BestWeek: Washington P/C Rate Changes Mixed as Credit Score Ban Begins
OLDWICK, N.J. //BestWire// - With Washington state’s temporary three-year ban on the use of insurance-based credit scores in property/casualty underwriting beginning June 20, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is taking an even-keeled approach to his order, which was excoriated by the insurance industry, according to this week’s BestWeek.
Mike Kreidler“It’s pretty much what you would anticipate,” he said, noting as of mid-June, 97% of insurers filed plans with the state that remove credit scores as an underwriting factor — an issue that has been close to his heart for two decades. He said the remaining 3% either will be late filers or have decided to leave the Washington marketplace.
Also in BestWeek:
— The U.S. workers’ compensation insurance market totaled $51.16 billion in 2020 based on direct premiums written, a drop of 9% from the prior year. Travelers Group leads the list of U.S. workers’ comp insurers ranked by 2020 direct premiums written even though it saw an 11.3% decrease, according to a new Best’s Rankings report.
— Some life/health insurtechs continue to struggle on the path toward profitability in 2020, but the insurtech sector as a whole remains attractive to investors, who advanced $2.55 billion across 146 deals in the first quarter of this year, a jump of 180%.
Just one of four nonpublic companies posted an annual profit in 2020, Dallas-based Bestow Life Insurance Co., which sells term life insurance in 49 states with plans to launch in New York.
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AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City.
(By Caroline Saucer, editor, BestWeek: Caroline.Saucer@ambest.com)