Insurance Journal

More Tornadoes, Fewer Meteorologists Make for a Dangerous Mix

As nasty tornadoes popped up from Kansas to Kentucky, a depleted National Weather Service was in scramble mode. The agency’s office in Jackson, Kentucky, had begun closing nightly as deep cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Effic...

Posted: May 27, 2025

Underwriting Concerns About Solar? Insurer Certifies Panels for Hail, Fire Resistance

While some insurance companies in Florida and beyond have balked at writing properties with rooftop solar panels, FM Global says it has pioneered an idea that may help – a testing system that certifies panels for fire and hail resistance. …

Posted: May 27, 2025

Connecticut Lawmakers Nix Costly Workers’ Comp Change Opened by High Court

Connecticut lawmakers last week moved swiftly to plug what could have been a very costly loophole in workers’ compensation benefits that was created by a state Supreme Court decision in March. The lawmakers effectively invalidated the high cour...

Posted: May 27, 2025

Connecticut Lawmakers Close Costly Workers’ Comp Loophole Opened by Court

Connecticut lawmakers last week moved swiftly to plug what could have been a very costly loophole in workers’ compensation benefits that was created by a state Supreme Court decision in March. The lawmakers effectively invalidated the high cour...

Posted: May 27, 2025

Urban Fires Can Mean Long Trips for Helicopters to Get Water. A California Firefighter Had An Idea

Mark Whaling and a crew raced up and down a hill in a tanker truck as they battled a wildfire in Los Angeles County, scrambling to get water from a street hydrant in time to stay ahead of flames moving …

Posted: May 27, 2025

Urban Fires Spark California Firefighter’s Idea to Get Quicker Water for Helicopters

Mark Whaling and a crew raced up and down a hill in a tanker truck as they battled a wildfire in Los Angeles County, scrambling to get water from a street hydrant in time to stay ahead of flames moving …

Posted: May 27, 2025

New Hampshire to Pay $2.25M to Mother of 5-Year-Old Killed by Father

New Hampshire has agreed to pay $2.25 million to the mother of Harmony Montgomery, a 5-year-old girl whose father was convicted of murdering her. Crystal Sorey filed a negligence lawsuit against the state last May accusing social workers of ignoring...

Posted: May 27, 2025

Massachusetts Firm to Pay $11M for Dumping Contaminated Fill in Rhode Island

Rhode Island’s top legal chief announced last week that a Massachusetts construction company has agreed to pay $11 million to settle criminal charges that it illegally dumped thousands of tons of contaminated fill in the Ocean State’s cap...

Posted: May 27, 2025

New York City Employee Killed in Sewage-Boat Explosion on Hudson River

An explosion on a boat carrying raw sewage that was docked on the Hudson River in New York City killed a longtime city employee Saturday, authorities said. Another worker on the city-owned Hunts Point vessel was injured and taken to …

Posted: May 26, 2025

Australia’s East Coast Begins Flood Cleanup as Waters Recede

Australia has drafted in emergency service teams from across the nation to help with clean-up operations after devastating floods in the eastern state of New South Wales. Almost 200 additional personnel will take up specialist roles including water r...

Posted: May 26, 2025

Dissecting the McKinsey Report for Profitability in P&C

This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync. P&C market summary It’s no secret the property and casualty (P&C) market is full of struggle. After years of premium increases and market withdrawals, the right sizing of risk-to-pro...

Posted: May 25, 2025

California And 10 Other States Launch Clean Cars Coalition Following Senate Vote

California is joining an 11-state coalition to advance clean vehicles in response to a vote by the U.S. Senate to revoke California’s authority to set its own clean air standards. The Affordable Clean Cars Coalition was formed to push the &#823...

Posted: May 23, 2025

California, 10 Other States Launch Clean Cars Coalition Following Senate Vote

California is joining an 11-state coalition to advance clean vehicles in response to a vote by the U.S. Senate to revoke California’s authority to set its own clean air standards. The Affordable Clean Cars Coalition was formed to push the &#823...

