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Mitchell Reports a Lower Total Loss Rate for Electric Vehicles 0

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Mitchell Reports a Lower Total Loss Rate for Electric Vehicles

Recent claims data debunks perception that electric vehicles (EVs) are more often declared a total loss following a collision than their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts San Diego, CA (Nov. 8, 2023) – Mitchell, an Enlyte company and leading technology and information provider for the Property & Casualty claims and Collision Repair industries, is pleased to announce it has released its latest trends report, Plugged-In: EV Collision Insights. This quarter’s report examines total loss frequency for electric and ICE automobiles. In the U.S. and Canada from Q1 to Q3 2023, the EV total loss rate was 7.25% for models 2020 and newer. Luxury ICE automobiles manufactured over the same time period and with a comparable actual cash value (ACV) had a rate of 7.47% versus 8.49% for all ICE vehicles. “Many believe that auto insurers are writing EVs off as a total loss more often than their ICE counterparts of a similar model year and ACV, even with only minor damage,” said Ryan Mandell, director of claims performance at Mitchell. “Our data simply does not support that conclusion. In fact, even though an EV’s lithium-ion battery significantly increases the likelihood of a total loss outcome, we do not see these...

Better protecting consumers against harmful IT risks: FSRA 0

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Better protecting consumers against harmful IT risks: FSRA

FSRA releases final IT Risk Management Guidance Toronto, ON (Nov. 8, 2023) – The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) is pleased to announce it is taking active steps to further protect consumers and their data against harmful IT risks, such as cyber threats, with the release of the final Information Technology (IT) Risk Management Guidance, following robust consultation. The Guidance will help FSRA-regulated sectors and individuals effectively manage threats to their IT systems, infrastructure and data. The Guidance includes: Seven practices for effective IT risk management A process to notify FSRA in the event of an IT risk incident Sector-specific requirements for credit unions and caisses populaires, Ontario-incorporated insurance companies and reciprocals, and pension plan administrators Regulated entities must still comply with existing requirements related to IT risk and the protection of personal information, including the requirements of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”). In response to the feedback gathered from January 23 to March 31, 2023, FSRA amended the proposed guidance as identified in the consultation summary. Some changes include: The effective date of the Guidance has been changed from June 2023 to April 1, 2024 The IT incident reporting timeframe has been updated to...

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Why Firms May Reverse Course on AI Plans in 2024: Forrester

Changing investor behavior will also influence the technology that firms deliver to clients in 2024, Raghavan added. The ongoing high-interest environment has consumers looking more at fixed income investments than they have in decades, yet most mobile investment apps can’t meet the demand.  Only 25% of respondents to Forrester’s digital usability study were able to find bonds on a firm’s app, and most apps don’t offer a way to trade them. Fidelity Investments’ app provides the ability to buy a certificate of deposit, but that’s an exception, Raghavan said.  “To me this seems like a real opportunity to add some bond-screening capabilities and really differentiate in the market,” he added.  Raghavan also expects new types of technology to thrive in 2024 as advisors look to attract validators, a demographic that Forrester defines as younger (average of 43), employed and earning an average income of $106,000. At 42%, this group is now the largest segment in the United States. These investors are more hands-on with their investments but still want to connect with financial advisors. Advisors launching or moving a practice need more sophisticated and mobile-first technology to reach this demographic; plus, technology vendors taking full advantage of cloud-based services and...

10 Dividend Stocks to Buy Now: Morningstar 0

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10 Dividend Stocks to Buy Now: Morningstar

Start Slideshow Investors looking for the best dividend stocks to buy during this period of economic uncertainty and stock market volatility might consider adding undervalued, quality dividend stocks to their portfolios, Morningstar investment specialist Susan Dziubinski writes in a new blog post.  This is because quality companies have the stability to maintain their dividends during fraught economic periods, and price risk is reduced when investors can buy these companies’ stocks cheaply. Investors look past a stock’s yield and choose stocks whose dividends are durable and buy them when they are undervalued, Dziubinski said. To find the best dividend stocks, analysts looked to the 75 high-yielding stocks on the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index, a subset of the firm’s U.S. Market Index, which represents 97% of equity market capitalization. Only securities whose dividends are qualified income are included; real estate investment trusts are excluded.  Analysts then screen companies for quality, using the Morningstar Economic Moat and Morningstar Uncertainty Ratings. Companies must earn a moat rating of narrow or wide and an uncertainty rating of low, medium or high; those with very high or extreme uncertainty ratings are excluded.  The index includes a screen for financial health with a distance-to-default measure, which...

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Bad Timing Drained Returns for Thematic Fund Investors: Morningstar

What You Need to Know Investments in specific strategies have more than doubled in assets under management globally since 2018. A buy-and-hold approach would have offered better results for most, the study found. More volatile funds seem to induce more frequent trading and a tendency to buy high and sell low. Poorly timed trades caused investors in thematic funds to miss two-thirds of the returns in those vehicles, a recent Morningstar study found. Investors in thematic funds earned on average only 2.4% a year over the five years through June 30, well short of thematic funds’ overall 7.3% average total return annualized, according to “The Big Shortfall.” This meant that investors experienced a 4.9-percentage-point annual return shortfall due to  mistimed purchases and sales, according to Morningstar. “Our findings show that, in aggregate, investor buying and selling habits connected with thematic funds over the last five years have destroyed considerable value,” a Morningstar report on the research said. Thematic funds, which invest in particular strategies, such as artificial intelligence or aging populations, have more than doubled in assets under management globally since 2018 and sparked questions about how investors use them, Morningstar noted. They saw a far greater gap in investor versus...

