Carolina Construction Worker Fired, Punched for Complaining About Drunk Boss Wins Case

A federal appeals court has ruled that a North Carolina employee who was attacked and fired after he complained about his supervisor’s intoxication on the job is entitled to more than $1 million in damages and legal costs. Construction worker …

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G&G Independent Insurance Acquires Arkansas Insurance Advisors in Little Rock

G&G Independent Insurance (G&G) in Fayetteville, Ark., has acquired the Little Rock-based agency, Arkansas Insurance Advisors (AIA). The transaction became effective on Sept. 25, 2020. Founded in 2015, AIA is an independent insurance agency that focuses on ensuring clients have …

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Alera Group in Illinois Promotes Corrigan, Caracciolo and Cox

Deerfield, Ill.-based Alera Group has promoted several employees within the company’s executive leadership team: Brian Caracciolo will assume the role of chief financial officer; and Carolyn L. Cox will assume the role of general counsel; William Corrigan, the agency’s former …

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Allstate to Cut 3,800 Jobs as Latest Step in Multi-Year Growth Plan

The Allstate Corp. said it will cut approximately 3,800 jobs in claims, sales, service and support functions as part of its continuing plan to grow its property/casualty market share. The layoffs will affect about eight percent of the insurer’s 45,780 …

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FAA Chief Completes Boeing 737 Test Flight: Likes What He Saw But Process Not Done

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Chief Steve Dickson conducted a nearly two-hour evaluation flight at the controls of a Boeing 737 MAX on Wednesday, a milestone for the jet to win approval to resume flying after two fatal crashes. Dickson, a …

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Cease and Desist Order Issued for Louisiana Agent for Alleged Premium Theft

The Louisiana Department of Insurance has issued a cease and desist order and summary suspension of producers license to a Lake Charles, La., agent for alleged misappropriation of premium funds. Valerie M. Muse reportedly confessed to her employer that she …

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Kennedy Named President and CEO of The Mahoney Group in Arizona

T. Scott Kennedy has been named as the president and chief executive officer of M&O Agencies Inc., which operates The Mahoney Group in Arizona. Kennedy has more than 30 years of insurance industry experience. His past positions include serving as …

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Plymouth Rock Assurance Launches Motorcycle Insurance in N.J., Pennsylvania

Plymouth Rock Assurance launched motorcycle insurance for riders across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The launch of the product comes than a year after the company acquired Rider Insurance Co., which has focused on the motorcycle community for 50 years. Plymouth …

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AXA XL Expands Construction Offering to ‘Highly Protected Projects’

AXA XL’s North America Construction insurance business has expanded its insurance programs and services for construction projects to include customized coverage for risks that qualify as a “Highly Protected Project” (HPP) because of their implementation of technologies designed to reduce …

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Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Expands Commercial Package Coverage into Illinois

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies has added Illinois to the list of states where the insurer offers its Commercial Package Policy. The product includes commercial property featuring limits up to $120 million per location (higher limits considered), with an enhanced …

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Former Kansas Employee Settles Case for $125K

A former employee of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, has won a $125,000 settlement after her boss was convicted of grabbing her by the shirt and pushing her into a wall. The Kansas City Star reports that …

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Minnesota Man Shot During Raid Settles Lawsuit for $6M

A Minnesota man who was shot by a sheriff’s deputy during a raid last year has settled a federal lawsuit for about $6 million. Shawn Olthoff, 35, was left paralyzed and uses a wheelchair after a Carlton County deputy shot …

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Kansas Sees Another COVID-19 Spike, Counties Worry About Aid

Kansas reported another seven-day record for new coronavirus cases, with 16% of the tests for the virus during that period coming back positive on Monday. The continued spike in confirmed and probable cases comes as officials in some Kansas counties …

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Gas Leak Leads to Explosion in Iowa, Several Homes Damaged

Fire officials are blaming a gas leak for an explosion that destroyed one Dubuque, Iowa home and damaged several others. KCRG reports that Chief Rick Steines with the Dubuque Fire Department said a machine struck a gas main Monday while …

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New California Law Comes From Crash That Killed Kobe Bryant

Gov. Gavin Newsom has approved legislation prompted by the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight other people that makes it a crime for first responders to take unauthorized photos of deceased people at the scene of an accident …

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Allianz Adds 3 From Argo to Cyber Insurance Team

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has made several hires to strengthen its cyber insurance underwriting team: Tresa Stephens as regional product leader; Josh Navarro, executive underwriter; and Ed Lee, underwriting specialist. Based in New York, Stephens will lead the …

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Personal Finance Firm Credit Karma to Offer Checking Account in U.S.

Personal-finance company Credit Karma said on Tuesday it would launch a checking account to U.S. members this year, making it the latest fintech to join the crowded digital banking market. Credit Karma Money Checking will initially be available only to …

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Rourke Appointed as SVP, General Manager of The Church Insurance Companies

The Church Pension Group (CPG), a financial services organization that serves The Episcopal Church, has appointed Christopher R. Rourke as senior vice president and general manager of The Church Insurance Companies (CIC). In this role, he will be responsible for …

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New Hampshire Music Fan Seriously Hurt by Stage Diver Wins $2M Settlement

A New Hampshire man who suffered serious spinal injuries when a stage diver landed on his head during a concert in New Jersey has reached a $2 million settlement with the show’s organizer. Jason Kooken, 46, of Exeter, was injured …

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Report: Nearly 2M Homes at Elevated Risk of Wildfire

Nearly 2 million homes, mostly in the Western U.S., with a rebuilding value of more than $638 billion are at an elevated risk of wildfire damage, a report out today shows. An annual wildfire report from data provider CoreLogic comes …

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The State of Surplus Lines Insurance: Busy Solving Risk Puzzles in a Complex World

Insurance professionals in the surplus lines sector are busy. Busy adapting to a changing business world during COVID-19. Busy adapting to a changing property/casualty market where standard lines insurers are steadfastly shedding undesirable accounts. Busy adapting to a market that …

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LL Global Selects Poklar to Lead Its Insurance Research Unit

LL Global, the Windsor, Conn.-based parent company for LIMRA, LOMA and Secure Retirement Institute, has tapped Mark Poklar to lead its insurance research unit. He will report to Alison Salka, senior vice president and head of LIMRA Research. During the …

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FAA Chief to Conduct Own Test Flight of Boeing 737 MAX

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Chief Steve Dickson is due to conduct a two-hour evaluation flight at the controls of a Boeing 737 MAX on Wednesday, a key milestone for the jet to win approval to resume flying after two fatal …

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Amazon Workers’ Injury Higher Than Industry Average, Report Says

Amazon.com Inc. warehouse workers in the U.S. are getting hurt at a higher rate than the industry average, according to an investigative report. The rate of injuries contradicts more rosy assertions the company has made to lawmakers and the public, …

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Lloyd’s Launches Biz Interruption Insurance Policy for SMEs, Led by Tokio Marine Kiln

Lloyd’s has launched a new “first-of-its-kind” business interruption policy for small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), specifically designed to protect them against IT disruption or downtime. Parametrix Insurance offers simple and reliable coverage by removing the traditional indemnity trigger that most insurance policies …

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Private Equity Firm Hg Invests in Hyperion in Transaction Valued at US$5 Billion

Hg, the European private equity investor focused on software and service businesses, announced it will make a significant long-term equity investment in Hyperion Insurance Group Ltd., the insurance intermediary. The transaction values the business at an enterprise value of around …

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Many Financial Firms and Governments See Cryptocurrencies as Risky: Survey

Financial firms and governments overwhelmingly see cryptocurrencies as risky, a major survey found on Tuesday, with the potential for bitcoin and other digital tokens for use in money laundering and sanctions busting among the chief worries. Around 60% of respondents …

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Florida Attorney Behind Thousands of Insurer Lawsuits Violated 14 Bar Rules: Judge

Embattled Florida attorney Scot Strems, who, with his firm, has filed thousands of assignment of benefit and first party lawsuits against Florida property insurers over the last several years, has been found by a court-appointed referee to have violated more …

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Equity Volatility Is Most Significant Risk for Investors: AIA Group CIO

Heightened equity market volatility extending beyond the U.S. presidential election is the most significant risk for investors, AIA Group’s chief investment officer said on Tuesday. Mark Konyn, group CIO at the insurance and securities firm in Hong Kong, told the …

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HDI Global Specialty Taps Inter Hannover’s Barenthein as MD of Scandinavian Branch

HDI Global Specialty SE has appointed Thomas Barenthein as the managing director of its Scandinavian Branch. Barenthein joins the specialty lines insurer from Inter Hannover where he was managing director, Sweden. The Scandinavian branch of HDI Global Specialty in Stockholm …

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COVID-19 Crisis Renews Attention on Systemic (Uninsurable) Risks

Reinsurers and insurers for years have been worried about systemic risks – those uninsurable risks with the potential of surpassing the capital of the industry. The COVID-19 crisis has renewed attention on these risks, which could also include a global …

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Texas Records $717.76M in Surplus Lines Premium in August

The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) recorded $717.76M in Texas surplus lines premium during the month of August. SLTX said the premium recorded year to date through August represents an 11.1% increase over the same period in 2019. …

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Agents Warned of ‘Creative’ Attorneys, Virus Lawsuits

Agents and brokers should be on alert that plaintiffs’ attorneys in COVID-19 related business interruption claims lawsuits may be eyeing them as more cases against insurance companies begin to fail and claimants start looking around for other sources of reimbursement …

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Chubb Names Updyke as Division President of Chubb Small Business

Insurer Chubb has named Jeffrey Updyke as vice president, Chubb Group, and division president, Chubb Small Business. In this capacity, Updyke will have executive responsibility for Chubb’s retail insurance business that serves small commercial clients in the U.S. and Canada. …

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Trump Plan Would Restrict Retirement Plans from Sustainable Investments: Viewpoint

Interest in sustainable investing is soaring, as more people become convinced that making a positive impact can be profitable as well as good for the planet and society. Unfortunately, the Labor Department doesn’t think these investments belong in your 401(k). …

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Connecticut Workplace Shooter Says Gun Fired By Accident

A man charged with wounding his boss and another employee in a shooting at a Connecticut trucking company told police his handgun fired by accident and he only intended to scare his manager, according to an arrest warrant released Thursday. …

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The Big Question Is Can U.S. Restrain Worsening Wildfires?

