Insurance Journal

Cargo Theft Surges 60% in 2025, $725M in Estimated Losses

Newly revealed data highlights a surge in criminals targeting high-value freight and new theft locations pushing losses higher, according to Verisk CargoNet analysis. Estimated losses surged 60% from 2024 numbers to nearly $725 million, while confirm...

Posted: Jan 27, 2026

Accuweather: Winter Storm to Cause Up to $115B in Damage, Economic Losses

The weekend winter storm that impacted more than 200 million people from more than 24 states is expected to result in total damage and economic losses of between $105 billion and $115 billion, said AccuWeather. The preliminary loss estimate accounts...

Posted: Jan 27, 2026

California Rehab Center to Pay $1.5M for Keeping Two Paycheck Protection Loans

A California rehabilitation center operator knowingly received more than one Paycheck Protection Program loan prior to Dec. 31, 2020, and was ordered pay the $1.5 million in damages and penalties, a court found. The U.S. District Court for the Centra...

Posted: Jan 27, 2026

California to Get $379M in Funding for EV Charging Infrastructure

A U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington’s issued a final ruling against the Trump Administration in multistate litigation challenging the withholding of funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The U.S. Federal...

Posted: Jan 27, 2026

ZEV Registrations in California Fell for the First Time Since 2020

Zero-emission vehicle registrations fell in California 2025 after several years of growth following the pandemic. This marks the first year-over-year decline in ZEV registrations since 2020, a new report from the California New Car Dealers Associatio...

Posted: Jan 27, 2026

Gas Explosion, Fire on Top Floors of NYC Apartment Building Kills 1, Injures 14

A gas explosion sent fire racing through the top floors of a high-rise apartment building in New York City early Saturday, killing one person and injuring 14 others as temperatures plunged into the single digits overnight, authorities said. Firefight...

Posted: Jan 27, 2026

Man Who Stole $28 Million From Mars Inc. Sentenced

A Connecticut man who stole more than $28 million from his former employer Mars, Inc. has been sentenced to 63 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for fraud and tax offenses. Paul R. Steed has also been …

Posted: Jan 27, 2026

US Deep Freeze Wreaks Havoc on Texas Oil Producers and Refiners

A massive winter storm that swept the US over the weekend crippled oil and gas producers and the industrial plants that refine the raw commodities into everything from gasoline to plastics. Refinery flares lit up the Houston Ship Channel late …

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Email Phishing Scam Targets New York Financial Services Firms, DFS Warns

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) is alerting firms and individuals it regulates to use caution before responding to emails from senders falsely claiming to represent DFS. DFS said it recently became aware of phishing emails &...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Customers’ Search for Better Auto Rates Has UBI Heating Up

Customers shopped for auto insurance at a record pace in 2025 as years of insurance rate hikes got buyers looking around. And this time, they are finding better prices elsewhere, according to J.D. Power. The percentage of customers who shopped &#8230...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Georgia Financial Adviser Awaits Sentencing in $380M Ponzi Scheme

A financial adviser in Georgia pleaded guilty Wednesday to wire fraud in a Ponzi scheme that bilked more than 2,000 people out of $380 million, federal authorities announced. Prosecutors accused Todd Burkhalter, the founder and CEO of Drive Planning...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

FEMA Extends Housing Aid for Maui Wildfire Survivors Until 2027

U.S. officials have granted a request to extend housing assistance for survivors of catastrophic 2023 wildfires, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said. Nearly 1,000 households displaced by fire were anxiously awaiting word on whether federal assistance helping...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Private Plane Crashes at Maine Airport With 8 on Board

A team from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is headed to Bangor International Airport in Maine to investigate the Sunday, Jan. 25 crash of a Bombardier CL 600 airplane. Eight people were on board. No information about their fate &#823...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

7 Killed, 1 Injured in Private Plane Crash at Maine Airport

Seven passengers were killed and a crew member seriously injured in a single plane crash Sunday night at Bangor International Airport in Maine, according to a preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration. The aircraft apparently crashe...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Updated: 6 Killed in Private Plane Crash at Maine Airport

Six people were killed in a single plane crash Sunday night at Bangor International Airport in Maine, according to local officials, correcting what appears to have been a report from the federal government that seven people died. A late morning &#823...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Ice, Snow and Crashes Across Much of the Southeast from Winter Storm

Parts of the Southeast took it on the chin from Winter Storm Fern on Sunday, with iced-up roads, downed trees and widespread power outages, along with severe thunderstorms and wind along the Gulf Coast—all of which will likely result in …

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Google Settles Google Assistant Privacy Lawsuit for $68 Million

Google agreed to pay $68 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that its voice-activated assistant spied inappropriately on smartphone users, violating their privacy. A preliminary class action settlement was filed late Friday night in the San Jose, Ca...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Post-Storm Freeze to Test US Power Grids as Demand Surges

US power grids are expected to grapple with unprecedented seasonal demand and the threat of blackouts after a damaging winter storm coated parts of the South and Mid-Atlantic in ice — leaving brutal cold in its wake. More than 800,000 …

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Markets/Coverages: Marsh Risk Expands Nimbus Facility for Major Data Center Projects

Insurance broker Marsh Risk, a business of Marsh, announced the addition of significant capacity to Nimbus, its large-scale data center construction insurance facility. Nimbus now offers limits up to US$2.7 billion – inclusive of delay in start-up an...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Doordash, Uber Fail to Stop NYC Law Requiring 10% Tip Prompt

DoorDash Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. lost a bid to block a New York City law requiring a tipping option be presented to customers at checkout from going into effect Monday. A federal judge on Friday denied the companies’ request …

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Snowstorm Triggers Warnings in Germany and Northern Europe

Heavy snow and ice hit northern and eastern Europe, disrupting transport and power systems as freezing conditions are forecast for the next two weeks. The winter storm triggered red weather alerts in Germany, where 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) of snow...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Update: Second Winter Storm Set to Bring More Snow to Northern Europe

A second winter storm is set to hit northern Europe, where transport and power systems have already been disrupted by heavy snow and freezing conditions. Storm Chandra is expected to move into northwest Europe late Monday and early Tuesday, bringing...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

EU Opens Probe Into X Over Grok’s Production of Sexualized Imagery, Lawmaker Says

The European Commission has launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok over the production of explicit imagery, Regina Doherty, a member of the European parliament representing Ireland, said in a statement on Monday. The investi...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

Danone Recalls Specific Baby Formula Batches Made in Ireland as Toxin Scare Widens

French food and beverage maker Danone said on Friday it was recalling specific baby formula batches in targeted markets, as a toxin contamination scare that started with Nestle products continued to spread. Some of the world’s largest dairy com...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026

AI Assist for Underwriting and Quoting

Underwriters and quoting teams spend hours reviewing guidelines, appetite charts, and exceptions. Selectsys AI Assist acts as an intelligent underwriting assistant inside RQB and Expert Insured (EI), using trained models on carrier and program rules...

Posted: Jan 26, 2026