Latest News & Insights

The Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer: Leading AI Innovation and Risk Management

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a new technology with the potential to completely reshape business practices and create new avenues for innovation. It will significantly impact virtually every industry sector. Organizations have rushed to embrace it, as evidenced …

AccuWeather Increases Estimate of Helene’s Economic Loss to $225B-$250B

AccuWeather has increased its estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Hurricane Helene in the U.S. to between $225 billion and $250 billion. The range makes Hurricane Helene one of the most damaging and impactful storms in U.S. …

Nowhere in America Is Safe From Climate-Fueled Storms and Fires

Forecasters had warned for days that Hurricane Helene was likely to cause widespread devastation. But when the powerful storm struck Florida and barreled through the eastern US last week, killing more than 180 people and taking whole communities offline, it …

WCIRB Summarizes 2024 California Workers’ Comp Legislation

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau is giving its take on bills passed and passed on by California Legislature this year. The Legislature recessed for the year and Gov. Gavin Newsom had until Sept. 30 to sign or veto any …

Maryland Approves $2.75 Million Settlement in State Police Discrimination Case

Maryland officials approved a $2.75 million settlement on Wednesday to resolve a federal investigation into discriminatory hiring practices affecting Black and female applicants to the Maryland State Police. The settlement, approved by the Maryland Board of Public Works, will include …

Lawsuit Filed Over Road Rage Shooting by Off-Duty Police Officer

The family of a man who was left permanently disabled after he was shot in the head during a road rage encounter in New Jersey, allegedly by an off-duty New York City police officer, has filed a lawsuit against the …

California Woman Who Lost Job After Talking with Auditors Won $8.7M Whistleblower Case

Tamara Evans found something fishy in the expenses filed by a San Diego contractor for the state’s police certification commission. Classes were reported as full to her employer, the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, even if they weren’t. …

Washington Paper Mill Fined Nearly $650K in Machine Operator Death

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries cited and fined a mill operator in Camas following an investigation into the death of a worker who was crushed by a packing machine that had no safety guards in place. The …

Massachusetts Man Charged With Defrauding Home Repair Insurance Provider

A Massachusetts man has been charged with defrauding a home repair insurance provider by billing for repair jobs that were never performed, the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy reported. According to the charging document, Christian Decristofaro, 40, …

Environmental Group Turns to Oyster Shells to Rebuild Sinking Louisiana Coastline

Jonathan Phillips says he thinks about Louisiana’s disappearing coastline every day. As a commercial fisherman and member of the Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha tribe, he sees water levels rising in Plaquemines Parish firsthand. He grew up in Marrero but spent a lot of …

Texas’ Abbott Touts Dallas Finance Hub as New Bourse Makes Hires

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the upstart Texas Stock Exchange will help transform Dallas into the country’s top financial center and boost businesses’ access to capital. “Dallas, Texas, is already a massive financial center, but when you put a stock …

Iowa Woman Charged With Insurance Fraud

An Iowa woman was charged with insurance fraud following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau. Antonia Maddison, age 46, of Sully, was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud – Application Submission (Class D Felony). The charges …

People Moves: Gillard Named President of AM Best Rating Services, Succeeding Mosher

AM Best, headquartered in Oldwick, New Jersey, named James A. Gillard Jr. as president of A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc., succeeding Matthew C. Mosher. Mosher is retiring as president and CEO, effective at the end of the year. Gillard most …

Appeal Delays $600M Class Action Settlement in Fiery Ohio Derailment

Settlement checks related to Norfolk Southern’s disastrous 2023 derailment could be delayed up to two years now because an appeal of a federal judge’s decision last week to approve the $600 million deal has been filed, lawyers in the case …

Brown & Brown Acquires Minnesota’s The Canopy Group

Brown & Brown announced the acquisition of the assets of The Canopy Group, a a multiline insurance agency focusing primarily on personal lines and commercial property and casualty for small businesses. Based in Le Sueur, Minnesota, The Canopy Group serves …

People Moves: Starwind Specialty Welcomes Conrad as Chief Underwriting Officer

Starwind Specialty Insurance Services, headquartered in New York City, named Kirk Conrad as chief underwriting officer. Conrad, based in Dallas, has over two decades of experience across multiple industry sectors, spanning roles in commercial and personal lines, risk management and …

