Los Angeles Wildfires
Property owners sue California insurance companies over alleged 'collusion' following wildfires - Los Angeles Times
A group of property owners affected by the January wildfires is suing major California insurance carriers, including the state’s largest, State Farm, accusing them of violating California’s antitrust and unfair competition laws.
The lawsuits follow others regarding insurers’ handling of the aftermath of the Eaton and Palisades fires, including against Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the California FAIR Plan (specifically about smoke damage), the state’s beleaguered insurance plan of last resort.
The group complaint and demand for jury trial filed Saturday in Los Angeles Superior Court allege that in a “nefarious conspiracy,” major insurers conspired to “eliminate competition between them,” thereby “intentionally and systematically” forcing homeowners to accept the California FAIR Plan.
MOREhttps://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-04-19/property-owners-sue-state-farm-california-insurers-antitrust
Climate/Resilience/Sustainability
Q1 Global Catastrophe Recap: AON
The economic losses of the first quarter of 2025 (Q1) reached at least $83 billion, which is well above the 21st-century Q1 average of $61 billion, and also higher than the losses during the same period last year ($54 billion).
The first-quarter losses were driven by California wildfires (Palisades & Eaton Fires), as well as by several other billion-dollar events, including multiple severe convective storm (SCS) outbreaks across the United States in February and March, and the deadly earthquakes in Myanmar and China.
Insured losses were expected to reach at least $53 billion, which is significantly higher than the 21st- century Q1 average of $17 billion, marking the second-highest total on record after Q1 2011. These high losses resulted primarily from California wildfires, which contributed approximately $37.5 billion, or 71 percent of the total insured losses.
The insurance protection gap was provisionally estimated at 36 percent, the lowest Q1 value since 1990 (47 percent) and by far the lowest level on record for Q1. This was mainly due to the dominant contribution of insured losses in the United States, where insurance penetration stands relatively high.
Financial Results
Allstate reports huge pretax cat loss
Eleven events contributed to the March total, with four large-scale systems involving wind and hail accounting for approximately 80% of the losses
Allstate Corp. reported $1.04 billion in pretax catastrophe losses for March, bringing the estimated first-quarter losses to $2.2 billion.
According to a company statement, 11 events contributed to the March total, with four large-scale systems involving wind and hail accounting for approximately 80% of the losses.
The company said it exceeded the retention threshold of its annual aggregate reinsurance program for the risk period ending March 31 and expects around $123 million in recoveries, which would reduce the reported figure for March.
In a previous update, Allstate estimated $1.07 billion in losses from the January wildfires in Los Angeles. That estimate includes the company’s projected share of the California FAIR Plan’s $1 billion assessment and $1.4 billion in expected reinsurance recoveries.
Data Privacy
New Lawsuit Alleges Toyota Sold Customer Driving Data To Third Parties, Which Then Sold It To Insurance Companies
The battle over driver data continues, this time in a Texas federal courthouse, where a consumer is suing Toyota, claiming the automaker sold his driving data to third-party companies. This case is similar to complaints against GM and Honda earlier this year for doing the same, but with a few interesting wrinkles, including that the customer says he opted out of data sharing at some point.
I think last year’s Onstar drama is when most consumers became aware that, not only were car companies tracking your driving data, but also sharing that data with third-party firms who might then sell that data to insurance companies. Just this week, GM and LexisNexis claimed in filings related to lawsuits over that revelation that your public driving behavior isn’t something you can claim private ownership of because it’s, well, public.
Research
Average U.S. Vehicle Age Approaching 13 Years, New Report Shows
Cars on the road are more than a dozen years old on average and they’re getting older.
The average age of U.S. vehicles on the road rose to 12.7 years in 2024 and is expected to hit 13 years by 2026, a new report from CCC Intelligent Solutions shows. CCC data shows that the average vehicle age was 11.4 years in 2014.
As the average automobile life extends, suppliers and repair facilities will need a broad array of parts and expertise to service a wider range of vehicles, stated Kyle Krumlauf, director of industry analytics at CCC.
“The vehicle fleet continues to age and get a lot older,” Krumlauf said. “However, the newer vehicles are so different. There’s a stark difference between older and newer vehicles, especially over the past six [or] seven years, as more ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) features have gotten into the car parc.”
'Monumental demographic shifts' will transform the global P&C insurance sector: Capgemini - Reinsurance News
The aging of the world population is set to dramatically increase the global dependency ratio, and as consumer behaviour shifts alongside trends towards greater urbanisation and automation of technology, the global property & casualty (P&C) insurance industry is expected to transform by 2050, according to the Capgemini Research Institute’s World Property and Casualty Insurance Report.
The research shows that by 2050, the global dependency ratio is expected to rise to 26% from 16% in 2024, which means that for every 100 working-age people, there will be 26 seniors to support, compared with 16 today.
According to the report, this increase in the ratio of seniors-to-working age adults will play a key role in changing habits around consumption, transportation, and all the use of technology, with major implications for both commercial and personal P&C insurance.
“These trends will drive the industry towards a more prevention-focused, modular approach with real-time risk monitoring, as well as more technology-enabled underwriting models,” explains the report.
Interestingly, the report finds that 45% of consumers expect to increase their spending on lifestyle enhancements, which includes things like travel, luxury goods, and home renovations. At the same time, 70% do not plan to buy an additional house or upgrade their current house to a bigger one.
