Another Insurer Aims to Lower Its Risk, Continuing Surge in Cyber Insurance Premiums & More

Nationwide Follows Other Insurers in Looking to Reduce Risk

Nationwide announced last week that it would begin taking actions “to mitigate risk and manage the personal and commercial lines portfolios in the current environment.”

“Strong headwinds brought on by the economic environment, catastrophe weather events, and the impact of inflation continue to impact the entire insurance industry,” the insurer said in a statement. It didn’t specify which lines of business or areas of the country would be impacted by its risk mitigation efforts.

AIG, Allstate, Farmers and State Farm have all recently made moves to limit their risk in states like California, Florida and Louisiana. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

Cost of Cyber Insurance Continues to Surge

U.S. cyber insurance premiums shot up 50 percent in 2022, and they’ve tripled in the past three years, according to a study by AM Best. The ratings firm said increasing ransomware attacks and e-commerce have driven demand for coverage. (BLOOMBERG)

FL Enacts Property Insurance Law

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed one of the last property insurance-related bills passed during the state’s 2023 regular legislative session. Among other things, the measure (SB 418) will let insurers offer higher hurricane deductibles for some homeowners and use multiple computer models instead of just one when filing rate increases. (INSURANCE JOURNAL, STATE NET)

RI Moves to Rein in Payday Lending

Rhode Island’s House passed a bill (HB 5160) capping payday loans at an annual percentage rate of 260 percent. As of last week Senate leadership hadn’t commented on whether it supported the legislation. (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL)

Customer Dissatisfaction Driving Usage-Based Auto Insurance Growth

Adoption of usage-based insurance, in which the cost of a policy is determined by the policyholder’s driving habits tracked via telematics, has more than doubled since 2016, with 17 percent of auto insurance customers now participating in such a program, according to J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Auto Insurance Study. The study said lower customer satisfaction with standard auto insurance has helped drive that UBI growth. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK

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