Insurance Journal

Marsh McLennan Completes $7.75B Buy of McGriff Insurance Services

Marsh McLennan said Friday it has completed the $7.75 billion acquisition of McGriff Insurance Services. The purchase of Charlotte, North Carolina-based McGriff, founded in 1886, adds to Marsh McLennan’s position as the biggest U.S. broker, wit...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Worker Rescued From Rubble After Construction Accident in Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Firefighters in Kentucky’s largest city rescued a construction worker on a demolition team who fell into a void Thursday and became trapped in rubble, requiring a tedious, hours-long operation to dig him out. The rescue w...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Voluntary Evacuations Help Firefighters Contain New York State Forest Wildfire

A voluntary evacuation of homes over the weekend helped New York firefighters continue their progress in containing a state park wildfire near the New Jersey border. The state requested that residents in about 165 homes in Warwick, New York evacuate...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Shadow Banks to Face Reins on Leverage Following Watchdog Probe

Global watchdogs will move to rein in leverage at non-banks early next year, the Financial Stability Board promised on Monday, more than a year after its chair signaled a probe into mounting borrowings at hedge funds, private capital markets and &#82...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Struggling Businesses at Corner Where George Floyd Was Murdered Sue Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Several business owners at the struggling corner where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020 are suing the city to demand it take over their properties and compensate them. The owners of the …

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Meta Fined €798 Million by EU Over Abusing Classified Ads Dominance

Meta Platforms Inc. was hit with a €798 million ($841 million) fine by European Union regulators by tying its Facebook Marketplace service to the social network, the US tech giant’s first ever penalty for EU antitrust violations. In a groundbre...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Super Typhoon Man-yi Lashes Philippines’ Main Island

Super Typhoon Man-yi battered parts of the Philippines with powerful winds and intense rains as it made its way across the main island on Sunday. Man-yi, known locally as Pepito, made landfall over the coastal Aurora province on Sunday after …

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Upgrade Your Contractor Clients’ FastBond to a Standard Bond Program

This post is part of a series sponsored by Old Republic Surety. Your contractor clients today have more opportunities to work on higher-value projects in both the public and private sectors. According to an industry outlook report by the Associated &...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Markets/Coverages: BMS Offers Comprehensive Insurance Solution for Wine Producers

BMS Group, the London-based independent specialist insurance and reinsurance broker, announced the launch of BMS Bacchus, a stock-throughput solution designed to protect wine across all stages of production, storage and transit, from harvested grapes...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Smithfield to Pay $2 Million in Minnesota Child Labor Violation Settlement

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Smithfield Foods, one of the nation’s largest meat processors, has agreed to pay $2 million to resolve allegations of child labor violations at a plant in Minnesota, officials announced Thursday. An investigation by the Minne...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Bullet Strikes Body of Southwest Plane Without Injuries at Dallas Airport

DALLAS (AP) — A bullet struck the body of a Southwest Airlines airplane preparing for departure from a Dallas airport, forcing the cancellation of the Friday evening flight, the airline said. No injuries were reported and law enforcement was contacte...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Amazon, SpaceX to Test US Labor Board’s Powers at Conservative Appeals Court

A U.S. labor board whose enforcement powers are being challenged in a series of lawsuits is set to defend itself from attacks by Amazon.com and Elon Musk’s SpaceX in a conservative U.S. appeals court, as the agency also braces for …

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Musk Escalates Altman Legal Feud, Casting OpenAI as Monopolist

Elon Musk is ramping up his feud with Sam Altman, alleging in a court filing that OpenAI is trying to corner the market for generative artificial intelligence and sacrificing safety in a race to get ahead. In a revised version …

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Federal Judge Strikes Down Biden Overtime Pay Rule

A federal judge in Texas on Friday permanently blocked a Biden administration rule that would have made about 4 million more salaried U.S. workers eligible for overtime pay. U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan in Sherman, Texas, said the U.S. Department...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Head of Kentucky Plant Says Company Will Cover Damages After Blast

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The president of a Kentucky plant that exploded earlier this week said the company is accountable for the accident and will pay damages to residents affected by the blast. “First and foremost, we are devastated by …

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Two Florida Employees Charged with Defrauding Aetna of $1M

It was an inside job, one that cost an insurance company in Florida more than $1.1 million, authorities said. Investigators with Florida’s Department of Financial Services on Friday charged Rochell Green and Breana Ferguson, of the Jacksonville...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Sotheby’s Pays $6 Million to Settle New York Sales Tax Evasion Probe

Sotheby’s Inc. agreed to pay $6.25 million to settle a New York state lawsuit that accused it of advising wealthy clients they could avoid sales taxes by falsely claiming they were buying art for resale purposes. New York Attorney General &#823...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Company Settles for $250K Over Hazardous Waste Claims at California Facility

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with a firm over claims of violations of hazardous waste regulations at the company’s facility in Irvine, California. Edwards Lifesciences LLC will pay a civil penalty of $250,000...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Arizona Regulators Fine Natural Gas Utility $2M Over Defective Piping

A natural gas utility with more than 2 million customers in Arizona, Nevada and parts of California is being fined $2 million by regulators in Arizona over concerns about piping that is known to degrade in the heat. The Arizona …

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

T-Mobile’s Network Breached as Part of Chinese Hacking Operation

T-Mobile US Inc.’s network was among those recently breached by Chinese hackers in an attack on multiple telecommunications companies. “T-Mobile is closely monitoring this industry-wide attack,” a company spokesperson said Saturday...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

The Power of BPO for Carriers, MGAs, and Wholesalers: A Comprehensive Solution with Selectsys BPO

This post is part of a series sponsored by Selectsys. In the fast-paced and ever-evolving insurance landscape, carriers, MGAs, and wholesalers are constantly seeking ways to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and streamline operations without sacrific...

Posted: Nov 18, 2024

Named vs. Open Perils

This column is written primarily for insurance professionals, though I hope that the information I include is helpful to practitioners when communicating with prospects and insureds. In this month’s column, I’d like to discuss a topic add...

Posted: Nov 17, 2024

What to Know About Deductibles After Multiple Florida Hurricanes

Deductibles serve several purposes. They provide some premium relief for the insured. They make insureds less likely to file smaller claims because either damage falls within the deductible, or is so close to it that the policyholder would rather not...

Posted: Nov 17, 2024

Changing the Focus of Claims, Data When Talking About Nuclear Verdicts

By Ezra Amacher The topic of nuclear verdicts took center stage at this year’s Target Markets Annual Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, where a panel of carriers and reinsurers discussed rising settlement costs amidst an uncertain litigation enviro...

Posted: Nov 17, 2024

Global Reinsurers’ ROE Jumps to 22% in 2023 but Market Softening Unlikely: AM Best

By L.S. Howard AM Best’s population of global reinsurance companies posted a return on equity (ROE) of 22% in 2023 — a five-year high that was driven mainly by favorable investment income and strong underwriting performance. The fundament...

Posted: Nov 17, 2024