Insurance Journal

Judge Approves Healthcare Advisor’s $1.5M Data Breach Settlement

A federal judge in Connecticut has given final approval to a $1,525,000 class action settlement involving a data breach at Merritt Healthcare Advisors. About 3,320 people whose personal information was accessed by an unauthorized party during a secur...

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Brookfield Hires Head for Entry Into Japan Reinsurance Market

Brookfield Wealth Solutions, has entered the reinsurance business in Japan and has hired Tomohide Yokooka, formerly of Barclays Plc, as managing director and country head, according to people familiar with the matter. Brookfield Wealth, which was spu...

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

J&J’s $8.2 Billion Talc Settlement Faces January Court Test

The fate of Johnson & Johnson’s latest push to use bankruptcy courts to end thousands of cancer lawsuits tied to its iconic baby powder now hinges on a high-stakes trial in January. After months of wrangling, a federal judge in …

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Soft Commercial Market Ahead: Prepare for Underwriter ‘Herd Behavior’

Executive Summary: During the period 2013 through 2018, the U.S. did not become less litigious nor did Atlantic sea surface temperatures get less warm. Yet rates for U.S. excess liability and Atlantic hurricane both reduced, observe the co-founders o...

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

People Moves: The Hartford Announces New Leadership Appointments In Global Specialty

The Hartford, headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, has expanded Michael Garrison’s role to include the international division in addition to his current responsibilities as head of the company’s U.S. wholesale organization. Garrison jo...

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

People Moves: The Hartford Announces Leadership Appointments In Global Specialty

The Hartford, headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, has expanded Michael Garrison’s role to include the international division in addition to his current responsibilities as head of the company’s U.S. wholesale organization. Garrison jo...

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Delta Sues CrowdStrike Over ‘Catastrophic’ Software Glitch

Delta Air Lines Inc. sued cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. over the chaos caused this summer by a “catastrophic” software update that disabled millions of computers worldwide and grounded much of the airline’s passenger...

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

New Gallagher Re-Bitsight Report Identifies Cyber Footprint as Claims Driver

A new report from Gallagher Re has found that cyber insurers could reduce loss ratios up to 16% by removing most-at-risk entities. Using independent analysis of cybersecurity performance data provided by Bitsight in combination with claims data, the...

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Lawsuit Alleges Child Sexual Abuse of WWE ‘Ring Boys’ in Maryland

A new lawsuit accuses the WWE and its founders of fostering a culture of sexual abuse within the organization and looking the other way while a longtime ringside announcer preyed on young men he hired as “ring boys.” The suit …

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Homeowners Insurance Does Not Cover Cryptocurrency Theft, 4th Circuit Affirms

A federal appeals court has affirmed that a homeowners insurance policy does not cover the theft of cryptocurrency because the loss of a digital currency does not involve a “direct physical loss” as required by the policy. The Fourth Circ...

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Report: Climate Risks Increasing Insurance Rates and Hurting CRE Returns

Costly reinsurance, inflation, tough regulations, and increasing weather-related claims are driving up property insurance prices—and in turn, that is impacting commercial real estate returns, valuations, and transactions, a new report shows. The Urba...

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Washington Commissioner’s Office Found Most Homes in 2003 Wildfire Were Under-Insured

An analysis of the claims paid out after the Gray and Oregon Road fires in Washington last year found that most of the homes destroyed were under-insured. The fires destroyed 366 homes, burning more than 20,000 acres outside of Spokane …

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Washington Commissioner: Most Homes in 2003 Wildfire Were Underinsured

An analysis of the claims paid out after the Gray and Oregon Road fires in Washington last year found that most of the homes destroyed were underinsured. The fires destroyed 366 homes, burning more than 20,000 acres outside of Spokane …

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Washington Commissioner: Most Homes in 2023 Wildfire Were Underinsured

An analysis of the claims paid out after the Gray and Oregon Road fires in Washington last year found that most of the homes destroyed were underinsured. The fires destroyed 366 homes, burning more than 20,000 acres outside of Spokane …

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

People Moves: Burns & Wilcox Names Carvalho to Lead San Francisco, Seattle and Portland

Burns & Wilcox named Tom Carvalho as the new managing director of the company’s San Francisco, Seattle and Portland offices. Carvalho, who is based in San Francisco, joined Burns & Wilcox in 2011 as an associate underwriter, establishin...

Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Crews Fight Large Brush Fire in Massachusetts; Separate Fire Kills 1

A woman died in an outdoor fire in Massachusetts at an encampment in Millbury on Saturday night and crews on Sunday were still fighting a large overnight brush fire in Salem as dry and windy conditions have raised the risk …

Posted: Oct 28, 2024

Texas Department of Insurance OKs Porch Group’s Reciprocal Exchange

The Texas Department of Insurance approved an application from Porch Group Inc. to form and license Porch Insurance Reciprocal Exchange, a homeowners insurance reciprocal exchange. Porch said that forming PIRE is a key step in its strategy to increas...

Posted: Oct 28, 2024

People Moves: McCarty Joins Alliant as SVP, Employee Benefits Group

Tammy McCarty joined Alliant Insurance Services, headquartered in Irvine, California, as senior vice president within its employee benefits group. Based in Austin, Texas, McCarty has over 25 years of experience leading human resources initiatives. Sh...

Posted: Oct 28, 2024

People Moves: Novatae Risk Group Hires Catrabone as Carrier Relations VP

Novatae Risk Group, headquartered in Dallas, named John Catrabone as vice president of carrier relations. Based in Ohio, Catrabone comes to Novatae with more than 30 years of experience in various insurance industry sectors. Before joining Novatae, w...

Posted: Oct 28, 2024

Liberty Mutual Estimates Up to $900M in Losses From Helene and Milton

Liberty Mutual Insurance today said it expects up to $900 million in losses from hurricanes Helene and Milton. Parent Liberty Mutual Holding Company (LMHC) in a statement released some preliminary third quarter information “in support of a pote...

Posted: Oct 28, 2024

China Is Scanning Canada’s Cyber Defenses, State Watchdog Warns

The Canadian government warned Friday that “a sophisticated state-sponsored threat actor from the People’s Republic of China” has been scanning the cyber defenses of important public entities. “Reconnaissance scanning is not a...

Posted: Oct 28, 2024

IGI Expands in London Underwriting Hub Into Larger Offices

International General Insurance Holdings Ltd. announced it will move its London operations to new offices on the 15th floor of the so-called “Walkie-Talkie” building at 20 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 3BY on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. IGI s...

Posted: Oct 28, 2024

McDonald’s E. Coli Crisis Reveals Vegetable Contamination Is Harder Problem Than Beef

Moves by major U.S. fast-food chains to temporarily pull fresh onions off their menus on Thursday, after the vegetable was named as the likely source of an E. coli outbreak at McDonald’s, laid bare the recurring nightmare for restaurants: Produ...

Posted: Oct 28, 2024

Dozens of Alleged Looters, Unlicensed Construction Workers Arrested in Florida

More than 100 people were arrested late last week in storm-ravaged Pinellas County, Florida, charged with looting homes and working as unlicensed contractors, two weeks after Hurricane Milton forced many residents to evacuate. Pinellas County Sheriff...

Posted: Oct 28, 2024

People Moves: Price Forbes Bermuda Promotes Kelley to CEO; WTW Gets Saudi Arabian License, Names Chu...

This edition of Interational People Moves details appointments at the brokers Price Forbes and WTW. A summary of these new hires follows here. Price Forbes Bermuda Promotes Kelley to CEO Price Forbes Bermuda announced the promotion of Carrie Kelley t...

Posted: Oct 28, 2024