Posted: May 23, 2025

California Brokerage Executive to Plead Guilty to Illegal Campaign Contributions

An insurance brokerage executive in California plead guilty to breaking federal campaign laws by making contributions illegally to a joint fundraising committee. According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Central District of California offic...

Posted: May 23, 2025

People Moves: Jenks Named President of JH Blades; Gonzales Joins Alliant Healthcare

Starwind Specialty Insurance Services named Graham Jenks the president of JH Blades Group, which encompasses JH Blades Energy, JH Blades Marine, Southern Marine and Energy Technical Underwriters (ETU). JH Blades is a specialty platform of Starwind Sp...

Posted: May 23, 2025

Shareholders of Swiss Insurers Helvetia and Baloise Approve Merger

The shareholders of the Swiss insurers Helvetia Holding Ltd. and Baloise Holding Ltd. approved the merger to form Helvetia Baloise Holding Ltd., at their respective extraordinary general meetings. Upon the closing of the merger, Helvetia Baloise will...

Posted: May 23, 2025

Don’t Miss Out: Enter Now for Insurance Journal’s Top 100 P/C Agencies Ranking

The deadline to submit for Insurance Journal’s Top 100 Agencies and Top Agency Partnerships ranking is approaching! We hope that you will consider entering your firm for Insurance Journal’s 2025 Top 100 independent property/casualty insur...

Posted: May 23, 2025

Private Funds Are Turning to Complex Bonds to Tackle Cash Crunch

Private capital firms grappling with a moribund dealmaking climate are increasingly turning to a niche securitized product to raise cash. Collateralized fund obligations, or CFOs, slice and dice private portfolios into bonds, many with top ratings, a...

Posted: May 23, 2025

Dangerous-Dog Owners in Florida Must Now Get $100,000 in Liability Insurance

Owners of dangerous dogs in Florida will soon have to secure at least $100,000 in liability insurance coverage after the governor signed House Bill 593 into law this week. Also known as the Pam Rock Act after a mail carrier …

Posted: May 23, 2025

Mercedes Will Put its North American HQ in Georgia, Moving Hundreds of Jobs

Mercedes-Benz announced Thursday that it plans establish its North American headquarters in metro Atlanta, where the automaker will expand its existing U.S. corporate hub by adding hundreds of jobs relocated from other cities. The change will add abo...

Posted: May 23, 2025

Man Charged With Providing Alcohol to Fan Who Fell from Ballpark Wall

A man has been charged with providing alcohol to the 20-year-old who fell from the outfield stands at a Pittsburgh Pirates game on April 30. Ethan Kirkwood, 21, of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, was arrested Tuesday on misdemeanor charges of furnishing al...

Posted: May 23, 2025

BioLab Won’t Rebuild Chlorine Plant With History of Fires, Explosions, Toxic Clouds

The company that operated a Georgia chlorine plant with a history of explosions, chemical fires and toxic clouds that have drifted over neighborhoods outside Atlanta has decided not to rebuild the main manufacturing facility in Conyers. In a statemen...

Posted: May 23, 2025

Alchemy Insurance Solutions Expands Appetite to Cultivation

Alchemy Insurance Solutions is a specialty Managing General Agent (MGA) offering customized insurance programs for niche and emerging markets across the U.S. With A-rated carrier partnerships, Alchemy delivers tailored coverage solutions for cannabis...

Posted: May 23, 2025

AIG Settles Lawsuit Against E&S Rival Dellwood and Former Employees

Global insurer American International Group (AIG) has reached an out of court settlement of its legal dispute with the excess and surplus insurance firm Dellwood that was started by former AIG executives. In a filing in federal district court in &#82...

Posted: May 23, 2025

COVU Acquires Texas’ Uno Insurance Services

COVU, Inc., an AI-native customer servicing platform for the insurance industry announced the acquisition of Uno Insurance Services, a fast-growing Texas-based agency with a stronghold in Houston’s Spanish-speaking communities and a track recor...

Posted: May 23, 2025