AM Best News

AM Best: Migration to Cat-Prone States Fueled Record HO Underwriting Losses in 2023

The U.S. homeowners insurance segment suffered a $15.2 billion underwriting loss in 2023, more than double the loss seen in the previous year and the line’s worst underwriting results since at least 2000, according to a new AM Best report. …

A Good Year May Not Be a Good Thing in D&O Liability Market, Says AM Best

The U.S. directors and officer segment in 2023 recorded a direct loss ratio of 50.8—the best result in nearly a decade—but industry rating agency AM Best is not convinced the good times will last. In a special report on U.S. …

Florida’s 125% Surge in Property-Insurance Bills Sows Havoc

For Filicia Porter, the insurance bills were the final straw. They’d been climbing steeply for her assisted-living business as Florida was battered with ever more-powerful storms, and eventually, the numbers stopped adding up. So in March, she finally decided to …

2023 Underwriting Losses Improve but Persist in U.S. P/C Industry

The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry recorded a slight underwriting improvement in 2023, but losses persisted, according to a new AM Best report. Preliminary data from the global credit rating agency shows that the industry posted a $21.2 billion net underwriting …

Twice as Many Personal Lines Insurers Downgraded by AM Best in 2023

AM Best delivered 39 downward credit rating actions to U.S. personal lines insurers in 2023, more than twice the number registered for 2022, the rating agency reported in it official tally for the year. Additional downgrades of 15 commercial insurers …

AM Best Says Losses from California Storms Largely Uninsured, Underinsured

The economic losses from the latest round of California storms will be significant, with many of these losses may not be insured because only 2% of California residents have purchased flood insurance, David Blades, associate director, industry research and analytics, …

Conditions Are Challenging, Claims Are Elevated, but Reinsurers’ Profits Return: Reports

Despite extremely challenging conditions, with persistent and elevated claims activity, the global reinsurance segment returned an underwriting profit in 2022, according to an AM Best report. “Reinsurers generally have realigned their risk profiles and are in a strong position to …

D&O Market Has Most Profitable Year Since 2014 but Results May Be an Anomaly

The directors and officers insurance marketplace in 2021 enjoyed its most profitable year since 2014 but results have to be “viewed as a possible aberration rather than a the start of a trend,” according to a new report from AM …

Property Insurers Exposed to $12.5B in ‘Silent Cyber’ Losses, Market Analysts Say

US property insurers are exposed to $12.5 billion in non-physical cyber losses that are not expected and not priced by underwriters, according to a report released Tuesday. CyberCube, AM Best and Aon teamed up to calculate the “silent cyber” exposure …