This is one of a series of interviews by Bloomberg Opinion columnists on how to solve pressing policy challenges. This conversation has been edited and condensed. Romesh Ratnesar: The American West is suffering through a devastating fire season. Wild fires …

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Pennsylvania’s Strickler Insurance Agency Joins Agency Network Exchange

Agency Network Exchange LLC (ANE) has added Strickler Insurance Agency Inc. in Lebanon, Penn., to its network to sixteen agencies in the state. Strickler Insurance Agency has been insuring individuals and businesses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region since 1860. Established in …

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Marsh Appoints Franklin as Chief Digital, Data and Analytics Officer

Insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh has appointed Tamara Simpkins Franklin as chief digital, data and analytics officer, effective October 1. Based in New York, she reports to Marsh President and CEO John Doyle. In this role, Franklin will be …

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Pandemic Brings Shift in Younger Workers’ Views of Employee Benefits

The coronavirus pandemic has led to a greater emphasis on employee benefits that help people plan for unexpected life events and provide financial protection, according to a study by The Hartford. The Hartford’s Future of Benefits Study found that 40% …

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Meat Plant Workers Being Denied Workers’ Compensation for COVID-19: Reuters

Saul Sanchez died in April, one of six workers with fatal COVID-19 infections at meatpacker JBS USA’s slaughterhouse in Greeley, Colorado, the site of one of the earliest and deadliest coronavirus outbreaks at a U.S. meatpacking plant. Before getting sick, …

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Uber Granted 18-Month License Extension in London After Legal Review

Uber Technologies Inc. won the ability to continue operating in its biggest European market after a London judge granted the ride-hailing service an 18-month license extension. Uber did enough to satisfy the court that it was now “fit and proper” …

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Howden Acquires London-Based Broker St Giles Legal & Professional Risks

Howden, the independent employee-owned insurance broker, announced it has reached an agreement to acquire St Giles Legal & Professional Risks, a London-based professional indemnity insurance broker specializing in the UK solicitor sector, a market in which Howden is already a …

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Executives Reassess Work-Life Balance After Experiencing Coronavirus Blues: Survey

Nearly eight out of 10 corporate executives have experienced poor mental health during the coronavirus crisis, prompting a number of them to re-evaluate and improve work-life balance, a survey showed on Monday. Many top company officials in France and Egypt …

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Guy Carpenter Taps Miller from Aon to Lead Property Catastrophe UK, Global Specialties

Guy Carpenter & Co., the reinsurance brokerage business of Marsh & McLennan Cos., announced the appointment of Paul Miller to lead Guy Carpenter’s Property Catastrophe value proposition for UK, Global Specialties and key global clients, effective September 2021. Miller will …

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Insurers, UK Regulator Seek Clarity About Ruling on Business Interruption Disputes

RSA Insurance Group Plc and other insurers will try to take a dispute over COVID-19 payouts directly to the UK Supreme Court if they can’t reach a deal with regulators. Several insurance firms and UK regulators filed applications to “leapfrog” …

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MGA New Paradigm Aims to Bridge the Natural Catastrophe Protection Gap

Evan Glassman saw a gap in the property insurance market—literally. Glassman, working as a retail producer in south Florida for most of his career, realized that the insurance industry’s products were not fully addressing the needs of commercial property insurance …

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Envelop Risk Paves the Way as Insurtech Reinsurance MGA

Managing general agents for reinsurance are rare. Reinsurance MGAs that write cyber are even rarer, which is the world that Envelop Risk inhabits. “We think we’re the only insurtech firm involved in cyber reinsurance from an underwriting perspective,” said Jonathan …

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Reinsurance Experience in Africa, Asia Sets MGA Tempo Underwriting Apart

Tom Bailey, executive director of Tempo Underwriting, has a theory about what it takes to build a business based on the reinsurance MGA model. “For a reinsurance MGA to be successful and to have a strong offering, you have to …

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Finding Niches: Reinsurance MGAs Carving Out Special Market Slices

Reinsurance managing general agents are a rare breed as opposed to their more prevalent insurance-focused counterparts. The successful reinsurance MGAs have a niche, a focus. What they have in common is they are not commodity players. They aim to bring …

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Close Call with Laura Renewed Debate over Houston Storm Surge Barrier

Houston, a Gulf Coast city that barely rises above sea level, has long worried about a worst-case weather scenario — a direct hit from a powerful storm that sends a wall of water barreling into the region’s petrochemical facilities, possibly …

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Florida Supreme Court Caps High School Shooting Liability at $300K

The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a school district can’t be forced to pay more than $300,000 total to the victims or their families in the Parkland high school massacre that left 17 people dead and another 17 wounded. …

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CAC Specialty Adds Martin, Flynn, Kasperkowiak to M&A Solutions Group

CAC Specialty has made several new hires to its M&A Solutions Group. Cameron Martin and Katie Flynn have been named senior vice presidents to the M&A Solutions Group, and Erica Kasperkowiak was named senior vice president of the newly created …

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NFP Acquires Hutch Hubby & Associates in Austin

National insurance broker NFP has acquired the Austin, Texas-based employee benefits firm, Hutch Hubby & Associates. The acquisition is NFP’s third in central Texas in 2020. The firm’s principal, L. Hutch Hubby, brings NFP over 40 years of experience serving …

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White House Vows 150 Million Rapid COVID Tests for Schools, Seniors

President Donald Trump, under fire over his handling of the coronavirus epidemic, announced on Monday the federal government would ship 150 million rapid tests to U.S. states and warned an increase in positive cases is likely in the days ahead. …

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U.S. Pension Funds Sue Allianz After $4 Billion in Coronavirus Losses

Pension funds for truckers, teachers and subway workers have lodged lawsuits in the United States against Germany’s Allianz, one of the world’s top asset managers, for failing to safeguard their investments during the coronavirus market meltdown. Market panic around the …

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SterlingRisk Insurance Promotes DelPrete to Chief Marketing Officer

SterlingRisk Insurance, a Woodbury, N.Y.-based, independently owned insurance brokerage, has promoted Geraldine DelPrete to chief marketing officer. According to SterlingRisk CEO David Sterling, DelPrete will oversee the strategy for all carriers across all SterlingRisk platforms, including large commercial and select, …

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Police Say Connecticut Workplace Shooter Extradited, Charged with Assault

A truck driver accused of shooting his boss and wounding another person outside a Connecticut industrial building was charged Wednesday with assault and other crimes after being brought back from Massachusetts, where police arrested him at gunpoint on a highway. …

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Major U.S. Tech Firms Look to Be Ignoring Europe’s Data Privacy Rules

Technology firms’ compliance with European restrictions on transatlantic data transfers is shockingly poor, Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems said on Monday, publishing a survey of companies including Facebook and Netflix. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled …

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Even Failed Claims Against Nurses Cost Insurers $20K, Liability Study Shows

Liability claims that involve nurses cost an average of $210,513 if a large indemnity payment is made, but even claims that are dropped, defeated or dismissed end up costing more than $20,000, according to a report released by CNA and …

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Wildfire Forces Home, Hospital Evacuations in California’s Napa Valley Wine Area

A wind-driven wildfire erupted on Sunday in the heart of northern California’s Napa Valley wine country to spread across nearly 2,000 acres (809 hectares), forcing the evacuation of a hospital and hundreds of homes, authorities said. Fire crews were out …

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Munich Re Subsidiary NewRe Names Braune as CEO, Succeeding Strasser

New Reinsurance Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Munich Re, announced that its board of directors appointed Dr. Thomas Braune as its new chief executive officer. Braune will assume his new role on Oct. 1, 2020, succeeding Dr. Renate …

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Beazley Expands Life Sciences Insurance Offering in UK

Specialist insurer Beazley has enhanced its life sciences insurance offering in the UK with the launch of a new policy designed to protect the sector’s small and start-up research & development-focused organizations. This follows the UK launch of Beazley’s internationally …

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Florida Peninsula Promotes Gonzalez to Director of Agency Support

The Florida Peninsula Insurance family of companies, which includes Edison Insurance Co., has promoted Mariella Gonzalez to director of Agency Support. In addition to her current role as director of Community Involvement, Gonzalez will now oversee all agent support functions …

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Mississippi Receives $23M in Federal Funds for Flood Relief

Mississippi has received nearly $23 million in emergency relief funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation to repair federal roadways that were damaged by severe flooding. U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith announced the five Federal Highway Administration awards on Thursday, according …

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Insurer Ping An Taps Rising Demand for Chinese Assets with Offshore Management Arm

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., China’s largest insurer by market value, is tapping growing global demand for Chinese assets to expand its offshore asset management business as competition with foreign entrants intensifies. The overseas asset management arm aims to increase …

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Opinion: Missouri Appeals Court Ruling Shrinks Insurers’ Right to Intervene

The Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals has again construed the effect of the 2017 amendments to Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.065, which gave insurers a limited right to intervene and protect their interest when their insured enters …

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Texas Agency, A-MAX Auto, Expands in Houston Area

Dallas-based A-MAX Auto Insurance has opened two new locations opening in the Houston, Texas, area. With the two new locations — one in Houston and one in nearby Tomball, Texas, the company now has 193 offices statewide. A-MAX Auto Insurance …

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UK Insurer LV= Says Talks Continue with Number of Parties About Possible Merger

UK insurance company Liverpool Victoria said it remains in talks with a “number of parties” about a possible transaction after Sky News reported it was negotiating a merger with rival Royal London. The company known as LV= “confirms that as …

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Reinsurance Demand Rises, Along with Flight to Quality, Say Industry Experts

Not only has reinsurance buying increased, but there also has been a flight to quality reinsurers by ceding insurance companies, according to several reinsurers and brokers in recent webinars held in lieu of what would have been the reinsurance Rendez-Vous …

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Louisiana Utility: Hurricane Laura Repair Costs Now at $1.4B

A Louisiana utility says the cost to restore electricity and repair power lines damaged in the state during Hurricane Laura is now up to $1.4 billion. Entergy Corp., the New Orleans-based utility serving many of the areas affected by the …

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Alphabet Settles Suit Over Executives’ Exit Pay, Coverups Linked to Sexual Misconduct

Alphabet Inc. on Friday settled a shareholder lawsuit that accused the Google parent of covering up lavish exit packages to executives found responsible for sexual misconduct, saying it would overhaul workplace policies and increase oversight of its diversity efforts. The …

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CopperPoint in Arizona Reelects Directors Patrick and Tully to Board

Judith Patrick and Mike Tully have been reelected to the board of directors for CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Holding Co. The results of the election were announced at the annual members’ meeting in mid September. Patrick and Tully will serve terms …

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Crest in Colorado Promotes VanGotten to Assistant Commercial Lines Manager

Crest Insurance LLC of Denver, Colo., has promoted Jason VanGotten to assistant commercial lines manager. His prior experience includes ownership of a home inspection company, and a producer for Colorado Restaurant Insurance. He joined Crest Insurance in 2018 as a …

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EU Strikes Low-Cost Deal With AstraZeneca to Pay COVID-19 Vaccine Claims

European governments will pay claims above an agreed limit against AstraZeneca over side-effects from its potential COVID-19 vaccine, under different terms to a deal struck with Sanofi, an EU official told Reuters. The deals reflect different strategies by two of …

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UN Envoy Carney Backs Investors’ Call for Increased Climate Risk Disclosure

United Nations climate envoy Mark Carney on Thursday threw his weight behind a growing push by investors for companies to more accurately reflect climate-related risks in their financial accounts. Such risks can range from physical dangers such as water levels …

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D&O Insurers Under Pressure But Big Enough to Handle Pandemic Claims, Says Fitch

As claims related to the economic fallout from the pandemic emerge in the U.S. directors & officers (D&O) liability insurance segment, insurers can expect the claims to take several years to pay out and underwriting losses to continue over the …

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Four Senior-Level Black Managers Including Diversity Leaders Exit AIG

American International Group Inc. has lost four senior Black managers in recent weeks, including two who were tasked with improving the diversity of the insurer’s ranks. Global inclusion head Vievette Henry and Walter Hurdle, who had previously run diversity efforts …

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U.S. to Research Transmission of COVID-19 in Beef Supply Chain

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is funding a $1 million research project to identify how the virus that causes COVID-19 might be transmitted in the nation’s beef supply chain, from cattle on the farm to the packages of meat inside …

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Michigan House Passes Bills Shielding Employers from Virus Lawsuits

A divided Michigan House voted on Sept. 23 to shield health providers and businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits filed by patients, employees or customers, advancing bills that majority Republicans said would give businesses more comfort to reopen and block frivolous complaints. …

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Texas Software Provider to Local Governments Reports Data Breach

A Texas-based provider of software services to local governments and schools across the United States, Tyler Technologies, told customers on Sept. 23 that an unknown intruder broke into its phone and information technology systems. It could not immediately be determined …

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Dismissal Rejected; Arkema Chemical Fire Criminal Trial Resumes in Houston

A criminal case against the U.S. arm of a French chemical maker accused of releasing pollution that injured 21 people resumed on Sept. 24 under a cloud as a judge ruled out a motion to dismiss the case. Prosecutors unintentionally …

