Latest News & Insights

People Moves: Reinke Joins Intact as Chief Underwriting Officer, Transactional Surety

Scott Reinke joined Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions, headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota, as chief underwriting officer for its transactional surety team. Reinke oversees surety’s commercial transactional book of business and their online surety bond platform. Reinke has over 20 years of …

Nebraska, Kansas Brace for Possibly More Tornados: Weather Watch

Wild weather is sweeping the central US on Tuesday with tornado watches posted across parts of Nebraska and Kansas and an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms later in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois, the National Weather Service said. At least one …

North Dakota Hospital to Pay $45K Over EEOC Retaliation Lawsuit

Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center, a critical access hospital in Elgin, North Dakota, will pay $45,000 and provide other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) retaliation lawsuit, the federal agency announced today. According to the lawsuit, …

Several Texas Water Systems Exceed Federal Limits on ‘Forever Chemicals’

In Texas, 49 public water utility systems have reported surpassing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s first-ever limits for five “forever chemicals” in drinking water, according to data submitted to the federal agency. Experts say there are likely more since not …

Higginbotham Acquires Louisiana’s Eagan Insurance

Higginbotham has acquired Eagan Insurance of Metairie, Louisiana, in a move that extends Higginbotham’s presence to South Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. “At Higginbotham, we just celebrated our 75th anniversary last year, so we understand the importance of connection …

CRC Moves InsureTrust Cyber Broker to Wholesale Division

Alabama-based CRC Group, a wholesale and specialty distributor and part of Truist Insurance Holdings, has shuffled its deck a bit, moving InsureTrust, a cyber coverage broker, from Starwind Specialty. Starwind was formed in 2021 with the combination of CRC Group’s …

King Acquires Dave Alton Agency in North Carolina

King Insurance Partners, considered one of the fastest-growing U.S. brokerages, has added another producer to its lineup: The Dave Alton Agency, with offices in Greenville, Plymouth and Washington, North Carolina. The Alton agency, in business for two decades, offers homeowners, …

Fitch: U.S. Cyber Insurers Saw Strong Profits, Slowdown in Premium Growth in 2023

The U.S. cyber insurance line generated strong direct underwriting profits for the second straight year in 2023, but written premium volume has stalled amid renewed pricing pressure, according to a Fitch Ratings analysis. For standalone cyber coverage, the direct incurred …

Former MLB Player, 3 Others Charged with Staging Auto Accident in Miami

Four people, including a Cuban-born former Major League Baseball player who earned more than $15 million in his playing career, have been charged with staging an auto accident and defrauding an insurance carrier. Yuniesky Betancourt, 42, who played nine seasons …

Small Businesses See Stable Business Climate; Cite Cybersecurity as Top Threat

The first quarter Small Business Index, which measures small business owner confidence, is 62.3—similar to last quarter’s score of 61.3—reflecting a stable business climate. More small businesses see an improving economy, which drove the headline score up one point. One …

Beat Capital Partners to Launch Credit Insurance Business, Naming Pike as CEO

Beat Capital Partners, a London-based venture capital investor that focuses on the insurance industry, announced it is planning to launch a specialty and tech-enabled credit non-payment insurance underwriter. Called “Convergence,” the business is expected to underwrite through a Lloyd’s consortium, …

UK’s Jensten to Invest Up to £1M to Help Individuals Launch Their Own Brokerages

Jensten Group, the London-based independent insurance broking group, announced it will invest up to £1 million (US$1.3 million) this year to help 15 individuals start their own independent brokerages. The investments will be made through Coversure, the group’s network for …

Zuckerberg Avoids Personal Liability in Meta Addiction Suits

Mark Zuckerberg won his bid to avoid personal liability in about two dozen lawsuits accusing Meta Platforms Inc. and other social media companies of addicting children to their products. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is overseeing the cases, …

Inflation Continues to Increase Insured Property Exposures Globally: PERILS

Inflation continues to have an effect on property exposures with sums insured for European windstorm increasing by 10.1% year-on-year at constant euro exchange rates, at similar levels to 2023, according to PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company that provides industry-wide …

UnitedHealth Expects Up to $1.6 Billion Hit from Change Healthcare Hack

UnitedHealth Group expects to take a hit of as much as $1.6 billion this year from disruptions caused by the February cyberattack at its Change Healthcare unit. Despite the disruptions, UnitedHealth still beat estimates for first-quarter adjusted profit, sending its …

