Latest Market Headlines

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

Hardening Markets, Social Inflation, E&S Business: Berkley, AIG Execs Face Analysts

Sep 13 2019 // The commercial general liability line will be the next property/casualty line to harden, the chief executive of W.R. Berkley Corp. predicted at an industry conference. Speaking at the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Insurance...

Climate Change Tops List of World’s ‘Extreme Risks’

Sep 12 2019 // Global temperature change, global trade collapse and cyber warfare are the top three “extreme risks” identified in a study from Willis Towers Watson. The new paper out this month is part of the firm’s...

Another Hard Market Harbinger: U.S. Commercial Lines Prices Up 4% in Q2

Sep 12 2019 // In yet another sign of a hardening market, U.S. commercial insurance prices grew at an accelerated rate compared to a year ago, according to Willis Towers Watson’s latest Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing...

Loss Creep Spells End to Soft Reinsurance Market: Guy Carpenter

Sep 10 2019 // Extended development from North American hurricane losses and losses from non-peak perils like California wildfires have finally jolted reinsurers out of a soft reinsurance market, according to a report from reinsurance...

Billion Dollar Loss Scenarios Point to Need to Better Understand Cyber Events

Sep 9 2019 // As the cyber insurance market has continued its rapid growth, its loss vulnerabilities have become increasingly clear. A new report from Guy Carpenter and CyberCube Analytics has identified potential loss scenarios in the...

California Commissioner Sorry for Accepting Insurance Industry Contributions

Sep 4 2019 // Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has offered an apology for accepting campaign contributions from the insurance industry. Lara in a letter that was reportedly sent on Tuesday acknowledged that his campaign solicited...

Brexit Is Moving £61 Billion in London Insurance Business to Rival Financial Centers

Sep 3 2019 // London’s outsized role in the global insurance industry is being whittled down by Brexit. As much as 61 billion pounds ($75 billion) of business is shifting to rival financial centers in the European Union as a...

First-Half 2019 Records Drop in P/C Insurers’ Underwriting Income; Downgrades Outpace Upgrades: A.M. Best

Sep 2 2019 // The U.S. property/casualty industry’s net underwriting income declined by 9.6% to $4.8 billion in the first half of 2019, compared with $5.3 billion in the same prior-year period, A.M. Best reports. Also, ongoing...

Japan Quakes to Cost Insurance Industry $2B-$3B Annually: Karen Clark & Co.

Aug 30 2019 // For insurers and reinsurers, the 1995 Kobe earthquake produced $3 billion in insured property losses, but a repeat of a more devastating quake that happened 72 years earlier could bring $225 billion in industry losses. And...

China Pacific Insurance Joins Industry Blockchain Initiative, B3i

Aug 26 2019 // China Pacific Insurance Group (CPIC) has become the latest investor in B3i, the insurance and reinsurance industry’s blockchain initiative. CPIC’s membership further strengthens B3i’s representation...

P/C Insurers’ First-Half Underwriting Income Drops; Downgrades Outpace Upgrades: A.M. Best

Aug 26 2019 // The U.S. property/casualty industry’s net underwriting income declined by 9.6% to $4.8 billion in the first half of 2019, compared with $5.3 billion in the same prior-year period, A.M. Best reports. Also, ongoing...

Crying Robots Aside, Insurance Industry Shouldn’t Fear Artificial Intelligence: Viewpoint

Aug 22 2019 // In a viral State Farm commercial, Oscar Nunez, playing the role of a friendly, helpful insurance agent, disparages any insurance company that utilizes artificial intelligence in support of customer service...

Underwriters Get Picky and Other Trends in Construction Insurance

Aug 19 2019 // Construction insurance specialists say their insurance market is strong with plenty of capacity and underwriters competing for the best accounts. According to specialists interviewed by Insurance Journal for their...

Insurance Driving Up Total Cost of Risk for Businesses

Aug 19 2019 // Businesses and organizations paid nearly two percent more in 2018 than they did in 2017 to cover the total cost of risk. Reversing the trend of falling average TCOR per $1,000 of revenue seen from 2013 to 2017, average...

Legislation Highlights Why Cyber Market Should Keep Watch on Small Business Risk

Aug 19 2019 // The 2018 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report cited that 58% of cyberattack victims were small businesses, and the 2019 Symantec Internet Threat Report™ stated that employees working at small businesses were...

How Intellectual Property Compares with Cyber

Aug 19 2019 // Intellectual property (IP) is an area of risk that is underinsured and one that presents interesting opportunities for agents and brokers, according to Erik Alsegard, Intellectual Property practice leader for CFC...

Near National P/C Carriers Identified for 2019

Aug 19 2019 // This year marks the 13th year of the Demotech Company Classification System, which was established in the Feb. 12, 2007, issue of Insurance Journal. The system categorizes insurers into one of 11 categories based on an...

IICF Promotes Myatt to VP, Chief Program Officer

Aug 7 2019 // The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) has promoted Betsy Myatt to vice president, chief program officer, effective Aug. 1. In this newly created role, Myatt will focus on the continued expansion of IICF...

Chubb Promotes Ortega to President, Overseas, as Andrade Moves to Top Everest Role

Aug 1 2019 // Chubb Ltd. has appointed Juan Luis Ortega as executive vice president, Chubb Group, and president, Overseas General Insurance. He succeeds Juan Andrade, who is leaving Chubb to take the role of president and chief...

A Year after GDPR, How Can U.S. Insurers Prepare for Data Privacy Regs Closer to Home?

Jul 30 2019 // More than a year after the European Union implemented its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), U.S. insurers are examining what they can learn as they prepare for the implementation of similar data privacy laws in...