News
Highest-paid insurance executives - Business Insurance
Last year’s highest-paid CEO also saw the highest percentage increase over 2023, with compensation for the group moving in a relatively narrow band.
Insurance giant Progressive is hiring 12,000 workers this year—and it's using AI to parse through hundreds of thousands of applications | Fortune
Progressive receives an average of 800,000 applications annually.
It’s a tough hiring environment these days. Many businesses have slowed or paused hiring amid economic uncertainty. So, any employer increasing its hiring volume is like a magnet for job-seekers.
That’s the case for Progressive The insurance giant recently announced plans to hire more than 12,000 employees for 2025, up from 10,000 new hires last year. Additionally, the company’s talent acquisition team expects to receive hundreds of thousands of applications this year, Progressive’s business leader of talent acquisition, Neil Lenane, tells HR Brew. Lenane shared how the company plans to manage that volume of résumés while supporting the business’s growth.
Hiring spree. Much of Progressive’s growth stems from booming business. Last year, Progressive added more than 5 million policies while net premiums collected grew by 21% to $74.4 billion. On top of that, the company has already added 1.3 million policies in the first quarter of 2025.
The largest bucket of new hires this year, around 5,000, will account for this growth, Lenane said. The remainder will be to fill vacancies created by internal promotions which Progressive must hire externally for, and lastly, to fill attrition.
Most of the roles Progressive will hire for involve claims and contact center roles—50% of the company’s workforce is in claims.
“[We’re] always making sure that we have folks to be able to handle claims and or to replace the folks who have moved into trainers and leadership and all those things,” Lenane said.
BMW and Viasat demonstrate satellite (NTN) connectivity – Telematics Wire
The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) recently achieved a pioneering feat by showcasing connected vehicle technology that uses non-terrestrial networks (NTN) for emergency communications. In addition, they presented 5G-V2X Direct, which enhances the detection of vulnerable road users (VRUs) in actual traffic scenarios.
The integration of emergency messaging systems and hazard warnings into automobiles was highlighted by these demonstrations. Additionally, they demonstrated how NTN may be used in conjunction with existing terrestrial 4G and 5G networks.
The public road demonstrations highlighted NTN’s capacity to deliver widespread automotive connectivity for a variety of connected services. The focus was on seamless in-vehicle integration and the ability to switch effortlessly between NTN and terrestrial networks for voice communications. It is envisioned that, in the future, drivers may not even be aware of whether their vehicle is connected via satellite or a land-based network.
In order to create a warning about a pedestrian crossing at an obstructed crossroads, two cars shared sensor data in this experiment. This demonstrated how 5G-V2X Direct, which is based on 3GPP Release 16, may help create smarter mobility solutions by enhancing safety for vulnerable road users by alerting drivers using sensor and video data from other vehicles.The 5GAA Visionary 2030 Roadmap predicts that 5G-V2X would be extensively utilized in commercial vehicles between 2026 and 2029.
To further illustrate road user safety enhancements, public road demonstrations were conducted using V2N technology. 5GAA members, such as Nokia, Orange, Stellantis, Valeo, and VEDECOM Institute, presented interoperable V2X Platforms.
Research
We Have Entered A New Era of Auto Claims Complexity
[Ed. Note: Excellent, data and insights rich article]
The auto claims process has entered a new era—one marked by growing complexity, specialized repairs and rising costs.
While inflation plays a role in increased claims severity, it’s only part of the story. Today’s vehicles are fundamentally more complex, and three converging trends are reshaping the claims landscape: the rise of alternative powertrains, the mainstream adoption of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and the increasing size and specifications of vehicles on the road.
Kyle Krumlauf, director of industry analytics for CCC Intelligent Solutions.
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Climate/Resilience/Sustainability
Here Comes Another Busy Atlantic Hurricane Season, But Will It Be as Crazy as 2024?
With warmer than normal ocean waters, forecasters are expecting yet another unusually busy hurricane season for the Atlantic. But they don’t think it will be as chaotic as 2024, the third-costliest season on record as it spawned killer storms Beryl, Helene and Milton.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday unveiled its outlook for the Atlantic hurricane season that begins June 1 and stretches through the end of November, with a 60% chance it will above normal, 30% chance near normal and just 10% chance it will be quieter than average.
Commentary/Opinion
Tariffs, Total Losses, and Tech: What’s Reshaping the Global Auto Insurance Market - Solera
[Ed. Note: Excellent article! Highly Recommended]
The global auto insurance market is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by rising trade barriers, escalating costs, and accelerated technological innovation.
