Latest News & Insights

Oklahoma Homeowners Can Apply for Up to $10K Grants for Fortified Roofs

Oklahoma homeowners can now apply for grants of up to $10,000 to upgrade to storm-resistant Fortified roofs. The Oklahoma Insurance Department opened statewide applications for its Strengthen Oklahoma Homes (SOH) Grant Program on Monday, Jan. 12. The statewide expansion follows …

Business Moves: United Risk to Acquire DUAL Crisis Management Program, Team

Managing general agency United Risk said it has an agreement to buy DUAL North America’s crisis management program, with its underwriting and claims teams. The unit will be renamed First Product Protection, serving as an independent division of New York-based …

People Moves: Packer Named to MD Board; Parkhurst New TDCI General Counsel

With litigation and regulation still a major part of the property-casualty insurance business, a national law firm and a state regulator have named attorneys to leadership roles. Marshall Dennehey, with offices in seven Eastern U.S. states, announced that Florida-based insurance …

Railroads and Their Regulators Thwart Safety Fixes, Analysis Finds

Human errors and track defects caused more than 3,000 rail accidents over the last decade, killing 23 people and injuring nearly 1,200. Yet federal railroad regulators failed to implement most of the safety recommendations that emerged from accident investigations. That’s …

Markets/Coverages: ATA Launches $750M Insurance Facility for AI Infrastructure Boom

Advanced Technology Assurance Ltd. (ATA), the London-based managing general underwriter, has launched a $750 million insurance facility to underwrite the projected $7 trillion global AI infrastructure boom. The ATA Global Data Center & AI Infrastructure Insurance facility launches with backing …

Court Orders Justice Family Coal Companies to Pay $1M to Liberty Mutual Unit

A federal judge has ordered coal companies owned by the family of U.S. Sen. Jim Justice to cough up more than $1 million in unpaid workers’ compensation premiums owed to a Liberty Mutual company—five years after an audit showed the …

Markets/Coverages: FM Bumps Up Limits for Data Centers to $5B

Commercial property insurer FM announced a significant increase in capacity to support its global FM Intellium clients and the data and power generation ecosystem. FM can now provide up to $5 billion in capacity for the growing data-center industry. FM …

Iowa Landlord to Pay $325K Settlement in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

The Justice Department announced that the owner and property manager of residential rental properties in Davenport, Iowa, have agreed to pay $325,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that the property manager sexually harassed female tenants in violation of the Fair …

Iowa Woman Charged With Insurance Fraud

Cristal Gale Kastantin, of Wheatland, Iowa, was arrested on January 3, 2026, on outstanding arrest warrants for committing insurance fraud, the Iowa Insurance Division announced. Kastantin was charged with one count of Ongoing Criminal Conduct (Class B Felony), one count …

California Wants to Mix Hydrogen With Gas to Cut Pollution. Critics Say That Poses Risks

Alma Figueroa began to worry when she learned that her gas provider wanted to test a controversial solution to curb global warming: blend hydrogen with natural gas to power her stove and other appliances. Figueroa, who has asthma and recently …

APCIA Backs Federal Bill to Require Litigation Funding Disclosure

The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) has released a statement in support of federal legislation, up for committee discussion today, that is meant to increase the transparency of third-party financers in litigation. The Protecting Third Party Litigation Funding From …

People Moves: Chaucer Taps Carpenter’s Loh as CEO Singapore; Price Forbes Singapore Names Carpenter’s Heath as Head of Reinsurance and Wholesale

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Chaucer Group and Price Forbes Singapore. A summary of these new hires follows here. Chaucer Taps Carpenter’s Loh as CEO Singapore, AXA XL’s Bryan to Lead Reinsurance APAC Chaucer Group, the …

Door of Swiss Bar Where 40 Died in Fire Was Locked, Says RTS

A service door that might have offered a second escape route at the Swiss bar where a deadly fire claimed 40 lives on New Year’s Eve was locked at the time of the incident, one of the managers told Swiss …

Markets/Coverages: Berkshire (BHSI) Expands Casualty Lines in Italy

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) announced the introduction of primary casualty policies for national and multinational risks in Italy. “We are pleased to launch our modular, proprietary primary casualty solution, expressly designed to meet our customers’ need for simplicity, clarity …

Factbox: Elon Musk’s Grok Faces Global Scrutiny for Sexualized AI Deepfakes

Governments and regulators from Europe to Asia are cracking down on sexually explicit content generated by Elon Musk’s xAI chatbot Grok on X, launching probes, imposing bans and demanding safeguards, in a growing global push to curb illegal material. Here …

