Insurance Journal

California State Fund Declaring 15% Dividend for 2024 Policy Year

State Compensation Insurance Fund in California announced that it will declare a $149 million dividend to qualifying policyholders with policies that took effect between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024. This dividend equals roughly 15% of the estimated annu...

Posted: Jan 02, 2025

Giuliani Faces Contempt Hearing Over His Assets in Defamation Case

A federal judge is signaling that Rudy Giuliani’s contempt hearing on Friday might not end so well for the former New York City mayor and onetime personal lawyer for President-elect Donald Trump as two Georgia election poll workers try to &#823...

Posted: Jan 02, 2025

After Steward Collapse, Massachusetts Aims to Prevent Future Health Care Failures

The Massachusetts Legislature approved a bill Monday aimed at closing loopholes in the state’s health care market regulatory process exposed by the collapse of Steward Health Care. The bill is also designed to increase financial transparency by...

Posted: Jan 02, 2025

The Captive Agent’s Guide to Independent Insurance Success

This post is part of a series sponsored by Darkhorse Insurance. Ever felt like a bird with clipped wings, singing the same song for the same company year after year? You’re not alone. Many captive insurance agents, while enjoying the …

Posted: Jan 02, 2025

He Saved the Chocolates But Lost His Workers’ Compensation Insurance

An employee who was injured when rescuing chocolate candies from the heat in his employer-owned delivery truck is not due workers’ compensation benefits. The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) upheld a deputy commissioner&#82...

Posted: Jan 01, 2025

Arkansas Hospital to Pay $14K in Back Wages

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Methodist Family Health in Little Rock, Ark. terminated a worker while out on family medical leave, a violation of the Family Medical Leave Act. The worker had &#82...

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Power Company to Pay $61M Over Emissions Violations at Eastern Missouri Plant

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri entered an order on Dec. 17 requiring Ameren Missouri to spend $61 million on projects intended to mitigate violations of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA), including 14 years of …

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Storm System Spawned 45 Reports of Tornadoes Across South

Officials assessed the damage on Sunday after a strong storm system moved across the southern U.S. over the weekend, spawning tornadoes and killing at least four people. There were at least 45 reports of tornado damage across Texas, Louisiana, Missis...

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Illinois Contractor Faces $266K in Fines for Endangering Workers

Federal inspectors have again cited a Zion, Illinois contractor with an extensive history of endangering workers by exposing them to fall hazards. The latest violations were discovered when employees were found roofing a residential structure without...

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Korea Probes Airport Design as Crash Investigation Turns to Wall

South Korean authorities are investigating airport infrastructure at the site of the country’s worst civil air accident as questions grow over the role played in the disaster by a concrete wall at the end of the runway. Transport officials said...

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Two Plane Crashes Lead to Deadliest Year in Skies Since 2018

Commercial aviation has suffered its deadliest year since 2018 after the Jeju Air Co. disaster in South Korea and last week’s downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane. Fatalities onboard passenger aircraft jumped to 318 this year with the two re...

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Another Hurricane Cost: Duke Energy Files to Recover $1B in Expenses from Storms

Florida consumers, already fuming in recent years from higher property insurance premiums, repair costs and homeowner association fees, could soon see another burden on their pocketbooks: Duke Energy has filed a plan with the Florida Public Service C...

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Puerto Rico Power Outage Leaves Almost Entire Island in Dark

Nearly all of Puerto Rico was without power Tuesday after a widespread failure in the fragile electricity grid triggered an island-wide blackout. The outage began at 5:30 a.m., leaving about 1.3 million of Puerto Rico’s 1.4 million customers in...

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Rhode Island Ransomware Attack Update: Some Stolen Data Posted to Dark Web

As Rhode Island state officials feared would happen, hackers responsible for a ransomware attack on a popular state-administered benefits portal have posted some of the stolen information to the dark web. Governor Dan McKee told the public that exper...

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Fund Opposing DEI-Hiring Goals Targets Nike, Kraft and Autodesk

A new investment fund that plans to oppose corporate DEI hiring goals is taking aim at Nike Inc., Kraft Heinz Co. and Autodesk Inc. Azoria Partners’ fund says it will avoid S&P 500 companies with specific diversity, equity and inclusion &#8...

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

UK Insurer Aviva to Cut Up to 2,300 Jobs in $4.65 Billion Direct Line Deal

British insurer Aviva could cut up to 2,300 jobs as it takes over smaller rival Direct Line in a 3.7 billion pound ($4.65 billion) cash-and-stock deal, the companies said on Monday [Dec. 23], creating the UK’s largest home and motor …

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Man Charged With Arson, Insurance Fraud Related to Fire at His Home

A Vermont man has been charged with first degree arson and insurance fraud for allegedly setting fire to his own home in Stamford. The Stamford Fire Department responded to a fire on Mill Road on the morning of December 27. …

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Brazil Says Workers at China’s BYD Site Are Victims of Human Trafficking

Chinese workers at a construction site in Brazil for a factory owned by China’s electric vehicle producer BYD are victims of human trafficking, Brazilian labor authorities said on Thursday in a growing controversy in BYD’s biggest oversea...

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Finland Finds Anchor Drag Marks Left by Tanker That Broke Cables

Finnish authorities investigating damage to subsea power and data cables found drag marks on the seabed likely left by the anchor of seized tanker Eagle S. Working under water, “we have been able to identify the dragging track at the …

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

A 9th Telecom Firm Hit by Massive Chinese Espionage Campaign, Says White House

A ninth U.S. telecoms firm has been confirmed to have been hacked as part of a sprawling Chinese espionage campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans, a top …

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Two Florida Tourist Sites Halt Drone Shows After Boy Was Hit at Orlando Event

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A theme park resort and a huge hotel in central Florida either have stopped using drones or canceled their drone-based shows after several drones collided and fell from the sky during a separate holiday celebration in …

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Helene’s Flooding: The Human Toll on One Family in Tennessee

ERWIN, Tenn. (AP) — Jerry and Sibrina Barrett never spent a day apart over 35 years. They worked long hours, never took vacations, and liked to relax with their son at home. They had no idea that a hurricane could …

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Florida Condo Owners Face Deadline and Higher Costs with New Regulations

MIAMI (AP) — Florida condominium owners are looking at higher costs from condo associations in the new year, a consequence of a safety law passed by state lawmakers in 2022. It requires associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major …

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

Florida Condo Owners Face Deadline and Higher Costs With New Regulations

MIAMI (AP) — Florida condominium owners are looking at higher costs from condo associations in the new year, a consequence of a safety law passed by state lawmakers in 2022. It requires associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major …

Posted: Dec 31, 2024

OSHA Cites Contractor It Says Ignored Warnings Before Fatal Trench Collapse

A federal workplace safety investigation has found a Glenburn, Maine general contractor ignored an onsite expert’s repeated warnings and the company’s own site-specific safety plan prior to an incident in which an employee suffered fatal...

Posted: Dec 31, 2024