UK motor premiums have continued to decline for a fourth consecutive quarter, with the cost of an average comprehensive motor policy falling by 3 percent between October and December 2024.

Using replacement cost instead of sales price and factoring in contents and loss of use coverage points to residential property insured losses of around $9bn from the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires, which could get to a $15bn to $20bn range once commercial and auto claims are included, according to Juniper Re.

Former Tesla insurance chief Matt Edmonds has launched a digital-first auto MGA initially writing on the paper of Incline Insurance that has ambitious plans to revolutionize the segment by providing near frictionless coverage integrated seamlessly with carmakers and dealerships at the point of sale, The Insurer can reveal.

Chicago-based insurtech Clearcover has launched Clearcover General Agency (CGA), a new MGA serving the non-standard auto insurance market in Texas with policies to be underwritten by Old American County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, The Insurer can reveal.

Liberty Mutual subsidiary SafeCo will discontinue several underperforming auto and renters insurance products in California over the next two years as it looks to simplify its offerings and focus on areas it can "win in the long term", in the latest example of carriers retrenching from the state.

UK motor insurer Direct Line has started its move onto price comparison websites with the launch of three new products under its own brand.

KBW’s Meyer Shields has provided a “largely positive” outlook for specialty and standard commercial insurers, reflecting the historical pattern of peak commercial underwriting margins coming several years after peak pricing increases.

UK motor insurers will return to profit in 2024 after a difficult two years marred by claims inflation and changes in driving habits since the pandemic – but the outlook for 2025 is bleak, according to EY.

Shares in the Progressive Corporation were trading up 4 percent Friday after the US personal lines giant reported an 18 percent increase in net written premiums to $5.56bn in November and improved its combined ratio by 5.5 points to 85.6 percent.

Expectations that property catastrophe reinsurance pricing is on the wane heading into 2025 could be wide of the mark, while personal auto underwriting margins may still have some way to go before hitting their peak, according to BofA Securities analyst Joshua Shanker.