Latest Studies

This study reveals that minorities, particularly Native Americans, face more risk from wildfires than other groups. The study identified areas most at risk of wildfires and found that 29 million people in the United States live in high-risk locations. While most are white and not poor, there are 12 million people with socioeconomic circumstances, such as no access to a car, that make them less able to adapt if a wildfire occurred. Moreover, the study found that Native Americans living on federal reservations were six times more likely to live in both the most vulnerable and the most fire-prone areas. Full text

Cooking was the leading cause of reported home fires from 2012 to 2016. According to this report, during the 5-year period, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 172,100 home structure fires per year started by cooking activities, or an average of 471 home cooking fires per day. These fires caused an average of 530 civilian deaths, 5,270 reported civilian fire injuries, and $1.1 billion in direct property damage per year. Other findings include: Home fires caused by cooking peaked at Thanksgiving and Christmas; Ranges or cooktops were involved in the 63 percent  of reported home cooking fires, 86 percent of cooking fire deaths and 79 percent of cooking fire injuries; Households that use electric ranges have a higher risk of cooking fires and associated losses than those using gas ranges; Unattended cooking was the leading cause of cooking fires and casualties. Full report.

This report found that the largest financial losses result from claims for fires and/or explosions, aviation incidents, and faulty workmanship or problems related to maintenance and severe weather. This comes from an analysis of 470,000 claims filed in more than 200 nations during the five years between July 2013 and July 2018, with a total value of approximately $66.5 billion. The losses from these perils represent more than 50 percent of all claims by total value. The top 10 causes of losses recorded by AGCS over the five-year period account for more than 75 percent of financial losses. Fire/explosion was the leading cause of loss in the U.S., representing 22 percent of the total, storm damage was the second leading cause of loss, representing 18 percent of the total. Full report.

This report shows that U.S. overdose deaths from cocaine increased by about 18 percent each year from 2011 to 2016. Cocaine was found to be the second- or third-most-common cause of overdose deaths every year during the five-year period. The number of deaths from the synthetic opioid fentanyl rose about 113 percent each year from 2013 to 2016, and the number of overdose deaths involving methamphetamine jumped from 1,887 in 2011 to 6,762 in 2016. Full report.

This annual report provides state-by-state auto insurance data. Some key findings from the report include: As of 2016, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for auto insurance increased 22.57 percent since 2012; The national combined average premium per insured vehicle increased 5.24 percent to $1,062 from 2015 to 2016 and 14.91 percent since 2012; For 2012–2016, national average written premiums per insured vehicle for collision increased 18.94 percent, comprehensive increased 15.02 percent, and liability increased 12.57 percent. Full report

In Florida, abuse of AOBs has fueled an insurance crisis. The state’s legal environment has encouraged vendors and their attorneys to solicit unwarranted AOBs from tens of thousands of Floridians, conduct unnecessary or unnecessarily expensive work, then file tens of thousands of lawsuits against insurance companies that deny or dispute the claims. This mini-industry has cost consumers billions of dollars as they are forced to pay higher premiums to cover needless repairs and excessive legal fees. And consumers often do not even know that their claims are driving these cost increases. This report discusses how AOB abuse works, how and why it is spreading, and how it is contributing to higher insurance costs for Florida consumers. Full report

This report provides an assessment of the contribution that reinsurance markets have made across four areas: increasing primary market capacity; managing catastrophe risks; reducing economic disruption in the aftermath of catastrophe events; and reducing primary insurance market disruption from catastrophe events. The report finds that property catastrophe reinsurance is being used by cedants (primary insurers) to increase the amount of coverage that they make available and to manage catastrophe risks and that property catastrophe reinsurance coverage appears to have had a positive impact on reducing the economic disruption of past catastrophe events and reducing post-catastrophe disruptions in primary insurance markets. The impact of reinsurance on reducing the economic disruption in the aftermath of 26 major natural catastrophes (or series of natural catastrophes) that occurred between 2010 and 2016 were examined. The report found that countries where a relatively high share (10 percent or more) of economic losses related to the specific event(s) were reinsured recovered more quickly after the event and had higher than projected GDP growth in the following three years – while those countries with lower levels of reinsurance coverage struggled to recover and faced a cumulative loss in output relative to pre-event projections. Full report

Cyberattacks on vehicles increased six-fold over the past four years according to this study conducted by Upstream Security. The number of connected cars is expected to reach 775 million by 2023, expanding the opportunities for hackers. Cyber hacks could cost the auto industry $24 billion within five years. The study found that while car manufacturers are an obvious target, Tier 1 suppliers, fleet operations, telematic service providers, car sharing companies and public and private transportation providers are also increasingly targeted. Two new kinds of cyber-attacks are emerging through car sharing and driver exchange, these are having a measurable impact on fraud and data privacy. Full report

This edition of sigma examines developments in global mortality improvement. The report explores how technology can help improve longevity and addresses the implications of mortality improvements for insurers. Life expectancy has steadily improved around the world for well over a century but there are signs that the rate of improvement has slowed in several advanced countries. The slowdown across most countries has been more pronounced among older people and women. Statistics indicate that some of the recent slowdown in mortality improvement is due to lack of additional progress in treating major illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases. Worsening trends in circulatory-related disease have also been a key influence on the slowdown. For governments and insurers that assume longevity risk, shifts in the mortality trend are crucial as this risk cannot easily be diversified away. Full report