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Louisiana Agent’s License Suspended for Misappropriation, False Insurance Certificates

A Lake Charles, Louisiana, insurance producer has been issued a cease and desist order and had her license suspended amid an investigation into misappropriation of insurance premiums and the issuing of false insurance certificates to customers. The Louisiana Department of …

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California Governor Planning to Ban Sale of New Gas Vehicles in 15 Years

California will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks in 15 years, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, establishing a timeline in the nation’s most populous state that could force U.S. automakers to shift their zero-emission efforts into …

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Western Wildfires Taint Vineyards With Taste Of Smoke

Smoke from the West Coast wildfires has tainted grapes in some of the nation’s most celebrated wine regions with an ashy flavor that could spell disaster for the 2020 vintage. Wineries in California, Oregon and Washington have survived severe wildfires …

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Lockton Names Huston Senior Vice President in Washington

Lockton Cos. has named Danielle Huston a senior vice president. Huston will support the growth of Lockton’s Washington office and oversee the introduction of benefits consulting services to the local market. She was previously with Propel Insurance. Lockton is an …

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New York Again Ranks as Top Global Financial Hub But London Gains in Volatile Index

New York again heads the rankings of the world’s leading global financial centres. The Global Financial Centres Index 28, launched by London think tank Z/Yen Group in partnership with the China Development Institute (CDI), shows London improved its performance in …

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New York Drywall Installer Arrested for Failing to Provide Workers’ Comp Insurance

New York State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro has announced the arrest of a capital region area drywall installer who allegedly failed to provide legally required workers’ compensation insurance to his employees. Dennis R. Hammonds, 40, owner and operator of Hammonds …

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Boston Insurance Brokerage Appoints Driscoll as CEO

Boston Insurance Brokerage LLC (BIB) has appointed Keith Driscoll as CEO. Driscoll has been a member of the BIB team since 2013, beginning as vice president of the Workers’ Compensation Division before being promoted to executive vice president and chief …

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Pacific Resources Benefits Advisors Names Judd as CEO, Vaughan as President

Pacific Resources Benefits Advisors LLC, a Boston, Mass.-based subsidiary of Brown & Brown Insurance and a non-medical employee benefits consulting firm, has announced Chris Judd as the company’s new CEO and Ken Vaughan as the company’s new president, along with …

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Travelers Offers Artificial Intelligence for Companies to Assess Worker Safety

The Travelers Companies said it has started using artificial intelligence to offer business customers virtual and onsite ergonomic assessments. Travelers claims to be the first insurance carrier to provide the service. According to the insurer, the new offering combines AI-based …

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New Crash Test Dummy Is a 3-Year Old

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a new crash test dummy. Known as the Q3s, the new crash test dummy represents a 3-year-old child and is the first child side impact dummy in federal regulations. Q3 was specifically designed …

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Swiss Re Announces Plans to Streamline Structure of Group

Swiss Re announced further streamlining of the legal entity structure of the group. Following the announcement on June 19, 2020 that the Life Capital Business Unit will be disbanded, Swiss Re also intends to reorganize the legal entity structure of …

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Formation of More ‘Class of 2020’ Reinsurers Unlikely

The Class of 2020 already has a new member, but it’s not a true startup, the chair of the company said recently. Speaking at the KBW Insurance Conference in early September, Sid Sankaran, chair of Third Point Re, was referring …

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What Ever Happened to Hedge Fund Reinsurers?

The latest group of reinsurers to emerge in the Bermuda market is starting to look different. Even the name that once described the cohort has changed in the past five years. And at least one member of the group of …

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Alabama City Officials Drop Chemical Contamination Lawsuit

Officials in the northwest Alabama city of Guin have dropped a lawsuit against chemical giant 3M that alleged chemicals from its manufacturing plant had entered a creek that supplies drinking water to the community. The Guin Water works & Sewer …

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A.J. Gallagher Alleges Alliant’s Poaching ‘Playbook’ Has Cost It Employees, Clients

California-based insurance broker Alliant is again being sued over an alleged poaching scam, this time by rival Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Gallagher claims Alliant, with assistance and capital from its private equity partner Stone Point Capital, has engaged in …

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Lloyd’s CEO Neal Sees Appeal of COVID Business Insurance Ruling Coming

Lloyd’s of London Chief Executive John Neal said on Thursday he expected a London judgment, which ordered some insurers to compensate struggling businesses for losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, to be appealed. London judges ruled that some of the world’s …

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Court Nixes Opioid Proposal That Would Have Included Cities That Have Not Sued

A federal appeals court on Thursday overturned a judge’s approval of a novel plan by lawyers representing cities and counties suing drug companies over the U.S. opioid crisis that would bring every community nationally into their settlement talks. The 6th …

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Brazil’s State-Owned Caixa Again Postpones IPO of Its Insurance Unit

Brazilian state-owned lender Caixa Economica Federal said on Thursday that it had indefinitely postponed plans for an initial public offering of its insurance unit Caixa Seguridade, the second time this year the high-profile deal has been put off. Caixa Economica …

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Arch Forms Underwriting Partnership with ProHost for Restaurant Industry Program

Arch Insurance has formed an underwriting partnership with ProHost USA, a Minneapolis-based insurance program administrator providing specialty packages to the restaurant industry. ProHost USA is part of Distinguished Programs, a national program administrator. Retail agents can now learn about and …

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Chinese Companies Lag Far Behind in Climate Risk Disclosure

A report on the current state of climate risk disclosures among the largest companies in China and the United States found that Chinese companies lag significantly behind their global peers in the S&P 500 in climate risk disclosures and need …

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NTSB: Loose Joint Caused Train Derailment that Killed Man in Texas

A loose, improperly fastened rail joint led to a 2017 derailment in a North Texas rail switching yard that killed a worker, the National Transportation Safety Board has found. A misaligned rail joint allowed the flange of a freight car …

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New Mexico Disabled Woman Getting $300K Settlement

New Mexico State Police have reached a $300,000 settlement with a disabled woman who accused an officer of grabbing and handcuffing her after she refused to provide ID in 2016. Jessica Guttman claimed in her 2018 lawsuit that she and …

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Oregon Businesses Threatening to Sue Over Virus Restrictions

Several Oregon businesses have threatened a class action lawsuit against the state over COVID-19 restrictions implemented by Gov. Kate Brown to slow the pandemic. A lawyer representing the businesses argues that Oregon officials should draft a plan to compensate small …

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Peak Re Appoints Pioneer’s Souter as Director of Markets for P/C Business

Hong Kong-based Peak Re announced the appointment of Andrew Souter as director of markets responsible for developing the company’s property/casualty reinsurance business. Souter brings with him 18 years of experience in the finance industry. He joins Peak Re from Pioneer …

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Ant Group Eyes Raising $17.5 Billion via Hong Kong IPO Without Cornerstone Investors

China’s Ant Group plans to raise about half of its $35 billion dual listing via the Hong Kong leg, without setting up a cornerstone tranche and betting on strong demand from institutional investors even without lock-up commitments, sources said. Backed …

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Most Important Climate Pledges Aren’t the Splashy Ones

It’s Climate Week in New York, which brings with it a raft of announcements from companies outlining their new decarbonization targets and clean investment strategies. Some of the declarations are hefty, like Walmart Inc.’s plan to reach zero emissions across …

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Mutual Insurer Group NAMIC Names Merchants Mutual’s Zak as Chair

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies welcomed its new chairman – Robert Zak, president and chief executive officer of Merchants Mutual Insurance Co. – this week during its all-virtual 125th annual convention. Zak, a 35-year mutual insurance industry veteran, …

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More Firms Turning to Insurance Captives in Tightening Market: Marsh

More organizations are using captives for insurance protection and financial flexibility in response to today’s risk and insurance landscape. In its 2020 captive report, insurance broker Marsh says that that tightening global insurance market conditions throughout 2019 led to higher …

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Next Insurance Attracts $250M in New Financing; Its $631M to Date Beats Lemonade

Next Insurance secured another $250 million in financing designed to fuel continued national expansion of its digital small business insurance offerings. CapitalG, Alphabet/Google’s independent growth fund, led the Series D round. But existing investor Munich Re Group also participated in …

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As Wildfires Spread, Public Safety Tech Startups Lack Venture Capitalists’ Backing

Silicon Valley’s innovation engine has been slow to produce useful new tools to help firefighters like Dave Winnacker extinguish the deadly blazes that each year fill California’s skies with smoke. Winnacker, a fire district chief who led a team against …

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SEC Toughens Rules on Shareholder Proposals

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 on Wednesday to make it tougher for shareholders to push companies on issues such as climate change, social justice and diversity, with Democratic commissioners dissenting against the move. The rule, first …

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Two Wounded in Connecticut Workplace Shooting, Suspect in Custody

A shooter opened fire and wounded two people outside a Connecticut business Tuesday and was taken into custody at gunpoint on a highway in Massachusetts, police said. Both victims were treated at a hospital and discharged. Authorities identified the alleged …

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Reliance Global Group Acquires New York’s UIS Agency

Reliance Global Group Inc. has acquired the assets of UIS Agency LLC, a Thiells, N.Y.-based insurance agency serving the commercial transportation industry. Reliance Global Group CEO Ezra Beyman said in a company press release that UIS will compliment Reliance’s existing …

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World Insurance Associates Acquires New Jersey’s Gateway Agency National

World Insurance Associates LLC (WIA) acquired Gateway Agency National of Highlands, N.J., on September 1, 2020. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1981, Gateway specializes in home, automobile, boating and life insurance needs for clients across New …

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Berkshire Hathaway Guard Professional Liability Products Expanded Into New States

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies has furthered expanded the company’s professional liability products, which include coverage for lawyers, architects and engineers, accountants, as well as nearly 100 other classes of business. Most recently, the company has added professional liability coverage …

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Beecher Carlson Taps James as Director of Diversity & Inclusion

Beecher Carlson Insurance Services, LLC, a specialized large account insurance broker, has promoted Raven James to director of Diversity & Inclusion. In this newly created role, James will lead the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) council in setting D&I strategies for …

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What Distinguishes This Market? Here’s Lockton Re Leaders’ Insights

Lockton Re’s Tim Gardner, global CEO, and Ross Howard, global chairman, have been through their share of hard markets. Like many in the reinsurance business, they agree no two hard markets are exactly the same. For the two men personally, …

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Businesses Face Fewer Cyber Events, But the Attacks Are More Costly

The stakes are higher than ever for businesses when it comes to cyber risk, especially with the added complexity of COVID-19 thrown into the mix. Yet, even before the global pandemic struck, companies had been taking more action than ever …

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Texas Staffing Firm Sued for Disability Discrimination

Federal officials have sued a Houston-based staffing firm over allegations of workplace disability discrimination. Swift Technical Services LLC, doing business as Airswift, a Houston-based staffing firm focused on the oil and gas industry, violated federal law when it refused to …

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The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers Adds Borchardt in California

The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers has named Sean Borchardt a partner in the Woodland Hills, Calif., office. Borchardt has more than 15 years of experience. He previously has held positions at Gallagher, Relations Insurance and Tolman & Wiker. The Liberty …

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Congress Parks Self-Driving Car Regulation Until 2021

The U.S. Congress will try again in 2021 to try to approve long-stalled reforms to speed the adoption of self-driving cars, a key Democratic lawmaker said Wednesday. U.S. lawmakers have been divided for years over how to reform regulations governing …

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Insurers May Cut Allocations to Poorly Performing Hedge Fund Investment Sector

Having complained for years about hedge funds’ high fees and lackluster performance, insurance firms may be preparing to cut allocations to the sector after its poor performance during recent market upheaval left many of them nursing losses. That would be …

