...

Florida’s Citizens Insurance Seeks Rate Increase as Policy Count Skyrockets

Jul 15 2021 // The Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s Board of Governors approved rate adjustments that will raise average premiums by an additional 2.3% in February 2022.The board for the state-backed insurer unanimously...