Tariffs on vehicles and auto parts are directly inflating repair costs, disrupting supply chains, and increasing claim severity across key regions—from the U.S. and Europe to Asia and Latin America. These forces are placing mounting pressure on insurers, repair shops, OEMs, and fleet operators.
In the United States, recently enacted and proposed tariffs on parts from China, Mexico, and Canada could drive up personal auto claims costs by $26 to $52 billion annually, according to the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA). With 60% of replacement parts sourced from these countries, this is triggering immediate premium increases—14% in 2023, 12% in 2024, and projected to rise another 8–19% by 2025. Insurers will face additional losses in 2026, as active policies priced before the tariff announcements come to maturity.
Global production outlooks are also being revised downward in response to these trade actions. According to S&P Mobility, U.S. tariffs are contributing to a significant decline in light vehicle production across regions—down 944,000 units in North America and 251,000 units in Europe by 2026. Tariffs are expected to remain at 25% through 2026 before declining modestly, with long-term structural impacts already underway.
Home Insurance in America Might Double Very Soon — and Not Just in ‘Disaster’ Cities. Why Rates Are Skyrocketing Across the US and How To Protect Yourself Now
Home insurance used to be an afterthought, but these days it’s a rapidly escalating expense that is believed to be“deepening the housing crisis,” warns the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).
A recent report from the CFA highlights a sharp increase in premiums between 2021 and 2024, when the average homeowners’ insurance rate climbed 24% to $3,303. That’s significantly higher than the average property tax rate in 2023, which was $1,889, according to the Tax Foundation.
If this pace were to continue, many homeowners could see their insurance rate double in roughly 10 years.
Unfortunately, this burgeoning insurance crisis isn’t limited to high-risk regions such as Florida, California and Louisiana. Rates are going up across the country and even homeowners in relatively “safe” states could see ballooning expenses in the near future.
Here’s a closer look at what’s driving up insurance costs for ordinary families, and what you can do to protect yourself before the crisis spirals out of control. Why homeowners insurance is going up
According to a report from JPMorgan, inflation and climate change are the driving forces behind the property insurance crisis.
Simply put, climate disasters are becoming more frequent and less predictable, as scientists have been warning for years. Meanwhile, home prices have climbed rapidly in recent years, which means it costs more to repair or replace a home after it has been damaged.
Financial Results
Copart Reports Q3 2025 Revenue Increased but Still Missed Projection
The auto salvage giant is preparing for another busy hurricane season by buying more land to store cars in Florida.
Dallas-based global vehicle seller Copart Inc. (Nasdaq: CPRT) reported Q3 2025 revenue of $1.2 billion, gross profit of $552.3 million, and net income of $406.6 million. Metrics rose between 5.1% and 7.5% YOY.
- Nine month numbers—$3.5 billion, $1.6 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively—were up by 9.4% to 11.2%.
- Earnings per share for the quarter were 42 cents, up 7.7% and meeting analyst expectations. For nine months they were $1.18, up 10.3%.
- Quarterly revenue, however, slightly missed projections, by about 1%.
- U.S. gross margins hit 48% in the quarter, the company said on its earnings call.
Copart reported results after markets closed May 22. Shares declined 4% in early May 23 trading, possibly a response to its slight revenue miss.
It sold more than 4 million units worldwide last year, with buyers in 185 countries and 250 physical locations in 11 of them, in North and South America, Europe, and the Middle East.
Copart said it had $5.6 billion in liquidity at the end of the quarter, 78% in cash with the rest revolving credit. Last year at this time it had about $4.4 billion total, according to Morningstar.
TOTAL LOSSES HIGHER
On Copart’s quarterly earnings call with investors and analysts, CEO Jeff Liaw said total loss frequency hit 22.8% in the first three calendar months of 2025, up 100 basis points or 1 percentage point year-over-year.
This tops the 22.2% total loss frequency was trending toward for the year on its Q2 call in March. Liaw said then, “total loss frequency drivers certainly continue unabated. … Repairing cars becomes less attractive as time passes.”
Curators' Corner: Alan Demers and Stephen Applebaum
Curators' Corner
Selected Q1/2 2025 Thought Leadership articles.
See InsurTech Consulting Insurance and InsurTech Blog link for all published articles.
(Re)defining Empathy in Insurance
AI Can Fix Everything In Insurance
Rising Uncertainty: Risk & Opportunity for insurance Resilience
Trust, Personalization and Transparency: Foundational for Premium Accuracy
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