InsuranceEDGE | BuildingMetrix

InsuranceEDGE | February 3, 2022 | BuildingMetrix

Written by WSRB | February 3, 2022

Headlines

 
 
 
Over the past two years, our roadways have been more perilous and more fatal. During the first six months of 2021, motor vehicle crash deaths jumped nearly 20 percent.
 
 
Last summer’s collapse in Surfside, Fla., exposed a startling truth: There are thousands of aging condo buildings that could be next — and few steps being taken to prevent another tragedy.
 
 

 

Business
 
 
 
Most lines of commercial insurance experienced increases in premium renewal rates in the fourth quarter, according to a report from Ivans Insurance Services, a division of Tampa, Florida-based Applied Systems Inc.
 
 
The Q4 results showed an annual increase in the average premium renewal rate across all major commercial lines of business.
 
Wouldn’t it be nice if an insurer could stop the leak almost before it starts?
 
 
Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has adopted his rule banning insurers from using credit information to set auto, homeowner and renter insurance.
 
It is unlikely that industry combined ratios and return on surplus will reach levels achieved in the last hard market that occurred in the early-mid 2000s.
 
 

 

Education
 
 
 
The pandemic has triggered a notable uptick in usage-based insurance (UBI), and the auto segment has been working towards developing the best digital solutions to keep money in clients’ pockets.
 
 
Days after it announced it had to lay off 330 employees due to worsening loss costs, auto insurer Root Insurance has finalized a $300 million term loan.
 
 
Some insurance representatives are cautiously optimistic about the idea, but a few are wondering what a Bitcoin mortgage could mean for policies and escrow accounts, particularly if the currency loses value.
 
 

 

Environment
 
 
 
Insurance payments to U.S. farmers for crops lost to droughts and flooding have risen more than threefold over the past 25 years, according to an analysis of federal data by the Environmental Working Group.
 
 
A new earthquake-warning app is available for Washington state. The state said there are already two warning systems in place, but the MyShake app provides a third and possibly quicker option.
 
 
The market is well capitalized to respond to buyers, with over 50 insurers offering upwards of $700 million in total capacity, but concerns remain. 
 
 

 

Innovation
 
 
 
Self-driving vehicle companies from Tesla Inc. to General Motors Co.’s Cruise are racing to start making money with their technology, outrunning efforts by regulators and Congress to write rules of the road for robot-driven vehicles.