Insurance Journal

Mutual Insurers Chase Rate Adequacy, Financial Strength Remains Strong: AM Best

The U.S. property/casualty mutual segment has leaned on investment income to maintain strong overall financial performance and grow surplus in the face of underwriting volatility and severe weather-related activity, according to an AM Best report. To...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

Extreme Weather Adds to Fiscal Strains in Central Europe

Just a week ago, before deadly floods swept through central Europe, the Czech Republic looked on track to become the first country in the region since COVID-19 to pull its budget deficit firmly below the 3% of GDP cap set …

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

Exploding Pagers Sound Global Alarm on Supply-Chain Security

Thousands of pagers and other devices exploding in Lebanon this week mark a new and deadly escalation in the use of supply chains against adversaries, giving new urgency to global leaders’ drive to reduce their dependence on technologies from r...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

Man Arrested for Damaging a Statue Outside a St. Louis Cathedral

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A man used construction equipment to drop a heavy boom lift onto a sculpture that has stood for 25 years outside St. Louis’ Cathedral Basilica, badly damaging it, police said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the &#823...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

Human Remains Found in Vehicle Involved in Texas Pipeline Fire

Deer Park, Texas, police confirmed that human remains were recovered from a vehicle that crashed into a natural gas liquids pipeline Monday, triggering a fire that continues to burn. “Medical examiners will now begin working through their ident...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

People Moves: AIG Appoints Walsh CFO; Rokstone Names Baker Deputy Head of US Casualty; Applied Under...

AIG Appoints Walsh Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer American International Group, Inc. (AIG), headquartered in New York City, named Keith Walsh as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective October 21. Walsh, bas...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

J&J Lifts Baby Powder Settlement Bid to More Than $8.2 Billion

Johnson & Johnson has boosted to more than $8.2 billion its offer to settle thousands of lawsuits by people who say its baby powder gave them cancer, according to people familiar with the matter. The offer, an increase from the …

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

7 in 10 Actuaries and Underwriters Worry About Being Replaced by AI

With the vast majority (91 percent) of insurance companies already investing in AI or planning to in the next five years, it’s not surprising that nearly 7 in 10 actuaries and underwriters are worried about being replaced by artificial intellig...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

Live Nation Seeks to End States’ Claim of Damages for Concertgoers

Live Nation Entertainment has asked a federal judge in New York to dismiss several states’ claims that the live event promoter harmed event-goers by stifling competition with its ticket-selling arm, Ticketmaster. Live Nation seeks to dismiss pa...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

TDCI Hosts SE Regulators Conference in Nashville in November

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance will host the 2024 Southeastern Regulators Association conference in Nashville, promising a number of familiar faces in the insurance and legal industries as keynote speakers. The Nov. 3-5 conference...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

Completion of Federal Probe Into Surfside Condo Collapse Delayed Until 2026

A long-awaited federal report on the causes of the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse, which killed 98 people in 2021 and upended Florida condo regulations and market, will have to wait at least another year. Officials with the National Inst...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

GM’s Cruise to Begin Testing Autonomous Vehicles in California

General Motors’ self-driving unit Cruise said on Thursday it will begin supervised testing with up to five autonomous vehicles in fall this year in California’s Bay Area. Cruise will deploy several manual mapping vehicles in Sunnyvale and...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

California Commissioner Orders Insurance Cancellation Moratorium for 750K Residents Following Wildfi...

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for 750,000 policyholders affected by the Airport, Bridge, and Line fires in the counties of Orang...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

California’s Lara Orders 1-Year Moratorium for 750K Residents Following Wildfires

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for 750,000 policyholders affected by the Airport, Bridge, and Line fires in the counties of Orang...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

Maine Bill Would Require Army to Use State Crisis Laws to Remove Weapons

A bill introduced after a mass shooting in Maine would require the Army to use state crisis intervention laws to remove the weapons of a service member who is deemed to be a serious threat to themselves or others, U.S. …

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

Connecticut Aquarium Pays $12K to Settle Investigation Into Whale Deaths

A Connecticut aquarium where three beluga whales died in recent years has agreed to settle a federal investigation over alleged animal care and water quality violations by paying a $12,200 fine while not admitting or denying the accusations. The whal...

Posted: Sep 20, 2024

How BPO Services Enhance Quality and Consistency in Insurance Operations

This post is part of a series sponsored by Selectsys. Introduction In the insurance industry, quality and consistency are key drivers of customer satisfaction and business success. However, maintaining these standards across all operations can be cha...

Posted: Sep 19, 2024

Wisconsin Contractor Faces $144K Fine for Endangering Workers

A suburban Madison, Wisconsin contractor with a history of federal safety failures – including violations that led to an employee’s fatal injuries in 2022 – has again been found exposing workers to the construction industry’s most deadly...

Posted: Sep 19, 2024

Jewelers Mutual Expands to NC Office Tower, Warns About Store Break-ins Nationwide

Jewelers Mutual Insurance, one of the largest and oldest jeweler-focused insurers in the country, plans to lease a full floor of a new officer tower in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, a move that will create about 200 jobs, according to …

Posted: Sep 19, 2024

Unnamed Storm in Carolinas Caused $7 Billion in Damage, AccuWeather Says

The storm that swamped parts of the Carolinas this week wasn’t organized enough to be named but it still has caused $7 billion in damage, according to a preliminary estimate from AccuWeather. That was approaching the $9 billion in damage &#8230...

Posted: Sep 19, 2024

Ex-Google Executive’s Startup to Use AI to Forecast the Weather

A startup founded by a former Google executive aims to use artificial intelligence to improve weather forecasting, joining technology behemoths like Nvidia Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co. in an increasingly crowded field. Brightband has raised a $1...

Posted: Sep 19, 2024

Sir Charles Roxburgh Named Next Chair of Lloyd’s, Succeeding Carnegie-Brown

Lloyds of London, the re/insurance marketplace, announced that Sir Charles Roxburgh has been named its next chair, subject to regulatory approval. Sir Charles will take up the position on May 1, 2025, succeeding Bruce Carnegie-Brown after his eight-y...

Posted: Sep 19, 2024

Washington Metal Fabricator Faces Felony in $340K Workers’ Comp Scam

A Washington man who claimed he was too injured to work while operating a metal fabrication shop faces a felony charge in an alleged $340,000 workers’ compensation scam. Travis Lee Johnson, 52, of Spokane Valley, pleaded not guilty recently to...

Posted: Sep 19, 2024

Report: Over 250,000 US Properties Have Repeated NFIP Claims

More than a quarter million U.S. properties have repeated claims for federal flood insurance, costing the National Flood Insurance Program billions of dollars in claims, according to new federal data compiled by the National Resources Defense Council...

Posted: Sep 19, 2024

Families of 3 Construction Workers Killed in Baltimore Bridge Collapse to Sue

Three families of immigrant construction workers killed when Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after it was hit by the cargo ship Dali plan to challenge the attempt by the ship owner and operator to limit their liability for the &#...

Posted: Sep 19, 2024