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Crest Insurance in Arizona Names Hankal Commercial Lines Manager

Crest Insurance Group LLC of Scottsdale, Ariz. has promoted Lisa Hankal to commercial lines manager. Hankal will be overseeing employees within the commercial lines department from all seven branches including Tucson, Scottsdale, Sierra Vista, Flagstaff, San Diego, Denver and Ft. …

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CAC Specialty in Colorado Adds Movafaghi to its Tax Insurance Practice

Denver, Colo.-based CAC Specialty has named Matt Movafaghi a senior vice president in its tax insurance practice. Movafaghi was most recently a senior tax counsel for Chevron Corp., where he was responsible for implementing tax planning strategies and advising management …

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Few Resources, Old-Growth Forest Allowed Growth of California Wildfire

A lack of firefighting resources in the hours after it was sparked allowed a fast-moving wildfire to make an unprecedented run through Southern California mountains and eventually find fuel in old-growth trees to become one of Los Angeles County’s largest …

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For Carnival Cruse Lines, 1920 ‘Death on the High Seas Act’ Curbs Coronavirus Damages

Carnival Corp. is poised to dramatically curb monetary damages for passengers killed by the coronavirus under the latest court decision to side with the company. If a ruling Monday by a Los Angeles federal judge is followed by others, it …

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Juul’s Defense of Its Marketing E-Cigarettes to Youth Questions Use of Organized Crime Law

Juul Labs Inc. has the Mafia to thank for the most potent legal claims accusing the e-cigarette maker of igniting an epidemic of youth nicotine addiction. The company will try to persuade a federal judge Monday that consumers and school …

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Justice Department Set to Unveil Plan to Limit Internet Firms’ Liability Protections

The U.S. Justice Department will unveil later on Wednesday a proposal that seeks to limit legal protections for internet platforms on managing content, a person briefed on the matter confirmed. The proposal, which takes aim at Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. …

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House Votes to Extend Flood Insurance Program 1 Year; Senate Yet to Vote

The House of Representatives yesterday extended the National Flood Insurance Program until Sept. 30, 2021 as part of a measure to fund the federal government through December 11. The flood insurance program is currently set to expire in a week …

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MMG Insurance Company Hires McPherson as Senior Vice President of Operations

MMG Insurance Company has hired David McPherson as senior vice president of operations, effective September 1, 2020. McPherson will work closely with Matt McHatten, current executive vice president and chief operating officer, to transition into his role. This new position …

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The Hilb Group Acquires Connecticut’s Ganim Group

The Hilb Group LLC (THG) has acquired Connecticut-based Ganim Group Inc. (Ganim Benefits) from Ganim Financial Inc. The transaction became effective on September 1, 2020. The Ganim Benefits team, including Valerie Koch, will join THG of New England and continue …

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Small Plane Crash Lands on Street in Pennsylvania, Two Injured

A small plane traveling from Vermont crash landed on a residential street in Pennsylvania, injuring the pilot and a passenger. The single-engine aircraft was trying to land at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport on Sunday night when the pilot apparently had engine …

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Citing U.S. Sanctions, Insurers Won’t Cover Ships For Russia, Turkey Pipelines Projects

The world’s largest group of shipping insurers will not insure vessels involved in the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipeline projects because of the threat of U.S. sanctions. Associations belonging to the International Group of P&I Clubs, including …

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Florida OKs Emergency Adjusters, Brings In Fraud Strike Teams for Sally Recovery

The Florida Department of Financial Services has deployed its Disaster Fraud Action Strike Team (DFAST) to the Florida Panhandle, as well as activated the state’s emergency adjuster license system to assist with recovery efforts from Hurricane Sally. According to a …

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Insurer Impact from Sally Expected to be Moderate; Losses Estimated at $1B to $3B

Insured losses from Hurricane Sally could reach as much as $3 billion, according to catastrophe modelers, but ratings agency Moody’s expects a moderate impact on property & casualty insurers and reinsurers. “Because Sally appears to be primarily a flood event, …

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Texas’ Blue Bell Creameries to Pay $17.25M in Penalties for Listeria Contamination

Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries L.P. has been ordered to pay $17.25 million in criminal penalties for shipments of contaminated ice cream products linked to a 2015 listeriosis outbreak, according to the U.S. Justice Department/ Blue Bell pleaded guilty in May …

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Independent Brokers Will Remain Competitive by Adding Value to the Value Chain

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need for brokers to add value to the insurance transaction, according to Toby Esser, chairman of AFL Insurance Brokers, a London-based independent broker. Indeed, Esser said, the COVID-19-related coverage disputes involving business interruption pandemic …

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Catastrophe Losses Driven Higher by Secondary Perils – And Climate Change

Secondary perils, exacerbated by climate change, are driving catastrophe insurance losses, warn a growing chorus of reinsurers and brokers. Indeed, broker Aon reveals that more than 60% of 2020’s insured catastrophe losses of $54 billion have been caused by secondary …

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Texas Auto Insurance Plan Association Requests 4.8% Commercial Rate Hike

The Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA) has filed a request with the Texas Department of Insurance to charge new insurance rates for commercial automobiles. The filed rates represent a 4.8% increase in commercial automobile rates. TAIPA proposed an effective …

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Lockton Pacific Promotes Hostovich and Barnes in California

Lockton Insurance Brokers LLC, the Pacific region of global insurance broker Lockton Cos., has named Teena Hostovich vice chair of Lockton Pacific and Greg Barnes president of Greater Los Angeles. Barnes and Hostovich are based in Lockton’s Los Angeles office. …

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Shopify Customer Data Likely Exposed by 2 Employees Attempting to Steal Records

Shopify Inc. said on Tuesday data of customers who shopped at fewer than 200 merchants listed on the company’s e-commerce platform was likely exposed after two employees tried to steal transaction records. The data exposed includes email, name, and address, …

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Confident Russia Vows to Shoulder Some of the Legal Liability of Its COVID-19 Vaccine

Russia is so confident in its COVID-19 vaccine that it will shoulder some of the legal liability should anything go wrong, rather than requiring buyers to take on the full risk, the head of the state fund bankrolling the project …

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Toyota Insurance in Europe Joins Swiss Re’s Vehicle Risk Rating System

Toyota is the newest partner in the Swiss Re platform that provides a risk score on vehicles so insurers can develop premiums that reflect new safety features. Through this partnership with Toyota Insurance Services (TIS)/Toyota Insurance Management Europe, Swiss Re …

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Labor Department Eyes Simpler Rule for Classifying Independent Contractors

The U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday said it would soon propose a rule that could make it easier to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees, a major issue for the “gig economy” and other industries that use …

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Arch Insurance Forms Single Managing Agency to Manage 4 Lloyd’s Operations

Arch Insurance International has formed Arch Managing Agency Limited to mange its Lloyd’s units. Arch Managing Agency Limited, which brings together Arch Underwriting at Lloyd’s and Barbican Managing Agency Ltd. into a single operation, will manage Syndicate 2012, Syndicate 1955, …

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Copperpoint in Arizona Names Pytel Vice President, Marketing Chief

CopperPoint Insurance Cos. has named Thomas Pytel vice president, chief marketing and corporate communications officer. Pytel ‘s responsibilities include leading the marketing and communications functions for the CopperPoint family of insurance companies. He was most recently vice president, marketing and …

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New York Calls on Insurers to Address Climate-Related Financial Risks

New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Linda Lacewell today implemented several new initiatives to address climate-related financial risks, calling on insurers to begin integrating these practices into their risk management and business strategies. This move comes amidst …

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Tree on Power Line Apparent Start of Washington Fire

A tree that made contact with a power line apparently started a wildfire that burned dozens of homes in eastern Washington, according to a utility company. The fire burned the vast majority of homes in Malden and Pine City, including …

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P/C Mutual Insurers Improved Underwriting in 2019; Top 10 Hold 72% of Market: AM Best

Despite a highly competitive property/casualty insurance industry and pressures on operating performance, U.S. mutual insurance companies reported continued improvement in underwriting performance in 2019 and managed to grow surplus. According to the AM Best Market Segment Report, “U.S. Mutuals’ Strong …

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University of Washington Student Suing for Refund Because of Online Classes

A graduate student at the University of Washington filed a lawsuit demanding tuition reimbursement after the school shifted most of its classes online for the remainder of the year. Alexander Barry wrote in the complaint filed Wednesday in King County …

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California Wildfire Threatening More Than 1,000 Homes

A wildfire burning through brush and timber from the mountains to the desert northeast of Los Angeles threatened more than 1,000 homes on Tuesday as crews across the West battled dozens of other major blazes. The Bobcat Fire in Southern …

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Music Festivals Testing ‘Bubble’ Strategies to Bring Back Outdoor Events

A 200-strong coterie of mostly men gathered in the Poconos Mountains earlier this month to engage in what some regard as this pandemic era’s ultimate taboo: a bacchanalian party. The Utopia music festival took place over the Labor Day holiday …

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California Burnin’ — a Warning Against One-Party Rule: Opinion

“California, folks, is America fast forward.” Thus said Governor Gavin Newsom, hoarsely, amid brown smoke at the North Complex Fire on Sept. 11. “What we’re experiencing right here is coming to a community all across the United States of America …

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Coronavirus Safety: U.S. Behind Global Rivals in Protecting Meat Plant Workers

The U.S. government is falling behind global rivals when it comes to protecting meatpacking workers from Covid-19 infections, even though the nation’s plants were among the first to confront rampant cases across factories. In Germany, the government is ready to …

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Three Suffer Minor Injuries When New York City Subway Hits Debris and Derails

Three passengers suffered minor injuries Sunday when a New York City subway train derailed after hitting construction debris that had been thrown onto the tracks, authorities said. The derailment happened at about 8:15 a.m. at the 14th Street and Eighth …

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Davies Acquires Massachusetts’ TriPlus Service in North American Expansion

Davies, a specialist professional services and technology business, has acquired TriPlus Service Inc, a long-term care insurance third party administrator (TPA) based in Massachusetts. TriPlus provides its long-term care carrier clients with claims and policy administration management solutions as well …

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UK Seeks to Reform How Motor, Home Insurers Treat Loyal Customers

The Financial Conduct Authority has set its sights on revamping the UK motor and home insurance marketplace to help customers, especially loyal policyholders, save money. The FCA is proposing reforms of these markets that it says will “enhance competition, ensure …

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2 Cruise Lines Submit 74 Safety Steps to Convince CDC to Lift No-Sail Order

A panel set up by Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. said on Monday it had submitted a report to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) detailing health and safety protocols, hoping to set …

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COVID-19 Vaccine Makers Expect EU Liability Shield for Unexpected Side-Effects

Vaccine makers will be indemnified in Europe if their COVID-19 shots cause unexpected side-effects, an industry official said on Tuesday, as nearly 40 firms pursue talks on possible authorisation for shots in development. The European Commission has confidential liability clauses …

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Banks, Insurers Await ‘Brexit Dividend’ of ‘British-Style’ Regulation

Britain will adopt tough but less bureaucratic financial rules after Brexit, starting with simpler regulation of small banks, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods said on Tuesday. Britain will soon unveil new legislation for regulating the City of London, …

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AAIS Pandemic Policy Endorsement Approved in 6 States

AAIS (the American Association of Insurance Services) has received approval from six state insurance departments for its health-emergency policy endorsement, clarifying coverage and cancellation provisions in the wake of COVID-19. To date, the endorsement has been approved in Arkansas, Arizona, …

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Minnesota Warns of Possible Health Care Patient, Donor Data Breach

Patients and donors to at least four different health care providers in Minnesota are being notified that their personal information may have been compromised. The potential data breach involves hundreds of thousands of patients and donors at Children’s Minnesota, Allina …

