Insurance Journal/Reuters (9/4/2019)
Big insurance losses from hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters over the past two years are set to push reinsurance renewal rates higher in January, ratings agencies said. After falling for several years due to competition and fewer natural disasters, renewal rates have started to climb in the past couple of years and for 2020 are set to rise on average by as much as 5%.

Property Casualty 360 (9/6/2019)
Moody's Investor Services estimates insurance rates will increase by approximately 15% as a result of Hurricane Dorian and catastrophic wildfires, Bloomberg reported. Hurricane Dorian continues its path up the east coast after devastating the Bahamas over Labor Day weekend, destroying about 13,000 homes.

Risk Management Magazine (9/3/2019)
After surveying 400 full-time professionals ages 40 and up, the 2019 Hiscox Ageism in the Workplace Study found 21% had personally faced age discrimination in the workplace, while 44% said they or someone they knew had.

Risk & Insurance Magazine (9/5/2019)
It happened again. According to the Texas Department of Information Resources, on August 16, 2019 twenty-two Texas towns were simultaneously targeted by a coordinated ransomware attack. While the vast majority of the towns hit were small local governments, this incident sheds light on a popular misconception in today's society: Cyber thieves only target large enterprises.

Insurance Journal (9/4/2019)
The U.S. property/casualty industry's net underwriting income declined by 9.6% to $4.8 billion in the first half of 2019, compared with $5.3 billion in the same prior-year period, A.M. Best reports. Also, ongoing negative effects from the 2017-2018 catastrophes led to more P/C insurer rating downgrades during the first half than rating upgrades for the first time in five years, according to the rating organization.

Risk Management Magazine (9/3/2019)
Despite 65% admitting they have been the victim of a cyberattack and 86% believing digital risk will increase, only 4% of small business owners have implemented all of the U.S. Small Business Administration's cybersecurity best practices, according to a survey by Nationwide.

Property Casualty 360 (9/5/2019)
Google and YouTube have agreed to pay $170 million to the Federal Trade Commission and New York state in the largest-ever settlement in an enforcement matter brought under a federal law intended to prevent companies from collecting personal data from children without the consent of their parents.

Risk & Insurance Magazine (9/4/2019)
As Tesla defines its own global market of innovation, it's also merging lanes into an already well-established sector: Insurance. The company announced in a press release on its website that it will now offer car insurance.

Canadian Underwriter (9/4/2019)
A government investigation has found that a design flaw in Tesla's Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system and driver inattention combined to cause a Model S electric car to slam into a firetruck parked along a California freeway.

Will risk management professionals be prepared to meet business challenges in 2025? RIMS, in alliance with Willis Towers Watson, The Hartford and Chubb, collected more than 1,170 surveys -- 845 by risk professionals -- to understand who comprises the profession today, as well as who is projected to do so by 2025. The survey also asked respondents to assess their functions, the importance and impact of diversity and inclusion initiatives, and the effectiveness of educational curriculum. This new report is now available in the RIMS Risk Knowledge Library.

Although ERM has grown substantially and numerous countries have adopted some versions of either ERM or board risk oversight requirements, ERM seems to be at a critical moment for many companies. Will ERM step it up and consistently get linked to performance and value? Both of the major ERM Frameworks (COSO and ISO) were recently updated and provide an opportunity to make those steps. But first, companies need to understand their current practices, successes, value, and challenges. Download this report by Paul L. Walker, Ph.D, CPA. Dr. Walker is the James J. Schiro / Zurich - Chair in Enterprise Risk Management and Executive Director of the Center for Excellence in ERM at St. John's University, Tobin College of Business. He will also speak at the RIMS ERM Conference 2019 this November.