Latest News & Insights

California Commissioner Announces FAIR Plan Modernization Deal

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said on Friday that he and the California Fair Plan have agreed to establishing a new high value commercial coverage option with limits up to $20 million per building and other steps that he said …

Business Moves: NFP, Clear Group, and Strategic Risk Group Complete 4 Acquisitions

Three brokers – NFP, Clear Group, and Strategic Risk Group – each announced acquisitions during July. In reverse chronological order, the acquisitions are listed as follows: NFP, the New York-based insurance broker and Aon subsidiary, announced on July 24 that …

Paris Trains Hit By Sabotage Hours Before Olympics Kick Off

Trains to and from Paris, including the international Eurostar service, were hit by what authorities called a “massive attack aimed at paralyzing the network” of France’s super-fast trains just hours ahead of the inauguration ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games. …

J&J Loses Latest Legal Bid to Revive Talc Bankruptcy Strategy

Johnson & Johnson lost its bid in a federal appeals court to revive a plan to settle tens of thousands of talc cancer lawsuits by placing a subsidiary into bankruptcy. The ruling Thursday upheld a bankruptcy judge’s dismissal last year …

ALKEME Acquires Georgia’s Morris & Templeton Agency

ALKEME, a national insurance broker, has acquired Morris & Templeton in Savannah, Georgia, expanding ALKEME’s footprint in the Southeast. Morris & Templeton was founded in 1981, offering commercial and personal insurance coverage, including high-end homeowners products. It has offices in …

Woman Dies in West Virginia’s Second Coal Mine Fatality This Year

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia woman died Wednesday more than a week after an accident at a southern West Virginia coal mine, Gov. Jim Justice said. Ashley Cogar, 33, of Erbacon, was injured at the Wyco Surface Mine, …

MGU Private Client Select Teams With Ryan Specialty on High Net Worth

Private Client Select Insurance Services (PCS) said it has entered into an agreement with Ryan Specialty on a distribution partnership. The independent managing general underwriter started by American Internal Group (AIG) and Stone Point Capital will use Ryan Specialty as …

Aon Reports 6% Drop in Q2 Net Income, Organic Revenues Grow 6%

Aon reported net income attributable to shareholders of $524 million during the second quarter, a 6% decrease from $560 million reported in Q2 2023. Adjusted net income attributable to Aon shareholders increased 9% during Q2 2024 to $624 million, compared …

California Wildfire Continues to Spread Rapidly to 164K Acres

A massive wildfire in Northern California has destroyed an undetermined number of buildings and is threatening thousands or properties, prompting thousands of evacuations orders, as it continued to rage on Friday morning. The Park fire, which became the state’s largest …

Rushed Railcar Inspections and ‘Stagnated’ Safety Record Reinforce Concerns

Major freight railroads are rushing railcar inspections, reinforcing known safety concerns raised by unions for years, but at a House hearing Tuesday they’ll present new evidence from federal inspectors that railcar checks are routinely less than two minutes per car. …

Louisiana’s $3B Coastal Restoration Project Divides Residents

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Proponents of a nearly $3 billion project to restore part of southeast Louisiana’s rapidly vanishing coastline released a study Tuesday touting the expected economic benefits of its construction, even as the project faces pushback and litigation …

Niagara Falls Hopes Insurer Can Solve Mystery of Last Year’s Car Crash, Explosion

A police investigation into the crash and explosion that killed two people in a high-powered luxury car at a Niagara Falls border crossing last year has concluded with the crash’s cause still a mystery, authorities said. The probe into the …

GE Vernova Blames Manufacturing Flaw for Vineyard Wind Offshore Blade Failure

A manufacturing flaw led to a turbine blade failure at the Vineyard Wind offshore project off the coast of Massachusetts this month, the part’s producer, GE Vernova, said on Wednesday. The turbine blade broke on July 13 and left potentially …

Ryan Specialty Announces Unification of Ryan Financial Lines

Ryan Specialty announced the unification of Ryan Financial Lines and the expansion of its product offerings. Ryan Financial Lines’ formation was announced in December 2023. The first phase was implemented in March 2024 with EmergIn Risk rebranding into RFL Cyber. …

People Moves: Vantage Promotes Bellitti as Chief Pricing & Portfolio Actuary, Names BHSI’s Valzania as CUO; AXA XL Promotes Bailey as Head of Professional, Bermuda