Americans Are More Worried About Running Out of Money Than Death
Allianz Life study finds inflation, taxes, and Social Security worry contribute to fear
KEY FINDINGS: 64% worry more about running...
Nearly two in three Americans (64%) worry more about running out of money than death, according to the 2025 Annual Retirement Study* from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement, part of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life).
Many factors and economic pressures contribute to this fear of running out of money. The most respondents cited high inflation (54%), Social Security not providing as much financial support as they need (43%), and high taxes (43%). Boomers (61%) were more likely than millennials (56%) or Gen Xers (55%) to say high inflation contributed to their fear of running out of money.
Americans worry about running out of money across generations. But this fear is more prominent among Gen Xers (70%) who are in their 40s and 50s and fast approaching retirement and millennials (66%) than boomers (61%) who are over 60 and many have already retired.
“With Americans living longer in retirement and facing risks like market volatility, creating a financial strategy so that your money lasts your lifetime is a daunting task,” says Kelly LaVigne, VP of consumer insights, Allianz Life. “A strong retirement strategy will go beyond a dollar amount in the bank – it will also address how you will create a reliable income stream from your assets. A financial professional can design a strategy to help ease your worries about running out of money.”
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Swiss insurers Helvetia and Baloise to merge to create top 10 company and Switzerland's second-largest insurance group
Helvetia (HELN.S), opens new tab and Baloise (BALN.S), opens new tab plan to merge to create Switzerland's second-largest insurance group with a combined business volume of 20 billion Swiss francs ($24.69 billion), the pair said on Tuesday.
The new group, to be called Helvetia Baloise Holding, will become one of the ten largest insurers in Europe, under what the two companies called a "merger of equals" with an even spread of senior executives and board members.
The deal, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025, is the latest in the insurance sector after Belgium's Ageas agreed to buy British car and home insurer esure for 1.3 billion pounds last week.
£68m funding values Marshmallow at sweet £1.5bn
Marshmallow has raised around £68m funding from Portage, BlackRock and Columbia Lake Partners to almost double its valuation to more than £1.5bn.
The investment, a mixture of equity and debt, comes three years after the business’ Series B round.
It will be used to further grow the InsurTech business’s product offering and support plans for international expansion.
Ocient Announces Close Of Series B Extension Financing to Accelerate Solutions for Complex Data and AI Workloads
Ocient Announces Close Of Series B Extension Financing to Accelerate Solutions for Complex Data and AI Workloads
After doubling revenues for third straight year, the startup strategically appoints CFO to manage financial operations
Ocient, the leading data analytics software solutions company, today announced its advancement into growth stage following the successful close of its $132M Series B funding, which concluded in fall 2024, and with the new strategic appointment of Henry Marshall as Chief Financial Officer. Marshall, previously with space infrastructure provider Loft Orbital, will play a vital role in managing the financial operations as Ocient accelerates bringing its cost, environmental, and operationally efficient solutions to more customers globally.
Including the recent extension close, Ocient has raised a total of $159.4M invested capital to date.
- New investors part of the Series B close, amounting to $42.1M, included Allstate Strategic Ventures, Blue Bear Capital, Solidigm, Massive, Zelkova, and Northwestern Mutual.
- New capital will be used to advance the development and delivery of energy efficient solutions for costly, complex, and operationally burdensome data and AI workloads.
Announcements
Verisk Expands Coverage Verifier With New Analytic Tools | Insurance Innovation Reporter
The updated platform helps insurers assess risk and improve pricing using seven years of policy history.
Verisk (Jersey City, New Jersey) has expanded its Coverage Verifier (CV) product to include Coverage Verifier Analytic Objects (CVAO), enabling insurers to access new risk variables and indicators at the quote stage. The enhancement uses up to seven years of prior policy data to support risk assessment, pricing, workflow optimization, and policy binding, according to Verisk.
The development comes as personal auto insurance shopping increases, with $140 billion in auto premiums now shopped annually, heightening the risk of customer attrition for insurers, the vendor notes.
“By delivering deeper insights earlier in the quoting process, CVAO helps insurers modernize their decision-making and stay competitive in a rapidly shifting market,” says Maroun Mourad, president of Verisk Underwriting Solutions. “These analytics offer predictive insight that can be accessed within seconds at the initial quote.”
According to Verisk, CVAO can help refine risk segmentation by analyzing historical policyholder behaviors
Legal System Abuse/Social Inflation
Missouri $1.2 million lawsuit accusing State Farm of steering set for trial
A $1.2 million punitive damages lawsuit filed against State Farm by a former Missouri collision repair business owner is set to go to trial in December.
The Collision Company first filed suit in 2020, accusing the carrier of aggressively steering business away and causing a 40% loss in business from State Farm customers who decided not to proceed with repairs after speaking to their insurer.
A second amended complaint was filed in August 2024, bringing the damages sought down from $10 million and the named customers to five. The first iteration also named the Missouri director of insurance and three State Farm agents as defendants, who have since been removed.
Damage estimates for three customers named in the suit totaled $25,000, according to the latest complaint. Amounts weren’t determined for the other two customers because they didn’t return to finalize damage estimates.
Also in August, in response to the second amended complaint, State Farm requested a jury trial and either denied the allegations or stated it had insufficient information or knowledge to admit or deny the claims.
Recommended Events
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