Commercial Auto

Success in the soft market will be had when careful preparation meets opportunity.

Normalized growth and peak multiples confirm we are headed towards a Darwinian race.

Workers’ comp rates dropped again, but the decline slowed from last quarter.

Selective’s CEO earlier attributed Q3 adverse development to the NJ market.

By line of business, $35mn of the charge relates to commercial auto and $5mn to personal auto.

The decision impacts 5% of the reinsurer’s North America P&C facultative premiums.

Joseph Lacher will step down as president and CEO and resign from the board.

Fronting doesn’t look any better when it’s broken down by segment.

The jump in the latest estimate could be due to damage to seasonal properties only being recently discovered.

While the Fed is more concerned with jobs, other macroeconomic concerns trouble the industry.

Reinsurers will not back business indefinitely where loss ratios continue to exceed the industry by a wide margin.

Persistent social inflation challenges evident across key long-tail lines at half-year mark.

High H1 reserve releases of $7.4bn were driven by the largest of carriers.

The other liability loss ratio continued to rise as workers’ comp and commercial auto reversed course.

Despite mild headline CPI, some insurance-related items are heading in a worrying direction.

Commercial auto saw the largest rate change, which was down about a half point by the end of July to 7.96%.

Appointments include leadership in transportation, energy, marine and others.

Auto, umbrella and excess lines recorded mid-double-digit rate increases in Q2.

The company also purchased $15mn of SCS parametric coverage.

The pace of increases ticked down in the second quarter compared to Q1.

The regional insurer has increased its weighting to OLO and commercial auto, versus comp.

Morgan Stanley first invested in Cover Whale in May 2024 with structured debt.

The executive said the claims industry is going to “be transformed”.

Rising inflation could raise claims severity but also increase investment income.

All lines except workers’ comp are up year over year, however.

Under the new law, vehicles will only be required to carry $100,000 in PIP per person.

Premium rose across the top 15 P&C risks in 2024.

Early adopters of AI will see efficiencies – and likely increased market share, Kantar said.

Tariffs could drive up property loss costs, but the impact on other items has been muted.

A deep-dive analysis shows LitFin is not the boogeyman this industry paints it out to be.

Rates need to be fair but also should not be “destructive of competition”.

The suit, filed in Florida federal court, is Uber’s second Rico case.

The former Hub executive has over 30 years of experience in transportation.

Increases dropped to 5.3% from 5.6% for the previous quarter.

The NYC taxi insurance market is on the brink of collapse. Regulatory relief has been nowhere to be found.

High general liability losses are cause for concern despite modest improvements in other lines.

Inflation indices fell in April, but some items related to P&C are still elevated.

Strong underwriting performance and aggressive repricing of risks in most lines has aided stability.

The two deals bring the combined company’s Ebitda to about $25mn-$30mn.

The MGA market now makes up 10% of the overall P&C market.

The company has reduced its exposure on large commercial auto and property.

The executive has been with the firm’s underwriting team for over 12 years.

The Lone Star State has seen rapidly increasing rates in recent years.

Rates for umbrella accelerated to 9.26%, from 8.76% in Q4 2024.

Despite positive inflation headlines, there are issues for insurers under the surface.

The executive will also oversee premium audit and customer service.

Data, technology and telematics could turn the struggling sector profitable.

Korte had been serving as interim president of the unit since December.

The costs of accident/casualty-related claims continue to rise.

The InsurTech was also removed from under review, negative.

Surplus lines are still strong, but not the standout they used to be.

Newly released annual stat filings on reserve data show some troubling trends.

Last month’s inflation figures were lower than expected, but tariffs continue to loom.

Auto and homeowners’ insurance will see effects from the tariffs.

The industry continues to take reserve addition medicine in smaller doses than recommended.

The funding round valued the company at around $850mn.

Excess/umbrella liability and commercial auto broke the trend with high price increases, however.

Workers' comp continued to offset GL adverse development, but the bucket is running dry.

Approximately 12% to 13% of Skyward’s premium was in commercial auto in Q4.

Technology is key to streamlining the value chain and mitigating loss ratios.

Cyber premiums dropped 1.8%, while commercial auto was up 8.9%.

January CPI/PPI heats up but won’t translate to higher loss costs.

Carriers that started earlier in correcting their books and catching up with loss trend may be reaping rewards.

The company’s combined ratio rose 6.5 points from 2023.

The executive joins after 20 years with Lexington.

Loss-cost indicators are high for liability, low for property.

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages from 180 defendants.

Fronting growth fell by half in 2024 due to uncertain loss climate and high cost of capital.

A quick roundup of our best journalism for the week.

The MGA secured backing from buyout heavyweight KKR in March 2021.

Newcomers enter on the belief that they have a “better mousetrap”, said Donato Monaco.

Sources said that the underwriter has been working with Houlihan Lokey to find a potential backer.

Initial expectations for the later storm prove overblown, while inland auto losses mount for the earlier event.

Excess casualty rates were up 10% and have been double-digit all year, the executive said.

Andrade flagged expected 5% to 10% increases in the US and Europe.

Worrisome trends in the line may be warning signs of worse to come.

It’s time regulators take decisive action regarding the company and regulation, sources say.

The storm is projected to make landfall in the next 24 hours in the highly populated Tampa Bay region.

Milton stole the limelight from slightly stuck PE-backed brokers, acquisitive globals and the casualty conundrum.

