Insurance Journal

Maine to Launch Dashboard Tracking Local Opioid Settlement Spending

Local governments across Maine have received just over $22 million in opioid settlement funds from pharmaceutical companies accused of fueling the overdose epidemic, with nearly $54 million more expected over the next decade and a half. The money is...

Posted: Dec 02, 2025

Marsh McLennan Agency Acquires Three Brokerages in Hawaii

Marsh McLennan Agency acquired three privately owned Honolulu, Hawaii-based insurance brokerages from Tradewind Group. Collectively, Atlas Insurance Agency, Pyramid Insurance Centre, and IC International created an insurance brokerage presence in the...

Posted: Dec 02, 2025

Starbucks to Pay $38.9 Million to Settle NYC Probe Over Worker Schedules

Starbucks has agreed to pay $38.9 million to settle claims by New York City that the coffee chain violated a local law requiring fast food businesses to give workers predictable and stable schedules more than half a million times over …

Posted: Dec 02, 2025

South Korean Police Probe Massive Data Leak at E-Commerce Giant Coupang

South Korean police said on Monday they were tracing IP addresses and looking into possible tech vulnerabilities at Coupang after the e-commerce giant suffered the country’s worst data breach in over a decade. Shares of the company fell 6.5% in...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Missouri AG Secures $60K Restitution Judgment in Roofing Fraud Case

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced last month that her office obtained a final consent judgment and permanent injunction against Xcel Roofing of Kansas City, LLC, and its owner, James Patrick Harding, for defrauding Greene County c...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Third Russia-Linked Oil Tanker Suffers Explosions at Sea

An oil tanker carrying diesel suffered four external explosions near Dakar, Senegal, its manager said, the third vessel with links to Russia to have been struck over the last few days. Seawater entered the engine room of the Mersin, Besiktas …

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Foundation Firmed: AM Best Switches View of US Homeowners Insurers to Stable

Insurers of U.S. homes have improved rate adequacy and catastrophe risk management, modified coverage, and benefitted from a softening reinsurance market to earn a change in AM Best’s outlook for the segment to stable from negative. A quiet hur...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Shein Faces Texas Probe Over Alleged Violations of Labor Laws and Product Safety

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the state is investigating global fast-fashion retailer Shein US Services LLC Corporation and its affiliates for potential violations of Texas law related to unethical labor practices and the sale of unsafe cons...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

A 6.0-Magnitude Earthquake Hit Anchorage Area on Thanksgiving

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the Anchorage metropolitan area Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake struck at about 8:11 a.m. local time at a depth of 69 kilometers (43 miles), according to the USGS. Its epicenter w...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

How ‘Super Roofs’ Reward Insurers, Cat Bond Investors and Homeowners

As the Trump administration stalls federal funding for projects intended to make states more resilient to climate change and private insurers decline to cover properties in high-risk zones, North Carolina just proved there’s another way to fund...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Death of Teenager on Carnival Cruise Ship Ruled a Homicide

The death of a Florida teenager on a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month has been ruled a homicide, the latest development in a case that has drawn international attention and sparked intense speculation on social media. Anna Kepner’s cause...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Air France, Airbus Dispute Pilot Roles in Rio-Paris Crash

Air France and Airbus clashed over the role of pilots in a mid-Atlantic crash that killed 228 passengers and crew more than 16 years ago as the two companies fought corporate manslaughter charges at the climax of an eight-week appeal …

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Amazon Wins Injunction Against New York Law on Labor Relations

A federal judge last Wednesday granted Amazon.com a preliminary injunction to block the New York State Public Employment Relations Board from enforcing a new state law that the online retailer considers an attempt to illegally regulate private-sector...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Hong Kong’s Deadliest Fire in Decades Followed a Year of Safety Complaints

Residents of the housing complex that was engulfed in Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in seven decades were told by authorities last year that they faced “relatively low fire risks” after complaining repeatedly about fire hazards posed...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

PE Firms EQT, CVC Drop $3.44B Pursuit of Australian Broker AUB Group; Shares Drop

Australia’s AUB Group said on Monday its suitors EQT and CVC Asia Pacific had abandoned their pursuit that valued the insurance broker at A$5.25 billion ($3.44 billion), sending its shares more than 17% lower. Shares of the Sydney-based firm pl...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Update: PE Firms EQT, CVC Drop $3.44 Billion Pursuit of Australian Broker AUB Group

Australia’s AUB Group said on Monday its suitors EQT and CVC Asia Pacific had abandoned their pursuit that valued the insurance broker at A$5.25 billion ($3.44 billion), sending its shares more than 17% lower. Shares of the Sydney-based firm pl...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Unlocking the Future Workforce in High School: The Impact of Emerging Talent Programs and Local Indu...

The future of insurance is sitting in today’s classrooms. We hold this truth to be self-evident: when young people gain insurance knowledge, real exposure to professional pathways, and meaningful engagement with industry professionals, the resu...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

US E&S Outlook No Longer Positive: AM Best

AM Best is revised its market segment outlook on the U.S. excess and surplus lines segment to stable from positive, the rating agency announced in mid-November. The change comes as rates soften and premium growth moderates. “Although favorable...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Lawsuit Over Burger King’s Whopper Ads Set Back by Federal Judge

A federal judge dealt a setback to customers suing Burger King over advertising for its Whopper sandwiches, saying their claims were too disparate to justify certifying a nationwide class action. The lawsuit by 19 customers in 13 U.S. states accused...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Deadly Bear Attacks in Japan Prompt New Products From Insurers

Hardly a day goes by in Japan without news of another bear attack, but a problem that’s worrying local residents, tourists and farmers and hampering leisure-related businesses is presenting an opportunity for insurers. Tokio Marine & Nichid...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Why Reciprocal Insurance Exchanges Are Back in Fashion

Reciprocal insurance exchanges have been increasingly popular in recent years, with third-party investor interest in the fee-for-service businesses that manage RIEs and waning property insurance capacity in catastrophe-prone regions supporting the re...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Product Liability Verdicts Are on The Rise But There Are Ways to Avoid Them

Nuclear verdicts in product liability suits are on the rise. But manufacturers and their insurance companies can take multiple steps to prevent and defend against large jury verdicts, insurance and legal experts said at a recent webinar hosted by Tra...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

DOJ Investigating SeaWorld, Busch Gardens Firm After Ban on Some Wheeled Walkers

The Trump Administration’s Department of Justice, not known for its support of minorities and disabled people, announced it is investigating the company that runs SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay for potential violations of the Amer...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Product Liability Verdicts Are on the Rise but There Are Ways to Avoid Them

Nuclear verdicts in product liability suits are on the rise. But manufacturers and their insurance companies can take multiple steps to prevent and defend against large jury verdicts, insurance and legal experts said at a recent webinar hosted by Tra...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025

Washington Workers’ Comp Average Premium Going up 4.9% in 2026

The average cost of workers’ compensation insurance in Washington is set to rise 4.9% for 2026. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries announced that employers and workers will pay on average $1.37 a week more for each full-t...

Posted: Dec 01, 2025