Latest Trends Headlines
All the headlines from our Trends Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Viewpoint: Biometric Litigation Is Significant Emerging Risk for Insurers
Sep 28 2023 // Executive Summary: Biometric litigation is a significant emerging risk that insurers must now take into consideration, says Jim Blinn, vice president, Client Solutions, Zywave. States are increasingly passing biometric...
Rising Claims Costs Limit US P/C Profitability in 2023
Sep 27 2023 // While the profitability outlook for the U.S. P/C industry this year is mixed, Swiss Re predicts a stronger year in 2024, as premium increases and interest rates improve industry results. According to the U.S. Property...
Target Closes Nine NYC, West Coast Stores to Stop Losses From Rising Theft
Sep 27 2023 // Target Corp. is closing nine stores in four states to stem losses from rising retail theft. One Manhattan location will be shuttered, along with two in Seattle, three in Northern California and three in Portland, Oregon,...
California’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $16 Per Hour in 2024
Sep 26 2023 // California’s minimum wage will increase to $16 per hour for all employers on Jan. 1, 2024. In 2023, the minimum wage was $15.50 for all employees regardless of employer size. Some cities and counties in California...
UK Workers Take Most Sick Leave in More Than a Decade: Employer Survey
Sep 26 2023 // British workers took the most sick leave in more than a decade during the past year, a survey of employers showed on Tuesday, adding to signs of a lasting increase in ill health since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chartered...
Report Examines 10-Year California Workers Comp Payment Trends
Sep 25 2023 // Average paid losses on California workers’ compensation lost-time claims fell immediately after legislative reforms of SB 863 took effect a decade ago, but then gradually increased up until the pandemic hit,...
AM Best Tweaks State Farm Outlook to Negative After Weather, Regulatory Issues
Sep 25 2023 // The AM Best financial rating firm has downgraded its outlook for multiple State Farm insurance companies due to weather losses and regulations that the firm said hinder the insurance giant’s ability to adequately...
California Commissioner Wants FAIR Plan Changes, Modeling to Improve Insurance Market Conditions
Sep 22 2023 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced a package of sweeping executive actions that include changes to the FAIR Plan, new rules for the review of climate catastrophe models, and public meetings exploring...
As Complaints Against Pharmacists Rise So Does the Cost to Defend Them
Sep 22 2023 // The cost to defend complaints against pharmacists to their State Board has increased more than 100% in the last decade, according to a newly released claim report published by Healthcare Providers Service Organization...
Washington Proposes 4.9% Increase in Workers’ Comp Rates for 2024
Sep 20 2023 // The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is proposing a 4.9% increase in the average hourly rate employers and workers will pay for workers’ compensation insurance next year. If adopted, the increase...
Environmental Groups Urge Regulators to Shut Down California Reactor Over Safety Concerns
Sep 19 2023 // Environmental groups called on federal regulators to immediately shut down one of two reactors at California’s last nuclear power plant until tests can be conducted on critical machinery they believe could fail and...
Australia’s New Hope to Ramp Up Coal Output, Sees Modest Insurance Premium Hikes
Sep 19 2023 // Australian miner New Hope Group’sCEO Rob Bishop said on Tuesday plans are progressing to double output over the next three years to meet an expected surge in demand for coal-fired power, after reporting a nearly 11%...
AM Best Revises Outlook for Georgia Farm Bureau Companies
Sep 18 2023 // The AM Best financial rating firm has slightly downgraded the credit rating outlook for two Farm Bureau companies after weather losses and a rise in reinsurance costs and inflation. The financial strength rating remained...
2023 to Test Recent Growth in Private Flood Insurance Market
Sep 18 2023 // The private flood insurance market has been growing but 2023 may provide a real test following Tropical Storm Hilary in California, as well as future storms that may come during the remainder of the Atlantic hurricane...
Growth and Change in the Partnership Market
Sep 18 2023 // For 10 years Insurance Journal has recognized some of the nation’s largest agency partnerships and networks in its annual Top 20 ranking. While the names of networks and partnerships have changed a bit over the...
Mercury Introduces New Umbrella Policy as Bodily Injury Costs Rise in California
Sep 15 2023 // Mercury Insurance is introducing a new personal umbrella insurance policy for Californians that is designed to offer extra protection with bolstered coverages as the company notes that bodily injury payouts continue to...
Policygenius Finds Average Home Insurance Prices Up 21%
Sep 14 2023 // Online insurance marketplace Policygenius has found that home insurance premiums at renewal increased 21% on average from May 2022 to May 2023. The state that saw the highest average increase for homeowners insurance...
Google’s Search Dominance Challenged in Biggest Antitrust Trial in Decades
Sep 13 2023 // Google has exploited its dominance of the internet search market to lock out competitors and smother innovation, the Department of Justice charged Tuesday at the opening of the biggest U.S. antitrust trial in a quarter...
Global Companies to Increase Security Spending as Threats Rise: Survey
Sep 13 2023 // Almost half of security chiefs at the world’s biggest companies expect to increase their budgets significantly in the next year as they see economic and social unrest driving more cases of theft, fraud and the...
Q2 US Commercial Lines Prices Up 6.1%: WTW
Sep 12 2023 // According to WTW’s Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS), commercial insurance prices in the U.S. continued to increase in the second quarter. The quarterly survey, answered by insurance carriers,...
