Insurance Journal

Minnesota Judge Orders MyPillow to Pay $778K to Delivery Service DHL

A Minnesota judge has ordered MyPillow to pay nearly $778,000 for unpaid bills and other costs to package delivery service DHL, which had sued the company that’s synonymous with its founder, chief pitchman and election denier Mike Lindell. The...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Texas AG Files Second Lawsuit Against TikTok Over Explicit Content

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday sued TikTok for the second time in recent months, accusing the social media company of violating deceptive trade law by downplaying its addictiveness and exposing children to explicit material. The suit a...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Winter Storm Sweeps US South, Grounding More Than 2,000 Flights

A powerful winter storm sweeping the US South has grounded more than 2,000 flights, halted passenger trains and threatens the region with heavy snowfall. As of 7:15 a.m. New York time, 2,043 flights around the US were canceled, more than …

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Re/Insurance Losses From LA Wildfires Expected to Be Significant but Manageable: S&P

Insurers are facing significant losses from the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires — given the high value of homes and businesses in the affected communities. However, those losses are likely to be manageable for both insurers and their reinsur...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

$1.7B in Block Grants Awarded to North Carolina Governments for Helene Recovery

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina governments are receiving over $1.65 billion in federal block grant money to help address historic levels of damage caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. The money — $1.43 billion for North Caroli...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Georgia Lawmakers Gearing Up for New Tort Reform Push

ATLANTA (AP) — After years of stalled efforts to limit civil lawsuits, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Republican lawmakers are doubling down with a new push. Supporters, most prominently business groups, call the state a “judicial hellhole,”...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

BlackRock Leaves Major Climate Group Amid Wall Street Exodus

BlackRock Inc. is parting ways with one of the world’s biggest climate-investor groups after being targeted by Republican politicians for its efforts on global warming. The money manager has decided to leave the Net Zero Asset Managers initiati...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Edison Denies LA Wildfire Involvement as Insurers Ask It to Preserve Evidence

Southern California Edison said on Thursday it had received notices from insurance companies to preserve evidence related to the Eaton Fire that is still burning in Los Angeles, but said no fire agencies have pointed the utility’s connection to...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Europe Warns Airlines on Russia Airspace After Azeri Plane Crash

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned airlines to steer clear of several cities in Russia following the fatal crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet that was likely shot down by Russian forces. EASA advised carriers to avoid five &#...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

South Korea Jet Crash Puts Fast-Growing Jeju Air’s Safety Under Scrutiny

Before it suffered the deadliest crash in South Korea’s history, budget airline Jeju Air was moving fast: racking up record passenger numbers and flying its aircraft more than domestic rivals and many of its global peers, data show. The high &#...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Hottest Year Ever Sees World Breach 1.5C Global Warming Target

Earth’s warming exceeded 1.5C on an annual basis for the first time in 2024, according to two major climate science agencies. It’s the most potent evidence yet that countries are failing to meet a Paris Agreement goal of limiting global &...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Winter Weather Wallops US Farmers

A nasty dose of winter weather has pummeled much of the U.S. from Kansas to the East Coast, leaving many Americans to dig out of the blizzard — including farmers. And more is on the way, with the polar air …

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Texas Refineries Prepare for First Winter Storm, Frigid January

Texas refineries are bracing for an onslaught of cold, snow and freezing rain as the US South’s first major winter storm sweeps in during what’s projected to be a frigid month. While temperatures in the upcoming storm aren’t expecte...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Warner Pacific Completes Acquisition of 5 Acrisure General Agencies

General agency Warner Pacific said it has acquired five general agencies from broker and fintech specialist, Acrisure, effective Dec. 1 2024. Financial terms were not disclosed. Westlake Village, California-based Warner Pacific’s Jan. 7 announc...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

People Moves: AIG Moves Flatt to Global CUO; Tooker Now President at The Hartford; Berkley Financial...

American International Group (AIG) said Christopher Flatt, currently head of AIG North America alternative channels, has been named global chief underwriting officer, effective immediately. Flatt also held the the position of interim CEO of managing...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Cal/OSHA Says Safeway Exposed Workers to Hazardous Conditions at Largest Warehouse

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health cited Safeway $182,000 in proposed penalties for safety violations that reportedly put roughly 1,700 workers at risk of serious injuries at the company’s warehouse in Tracy, their larges...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Cal/OSHA Says Safeway Exposed Workers to Serious Hazards at Largest Warehouse

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health cited Safeway $182,000 in proposed penalties for safety violations that reportedly put roughly 1,700 workers at risk of serious injuries at the company’s warehouse in Tracy, their larges...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Collateral Agreement Didn’t Mention Tort Claims, Cutting SUNZ Out of BP Funds

If insurance carriers want to have dibs on a company’s assets as premium security or collateral, they had better specify that those assets include potential tort-claim settlements, a federal appeals court said Wednesday. In a case that involved...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Catastrophe Bond Funds Say They’ll Dodge Losses as LA Fires Rage

The wildfires sweeping through Los Angeles are unlikely to trigger significant losses for catastrophe bonds designed to capture such risks. Roughly 12% of the $50 billion cat-bond market is currently exposed to wildfire risk, according to Florian Ste...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Meta Knew It Used Pirated Books to Train AI, Authors Say

Meta Platforms used pirated versions of copyrighted books to train its artificial intelligence systems with approval from its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a group of authors alleged in newly disclosed court papers. Ta-Nehisi Coates, comedian Sarah Silverman...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Brain Monitoring: It Could Improve Employee Performance or Worsen Discrimination

Despite all the attention on technologies that reduce the hands-on role of humans at work – such as self-driving vehicles, robot workers, artificial intelligence and so on – researchers in the field of neuroergonomics are using technology to improve...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

AM Best Upgrades Financial Strength Ratings for Employers Holding Subsidiaries

AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of Reno, Nevada-based Employers Holdings Inc.’s subsidiaries to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and their Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) to “a” (Excellent)...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Nevada Division of Insurance Recovered $9.4M in 2024

The Nevada Division of Insurance’s Consumer Services section recovered $9.4 million for Nevada consumers during 2024, the division announced this week. The Consumer Services team processed a significant number of consumer complaints, successful...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Insurer Upheld in Declining to Defend Employer Against Injured Worker’s Lawsuit

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled that an insurer had no duty to defend an insured employer against an injured employee’s personal injury lawsuit alleging negligence and intentional harm. The high court found that Hartford Underwriter...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025

Massachusetts to Hike Some Mandatory Auto Insurance Coverage Limits in 2025

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey recently signed legislation increasing the minimum coverage limits of auto insurance for some mandatory coverages. These new limits will apply to policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025: Bodily Injury C...

Posted: Jan 10, 2025