Barges Break Loose on Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Damaging Marina, Striking Bridge

More than two dozen river barges broke loose from their moorings and floated down the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, striking one bridge that had already been preemptively closed and damaging a marina, officials said. The boats eventually were pinned to …

Australia’s Weather Bureau Says El Niño Has Ended, Unsure About La Niña Formation

An El Niño weather event has ended, Australian weather authorities said on Tuesday, adding that they were uncertain if a La Niña phenomenon would form later this year, as other forecasters have predicted. The cycle between the two is hugely …

Dutch Chipmaker Nexperia Hacked by Cyber Criminals

Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia was victim of a hacking attack by cyber criminals last month, the Chinese-owned company said on Friday, and was investigating the incident with the help of outside specialists. “Nexperia has become aware that an unauthorized third party …

EVs Head for Junkyard as Mechanic Shortage Inflates Repair Costs

Electric car sales already are in a funk in key markets around the globe. Challenges finding enough repair technicians threatens to further stifle demand in the UK, where consumer uptake has stagnated for the better part of two years. A …

‘Zombie Fires’ Smoldering Near Oil and Gas Wells Threaten Canada’s Drillers

Leftover blazes from last year’s record wildfire season in Canada are threatening to knock out almost 3% of the country’s natural gas production. A total of 50 so-called zombie fires still smoldering beneath layers of snow are located near oil …

A Turnaround Story: Boost People, Then Financial Results, Aspen CEO Says

Executive Summary: When Mark Cloutier took the helm of Aspen to return the company to profitability, he knew a vital first step would begin with its group of talented people. There were cultural challenges that needed addressing along with the …

Supplemental Claims Don’t Need to Include Damage Estimates, Fed Appeals Court Says

A federal appeals court has, at least for now, put an end to lingering questions about some property insurance claims litigation: The insured does not need to submit a competing damage estimate when filing a supplemental claim if the policy …

California Chiropractor Sentenced to 54 Years for $150M Workers’ Comp Scheme

A former chiropractor was sentenced to 54 years in state prison and ordered to pay more than $23 million in fines for his role in orchestrating a massive workers’ compensation fraud scheme totaling $150 million. Peyman Heidary was convicted by …

NFL Has 8 New Impact Mitigating Helmets for Quarterbacks and Linemen

Eight new position-specific helmets for quarterbacks and linemen have been approved by the NFL and the NFL Players Association. Two of the new models manufactured by Riddell are designed for quarterbacks while six helmets are made for offensive and defensive …

Supreme Court Rules Corporate Silence on Impactful Trends Not Securities Fraud

Shareholders cannot sue companies for fraud if they flout a rule requiring disclosure of trends expected to affect their bottom line unless the omission makes another statement misleading, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday. The 9-0 ruling authored by …

Pilot in 2022 Fatal Crash Fell Out of Plane, Say Investigators

The pilot of an experimental aircraft fell out of the plane and hit the tail, causing the plane to crash in northeastern Pennsylvania in 2022, killing him and a pilot-rated passenger, according to federal investigators. The National Transportation Safety Board …

Biden OK’s Major Disaster Declaration for California

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is making ederal disaster assistance available to California to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by the severe winter storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides and mudslides from Jan. 31 to Feb. 9. FEMA said public …

Maine Sues Monsanto Over Contamination From PCB-Tainted Products

Maine is suing biochemical giant Monsanto for allegedly knowingly selling products containing harmful chemicals that have contributed to contamination in the state. The latest lawsuit targeting the company over the manufacture and sale of products with polychlorinated biphenyls, also known …

5 California Poultry Processors May Owen $3.8M in Back Wages

Employees of five California poultry processing companies in La Puente and City of Industry may be owed a share of more than $3.8 million in back wages and damages recovered on their behalf by the U.S. Department of Labor. The …

California Department of Cannabis Control Recalling Mike Tyson Cannabis Product

The California Department of Cannabis Control a mandatory recall for former Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson’s branded cannabis product, Tyson Undisputed Cannabis Flower, due to a contamination with mold. The mold in question is Aspergillus sp., and the recall affects multiple …