Workplace Stress: 77% of U.S. workers reported stress at work in the past month  March 4th 2024

State Farm Underwriting Loss Climbs to $14B

When State Farm reported a $13 billion underwriting loss for 2022, it was the largest in the auto insurance giant’s history. A year later, and another record.

The underwriting loss figure climbed to $14 billion for 2023, with a nearly $5 billion underwriting loss for property lines outpacing almost $4 billion of improvement in State Farm’s auto results.

“In 2023, State Farm property and casualty insurance companies experienced growth in policies while also reporting underwriting losses due to continued elevated claims severity and significant catastrophe activity, for both the auto and homeowners insurance companies,” the company said in a media statement.

“While we improved overall auto lines profitability in 2023, our results remain below the level we expect and we’re taking a state-specific approach as we operate,” said Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Mark Schwamberger, who also highlighted the responses of State Farm claims and operations team members, along with the State Farm independent contractor agents, to the widespread catastrophe losses that dented results.

House committee approves study of wildfire insurance coverage

A House committee overwhelmingly approved legislation Thursday that would launch a federal study of wildfire insurance coverage.

The House Financial Services Committee, in a 47-2 vote, advanced to the House floor a bill that would require the Government Accountability Office to assess wildfire risk; analyze the impact of wildfires on homeowner and commercial property policies – including premium increases and coverage cutbacks; survey state regulators’ responses; and outline challenges related to underwriting wildfire risk.

The committee delayed a vote scheduled on legislation that would place some restrictions on the Federal Insurance Office’s ability to gather data from insurers. The bill was one of several that was lopped off the agenda so that lawmakers would have time to get to the House floor to vote on a government-funding measure to avoid a partial shutdown.

The Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act was written by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. and ranking member of the committee. Her state is one that has been rocked by natural disasters over the last several years. She said that when insurers sharply raise premiums or stop offering wildfire coverage in certain communities, it can make homes unaffordable and hinder recovery efforts.

J.D. Power Sets Sights on European Expansion with Completion of Autovista Group Acquisition

Ed. Note: in related news "Thoma Bravo weighs $8 bln sale of J.D. Power, Bloomberg reports" 2/20/24 LInk

Integration of European Automotive Data and Analytics Provider Further Expands Industry-Leading Vehicle Valuation and Specification Capabilities

J.D. Power, a global leader in data analytics, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Autovista Group, a leading pan-European and Australian automotive data, analytics and industry insights provider. The acquisition, which was announced in September 2023, brings together Autovista Group’s comprehensive datasets, insights and industry expertise with J.D. Power market-leading predictive analytics and valuation and customer experience datasets.

“We are living at an historic moment in the automobile industry when future success will largely be determined by how well the industry adapts to massive changes in everything from new powertrains to the use of AI”

“Autovista Group is home to some of Europe and Australia’s most well-known brands in automobile valuation, repair estimation and predictive analytics, and they have been pioneering the use of data-driven insights since the early 1930s,” said Dave Habiger, president and CEO at J.D. Power. “Bringing the Autovista Group team into the J.D. Power family will help leverage our complementary strengths to develop even more powerful insights and forecasting solutions for our worldwide client base.”

Through its six leading brands—Autovista, Eurotax, Glass’s, Schwacke, Rødboka and EV Volumes —Autovista Group standardizes and categorizes hundreds of technical attributes for virtually every vehicle produced in their markets, providing clients with a 360-degree view of detailed vehicle data for use in valuations, forecasts and repair estimates. In addition, its robust analytic solutions and team of experienced analysts are relied upon by stakeholders throughout the automobile industry for detailed insights and benchmarks for vehicle values and ownership, repair and replacement costs.