Insurance Journal

Colorado Secures Record Insurance Coverage for Stars Playing in Bowl Game

Colorado secured what it said was record insurance coverage for quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter as the star duo opted to complete their college careers in the Alamo Bowl rather than sit out and prepare for …

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

Germany’s BioNTech Settles With US Agency, UPenn Over COVID Vaccine Royalties

BioNTech has entered into two separate settlement agreements with the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the University of Pennsylvania over the payment of royalties related to its COVID-19 vaccine, the company said in filings. The German company...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

Crum & Forster Sells Credit Insurance Division to Amynta

Insurer Crum & Forster, a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, has sold its C&F Credit Division to Amynta Group. The C&F Credit Division underwrites and manages credit insurance products, including mortgage credit and alterna...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

LL Bean Agrees to Injunction to End Skechers Shoe Patents Lawsuit

LL Bean, the clothing and outdoor gear company, agreed to stop selling a line of casual shoes to settle a lawsuit in which Skechers USA accused it of copying a design for its own shoes, which have sold in the …

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

NATO to Boost Baltic Sea Presence After Power, Internet Cable Damage

NATO said on Friday it would boost its presence in the Baltic Sea after the suspected sabotage this week of an undersea power cable and four internet lines, while alliance member Estonia launched a naval operation to guard a parallel …

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

New York to Fine Fossil Fuel Companies $75 Billion Over 25 Years for Climate Damage

New York state will fine fossil fuel companies a total of $75 billion over the next 25 years to pay for damage caused to the climate under a bill Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law on Thursday. The law is …

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

FDA Proposes Standardized Testing of Talc Cosmetics to Identify Asbestos

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has unveiled a proposed rule to require standardized testing to detect asbestos in talc-containing cosmetic products. The FDA says the proposed rule, if finalized, would help protect consumers who use talc-...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

A Look at the $100B Disaster Relief in the Government Spending Bill

Congress is allocating more than $100 billion in emergency aid designed to address extensive damage caused by disasters after this week’s scramble to find consensus on a government spending bill. The money comes after back-to-back hurricanes —...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

Florida DFS Posts Latest Enforcement Actions Against Agents, Adjusters

Florida’s Department of Financial Services has posted its enforcement actions for much of the last half of 2024, listing 12 insurance agents and 43 adjusters who were penalized, suspended, or had their licenses revoked or voluntarily surrendere...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

The War on Wildfires Is Going High-Tech

Last December, a farmer was burning dry grapevines in his vineyard in Deir Mar Moussa, a hill town a dozen miles east of Beirut known for its 18th century monastery and stands of pine forest. Usually this would be dangerous, …

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

National Flood Insurance Program Authorized to Continue Through Mid-March

The National Flood Insurance Program has been renewed for another three months. On Dec. 21, 2024, the day after it was set to expire, the president signed legislation passed by Congress that funds the federal government and extends the NFIP’s &...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

Flood Gates Removed From Storm Plan for Jersey Shore’s Back Bays

federal government has dropped huge gates at the mouths of three inlets, as well as internal waterway barriers from a plan to protect New Jersey’s back bays from the type of catastrophic flooding they endured during Superstorm Sandy. Instead, t...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

Young Drivers Warned That Policy ‘Fronting” Is Fraud

One in six (17%) young drivers admit to being on a ‘fronted’ policy, which is illegal, according to research by United Kingdom insurer Aviva. Fronting is a form of insurance fraud where the young driver is listed as a named …

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

People Moves: Petruziello Joins Alliant Employee Benefits Group

Mark Petruziello joined Alliant Insurance Services as vice president within its employee benefits group. Based in California, he will work with clients across the West region. Petruziello has more than a decade of experience in strategic consulting,...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

Global Disease Resurgence in 2024 Shows Rising Health Threat

Some infectious diseases saw a huge surge in 2024, with the spread attributed in part to climate change, declining vaccination rates and the advent of new pathogen variants. The findings, part of a preliminary analysis by London-based disease forecas...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

Oregon OSHA Fines Contractor $135K for Repeated Fall Hazard Violations

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division fined a Newberg contractor $135,407 for repeatedly failing to protect employees from work-related hazards. In one of the violations, View Top Construction LLC reportedly did not ensure workers were p...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

3rd-Party Litigation Funding, Federal Regs Among Insurance Trades’ Priorities for 2024

Insurance trade organizations are always working for the industry so Insurance Journal asked them: What are the top priorities and/or challenges heading into 2025? Here are the responses we received: David A. Sampson, president and CEO, American Prop...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

Ex-Citigroup Trader Wins Unfair Dismissal Case in Hong Kong

An Asia equity sales trader who was fired from Citigroup Inc. in 2019 won an employment suit against the US bank, Hong Kong’s Labour Tribunal ruled on Monday. Citigroup failed to justify its “summary dismissal” of former employee Ci...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

Consumer Bureau Accuses Rocket Homes of Illegal Kickbacks in Mortgage Scheme

The top U.S. watchdog agency for consumer finance on Monday accused Rocket Homes, a unit of Rocket Companies, and The Jason Mitchell Group of real estate brokerages of an illegal kickback scheme to steer mortgage applications back to Rocket. Accordin...

Posted: Dec 27, 2024

New Hampshire Police Investigating Case of Man Found Dead at Insurance Department

The New Hampshire State Police reported that troopers are investigating the death of an adult male found dead at the New Hampshire Insurance Department (NHID). Investigators said they do not believe the death is suspicious and there was no public &#8...

Posted: Dec 26, 2024

Texas Contractor Faces $107K Fine for Exposing Workers to Trench Collapse

A U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation has found a Frisco, Texas contractor repeatedly exposed workers to serious hazards by sending them into unprotected trenches without providing a means of escape. The department’s Occupat...

Posted: Dec 26, 2024

Former New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board Employee Arrested for Workers’ Comp Fraud

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s Louisiana Bureau of Investigation Special Agents arrested a former employee with the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans on December 20 for allegedly committing workers’ compensation fraud. O...

Posted: Dec 26, 2024

Former New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board Employee Arrested for Comp Fraud

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s Louisiana Bureau of Investigation Special Agents arrested a former employee with the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans on December 20 for allegedly committing workers’ compensation fraud. O...

Posted: Dec 26, 2024

Nebraska AG Sues Change Healthcare Over Data Breach

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers filed a lawsuit last week in Lancaster County District Court against Change Healthcare alleging violations of the state’s Consumer Protection and Data Security Laws. The complaint stems from a February dat...

Posted: Dec 26, 2024

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Illinois’ Afina Insurance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois-based Afina Insurance Advisors Inc. (Afina Insurance). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Afina Insurance is a property/casualty insurance broker serving...

Posted: Dec 26, 2024