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5th Circuit Reasserts Bad Faith Not Necessary to Win Interest Penalty Against Texas Insurers

A Houston plaintiff’s attorney defeated State Farm Lloyd’s for the fourth time on the same issue, this time coming away with a federal appellate court ruling that policyholders don’t have to prove that their insurer acted in bad faith in …

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3 Alabama Counties Receive Federal Disaster Declaration for Sally Damage

President Donald Trump on Sunday declared a major disaster in three Alabama counties battered by Hurricane Sally. Storm surge and torrential rains swamped Mobile and Baldwin counties on either side of Mobile Bay when slow-moving Sally made landfall Wednesday on …

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Frequent Wildfires Decimating Forests Becomes Concern Worldwide

Wildfires among ponderosa pines and Douglas firs of the U.S. West have long been part of nature’s cycle of renewal, as much as the changing of the seasons. But as climate change makes the region more arid, wildfires have grown …

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International Conference to Examine Abusive Behavior in Gymnastics

The international gymnastics federation will hold a conference next month to discuss misconduct and abuse in elite programs and develop new rules of conduct, the body said Friday. Gymnasts from countries including Britain, the Netherlands and Australia have come forward …

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Pubs, Eateries Face Restrictions As England Faces Virus Resurgence

All pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues across the whole of England must start closing at 10 p.m. from Thursday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson tackles a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Johnson, who will address both parliament and …

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Burnham Benefits in California Names Martin Chief Growth Officer

Irvine, Calif.-based Burnham Benefits Insurance Services Inc. has named Chris Martin chief growth officer. Martin has 30 years of experience in the healthcare and insurance industry. He was previously chief business development officer at Crossover Health Burnham Benefits is a …

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Florida’s Citizens Board of Governors: Beruff In, State Rep Diaz Out

Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-run insurer of last resort, announced two recent changes to its board of governors. Joining the board in August was Carlos Beruff, a Manatee County businessman. Beruff was appointed by Senate President Bill Galvano, …

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Hurricane Sally Adds to Mounting Losses in Historic Gulf Coast Storm Season

Hundreds of thousands of people were without power Friday along the Alabama coast and the Florida Panhandle in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally as officials assessed millions of dollars in damage that included a broken bridge in Pensacola and ships …

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9 More Indicted in Louisiana Truck/Auto Staged Accident Schemes

With the addition of nine new indictments, 28 people now have been charged in a federal probe into the staging of automobile accidents in Louisiana, according to U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser. The nine defendants were charged in a seven-count …

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Lockton Partners with Michigan Minority Enterprise Brokerage, Birwood Services Group

Lockton has formed a strategic alliance with Birwood Services Group, a Detroit-based certified minority business enterprise (MBE) insurance brokerage. Lockton’s alliance with Birwood is part of the company’s strategy to fill a void in the insurance marketplace by building a …

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AmRisc Wholesale in Texas Is Now Waypoint Wholesale

AmRisc Group, a Houston, Texas-based managing general underwriter for catastrophe and special property insurance, has rebranded its AmRisc Wholesale division to Waypoint Wholesale. In addition to the new brand, there is a new logo — a compass rose with the …

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Well Repairs Off Texas Coast Halted Due to Tropical Storm Beta

Repairs to a leaking gas well just off the Texas coast have been halted because of Tropical Storm Beta, according to the city of Corpus Christi. “Due to deteriorating weather conditions, offshore repairs are temporarily on hold on the Magellan …

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Kansas Supreme Court Weighs Guidelines for Compensating Injured Workers

The Kansas Supreme Court has waded into the fray over obscure medical guidelines that will determine how much money workers injured on the job can collect. Justices on Sept. 17 heard legal arguments on Zoom over which edition of the …

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Fire on Indianapolis Lot Damages, Destroys About 20 Trucks

A fire that damaged or destroyed about 20 trucks on an Indianapolis lot is being investigated as arson. The blaze was reported about 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 17 at M&K Truck Center. Fire officials said smoke from the fire was …

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Slow-Moving Storm Beta Set to Drench Texas, Louisiana Coasts

Beta, a slow-moving tropical storm, will bring flooding rains to Texas and Louisiana as well as raking offshore energy fields with high winds, but may not reach hurricane strength. Beta’s winds will likely hold at 50 miles (80 km) per …

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California Governor Signs Workers’ Comp Law Protecting Workers from Virus

California companies must warn their workers of any potential exposure to the coronavirus and must pay their employees workers compensation benefits if they get sick with the disease under two laws that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last week. Newsom, a …

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Utah’s Wildfire Costs Soar with Human-Caused Blazes

Utah’s wildfire season has broken records for the number of human-caused fires and the costs to taxpayers. During a presentation of the Utah State Legislature’s powerful Executive Appropriations Committee, the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands said it …

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Land Unstable After Landslide Blocks River, Causes Emergency in Maine City

A state of emergency remained in effect Thursday in the city of Westbrook, Maine, where workers have been assessing landslides that blocked the Presumpscot River. Westbrook Fire Chief Andrew Turcotte said Thursday that the immediate threat of flooding subsided, but …

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Connecticut Insurance Department Names Liu as Director of Captive Insurance Division

Connecticut Insurance Department Commissioner Andrew N. Mais has named Fenhua Liu as the new director of the department’s Captive Insurance Division. Liu has more than 25 years of global experience in insurance and risk management that will serve the department …

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires The Merriam Agency

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Charles W. Merriam & Son Inc., d/b/a The Merriam Agency. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1895, The Merriam Agency is a full-service insurance agency with offices in upstate New …

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Zurich Insurance Supports Reforestation in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest With 1 Million Trees

Zurich Insurance Group said it will sponsor a reforestation project in Brazil to convert barren farmland back into native forest that is rich in plant and animal life. The eight-year project will help to restore Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, the “other” …

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Fed Leader Says ‘Pernicious’ Effects of Redlining Against Blacks Still Persist

The “pernicious and persistent” impact of long-outlawed policies like “redlining” Blacks out of white neighborhoods continues to influence the ability of minority families to amass wealth, and requires a deeper look at how those longstanding problems might be addressed, Atlanta …

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FCA to Insurer CEOs: Don’t Delay in Paying Valid COVID Business Interruption Claims

In a follow-up to the High Court’s ruling on coronavirus-related business interruption claims by businesses, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is advising insurers that they must pay all valid claims “in full at the earliest possible date to support …

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The Villages of Florida Adds 3 from State Farm to Personal Lines Team

The Villages Insurance Partners has added 3 former State Farm employees to its Personal Lines Insurance team. Specializing in home, auto and golf car insurance, Chelsea Allen, Julia Skillman and Lacey Maher collectively bring over 10 years’ experience in the …

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How Insurance Industry Might Respond if a Pandemic Is an Act of Terror

Imagine a scenario where COVID-19 was manufactured in a lab and was released as an act of terror. Tracey Gibbons, senior vice present, Underwriting, at Third Point Re, considers this possibility during a presentation for Carrier Management’s new series of …

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Startups Developing Technologies to Clean Air in Workplaces of Coronavirus

Smithfield Foods Inc. thought it was doing great. In the first quarter of this year, the pork giant’s earnings were up 190% over the same period in 2019. Then the pandemic hit, and the close quarters of meatpacking plants made …

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Facebook Tells Irish Court That It Needs Data Transfer Mechanism to Operate

Facebook has told Ireland’s High Court it cannot see how its services could operate in the European Union if regulators freeze its data transfer mechanism, the Sunday Business Post reported, citing court documents seen by the paper. The U.S. social …

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Carpenters Restoring Notre Dame Face Challenge of Using Original Materials, Design

With precision and boundless energy, a team of carpenters used medieval techniques to raise up — by hand — a three-ton oak truss Saturday in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, a replica of the wooden structures that were consumed in …

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USI Affinity, Crum & Forster to Provide Cyber Coverage to American Bar Assoc. Law Firms

USI Affinity and the American Bar Association (ABA) have partnered with Crum & Forster to offer a cyber liability insurance program for law firms nationwide. As the broker for the ABA Insurance Program, which provides insurance and financial products for …

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MetLife Looks to Sell P&C Auto and Home Insurance Business: KBW Analysts

MetLife is pursuing a sale of its property/casualty auto and home insurance business, according to a report by analysts following the company Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) analysts, Ryan Krueger and Meyer Shields, said the insurer is looking at a …

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Next Funding Round for Next Insurance May Double Insurtech’s Valuation to $2.25 Billion

Next Insurance is in talks to raise new capital in a round that values the insurance technology startup at about $2.25 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Alphabet Inc.’s CapitalG is in talks to lead the roughly $250 …

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NFIP’s Flood Losses Expected to Be ‘Significant’ from Hurricane Sally: AM Best

Hurricane Sally is not expected to cause a major insurance loss – compared to events such as the ongoing wildfires in California, Oregon, and Washington, or Hurricane Laura, according to AM Best. As the storm was more of a flood …

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New York Charges Johnson & Johnson with Insurance Fraud Over Opioid Claims

New York state filed civil charges on Thursday accusing Johnson & Johnson of insurance fraud for downplaying the risks of opioid painkillers, including to doctors and elderly patients. Governor Andrew Cuomo said the charges by New York’s Department of Financial …

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KMRD Partners Hires Chaples as Sales, Relationship Manager in Pennsylvania

KMRD Partners has hired Greg Chaples to its team as a sales and relationship manager in its Warrington, Penn., office. KMRD Partners is a risk management and human capital consulting and insurance brokerage firm with offices located throughout Pennsylvania. Prior …

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High Street Insurance Partners Adds Two Partner Agencies to Portfolio

Lower-middle-market private equity firm Huron Capital announced that its full-service insurance brokerage platform, High Street Insurance Partners, has acquired Tracy, Driscoll & Co. Inc. and Millennium Alliance Group LLC (MAG). Both agencies will support High Street’s strategic goals by expanding …

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Beazley Restructures U.S. Executive Risk Leadership Team

Beazley has restructured its Executive Risk leadership structure in the United States, which aims to support greater knowledge sharing and collaboration within the global executive risk teams and will focus on developing innovative insurance solutions that tackle the board-level risks …

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EU’s Barnier Still Hopes for UK Trade Deal Despite Latest Crisis

The European Union’s Brexit negotiator told the bloc’s 27 national envoys to Brussels that he still thinks a trade deal with Britain is possible despite a new crisis in the tortuous four-year saga, diplomatic sources told Reuters. Britain left the …

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Former Bank of England Chief Carney Joins Advisory Board of Allianz’ PIMCO

Former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will join the advisory board of PIMCO, one of the world’s biggest bond investment companies, adding to his existing roles with the United Nations and a Canadian asset manager. Carney will work alongside …

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Londoners Slowly Return to Work After Schools Reopened

Londoners are slowly returning to work in offices, factories and stores after children went back to school at the start of the month. Data compiled by Google show workplace attendance has increased slightly in three of the UK capital’s main …

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What to Expect in 2021: Reinsurance Market Moving From ‘Timid’ to ‘Hard’

Speaking at one of the many virtual conferences that took place in early September, Dan Malloy, chief executive officer of Bermuda-based Third Point Reinsurance, offered an anecdotal view of the reinsurance market from a broker he knows. “It isn’t a …

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Paskin Named CEO of Convex Re, Bermuda; Butt Named CEO of Convex Insurance UK

Convex Group Ltd., the specialty insurer and reinsurer, announce that Matt Paskin has been appointed as CEO of Convex Re Ltd. (Bermuda) and Theo Butt has been appointed as CEO of Convex Insurance UK Ltd. (London). These appointments are subject …

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Insurance Development Forum Launches Insurance Program for Peruvian Schools