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Vantage Group Holdings and AXA XL. A summary of these new hires follows here. Vantage Promotes Bellitti as Chief Pricing & Portfolio Actuary, BHSI’s Valzania Named CUO Vantage Group Holdings Ltd. …

Illinois Legislature Clarifies Damages Under BIPA to Avoid ‘Annihilative Liability’

A bill (SB2979) amending Illinois’ Biometric Information and Privacy Act (“BIPA”), passed by both houses of the legislature on May 16 and now on Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk, effectively overturns a recent Illinois Supreme Court ruling that could have had …

Employers Turn to New Technology to Safeguard Workers From Extreme Heat

McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — At the start of every work day, construction worker Charles Smith puts on the essentials: hard hat. Safety glasses. A reflective vest. And a small, watch-like band for his wrist. But rather than track time, its …

Typhoon Gaemi Lashes Southeast China After Pounding Taiwan, Flooding Philippines

Typhoon Gaemi lashed towns on China’s coastal Fujian province on Friday with heavy rains and strong winds as the most powerful storm to hit the country this year began its widely watched trek into the populous interior. The storm, which …

School Settles With Professor Fired for Showing Image of the Prophet Muhammad

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A former adjunct professor on Monday settled a federal religious discrimination lawsuit against a private Minnesota school after she was pushed out for showing a depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in class. Details of the …

Devastating Wildfire Burns Down Almost 50% of Western Canadian Tourist Town

A raging wildfire has devastated the western Canadian tourist town of Jasper, potentially destroying up to 50% of structures, and firefighters were trying Thursday to save as many buildings as possible, authorities said. Jasper is in the middle of mountainous …

How to Outperform: Don’t Outsource Underwriting to MGAs

Executives of two property/casualty insurance organizations—Kinsale Insurance and the U.S. P/C operations of Arch Capital—shared their recipes for success with an analyst who crowned their companies as performance leaders during a recent industry webinar. The short takes: We don’t outsource …

People Moves: Liberty Mutual Names Haase CFO; Peirce to Retire

Julie Haase has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer of Liberty Mutual Insurance, effective Jan. 1, 2025. Haase is currently executive vice president, executive managing director and chief operating officer of Liberty Mutual Investments. She joined Boston-based …

FTC Looking Into Targeted Pricing Based on Personal Data

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has launched a study of products that could allow companies to set different prices for consumers based on their locations, past purchases, and other personal data. The agency said on Tuesday it had ordered Mastercard, …

Russian Commodities Aren’t Safe in Red Sea as Houthis Attack

Yemen’s Houthi militants have attacked more merchant ships hauling Russian commodities than products from anywhere else in the world, highlighting the limits of safe-passage assurances that the rebels gave Moscow earlier this year. Back in January and March, the Houthis …

Penn National Can’t Avoid Asbestos Coverage Payout, SC Supreme Court Says

Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. cannot escape the long tail of asbestos, and must cover part of the litigation losses for an asbestos installation company that went out of business more than 30 years ago, the South Carolina Supreme …

William & Mary to Expand Climate Studies, Coastal Research with $100 Million Gift

William & Mary has received a $100 million donation that aims to help the world’s coastal communities adapt to changing temperatures, rising seas and more intense storms, the university announced Wednesday. The gift from Virginia philanthropist Jane Batten is the …

ZestyAI Receives Texas Approval to Use Severe Convective Storm Products

ZestyAI, a provider of climate and property risk analytics solutions powered by artificial intelligence (AI), announced it has received approval for use in rating and underwriting from the Texas Department of Insurance for its complete suite of Severe Convective Storm …

Minnesota Medical Staff Company Ordered to Pay $336K in Back Wages

A Minnesota medical staffing company will pay $336,000 in back wages to nearly 1,000 employees after an investigation found the company charged its workers fees for missed or cancelled shifts. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has entered …

Painting Contractor Cited by OSHA After Worker Falls 80 Feet from Water Tower

A New Jersey contractor whose employee fell 80 feet to the bottom of a Bayville water tower has been cited by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for allegedly failing to provide required safety equipment that could have …

California Indoor Worker Heat Protections OK’d and in Effect

California’s indoor heat protections were approved and went into effect this week. The rules apply to most indoor workplaces. Employers are required to adopt safety measures that go into effect in most cases when indoor temperatures reach 82°F to prevent …