Insurance Journal

Texas Bill Aims to Combat Forever Chemicals in Fertilizers

Johnson County’s newest state representative, Helen Kerwin, R-Cleburne, filed her first bill Friday targeting an environmental problem that has struck her county: PFAS contamination in sewage sludge-based fertilizers. Kerwin said House Bill 167...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

CFPB Sues Walmart, Fintech for Illegally Opening Accounts

Walmart Inc. and one of its financial technology partners allegedly opened expensive bank accounts for delivery drivers without their consent, a US consumer protection agency said on Monday. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Walmart and B...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

US Bans Drones Over Infrastructure Sites in New York, New Jersey

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it was temporarily barring drone flights over dozens of critical infrastructure sites in New Jersey and New York. A frenzy of concern about drones in New Jersey and surrounding states has prompted...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Virginia Governor Proposes $127 Million Disaster Relief Fund

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, citing damage done by Hurricane Helen and other disasters, has proposed a $127 million disaster assistance fund to fill gaps left behind in communities by insurance and federal and private recovery efforts. Youngkin...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

NHTSA Proposes Voluntary Guidelines for Self-Driving Vehicles

In the waning days of President Joe Biden’s administration, the government’s highway safety agency is proposing voluntary safety guidelines for self-driving vehicles. But a rule from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration putt...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Alabama Prisoners Work at Stores But Not Eligible for Parole or Workers’ Comp

DADEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A storm was looming when the inmate serving 20 years for armed robbery was assigned to transport fellow prisoners to their jobs at private manufacturers supplying goods to companies like Home Depot and Wayfair. It didn’t...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

California Milk Output Down 9% in November on Bird Flu Outbreak

California’s milk production in November plummeted as a bird flu outbreak spreads rapidly among herds in the country’s biggest dairy state. The state produced just under three billion pounds of milk in November, down 9.2% from the same mo...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

9 Insurance Commissioners Urge DOGE to Junk FIO

Insurance commissioners from nine states are looking to the new Department of Government Efficiency to do away with the Federal Insurance Office. The letter, addressed to DOGE heads Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, said the FIO’s mission of monit...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

RiverStone International to Provide Loss Portfolio Transfer for Zurich Insurance

RiverStone International, the London-based provider of legacy solutions, announced it has signed an agreement with the French branch of Zurich Insurance Europe and Zurich Insurance Co. to provide a loss portfolio transfer reinsurance (LPT) and an ins...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Farmers Still Reeling After Hurricane Helene Ravaged Crops Across the Southeast

LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Twisted equipment and snapped tree limbs still litter Chris Hopkins’ Georgia farm more than two months after Hurricane Helene made its deadly march across the South. An irrigation sprinkler system about 300 feet (92 meters) lo...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Australia Braces for Worsening Bushfires as National Park Burns

Fire restrictions are in place across the Australian state of Victoria as one of its most popular national parks burns and officials warn of potentially “catastrophic” conditions in some areas over Christmas. A large bushfire near the sce...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

DHL Plane Crash Black Box Shows No Foul Play, Lithuania Says

Initial findings from the flight recorders of a DHL-operated plane that crashed near Vilnius Airport in November have given no indication of “illegal interference”, according to the Lithuanian Justice Ministry. “The preliminary anal...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Aviva Agrees to Buy UK Insurer Direct Line for £3.7 Billion

Aviva Plc agreed to buy Direct Line Insurance Group Plc for roughly £3.7 billion ($4.65 billion) in a deal that would create the UK’s largest motor insurer.Each Direct Line shareholder will be entitled to receive 0.2867 new Aviva shares, 129.7...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Wells Fargo Says It’s Quitting Climate-Banking Group

Wells Fargo & Co. said it’s leaving the world’s biggest climate alliance for banks, in the latest sign that Wall Street is breaking away from such groups. The company said in a statement Friday that it ended its membership in …

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Losses From Crypto Hacks Jump to $2.2B in 2024, Report Says

Funds stolen by hacking cryptocurrency platforms surged 21% from a year ago to $2.2 billion in 2024, a report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis showed on Thursday. The hacking amount exceeded $1 billion for the fourth straight year and the &#...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Cargo Theft Surges as Holiday Season Approaches, Verisk Says

Be on the lookout for Grinch-like characters hanging out at transportation hubs over the holidays. A CargoNet analysis of holiday-period theft data from the past five years shows a heightened risk during the Christmas and New Year periods. The days &...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Kentucky Supreme Court Overturns Escape Clause Meaning, Affirms Roof Collapse

Two Kentucky Supreme Court rulings handed down last week emphasize how important it can be to have clearly worded insurance policies, including exclusions and excess and escape clauses, particularly in high-dollar commercial coverage. In Motorists Mu...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

California Labor Commissioner Fines Luxury Resort $4.4M for Worker Recall violations

The Labor Commissioner’s Office fined the Maybourne Beverly Hills $4.4 million for violating California’s Worker Recall Law. The LCO issued the fine in response to the a luxury resort’s failure to rehire employees who were laid off...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

California Labor Commissioner Fines Luxury Resort $4.4M for Worker Recall Violations

The Labor Commissioner’s Office fined the Maybourne Beverly Hills $4.4 million for violating California’s Worker Recall Law. The LCO issued the fine in response to the a luxury resort’s failure to rehire employees who were laid off...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Military Contractor to Pay $426K for Using Foreign Parts in Products

A Vermont military contractor will pay nearly half a million dollars to settle allegations that it used some foreign-sourced materials in certain protective eyewear it sold when it was required to use all domestic parts, according to the office of &#...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Hub Acquires Great Basin Insurance in Oregon

Hub International Ltd. acquired the assets of Great Basin Insurance Inc. Agency Partners Dana Loreman and Bill Gilmore Jr., and the Great Basin Insurance team, will join Hub Northwest. Great Basin Insurance will be referred to as Great Basin Insuranc...

Posted: Dec 23, 2024

Global Warming Can’t Be Ignored, Montana’s Top Court Says, Upholding Landmark Climate Case

Montana’s Supreme Court upheld a landmark climate ruling that said the state was violating residents’ constitutional right to a clean environment by permitting oil, gas and coal projects without regard for global warming. The justices, in...

Posted: Dec 20, 2024

Chicago Restaurant Owners to Pay $125K in Overtime Back Wages

The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a consent judgment and order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Dec. 2, 2024, that requires D’Nuez Corp. and owners Antonio Rendon and Albino Rendon – operators of &#8...

Posted: Dec 20, 2024

Swiss Re’s Business Unit CEOs Share Views on Key Risk Themes of 2025

Social inflation will continue to be a top concern for insurers and reinsurers in 2025 with US liability claims increasing by 57% during the past decade and nuclear verdicts rising in frequency, said Swiss Re, pointing to jury awards above …

Posted: Dec 20, 2024

Tesla Recalls Nearly 700,000 Vehicles in Over Tire Pressure Monitoring Issue

Tesla said on Friday it was recalling 694,304 vehicles in the United States over an issue with the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS). The TPMS warning light may not remain illuminated between drive cycles, failing to warn the driver of …

Posted: Dec 20, 2024