In this segment of The Connected Podcast focusing on news and events in the insurance industry, the discussion begins with the anticipated impact of Hurricane Francine, now a Category 1 hurricane, on major insurers in Louisiana such as State Farm, Allstate, and USAA. State Farm commands the largest market share in the state, followed by Allstate and other key players including Liberty Mutual and Progressive.
The segment then transitions to an overview of industry performance and key trends in early 2024. Notably, the insurance industry's surplus has started to recover from past catastrophic losses but hasn't yet matched inflation and economic demands. A joint report from Verisk and APCIA estimates industry gains at $95 billion for the first half of 2024, though adjusting for specific high-performing insurers reduces this to about $45 billion. Premiums written have grown by 11%, reflecting cautious optimism despite the challenges ahead, like the active hurricane and wildfire seasons.
Underwriting has shown significant improvement, with a $3.7 billion gain compared to considerable past losses. This positive shift brings policyholder surplus up to $1.07 trillion. However, industry constraints persist, particularly in personal lines.
Lastly, the podcast covers Progressive Insurance's decision to temporarily restrict new homeowners' policies in Texas following Hurricane Beryl's devastation. This move aligns with similar actions by Foremost Insurance, reflecting a strategic response to elevated risks from natural catastrophes.
Overall, the segment highlights the insurance industry's adaptive strategies amid climatic and economic pressures, showcasing resilience and careful navigation of evolving challenges.
In a recent segment of The Connected Podcast, the discussion centered on significant movements and trends within the property and casualty insurance sector, highlighting the exemplary performances of Progressive Corp. and Allstate Corp. since the second half of the year. Progressive's shares surged by 20.1%, and Allstate's by 16.3% from June 28 to September 5, attributable to their profitable trajectories in the recovering retail auto insurance market.
Progressive emerged as a leader with a notable 21% revenue increase in its personal lines business, reaching $13.8 billion, primarily driven by personal auto insurance. Allstate also showcased impressive growth in its auto segment with earned and written premiums rising year over year, alongside a significant improvement in its underlying combined ratio, suggesting a trend of sustained profitability.
Switching to the construction insurance sector, Jett Abramson from Amwins Group shed light on divergent growth patterns within the industry. Abramson emphasized a reduction in capacity by larger carriers in both standard and E&S markets, exemplified by the increased number of carriers now required to cover large umbrella towers. This shift drives more retailers to seek coverage in the E&S markets. He critiqued the shortsighted capacity decisions of some carriers, attributing such moves more to growth objectives than to a thorough risk assessment.
In this episode of The Connected Podcast, we explore current happenings in the insurance ecosystem, focusing on social inflation and innovative milestones.
We start with social inflation, which has dramatically impacted U.S. liability claims. The latest Social Inflation Index from the Swiss Re Institute reveals a 57% rise in liability claims over the past decade, with a notable 7% peak in 2023 alone. Social inflation, driven b