McGriff Amps Up SE Benefits Offerings With Acquisition of Amity in Tampa

McGriff, a large retail insurance brokerage headquartered in Charlotte, announced it has acquired Amity Benefits, an employee benefits brokerage based in Tampa. Amity, founded in 2017, has specialized in the auto dealer space. The acquistion will expand McGriff’s capabilities in …

Tennessee Investigating Plastics Factory Where Helene Flooding Killed 11 Workers

A Tennessee plastics factory kept workers going until it was too late to evacuate before Hurricane Helene flooding swamped the building, employees have said. Now, the company is likely facing liability lawsuits and heightened workers’ compensation costs after the deaths …

Lloyd’s Focuses on Delegated Authority Arrangements as Looming Market Risk

While the Lloyd’s market reported its best first-half profit in 17 years, it isn’t resting on its laurels. It is carefully monitoring areas where potential vulnerabilities have been identified. During a recent market briefing, Rachel Turk, Lloyd’s chief underwriting officer, …

AssuredPartners Acquires Halstead Agency of Massachusetts

Global insurance broker AssuredPartners announced it has acquired Halstead Insurance Agency, a Fitchburg, Massachusetts-based agency offering personal and commercial insurance. The Halstead team will remain under the operational leadership of agency president Anthony P. Trapasso, Jr. and agency vice president, …

American Dams Weren’t Built for Today’s Climate-Charged Rain and Floods

As flooding hammered Appalachia in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, residents became intimately familiar with a new norm in the US’s post-storm script: dams at imminent risk of failing. Officials last week said multiple dams were on the brink, including …

Biden Says Prolonged Port Strike Would Be ‘Man-Made Disaster’

President Joe Biden ratcheted up pressure on US port employers and shipping lines to restart talks with striking dock workers, warning that the unfolding strike could turn into a “man-made disaster.” Biden spoke about the strike that has shuttered every …

Maui Fire Caused by Broken Power Lines, County and US Find

The fire that razed the historic Maui town of Lahaina last year was caused when Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. re-energized broken utility lines that caused sparks to ignite unmaintained dry vegetation, the Maui Fire Department said. The blaze was a …

Maryland Governor Aims to Reduce Vacant Properties in Baltimore by 5,000

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order Tuesday that aims to transform 5,000 vacant properties in Baltimore into homeownership or other positive outcomes in five years. The order creates a program called Reinvest Baltimore. It will coordinate state, city, …

The Fidelis Partnership Launches Specialty Reinsurance MGA

Pine Walk Capital Ltd., the specialist MGA incubator platform and wholly owned subsidiary of The Fidelis Partnership (TFP), announced the launch of Silverflame Re, a new specialty reinsurance MGA. Silverflame Re will complement The Fidelis Partnership’s existing specialty reinsurance book, …

Houthis Warn Shipowners in New Phase of Red Sea Campaign: Prepare to Be Attacked

On a warm spring night in Athens, shortly before midnight, a senior executive at a Greek shipping company noticed an unusual email had landed in his personal inbox. The message, which was also sent to the manager’s business email address, …

UK Broker Kingfisher Insurance Acquires MIS Motorsport’s Commercial Business

Kingfisher Insurance Services Ltd., the London-based specialist insurance broker, has acquired MIS Motorsport’s commercial business in the UK and Ireland. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. As part of the acquisition, a new entity will be created called …

Ryan Specialty Completes Purchase of Certain Assets of Geo Underwriting Europe

Ryan Specialty, the Chicago-based international specialty insurance firm, announced it has completed the acquisition of certain assets of the European managing general agent, Geo Underwriting Europe BV (Geo Europe), part of The Ardonagh Group. The deal was completed on Oct. …

UK Finance Firms’ Concern Over Geopolitics at Record Level

The share of UK financial services firms worried about geopolitical risks is at its highest level since the 2008 crash, the Bank of England said. The BOE’s biannual systemic risk survey, which began during the financial crisis, said on Wednesday …

Typhoon Krathon Hits Taiwan With Dangerous Winds, Heavy Rain

Typhoon Krathon crossed the southwest coast of Taiwan packing dangerous winds, with the storm leaving thousands of customers without power and shutting the stock exchange a second day. Krathon had maximum sustained winds of 126 kilometers (78 miles) per hour …