The Insurance Development Forum (IDF), a public-private partnership led by the insurance industry and supported by international organizations, announced the launch of an insurance program for Peru’s public schools. The program is the result of a grant agreement between Germany’s …

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Some Reinsurers Will Try Pandemic Exclusions for Casualty at Jan. 1 Renewals

Whether they are convinced that they absolutely need them or not, some reinsurers aim to try to put pandemic exclusions into casualty reinsurance contracts next year, a reinsurance broker representative revealed recently. Amanda Nguyen, U.S. Casualty Solutions Leader for Reinsurance …

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Gallagher Bassett Transportation Creates Major Case Unit for Claims

Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. (GB), based in Rolling Meadows, Ill., has launched the GB Transportation Major Case Unit (MCU), a claims handling center that focuses solely on clients’ most severe, complex and high exposure claims. Transportation Practice Senior Vice President …

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Louisiana Insurance Agents Get C&D Orders for Alleged Misappropriated Premiums

Two St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, insurance producers have been hit with Cease and Desist Orders and fines for allegedly misappropriating premium funds, Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) reported. The department said Tasey Ann Tolliver-Alexander is alleged to have misappropriated insurance …

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Constitutionality of ‘Wrongful Birth’ Law Gets Kansas Supreme Court Hearing

The Kansas Supreme Court seemed worried on Sept. 16 about the proper roles of the Legislature and courts as it wrestled with whether a state statute that prohibits lawsuits based on “wrongful birth” claims is constitutional. Justices heard oral arguments …

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Private Jail Company Sued over Texas Woman’s Death

The family of a woman who died after being held in an East Texas jail last year has filed a lawsuit against the company that runs the facility, claiming its staff neglected her care and ignored her pleas for help …

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Kansas City Tenants Awarded $52M in Suit Over ‘Horrendous’ Living Conditions

Tenants who sued over “horrendous” living conditions at a Kansas City low-income housing development have been awarded $52 million in damages. Jackson County Judge Joel Fehestock found in favor of the tenants, who sued KM-T.E.H. Realty 8 and Michael Fein …

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Judge OKs $440K Settlement in South Dakota Forced Catheterization Suit

A federal judge has approved legal settlements totaling $440,000 for people in South Dakota who were subjected to forced catheterizations to check for drug use. U.S. District Judge Roberto Lange ruled in April that police who used forced catheterizations violated …

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Number of Landfalls of Big U.S. Storms Could Break 1916 Record

Hurricane Sally’s historic flooding of Florida and Alabama this week marked the eighth named storm to strike the continental U.S. this year, leaving the tally just one short of a record that dates back more than a century. With 10 …

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After Hurricane Sally, Assessment of Extensive Flood Damage Begins

GULF SHORES, Ala./HOUSTON – As an Alabama resident, Toby Wallace has seen his fair share of hurricane damage working for the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he handles flood insurance claims. But that did not prepare him for Hurricane …

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Ex-Security Chief Martin Urges UK to Outlaw Cyber Ransoms

Ciaran Martin, who stepped down as head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre this month, will call on Boris Johnson’s government to make it illegal for companies to pay cyber hackers a ransom. “If I had one policy card …

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Businesses Urge U.S. Insurers to Stop Insuring, Investing in Fossil Fuel Producers

A group of about 60 American businesses on Thursday urged their insurers to stop providing coverage to and investing in fossil fuel producers. In a letter, companies including outdoor-gear producer Patagonia and ice-cream maker Ben & Jerry’s, a unit of …

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Distinguished Programs Names Percival Regional Sales Executive in West

Distinguished Programs has named Donna Percival a regional sales executive covering territories including Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Alaska and Hawaii. Percival is based out of Bellevue, Wash., and will be responsible for the sales of the suite of …

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Bayer Settles More U.S. Claims Over Weedkiller Roundup

Bayer AG has settled thousands of U.S. Roundup weed killer lawsuits as part of an $11 billion settlement, reaching deals with the only lawyers who took cases to trial over allegations the herbicide caused cancer. In letters filed with U.S. …

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Sompo’s Davis Named President of Canopius USA as It Eyes Expansion

Specialty insurer Canopius Group has appointed Lisa Davis to the new position of president and chief underwriting officer of Canopius USA, effective October 1. Davis joins Canopius from Sompo America Insurance Services, where she has served as executive vice president, …

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Slowness, Not Speed, of Hurricanes Like Sally Becoming Major Concern

For Grant Saltz, who runs a barbecue restaurant in Mobile, Alabama, what struck him about Hurricane Sally was its steady, deliberate pace, after the storm rumbled into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday as a powerful Category 2 hurricane. “It’s …

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U.S. Prosecutors Charge 7 in Alleged Multi-Target Chinese Hacking Scheme

The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it has charged five Chinese residents and two Malaysian businessmen in a wide-ranging hacking effort that encompassed targets from video games to pro-democracy activists. Federal prosecutors said the Chinese nationals had been charged …

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Rental Car Company to Pay $80K in Penalties, Implement Reforms Over Fraud Allegations

A discount car rental company operating out of Newark and JFK Airports has agreed to pay $80,000 in penalties, enter binding arbitration to resolve consumer complaints and change its policies and practices following New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal …

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Arcadian Risk Starts New Underwriter in Bermuda With Third Point Re Backing

Arcadian Risk Capital is launching as a new underwriting operation based in Bermuda that will initially underwrite excess casualty and professional lines insurance. Arcadian said it has received its licence from the Bermuda Monetary Authority and will operate as a …

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Blackstone Joins Brit’s Parent Fairfax in Investing in Lloyd’s Digital Venture Ki

Digital Lloyd’s syndicate KI reported that it has raised US$500 million from funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Fairfax Financial Holdings, parent of specialty insurer Brit that is behind Ki. Ki said the capital commitment will fund its expansion …

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How Spain’s COVID Tracing App Navigates Europe’s Privacy Protections

“What does RadarCOVID not do?” a promotional video for Spain’s contact-tracing app asks. The answer: while navigating the country’s decentralized healthcare system, it does not locate users, identify them, record personal details, or send data. Without a vaccine or a …

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Soccer Star Messi Scores Trademark Victory Over Massi in EU Court

Barcelona and Argentina captain Lionel Messi has won a legal battle over trademark rights relating to his own logo after the European Union’s top court on Thursday dismissed an appeal against the player from a Spanish cycling clothing brand. The …

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Oil Industry Begins Cleaning Up, Restarting Gulf Operations After Hurricane Sally

Storm-tossed U.S. offshore energy producers and exporters began clearing debris on Thursday from Hurricane Sally and booting up idle Gulf of Mexico operations after hunkering down for five days. The storm toppled trees, flooded streets and left about 570,000 homes …

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Weakened Hurricane Sally Leaves Gulf Coast With Flooding, Heads Northeast

09/17/2020 03:00 AM— Hurricane Sally moved northeast Thursday, where it was expected to bring more than a foot of rain to some areas, one day after it flooded streets and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and …

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Alliant Insurance Services Hires Parker as Senior Vice President in New York

Alliant is continuing to grow its team in New York, recently adding Brennen Parker as senior vice president. Parker, who is based in Albany, N.Y., will design and deploy insurance solutions to address industry-specific risks for a growing base of …

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Three Injured in Public Transit Bus Crash in Delaware

Three people were hurt when a public transit bus broke through a fence and a retaining wall, then landed in a parking lot after crashing into at least two other vehicles. The News Journal reports that a DART bus crashed …

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Businesses Need to Rethink Cyber Risks for Work-from-Home Employees

When worldwide lockdowns were imposed almost overnight in March, most employees thought they were leaving their desks behind for just a few weeks. Very few employers and employees would have predicted that six months later they would still be working …

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What Is the No. 1 Emerging Litigation Risk? ‘Forever Chemicals,’ Says Praedicat

The top emerging litigation risk identified for the year ahead is PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals” used in a wide variety of products such as Teflon, Scotchgard, food containers, firefighting foam and ski wax, said the co-founders of Praedicat, the …

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Software Glitch Blamed for Incorrect COVID Notifications to 7K in North Carolina

A county in North Carolina incorrectly told nearly 7,000 residents they had tested positive for the coronavirus due what officials say was a technical glitch. The messages were sent by text messages to more than 6,700 residents in Mecklenburg Countyincorre …

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Floridians Concerned About Disaster Recovery, Hurricane Deductibles: Survey

As Hurricane Sally bears down on the Gulf Coast, a new survey is highlighting the concerns many Florida residents have about the impact of catastrophic storms on their communities and everyday lives, as well as if they are adequately insured …

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires The Kirksey Agency in Louisiana

Insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired West Monroe, Louisiana-based The Kirksey Agency Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The Kirksey Agency was founded in 1980 with crop insurance as its flagship product, servicing Louisiana, Arkansas …

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Wisconsin’s American Family Insurance Employees to Get Paid Day Off to Vote

The American Family Insurance group, based in Madison, Wisconsin, is giving its more than 13,500 employees nationwide a paid day off to vote. The company said employees may choose to take Nov. 3 off to vote in person, but because …

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Zurich NA Launches Nonsubscriber Work Injury Insurance Policy in Texas

Zurich North America, based in Schaumburg, Ill., has launched an Occupational Accident & Employers Work Injury Liability Insurance Policy for nonsubscribers to the workers’ compensation system in Texas. The new offering is the result of a collaboration with program administrator …

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House Democrats Ask Why Auto Safety Rules Are Delayed

Three senior Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday asked government auditors to study why U.S. auto safety regulators have failed to write dozens of new auto safety regulations. The delayed rules include rear belt warnings, revisions to …

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At-Bay in California Names Felton Head of Partnerships

At-Bay has named Kristie Felton head of partnerships. Felton will spearhead At-Bay’s collaboration with digital distribution partners, including digital broker platforms, enterprise technology companies and professional associations. She has with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. She …

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House Report Slams FAA, Boeing for ‘Horrific Culmination’ of Failures in 737 Crashes

Two Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed all 346 passengers and crew aboard were the “horrific culmination” of failures by the planemaker and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a U.S. House panel concluded after an 18-month investigation. The crashes “were not …

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Keystone Agency Investors Acquires 4 Missouri Agencies, Forms Midwest Risk Partners

Keystone Agency Investors (KAI), a new strategic partnership formed by Keystone Insurers Group and Bain Capital Credit, has acquired four St. Louis, Missouri-based insurance agencies, which together will form Midwest Risk Partners LLC, a custom insurance platform serving the greater …

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Owen Named VP, General Cousel at Missouri’s Columbia Insurance Group

Columbia Insurance Group, based in Columbia, Missouri, has appointed Claire Owen as vice president and general counsel. Owen has served as corporate legal counsel since joining the company in 2017. In her new role, Owen has responsibility in the areas …

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Las Vegas Shooting Victims Getting Closer to What Could be a $800M Payout

More than 4,400 relatives and victims of the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history could receive a total of $800 million in payouts from MGM Resorts International and its insurers by January, the casino giant and attorneys said. After …

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Virus Deaths Surpass 2,000 in Washington State

More than 2,000 people in the state have now died due to the coronavirus, according to The Washington state Department of Health. As of Monday afternoon, KUOW reports there have been 2,006 recorded deaths from COVID-19, and 80,138 confirmed cases …

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Alliant Insurance Services Hires Cyber Risk Specialist Loftus in New York

Alliant Insurance Services has named cyber risk and insurance specialist John Loftus to work alongside Robert Horn in running Alliant’s cyber initiatives. Loftus is based in New York and maintains a network of insurance recovery attorneys, incident response experts, chief …

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Lawsuit Claims EPA Has Failed to Enforce Chesapeake Bay Pollution Caps

The Environmental Protection Agency has failed to ensure that Pennsylvania and New York are doing enough to reduce pollution that flows from farms and cities into the Chesapeake Bay, according to a lawsuit filed on Thursday. The federal suit was …

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NFP Rebrands UK, Ireland Brokerages Under Its NFP Corporate Name

Insurance broker and consultant NFP is rebranding all of its European brokerages under its corporate name. The New York-based firm said that Mackenzie Taylor Benefits Consultants Limited, Linkfield Corporate Solutions Limited and Wentworth Employee Benefits Limited in the UK, as …

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Dunkin’ Donuts Parent Settles New York Cyber Attack Lawsuit, Agrees to Pay Fine

The parent of Dunkin’ Donuts on Tuesday agreed to upgrade its security protocols and pay $650,000 in fines and costs to settle a lawsuit by New York’s attorney general claiming it ignored cyber attacks that compromised the online accounts of …

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Why Does California Keep Burning? These Scientists Are Studying Answers.

