Insurance Journal

Deep Vector Closes $1.5M Round Co-Led by Aperture and InsurTech NY

Deep Vector, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform for analyzing underwriting documents, closed its seed round of $1.5 million, co-led by Aperture Venture Capital and InsurTech NY. Deep Vector helps insurers and brokers translate analog documents...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

Lawsuit Alleges Fox Sports Ex-Host Harassed Hairstylist, Offered $1.5M for Sex

A woman who worked as a hairstylist for Fox Sports alleges in a lawsuit that former host Skip Bayless made repeated, unwanted advances toward her — including an offer of $1.5 million to have sex with him. Attorneys for Noushin …

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

Virginia’s Andrew Agency Acquires Richmond Insurance Agency

The Andrew Agency has acquired Garriques, Lloyd & McMahon in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1963, GLM Insurance is a third-generation family-owned agency providing personal and commercial insurance throughout Virginia and North Carolina. The Andr...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

South Korea Reviews Airport Runway Walls After Fatal Jeju Crash

South Korea plans to review the concrete walls positioned just beyond the end of some airport runways after an aircraft attempting an emergency landing smashed into one just over a week ago, killing almost everyone on board. Authorities will alter &#...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

Israel Cyber Firms Raise $4 Billion in 2024 on Surge of Cloud, AI Security Needs

Israeli cybersecurity firms raised $4 billion in 2024, more than double that of 2023, led by firms seeking to protect the cloud along with a surge in artificial intelligence, global venture capital firm YL Ventures said on Tuesday. Cybersecurity has...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

Oil Tanker Linked to Subsea Cable Damage Has Serious Deficiencies, Finland Says

Finland’s public transport agency said on Wednesday that an oil tanker suspected of damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea has been found to have serious deficiencies and will not be allowed to operate until repairs have been made. Baltic &...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

Artificial Intelligence Energy Demand Is Driving Climate Tech Investing

Energy startups have overtaken the makers of electric cars and batteries as the top global climate tech investment for the first time since 2020. They’ve done so as the growing demand for artificial intelligence has driven interest in technolog...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

US Insurance Deals Outlook: More, More, More

In mid-December, PwC tallied a surge in M&A deals in the U.S. insurance industry in the second half of 2024, and predicted an active year in 2025 with brokerage and MGA deals leading the way. According to PwC’s U.S. Insurance …

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

JetBlue Stowaway Deaths Probed After Florida Flight From New York

Local law enforcement officials in Fort Lauderdale are investigating the deaths of two individuals found in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue Airways Corp. plane after it arrived at the Florida airport on Monday. A representative for the Brow...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

Mercury to Return to Paradise California as Rebuilding Efforts Gain Momentum

Mercury Insurance announced this week that the company will begin writing new homeowners insurance policies in the town of Paradise, California. Mercury says it is the first major insurance company to begin offering policies to Paradise homeowners si...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

Mercury Insurance to Return to Fire-Ravaged Paradise, California

Mercury Insurance announced this week that the company will begin writing new homeowners insurance policies in the town of Paradise, California. Mercury says it is the first major insurance company to begin offering policies to Paradise homeowners si...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

People Moves: Baum to Succeed Swedlow as President of CWCI

The board of directors of the California Workers’ Compensation Institute named the institute’s chief operating officer, Gideon L. Baum, as its next president. Baum will succeed Alex Swedlow when Swedlow retires next summer. Swedlow announ...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

MLB Players Affiliate Withdraws Image Lawsuit Against Pirates’ Parent Company

An affiliate of the Major League Baseball Players Association withdrew its lawsuit against the parent company of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the convenience store chain Sheetz Inc. that alleged unlicensed use of players’ names and images on soci...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

Agency Network Renaissance Acquires Consolidated Insurance Agents in Buffalo

Independent insurance agency network Renaissance reports it has has acquired the agency network business of Consolidated Insurance Agents Inc. (CIA), an agency network based in Buffalo, New York. Renaissance said CIA’s 23 members collectively r...

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

How Will Your Insurance Organization Handle These 2025 Predictions?

This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync. Another year has come and gone. How’d your organization fare over the last 365 days? In many ways, 2024 was a difficult year for the insurance industry. Between the thousands …

Posted: Jan 08, 2025

Exxon Sues California AG, Environmental Groups Over ‘Smear’

Exxon Mobil Corp. filed a lawsuit alleging that California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several environmental groups made defamatory comments about the oil company’s ability to recycle plastic. Exxon accused Bonta, the Sierra Group and others...

Posted: Jan 07, 2025

Winter Storm Brings Heaviest Snowfall in a Decade to Central U.S.

A blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures stirred up dangerous travel conditions in parts of the central U.S as a disruptive winter storm brought the possibility of the heaviest snowfall in a decade to some areas. Snow and …

Posted: Jan 07, 2025

Winter Storm Brings Heaviest Snowfall in a Decade to Central US

A blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures stirred up dangerous travel conditions in parts of the central U.S as a disruptive winter storm brought the possibility of the heaviest snowfall in a decade to some areas. Snow and …

Posted: Jan 07, 2025

Texas Snow Threatens to Unleash Blackouts and Travel Chaos

A winter storm is poised to pummel Texas and the US South later this week, putting the region at risk of blackouts and travel mayhem. About 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of snow and ice will fall …

Posted: Jan 07, 2025

Musk’s Massive Tesla Lithium Plant Hunts for Water in Drought-Hit Texas

Twenty miles outside Corpus Christi, Texas — an area so dry the local water company distributes shower timers at high school football games — the world’s richest man is nearly done building a lithium refinery that could require as much …

Posted: Jan 07, 2025

AM Best Removes Negative Implications on Oklahoma’s Sutton National

AM Best has removed under review with negative implications and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of Sutton Specialty Insurance Company (SSIC) and Sutton Na...

Posted: Jan 07, 2025

After Nautilus Insurance Wins Civil Suit vs. Murdaugh, Trial Starts for His Conspirator

Just days after convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh was ordered to pay almost $15 million to Nautilus Insurance Co., his friend and co-conspirator is set to start trial in a civil suit brought by Nautilus for his role in the alleged …

Posted: Jan 07, 2025

Reinsurance Buyers With Good Portfolio Stories See Better Renewal Outcomes: Brokers

Reinsurance buyers generally found ample capacity during the January renewals as well as increased reinsurer appetite, which led to risk-adjusted rate reductions and improved terms and conditions for clients that could demonstrate differentiated stra...

Posted: Jan 07, 2025

Earthquakes and Blowouts Undermine Case for Carbon Storage in Texas

Texas has seen surging interest from companies hoping to bury carbon dioxide in its oilfields, putting the state at the vanguard of a government-subsidized program to fight climate change. But pumping CO2 into the ground could exacerbate earthquakes...

Posted: Jan 07, 2025

People Moves: World Insurance Associates Names Miller EVP, National Accounts

World Insurance Associates LLC, headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey, named Adam Miller as its executive vice president, national accounts. Miller, who is based in Chicago, has nearly 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, specializing in s...

Posted: Jan 07, 2025