InsuranceEDGE | BuildingMetrix

InsuranceEDGE | April 7, 2022 | BuildingMetrix

Written by WSRB | April 7, 2022
Headlines
 
 
 
It's the second year in a row the country has endured a record number of tornadoes in March, solidifying a trend toward more severe weather earlier in the year and raising questions among scientists.
 
 
Insurance executives who oversee more than $13 trillion in assets expect the U.S. to enter a recession in the near future. Of 328 chief investment officers and chief financial officers polled, more than 60 percent anticipate a downturn.
 
 

 

Business
 
 
 
Flood, fire and drought fueled by climate change could take a massive bite out of the U.S. federal budget per year by the end of the century, the White House said in its first-ever such assessment.
 
 
When buyers are able to show that their original underwriting is taking inflation into account, they face less pressure on renewal terms.
 
While rates in January and February were consistent with the last quarter of 2021, rates did start to move up even more in March 2022.
 
 
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is moving to amend its climate disclosure survey – and insurers may not like it.
 
More than 50 severe flood events around the world caused combined economic losses of $82 billion in 2021, while insured losses stood at slightly more than $20 billion.
 
 

 

Education
 
 
 
After more than 150 years of existence, the Vancouver Fire Department just formed its first all-female crew — and it wasn’t entirely planned.
 
 
A judge in Washington has signed an order formally staying the Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s ban on using credit ratings to help set insurance premiums.
 
About 70% of licensed drivers used a mobile device while driving in the past three months as the U.S. saw more than 3,100 distracted driving-related fatalities in 2020. 
 
 

 

Environment
 
 
 
Another active hurricane season is in store for the Atlantic, with between 16 and 20 storms named across the basin by the time it ends in November.
 
 
It appears there were more tornadoes across the U.S. this year in the month of March than ever before – possibly by a large margin.
 
 
Heading into the spring it is very popular for people to have controlled fires before wildfire season starts, but sometimes controlled burns can get out of control.
 
 
California is experiencing one of the driest starts to spring in decades and absent a heavy dose of April and May showers the state’s drought will deepen.
 
 

 

Innovation
 
 
 
U.S. self-driving truck companies have a golden opportunity in the form of a nationwide driver shortage, but their robot drivers still are not ready.