Residents of fire-ravaged Western states, and an entire world of observers looking on in horror, have asked themselves, “How can this be happening?” As fire last week taunted Paradise, California, destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire, many others have found …

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Manulife to Begin Offering Canadians COVID-19 Travel Insurance

Canadian insurer Manulife Financial Group will restore some coverage for coronavirus-related trip interruptions in a new travel insurance policy that also includes COVID-19 in its emergency medical coverage. The policy will launch in October for Canadians traveling domestically and internationally, …

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China’s Communist Party Seeks Greater Loyalty From Private Sector

China’s ruling Communist Party is demanding a show of greater loyalty from the sprawling private sector as the world’s second-largest economy grapples with growing external risks, from open U.S. hostility to the coronavirus pandemic. In recent years, the party has …

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Chances for Brexit Deal With Britain Fade Every Day, Warns European Union Leader

Every passing day reduces chances for sealing a new trade deal with Britain, the European Union’s chief executive said on Wednesday, warning London that there was “very little time” left to put an agreement in place by the end of …

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Appeals Court Weighs Harvard University Use of Race as Factor in Admissions

A federal appeals court on Wednesday will consider whether Harvard University discriminates against Asian-American applicants in a closely-watched case that could impact whether U.S. colleges can use race as a factor in admissions. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals …

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Hurricane Sally Makes Landfall on Alabama’s Gulf Coast

Hurricane Sally made landfall on Alabama’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday morning as a Category Two hurricane, after winds intensified overnight. Winds were clocked at 105 miles per hour (165 km per hour), able to cause extensive damage, according to the …

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UK Businesses Wait to See if Their Insurers Will Appeal COVID-19 Insurance Ruling

LONDON — Murray Pulman says he is as tough as they come, but battles with his insurer have left him close to tears after a coronavirus lockdown forced his family-run cafe The Posh Partridge to close. Pulman was counting himself …

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Casualty Reinsurance Demand Rises in N. America Despite Hardening Primary Rates

Although there is a significant market correction taking place in the North American liability insurance market, demand for casualty reinsurance is increasing, said Chirag Shah, executive vice president, Casualty Reinsurance, at Willis Re. Low interest rates, economic volatility, social inflation …

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Louisville Agrees to Pay Breonna Taylor’s Family $12 Million, Enact Police Reforms

Louisville, Kentucky agreed to pay the family of Breonna Taylor a $12 million settlement and enact a series of reforms as part of the largest police misconduct payout in the city’s history after officers shot and killed the unarmed Black …

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Alliant Names Willis’ Shapiro Senior Vice President in California

Alliant Insurance Services Inc. has named Larry Shapiro senior vice president in mergers and acquisitions. Shapiro will serve as the representations and warranties team leader and be based in San Francisco, Calif. He will provide risk solutions to private equity …

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Uber Backup Driver Faces Homicide Charges in Fatal 2018 Arizona Crash

The back-up safety driver behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber Technologies test vehicle that struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, in 2018 was charged with negligent homicide, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Rafael Vasquez, age 46, who is …

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Two Hole-in-One Insurance Programs to Become One

American Hole ‘n One, a provider of hole in one coverage, announced it will combine its operations with its sister company, National Hole-In-One. American Hole ‘n One acquired National Hole-In-One in 2014 and has been operating the two companies separately …

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Boeing Crash Victims’ Families Want Congress to Lift Shield on Planemakers’ Liability

Families of Boeing 737 MAX crash victims are urging U.S. lawmakers to ensure the planemaker is held accountable for accidents that together killed 346 people by blocking a key legal defense, according to a letter sent on Tuesday and seen …

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The Hanover Targets Home-Based Businesses with New Coverage Suite

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has launched a suite of coverages designed to protect homeowners who generate income through home-based businesses or short-term rentals of their properties. The Hanover’s new offering addresses a gap insurance coverage and is designed to …

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South Carolina Halts Temporary Producer Licenses Related to COVID-19 Emergency

The South Carolina Department of Insurance will no longer issue temporary producer licenses related to the COVID-19 State of Emergency, according to a bulletin issued by the department on Sept. 15. SCDOI said as of the bulletin’s issuance, there is …

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Tracking Tool Spotlights Repetitive Flood Loss Homes Receiving U.S. Taxpayer Funds

Passaic County in New Jersey is not in the hurricane belt nor is it on the banks of a major river, and yet 810 properties there received $170 million of taxpayer money through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) since …

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North Dakota Oil Patch Sees Exodus of Workers

Killdeer City, N.D., Administrator Matt Oase can’t help but notice that the community’s population is not what it was six months ago, and wonder what that might mean for the 2020 census count. Apartment complexes are advertising move-in specials such …

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Louisiana Health System Cited for Coronavirus Safety Violations

A healthcare system in Shreveport, Louisiana, has been cited by federal workplace safety officials for failing to protect employees from coronavirus exposure. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Christus Shreveport-Bossier Health System for failing …

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OneBeacon Acquires International Bond & Marine Brokerage

OneBeacon Insurance Group said it has acquired International Bond & Marine Brokerage, Ltd., a privately held brokerage and risk management firm specializing in the international trade markets. IB&M will retain its brand and operate as a standalone brokerage, offering customs …

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Associated Agencies Acquires The Bensman Group in Illinois

Associated Agencies Inc., a privately held insurance and risk management firm based in Rolling Meadows, Ill., has acquired Bensman Risk Management Inc. and Bensman Associates Ltd. (The Bensman Group), a Bannockburn, Ill.-based insurance, risk management and strategic planning firm led …

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Louisiana Says Agent Took Premiums but Didn’t Place Insurance

A Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, insurance producer has been issued a cease and desist order, a license revocation, summary suspension and a fine for allegedly misappropriating premium funds, according to the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI). Matthew Sias, a property/casualty producer …

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Colorado Wildfire Destroyed 25 Residential Buildings, 54 Structures

A month-old northern Colorado wildfire has destroyed 25 residential buildings and a total of 54 structures, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office says. The fire near Red Feather Lakes has burned 160 square miles and was 4% contained but hasn’t grown …

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Bad Air From Western Wildfires Just Won’t Ease up

Relief from putrid, dangerous air spewing from massive wildfires across the West won’t come until later in the week or beyond, scientists and forecasters say, and the hazy and gunk-filled skies might stick around for even longer. People in Oregon, …

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Financial Conduct Authority Hails Business Interruption Ruling as Policyholder Win

The Financial Conduct Authority said today’s High Court judgment in its coronavirus business interruption insurance test case found in favour of policyholders on the majority of the key issues. “Our aim throughout this court action has been to get clarity …

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Insurers, Policyholders, Analysts React to UK’s Covid-19 Business Interruption Ruling

Insurers and observers are weighing in on the ruling by a London court in a test case brought by Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to clarify insurance coverage for covid-19 related business interruption claims. The FCA says the court brought …

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Connecticut’s LL Global Hires Carroll to Lead National Accounts Team

LL Global Inc., the Windsor, Conn.-based, non-profit parent organization for trade associations LIMRA and LOMA, has hired John Carroll to lead its National Accounts team. He will report to Sean O’Donnell, senior vice president of LL Global Member Relations and …

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Pennsylvania Authorities Arrest Alleged Fraud Network Participants

Pennsylvania authorities filed criminal charges on July 13 in Dauphin County against Kenneth Torres, Louis Torres, Ruth Negron-Acevedo, Juan Lopez-Barco and Philadelphia-based businesses EZ Multi-Services and Saul Auto Tags. According to the criminal complaints, the arrests stemmed from a multi-year …

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Connecticut Sues Exxon for Deceiving Consumers About Climate Change

Connecticut filed a lawsuit on Monday against oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp for misleading the public over the impacts of climate change, becoming the latest state to target the fossil fuel industry for violating state consumer protection laws. The state’s …

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U.S. Court Upholds State Tax on Drugmakers to Defray Opioid Crisis Costs

A federal appeals court on Monday cleared the way for New York state to collect about $200 million from drug manufacturers and distributors by imposing a surcharge on them to defray the costs of combating the opioid addiction epidemic. The …

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London Judges Rule Some Insurers Should Not Have Rejected Biz Interruption Claims

LONDON — London judges have ruled that some of the world’s biggest insurers were wrong to reject thousands of claims from small firms battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Tuesday. The FCA, which brought …

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Coronavirus Pandemic Will Have Severe Impact on Social Inflation: Fitch’s Mazzuoli

Claims inflation for the commercial liability business will increase through 2020, although it was accelerating even before the coronavirus pandemic hit. This trend, known as social inflation, has led the insurance industry to reduce capacity and increase prices to try …

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COVID-19 Crisis Reveals Lessons to Learn, Digital Opportunities

In every crisis, lessons must be learned, but opportunities also are revealed. And so it goes with the COVID-19, which has shown the need for contract certainty in the re/insurance industry, while at the same time providing an impetus toward …

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Charleston, South Carolina Sues Big Oil Companies Over Climate Change Costs

Charleston is now the first city in the American South to sue major oil companies in an attempt to hold them accountable for the “daunting” costs of climate change, city officials announced Sept. 9. The 24 defendants in the city’s …

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Neptune Flood Expands Coverage to Include All NFIP Classes

Neptune Flood, an AI-driven flood insurance company, has expanded its flood insurance products to now include all NFIP product types. Neptune, which has previously offered flood insurance for one to four family homes, and main street businesses, now offers a …

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Florida Couple Accused of Hurricane Irma Disaster Assistance Fraud

A Florida husband and wife have been charged with lying about damage caused by Hurricane Irma. Christina Catalano, 38, and Joseph Catalano, 54, both of Holiday, were arrested Sept. 9, according to federal court records. Christina Catalano has been charged …

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World Leaders Failed to Heed Warnings and Prepare for Pandemic, Says Global Report

A collective failure by political leaders to heed warnings and prepare for an infectious disease pandemic has transformed “a world at risk” to a “world in disorder,” according to a report on international epidemic preparedness. “Financial and political investments in …

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Google’s YouTube Sued for $3 Billion in U.K. Over Use of Children’s Data

Alphabet Inc.’s Google faces a multibillion-dollar lawsuit in the U.K. over claims that YouTube routinely breaks privacy laws by tracking children online. The suit, filed on behalf of more than 5 million British children under 13 and their parents, is …

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Daimler to Pay $2.2 Billion for Clean Air Violations Over Diesel Emissions

Daimler AG will pay $2.2 billion violating U.S. clean air laws and to resolve claims from 250,000 U.S. vehicle owners, court documents show. The German automaker and its Mercedes-Benz USA LLC unit disclosed on Aug. 13 it had reached a …

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Production Back After Louisiana Sugar Refinery Fire, Owner Says