BBC Defends Documentary Targeted by Trump in $10 Billion Suit

The British Broadcasting Corp. signaled some of its defenses against President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit, telling a judge that the documentary at the center of the case was fair despite a misleading edit of one segment. The BBC …

Wildfires, Storms Fuel 2025 Insured Losses of $108 Billion: Munich Re Report

Global insured losses from natural disasters fell to $108 billion last year, Munich Re said in a report on Tuesday. That compared with an inflation-adjusted $147 billion in 2024, the German reinsurer said, as the U.S. mainland avoided hurricanes for …

Schrager Hampson Aviation Acquires Delaware’s Einstein Insurance

Schrager Hampson Aviation Insurance Group (SHAIG) announced the acquisition of Einstein Insurance Inc., an aviation insurance agency based in New Castle, Delaware, Einstein Insurance Inc. became part of Schrager Hampson Aviation Insurance Agency, a division of SHAIG, on January 1, …

Experian: AI Agents Could Overtake Human Error as Major Cause of Data Breaches

Artificial intelligence continues to be at the center of Experian’s annual breach forecast for 2026, with the scope, frequency and cost of cyber incidents heavily influenced by the technology. AI makes its way into many of the predictions in Experian’s …

Florida Lawmakers Ready for Another Shot at Litigation Funding Limits

Florida property/casualty insurance leaders have said they are not expecting big changes from the legislature’s 2026 regular session that begins today, given the much-touted impact that 2022 reforms have already had on excessive litigation costs in recent years. But one …

Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to $2.46B Boy Scouts Sex Abuse Settlement

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a challenge to the Boy Scouts of America’s landmark $2.46 billion settlement of sex abuse claims in a case involving a group of abuse survivors who wanted to pursue lawsuits against …

Judge Lets Orsted Resume Rhode Island Offshore Wind Project Halted by Trump

A federal judge on Monday cleared Danish offshore wind developer Orsted to resume work on its nearly finished Revolution Wind project, which U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration halted along with four other projects last month. The ruling by U.S. District …

Ex-Insurance Agent Sentenced for 2 Fraud Counts Faces Additional Charges

A Baltimore County judge sentenced Michael C. Okolo, of Parkville, Maryland, to six months incarceration for two counts of insurance fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. A jury found Okolo guilty of those charges on December 4 last …

Experts Wary of Privacy, Liability From AI Health Gadgets at CES in Nevada

Health tech gadgets displayed at the annual CES trade show make a lot of promises. A smart scale promoted a healthier lifestyle by scanning your feet to track your heart health, and an egg-shaped hormone tracker uses AI to help …

FAA Notice Warned of Slackline Before Deadly Arizona Helicopter Crash

Federal aviation records show that a week before a fatal helicopter crash, a notice was issued that a tightrope would be stretched across a mountainous area of Arizona, providing a warning for pilots to watch out for the temporary obstacle …

Sexual Assault Charges Dropped Against Former AIG Exec McElroy

Authorities in Vermont have dropped sexual assault charges against David McElroy, a former executive at American International Group (AIG). According to a document filed in Vermont Superior Court in Lamoille County, the state’s attorney for Lamoille County on Dec. 31, …

Michigan Auto Industry Faces ‘a Critical Time,’ Report Says

Michigan needs to confront risks to its $348 billion piece of the global automotive industry this year and move decisively toward keeping jobs, engineering and production in the state. That message comes from Glenn Stevens, executive director of statewide industry …

People Moves: Rockford Mutual Announces Leadership Transition

Rockford Mutual Insurance Company announced CFO Mark McWethy has decided to retire effective June 30, 2026. McWethy will continue to serve the company in an advisory capacity alongside two significant leaders being promoted into their new roles. Effective immediately, Tiffany …

Texas Staffing Agency to Settle EEOC Disability Lawsuit

Peak Performers, incorporated as St. Vincent de Paul Rehabilitation Services of Texas, Inc., an Austin-based staffing agency providing staffing and recruitment services for workers with disabilities, agreed to pay $160,000 to a disabled former employee and institute significant reforms to …

Texas Medical Marijuana Industry Sprouts New Businesses, Patients

After lawmakers blunted expansion for years, Texas’ medical marijuana industry is slated to see more marijuana operators coming online, current ones opening more facilities and more Texans enrolling in the program this year. In September, Texas officially rolled out the …