Sources expect loss amplification in claims from Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

In Q2, median property price increases decelerated to 2.3%.

Idaho and Minnesota far outpaced other reporting states in premium growth, stamping office data shows.

No-fault state regulation and alleged fraud continue to plague the fraught market.

Hereford and Maya have written $141mn and $15mn in DWP for H1 2024, respectively.

ATIC insures about 60% of the NY livery market.

The losses added 12.3 points to the firm's 100.4% CoR.

The company writes roughly $300mn with Ebitda of roughly $30mn.

The mean nuclear verdict for 2013-2022 was $89mn, versus $76mn in 2010-2019.

The InsurTech had been pursuing strategic investment options, including a minority stake sale.

The all-items CPI has increased 3.4% over the last 12 months.

Former NTUM president Justin Joyce will lead the ANTU binding unit.

It is understood that the company needs to secure cash within less than 30 days.

Downward trends of DCC ratios are beginning to reverse, which could cause issues for long-tailed lines.

A litany of underwriting and quoting constraints has made it much harder to write business.

However, capacity build has slowed over the past year, sources say.

Workers’ comp releases continue to mask deteriorating reserves in 2023.

The agency cited the InsurTech’s material underwriting losses in 2023.

This continues a consecutive quarterly gain of over 6%.

Sizeable investment returns masked 10-year high underwriting losses.

Bill Fahrner most recently served as CUO at Joyn Insurance.

The company’s book is being run off by Boost Insurance.

The company would ideally like to target a minority investment.

He joins Fairmatic’s executive team to lead new product production.

Koffie began work on a sale earlier this month following major layoffs.

December’s increase was an acceleration from 19.2% in November and October, with the CPI all-items index up 3.4% vs a 3.1% YoY rise for November.

The ratings agency cited persistently strong underwriting results throughout the pandemic and amid substantial economic and capital markets volatility as being among the reasons for maintaining the outlook at stable.

The company also plans to ramp up its media spend in 2024 after having significantly slashed advertising budgets earlier this year.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

Loss costs trends continue to increase in both physical damage and bodily injury coverages for nearly all of Progressive’s commercial auto products, CEO Tricia Griffith wrote in a quarterly update.

From 2020 to 2023, P&C replacement costs increased by 45% on average, whereas inflation for the overall US economy increased 15% within that same period, though the forecast expects that to change.

The carrier booked net pre-tax unfavorable development of $154mn in Q3, primarily driven by $263mn of unfavorable development from its business insurance unit.

An RPS report cites a drop in demand from Covid highs, along with increasing competition among carriers and near-record capacity as among the challenges currently facing transportation insurers.

On a year-on-year basis, the all-items index for September increased 3.7% before seasonal adjustment.

US commercial and personal auto insurer claim payouts combined were up between $96bn and $105bn for the period from 2013 to 2022.

Competing forces of loss cost inflation and mixed rate action yield uneven trajectories for the largest commercial lines.

Adoption of telematics is the first step, but the next step is analyzing the data and using it to make better drivers via retraining, rewards and incentives.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

Nationwide’s recent exit from its E&S commercial auto business has spurred a flurry of speculation as to what's next for the space.

The ratings downgrade follows the departure of former CEO Marty Young and a round of layoffs in April.

The intermediary’s latest study shows double-digit rate increases in commercial property and auto lines.

The carrier had estimated a write-off in the range of $25mn-$35mn.

Recently released statutory data shows the US P&C industry loss ratio touching the 65% mark, the highest level in two decades.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

AM Best’s last rating was to downgrade the financial strength rating (FSR) of the members of the Hallmark Financial Group to C++ (marginal) from B++ (good).

The update comes days after the agency downgraded the carrier’s ratings late last week.

The carrier has exhausted the limit of the loss portfolio transfer with Darag on its troubled commercial auto book and is subject to further reserve deterioration.

One question in the community is whether nuclear verdicts this year will spark a re-acceleration of rates, especially in the lead excess layers.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

The results were based on an analysis of paid loss data for commercial auto liability between 2012 and 2021.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

2022 statutory data is now available, and results show winners and losers

Sentiment scores across US P&C segments dropped sequentially in Q4, though InsurTechs bucked the trend.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

This compares to a 14.2% annual increase in auto insurance prices in December, while the overall index slightly moderated to a 6.4% gain from 6.5% in December.

Need to Know

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

Month to month, the motor vehicle insurance index in December recorded a 0.6-point increase.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

Inside P&C’s news team runs you through the key highlights of the week.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

While Canopius has been in the US for 10 years, the insurer has been building “a multi-platform approach” in which underwriters can write business on several different types of paper.

It is expected to begin rolling out in the first half of 2023.

Third-quarter statutory data reveals premium growth, worsening loss ratio because of increased loss cost trends and Hurricane Ian.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

Amid record high economic inflation, continuing supply chain issues and proliferating nuclear verdicts, carrier CEOs have emphasized the need to keep rate above loss costs during Q3 conference calls.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

On a call with analysts, Lindner said AFG is assuming commercial auto liability loss cost trends at 7%.

Former Embroker COO Julie Zimmer has joined the leadership team as CEO as part of the fundraise.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

The commercial trucking insurer is now available in 27 states for its auto liability coverage.

Inside P&C’s morning summary of the key stories to get you up to speed fast.

Casualty underwriters were taking a “conservative and selective approach” with high-risk categories and accounts with poorer loss histories.

Inside P&C’s news team runs you through the key highlights of the week.