The owner of a Louisiana cane sugar refinery said production has resumed after a fire late last month that hit two silos but caused no injuries. American Sugar Refining Inc. said in a Sept. 10 news release that Domino Sugar’s …

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Illinois Sues E-Cigarette Maker Juice Man

The Illinois attorney general files suit against e-cigarette maker Juice Man on Sept. 10, alleging deceptive marketing practices aimed at enticing youth. The move follows a similar Illinois complaint filed in December against Juul, the nation’s biggest e-cigarette maker. Juice …

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Historic South Carolina Mental Institution Destroyed by Fire

An early morning fire has devastated an iconic building whose architectural beauty and past as South Carolina’s state mental institution have long been features of both the capital city’s skyline and historic lore. Officials said crews were called early Saturday …

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NHC: Tropical Storm Sally Strengthens to Hurricane

Louisiana and Mississippi residents were under evacuation orders on Monday as former Tropical Storm Sally strengthened to a hurricane status and churned across the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The second storm in less than a …

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Officials Investigate Collapse of Atlanta Parking Deck that Injured 6 Workers

A section of concrete on a parking deck under construction in Atlanta partially collapsed on Friday, injuring six workers. Atlanta Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Glen Riley said firefighters cut out one worker trapped under debris with saws. Video from news …

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Florida Bars Reopening at 50% Capacity

Florida bars will be allowed to reopen at 50% capacity starting Monday, state officials announced Thursday. At the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Halsey Beshears issued an emergency order rescinding a previous …

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Michigan Auto Insurer Hagerty Adds Hunter as VP, Brand

Hagerty, based in Traverse City, Mich., has added Laura Hunter to its Brand team as vice president of Brand Communications. Reporting to Soon Hagerty, senior vice president of Brand, Hunter oversee public relations, corporate citizenship and external communications. Hunter joins …

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Ex-Director Files Whistleblower Suit Against University Of New Mexico

The University of New Mexico retaliated against the director of Africana Studies for demanding that his program be elevated to a department and later removed him when the program got state funding for the change, according to a whistleblower lawsuit. …

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Data About 200K Nevada University Alumni, Donors May Have Been Stolen

University of Nevada, Reno alumni and donors may have had their information stolen in a data breach that occurred in May, university officials said. The school was told of the breach on July 16 by Blackbaud, a third-party fundraising technology …

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Reinsurance Sector ‘Stable’ Despite Major Headwinds: AM Best

The tailwinds propelling the global reinsurance sector are sufficient impetus for the ratings agency AM Best to retain its stable outlook for the reinsurance industry, despite multiple challenges. During a virtual press briefing on Sunday, the ratings agency described the …

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Delaware Joins List of States and Localities Suing Big Oil

Delaware has joined the list of state and local governments that have sued the petroleum industry in an attempt to hold oil producers accountable for costs related to climate change. The attorney general’s office joined forces with a California law …

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Virginia’s Kinsale Capital Group Hires Beachy as Executive VP, Chief Claims Officer

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. has hired Mark J. Beachy as executive vice president and chief claims officer, effective October 5, 2020. Beachy will succeed Ann Marie Marson, who served as chief claims officer since August 2009 and is retiring from …

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Ex-Law Firm Employee in Rhode Island Charged with Embezzling Almost $750K

A former bookkeeper for a Rhode Island law firm has agreed to plead guilty to charges related to the embezzlement of nearly three-quarters of a million dollars from her employer, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Sarah Gaulin, 39, will plead guilty …

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Why the Coronavirus Recession Is Not Like the Last Recession

Judith Ramirez received a letter this month that she’d been dreading: The Honolulu hotel that furloughed her from a housekeeping job in March, during the lockdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, made her layoff permanent. Ramirez, 40, was originally told …

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Lloyd’s Names Blackboard’s Schoberth to New U.S. Market Development Position

Lloyd’s of London has appointed Uwe Schoberth as U.S. market development director, a new role focused on expanding its strategic relationships with retail, wholesale and reinsurance brokers in its largest market. In collaboration with Lloyd’s business development teams in London …

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Reinsurers Enter January Renewals, Focusing on Underwriting Discipline: Carpenter, Aon

Economic uncertainty and volatility, in combination with COVID-19-related losses, is leading to a heightened level of cautiousness among property reinsurers unless pricing and terms and conditions meet specific thresholds, according to Lara Mowery, global head of distribution, Guy Carpenter. For …

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Guy Carpenter’s Riley to Join Lockton Re Aviation Practice in London

Global reinsurance broker Lockton Re announced that Dominic Riley will be joining Lockton Re in London to lead the Aviation & Aerospace practice early next year. Riley was most recently part of the Aviation team at Guy Carpenter having joined …

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Slovenian Woman Sentenced for Cuting Off Her Hand for Insurance Payout

A court in Slovenia on Friday sentenced a 22-year-old woman to two years in prison for deliberately cutting off her hand with a circular saw to make a fraudulent insurance claim. The district court in Ljubljana said Julija Adlesic agreed …

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Senators Back Tighter Aircraft Oversight, Plane Crash Data Disclosure

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee will vote on Wednesday to require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to quickly disclose risk assessments after fatal air crashes in a bid to significantly tighten industry oversight. Senate Commerce Committee chairman Roger Wicker, a …

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Major U.K. Ruling on Business Insurance for Covid-19 Claims Expected Tuesday

Insurers battered by coronavirus are about to find out how much worse the damage could get. A London court is set to rule Tuesday in a case involving about 370,000 policyholders, companies including Zurich Insurance Group AG and Hiscox Ltd. …

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Triple Threat: Carrier-Insurtech-Agency Partnerships Can Transform Commercial Lines

COVID-19 has changed many things in the insurance industry. Seemingly overnight everyone is working from home and the companies with the best digital customer experiences have the advantage. Yet, commercial lines insurance has a long way to go when it …

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CoreLogic in California Taps Noland to Lead Global Insurance Solutions Business

CoreLogic in Irvine, Calif. has named Mick Noland executive, general manager of insurance solutions. Noland will oversee all CoreLogic solutions for the global property insurance industry. Noland has more than 25 years of experience in the property/casualty industry. He has …

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China Tightens Rules Governing Financial Holding Firms

China issued new rules on Sunday to regulate financial holding companies, in its latest move to prevent systematic risks to the nation’s vast financial sector. The new rules were set to stem loopholes in supervision and regulation systems, as a …

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Tropical Storm Sally Strengthens; Louisiana Braces for Another Hurricane

09/13/2020 06:09 PM— Tropical Storm Sally strengthened off the west coast of Florida on Sunday and was poised to become a category 2 hurricane, bringing the threat of dangerous storm surges and high winds to the U.S. Gulf Coast, the …

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Lawyer: Minneapolis Healthcare Workers Improperly Accessed Floyd’s Medical Records

Family members of George Floyd have been notified that multiple employees of a Minneapolis healthcare system have improperly accessed the man’s medical records sometime in the last 30 days, an attorney for the family said. Attorney Antonio Romanucci told KARE …

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Kansas Health Dept.: Meatpacking Plants Have Highest Number of Active COVID Cases

Meatpacking plants and correctional facilities continue to be the main sites of active COVID-19 clusters in Kansas, with each reporting thousands of cases, according to data released on Sept. 9 by the state health department. It was the first time …

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Post-Hurricane Laura Mosquito Clouds Killing Louisiana Livestock

Clouds of mosquitoes have been so thick in southwest Louisiana since Hurricane Laura that they’re killing cattle and horses. Farmers in a five-parish area east and northeast of the parishes where the storm made its landfall Aug. 27 have probably …

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Does An Employer Have to Say If Coworker Has Coronavirus?

Does an employer have to say if a coworker has the virus? Employers are generally not required to tell workers when someone in the workplace has tested positive for the coronavirus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends …

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CalFire: 14K Firefighters on the Line at 29 Major Wildfires

As critical fire weather conditions subsided, firefighters accomplished full containment on one of the many fires burning in the state, according to the latest report from CalFire. Roughly 14,000 firefighters remain on the line of 29 major wildfires burning across …

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Wildfires grow in Oregon as 500K Evacuated

Deadly wildfires in heavily populated northwest Oregon were growing, with hundreds of thousands of people told to flee encroaching flames while residents to the south tearfully assessed their losses. The number of people evacuated statewide because of fires rose to …

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Meteorologists Tracking Potential Storm Threats Across Atlantic

While a tropical storm approaches Bermuda, the threat of more powerful systems is expanding across the Atlantic, from the Gulf of Mexico to Africa. Tropical Storm Paulette probably will become a hurricane on Sept. 13 as it nears Bermuda, possibly …

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Lloyd’s Underlying Underwriting Results See ‘Huge Improvement’ Despite COVID Losses

While Lloyd’s overall results in the second half were hit by £2.4 billion ($3.12 billion) of COVID-19 claims, the market’s underlying underwriting performance saw a “huge improvement,” which Chief Executive Officer John Neal said is a “real testament to the …

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Facebook Going to Court in Ireland to Salvage Its EU to U.S. Data Transfer Practices

Facebook Inc. launched legal action on Friday against Ireland’s Data Protection Commission in an attempt to halt a proposed order that could stop the company from transferring data from the European Union to the United States. The U.S. social media …

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Governor Cuomo Clears Way for Indoor Dining to Resume in New York City

New York City restaurants can resume indoor dining on Sept. 30 at 25% capacity with temperature checks for customers and other restrictions, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday. Cuomo said all customers will undergo temperature checks at the door and one …

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Start of School in Hartford Delayed by Ransomware Attack

One the worst cyberattacks yet against Connecticut’s capital city forced officials to postpone the first day of school Tuesday, disrupting the day for thousands of families as city computer experts rushed to restore systems vital for school operations. Hartford Mayor …

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Risk Strategies Acquires Philadelphia-Based Securitas Insurance Partners

Risk Strategies, a privately held, national insurance brokerage and risk management firm, has acquired Securitas Insurance Partners LLC, a specialty brokerage focused on the retail insurance and risk management needs of venture capital and private equity backed portfolio companies. Terms …

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New York’s Preferred Mutual Hires Raue as Senior Vice President of Claims

Preferred Mutual Insurance Company has hired Michelle Raue as senior vice president of claims. In this role, Raue will be responsible for building the vision and executing the strategy to deliver an innovative and differentiated claims experiences for the organization, …

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New Ransomware Strains Being Unleashed on Businesses During Pandemic

Ransomware attacks grew by nearly 50 percent in the 2020 second quarter compared to the first three months of the year, underscoring the risks created by pandemic-related work-from-home requirements, a new Coalition report has determined. On top of that trend, …

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Chubb Appoints Sosa to Lead Operations in Japan

Chubb Limited announced that Diego Sosa has been named regional president, Far East. Currently, chief operating officer for Chubb in Brazil, Sosa in his new role will have overall responsibility for the management and business results of Chubb’s general insurance …

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AIG Names StarStone’s Rash as CEO of Talbot Underwriting

American International Group announced that Chris Rash has been appointed chief executive officer of Talbot Underwriting, which operates within the Lloyd’s Insurance Market through Syndicate 1183. Rash has also been appointed to the Talbot Underwriting board. He will oversee all …

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Munich Re to Stop Selling Pandemic Business Coverage

Munich Re has stopped selling coverage to protect against business losses in future pandemics after the German reinsurer took a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.8 billion) virus-related hit in the first half. “We are currently examining whether we will offer new contracts …

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Inside Big Pharma’s Stealth War on Drug Price Watchdog: Reuters Special Report

As evidence grew this spring that the drug remdesivir was helping COVID-19 patients, some Wall Street investors bet on analysts’ estimates that its maker, Gilead Sciences Inc., could charge up to $10,000 for the treatment. Then a small but increasingly …

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