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Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Air Pollution Permit for Texas LNG Terminal

Article 0 Comments A federal appeals court on Monday struck down a major air pollution permit issued by Texas’s environmental regulator, arguing that the state allowed improperly high emissions limits for Port Arthur LNG, a gas liquefaction and export terminal currently under construction on the Gulf Coast. In a 17-page opinion, a three-judge panel at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality “acted arbitrarily and capriciously under Texas law” when it “declined to impose certain emissions limits on a new natural gas facility.” The judges remanded the permit for Port Arthur LNG back to the TCEQ for correction. “I hope this goes out and sends a message to the rest of the companies that are looking at us and want to make us a sacrifice zone,” said John Beard, a retired refinery worker and community activist in Port Arthur who first challenged the permit. “We’re going to attack every single one of them and we’re going to take them down where we can.” The court’s decision follows three years of arguments and appeals since Beard, a former industrial firefighter and founder of the Port Arthur Community Action Network, first challenged the proposed permit,...

Study: Medical Payments to Treat Injured Workers in Texas Stable Over Five-Year Period 0

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Study: Medical Payments to Treat Injured Workers in Texas Stable Over Five-Year Period

Article 0 Comments Medical payments to treat injured workers in Texas were stable from 2016 to 2021, according to a new study from the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The study, CompScope Medical Benchmarks for Texas, 24th Edition, found that stability in medical payments masked offsetting changes, “including a decline in utilization of medical care coupled with increases in outpatient and inpatient hospital payments,” said Ramona Tanabe, president and CEO of WCRI. A decline in payments per claim mainly occurred between 2019 and 2021, which WCRI said was largely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Other findings from the study include: Utilization of nonhospital services decreased by 11 percent from 2020 to 2021, mainly because of fewer visits per claim. Hospital outpatient payments per workers’ compensation claim increased from 2019 to 2021 mostly due to growth in payments per service. Payments per workers’ compensation claim were lower in Texas than typical for both nonhospital and hospital care. The study examined medical services in Texas compared with 16 other states overall, by type of provider, and by type of medical service. Topics Trends Texas Workers’ Compensation Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this...

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Toxic Chemicals Found in Wells Near Michigan Shoe Manufacturer’s Headquarters

Article 0 Comments ROCKFORD, Mich. (AP) – Tests show toxic chemicals in wells near the headquarters of a western Michigan shoe manufacturer, years after the company dredged and transferred river sediment from a leather-processing tannery. There is no dispute Wolverine Worldwide used a 3M Co. waterproofing product that contained PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” and has settled lawsuits over land and well contamination in the Rockford area, north of Grand Rapids. But now there`s a new development: at least 27 properties have contaminated wells in Courtland Township near company headquarters in Rockford, MLive.com reported. “It’s early on and we’re still kind of waiting to figure out what the extent is and what the best action to take is,” said Matt McCannon, the township`s elected supervisor. “We have avoided it up until now.” Wolverine posted a statement online last week, saying it had state approval to “occasionally dredge sediment from the Rogue River in front of our former tannery to ensure proper operation of the water intake pipes.” The sediment was then placed at headquarters property in the 1980s and early 2000s, Wolverine said. “We are actively working to identify and delineate the sediment, and will coordinate with EGLE to determine...

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Variable Annuities Attract Premium Deposits in Year 2: Study

For companies that did not provide data for the study, the purchase price is $60,000. Insurers can use the data to design products, price products and improve predictions about how in-force contracts will perform. The public materials: The team has provided some information on the study summary page and in a general report about the findings. The average annuity included in the study had about $133,000 in contract value exposed to surrender, and the average contract owner who withdrew cash took out about $11,100. The survey shows that benefits guarantees increase the odds that owners will keep their contracts. In 2021, for example, the surrender rate was about 13% for contracts with GLWB riders and about 17% for products without any living benefit guarantees. Credit: Song about summer/Adobe Stock

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Magnitude 3.6 Earthquake Rattles Parts of Northern Illinois, Parts of 3 Other States

Article 0 Comments STANDARD, Ill. (AP) __ A magnitude 3.6 earthquake rattled northern Illinois and parts of three other states early Wednesday, awakening some residents and spurring reports to 911 about homes shaking, the U.S. Geological Survey and police said. The small earthquake was detected about 4:41 a.m. local time and was centered about sixth-tenths of a mile (1 kilometer) south-southeast of Standard, Illinois, a town that`s about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of downtown Chicago, the federal agency said. The temblor occurred about 2.9 miles (4.6 kilometers) below the Earth`s surface. People living as far away as southern Wisconsin, southeastern Iowa and northwest Indiana reported that they felt the quake, said Jessica Jobe, a research geologist with USGS. She said “weak to moderate” shaking was reported across that region but the USGS had received no reports of damage. While there’s neither a history of large quakes in that area of Illinois, nor a known fault zone in that region, Jobe said “small to moderate earthquakes can occur anywhere and anytime in the Eastern U.S.” Administrative Lt. Doug Bernabei with the Peru Police Department, located several miles north of Standard, said he was up making coffee when his house shook....