Insurance Journal

Anaheim Marriott Cited $12.5M for Violating California Worker Recall Law

A state investigation found that Anaheim Marriott hotel violated California’s worker recall law, resulting in estimated damages for the violations of $12.5 million. The damages will go to 28 workers who were laid off during the pandemic and wer...

Posted: Oct 11, 2024

Former California Agent Pleads Guilty to 90 Counts of Insurance Fraud

A former insurance broker has pleaded guilty to a number of charges including insurance fraud for collecting premiums without placing coverage. Karen Marie Dondanville, 56, a former broker from Mission Viejo, pleaded guilty to 90 counts including gra...

Posted: Oct 11, 2024

Ex-New York Fire Chief Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes to Speed Inspections

A former New York City Fire Department chief pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal conspiracy charge, admitting that he and others solicited tens of thousands of dollars over two years to give preferential treatment in scheduling safety inspections. Br...

Posted: Oct 11, 2024

American Water Cyberattack Renews Focus on Protecting Critical Infrastructure

A cyberattack continues to affect the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States, renewing a focus on the importance of protecting critical infrastructure sites. New Jersey-based American Water paused billing to custo...

Posted: Oct 11, 2024

Second Umpire Sues MLB, Alleges Retaliation for Sexual Assault Complaint

A second minor league umpire joined a lawsuit against Major League Baseball, alleging he was fired after he reported he was sexually assaulted by a female umpire. Brandon Cooper, an umpire who worked in the minor league Arizona Complex League …

Posted: Oct 11, 2024

Transforming Cyber and Tech E&O Insurance with Our RQB Platform

This post is part of a series sponsored by Selectsys. The demand for Cyber and Technology Errors & Omissions (Tech E&O) insurance is rapidly growing as businesses face an increasing array of digital threats and regulatory challenges. To stay...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Louisiana Contractor Charged for Allegedly Damaging Homeowners’ Roof

On an early August morning, a roofing contractor arrived at a Lafayette, Louisiana couple’s house and requested permission to inspect the home’s roof. The roofer’s arrival wasn’t unexpected. The couple, who go by Jordan and Sa...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

5 Dead After Small Plane Crashes on Island off Southern California Coast

Five people were killed when a small plane crashed during takeoff from Santa Catalina Island off the Southern California coast, authorities said. The twin-engine Beechcraft 95 crashed shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday, just moments after it departed from...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

First MainStreet Adds Two Agencies

First MainStreet Insurance L.C. (FMSI) announced addition of two new agencies, one in Minnesota and the other in Iowa. Joining in September was Kozlowski Insurance Agency, headquartered in Pipestone, Minnesota and two satellite offices in Luverne, MN...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Exxon Granted Largest US Offshore Carbon Storage Site in Texas

Exxon Mobil Corp. won the right to pump carbon dioxide beneath Texas state waters in the Gulf of Mexico, in what will be the largest concession of its kind in the US. The lease granted by the Texas General Land …

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

J&J’s Court-Shopping Strategy Pits New Jersey Home Against Texas

Johnson & Johnson’s bold move to skirt a US court in New Jersey and seek a potentially friendlier venue in Texas to settle claims its baby powder gave women cancer faces a key decision as soon as Thursday. A federal …

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Harris County Officials Say Texas Law Limits Settlements Against Polluters

It wasn’t immediately clear what chemicals erupted into the air from the Channelview fire. The most anyone knew was that the large plume of black smoke billowing across the late afternoon sky — visible for miles just east of Houston …

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Two Iowa Men Charged With Insurance Fraud

Michael Vecchio, age 50, of Sioux Center was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud – Presenting False Information (Class D Felony) and Todd Meendering, age 61, of Boyden was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud – Conspiracy (Class …

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Milton Brings Winds, Flooding to Florida but Damage May Not Be as Heavy as Feared

Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night, centered near Sarasota as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, a less-powerful storm than had been feared but one that brought some storm surge, flooding, multiple tornadoes and p...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Catastrophe Bonds Dodge Worst-Case Scenario After Milton

After fearing the worst from Hurricane Milton, investors in catastrophe bonds appear to have sustained losses well below those predicted as recently as Wednesday. Estimates that had indicated the bonds would lose as much as 15% have now been replaced...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Balance With ‘Micro-Actions’ in Commercial Market But Milton Could Disrupt

WTW characterized commercial insurance rates as balances and stable but, as Hurricane Milton approached, the broker warned of upcoming disruption. “The current state of affairs might only be one major hurricane away from being upended, and with...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Russian Strikes on Ukraine’s Ports Push Up Insurance Rates: Market Sources

A series of Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian Black Sea port infrastructure and commercial vessels has led to a jump in insurance costs and forced some shipowners to cancel bookings, insurance sources and a broker said on Thursday. Russian ballist...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Hurricane Milton Could Use Up P/C Insurers’ 2024 Catastrophe Budgets

S&P Global Ratings said potential losses from Hurricane Milton could fully deplete the 2024 natural catastrophe budgets for rated U.S. property/casualty insurers, affecting underwriting margins and earnings. In a report titled “Hurricane Mi...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Delaware High Court Rescues Insurance Agency’s Malpractice Suit Against Law Firm

Six months after a three-judge panel of the Delaware Supreme Court said an insurance agency deserved another shot at proving its claims of professional negligence against a law firm, the full state high court has agreed. On October 8, the …

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Flaws of the Saffir-Simpson Scale: Wind Isn’t the Only Threat in Modern Hurricanes

The insurance industry faces significant challenges in covering catastrophic risks, especially as climate change drives more extreme weather events. With soaring premiums and increasing exclusions, the need for an accurate assessment of these risks i...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Britain Bolsters Sanctions Regime on Russia With New Trade Unit

Britain on Thursday launched a trade sanctions unit with new powers to penalize companies that fail to comply with restrictions on exporting services to Russia. Britain has announced sanctions on more than 20 billion pounds ($26 billion) worth of tra...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

People Moves: Miller Promotes Nagle to Head of Miller Europe, Succeeding Holloway; Markel Taps AIG’s...

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at the insurance broker Miller and the insurer Markel. A summary of these new hires follows here. Miller Promotes Nagle to Head of Miller Europe, Succeeding Holloway Miller, the London-b...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Markets/Coverages: AEGIS London-Led Lloyd’s Consortium Launches $25M Miner Rescue Insurance Cover

The Lloyd’s insurance market’s only product writing cover for the rescue of miners trapped underground has more than doubled its available cover from $10 million to $25 million with a launch of a new consortium led by AEGIS London. AEGIS...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

Geopolitical Conflict Could Cost Global Economy $14.5 Trillion Over 5 Years: Lloyd’s

The global economy could be exposed to losses of US$14.5 trillion over a five-year period from the threat of a hypothetical geopolitical conflict causing widespread disruption to global trade patterns and supply chains, according to a report publishe...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024

5 Pitfalls to Effective Insurance Compliance Vendor RFPs and How to Address Them

This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync. Digital transformation is taking the insurance industry by storm as more agencies, carriers, and MGA/MGUs update their manual processes in favor of modern, automated solutions. When it comes to a...

Posted: Oct 10, 2024