Insurance Journal

Europe’s $42 Billion Effort to Fight Wildfires Is an Uphill Battle

Europe is spending tens of billions of euros a year to fight wildfires, yet it hasn’t stopped blazes from flaring up across Greece and other parts of the continent this summer. This week fires on the outskirts of Athens engulfed …

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

The Huge Profits Investors Have Made on Catastrophe Bonds Are Raising Eyebrows

A strategy that’s delivered specialist investors huge returns is now facing scrutiny, amid concerns that its risk-reward dynamics might be skewed against some issuers. Catastrophe bonds, which are issued by insurers, reinsurers and governments...

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

Ford Recalls About 85,000 Explorer SUVs Over Engine Fire Risk

Ford Motor is recalling about 85,000 Explorer SUVs equipped with the Police Interceptor Utility package over concerns of an engine fire, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Friday. In the event of a motor failure, oil and fuel...

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

Freeway Drives Six New Franchises in Southeast, California

Freeway Insurance, a division of Confie, a large personal lines agency and brokerage in the United States, has expanded with six new franchises in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and California. In south Florida James Ospina will head the office in Boynt...

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

Family Settles with Officer Whose K9 Killed an Alabama Man in 2018

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The family of a man killed by a police dog in Montgomery, Alabama, has agreed to settle its federal lawsuit against the police officer who handled the animal, but their lawyers said Friday that they plan …

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

South Florida Man Charged with Unlicensed Public Adjusting in 2022

Investigators with Florida’s Department of Financial Services last week charged a south Florida man with acting as a public adjuster without a license and defrauding policyholders of more than $34,000. It’s the second time in 14 months Gi...

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

People Moves: The Liberty Company Names Gaston Managing Director, Entertainment and Johnson Vice Pre...

The Liberty Company named Erin Gaston managing director, entertainment and Alex Johnson vice president and producer. Gaston, who is based in California, previously served as managing director at Momentous Insurance Brokerage, a Marsh & McLennan A...

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

New York City Subway Workers at Risk, Federal Agency Warns

The agency that runs New York City’s subway system is putting track workers at risk by failing to follow its own safety rules, federal authorities said in an audit issued this week. The Federal Transit Administration said in a special …

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

Maine Can Forbid Discrimination by Religious Schools Taking State Money

Maine didn’t violate the U.S. constitutional rights of religious schools by requiring them to abide by the state’s antidiscrimination law to receive taxpayer-funded tuition assistance, a federal judge ruled. But the judge also acknowledge...

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

Bankrupt Steward Health Care Sells Physician Network as Massachusetts Hospital Seized

Bankrupt hospital operator Steward Health Care received a bankruptcy judge’s approval on Friday to sell its nationwide physician network to a private equity buyer while its stalled efforts to sell Massachusetts hospitals caused the state to ste...

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

Harvard Suit Blaming Marsh for Its $15M Insurance Denial Filed Too Late, Judge Rules

After losing two bids to recover $15 million from its insurer for costs related to its failed legal defense of its admissions policy, Harvard University has now failed in a bid to hold its insurance broker Marsh responsible. A federal …

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

Harvard Contract Breach Claims Blaming Marsh for Its $15M Insurance Denial Filed Too Late, Judge Rul...

After losing two bids to recover $15 million from its insurer for costs related to its failed legal defense of its admissions policy, Harvard University has now failed in a bid to hold its insurance broker Marsh responsible for breach …

Posted: Aug 19, 2024

Cyber Security and Risk Mitigation

Security leaders should be exercising every available option to upgrade their security posture, and cyber insurance policies could make or break the resiliency for many organizations across nearly all industries — K-12 education, retail, health...

Posted: Aug 18, 2024

3 Things to Know About the Nonprofit Insurance Market

By Allen Laman A challenging legal arena, a continuing talent shortage and alternatives to traditional insurance products are three areas impacting nonprofits today, according to industry reports that recently shed light on headwinds yielding a cloud...

Posted: Aug 18, 2024

Sales Culture Versus Business Culture

Can an agency built by a true salesperson transform into a firm with a business culture? Not with a salesperson still at the helm. Here’s some pop psychology based on knowing a thousand executives who began as salespeople. A salesperson …

Posted: Aug 18, 2024

10 Ideas to Keep Recruiting Activity High When Hiring Slows Down

The best time to recruit is when you don’t have job openings. That motto reminds me to constantly work ahead, focusing on building pipelines and connecting with passive candidates. The hard part is making the switch from open jobs dictating &#8...

Posted: Aug 18, 2024

Houses of Worship and the State of Insurance

By Patrick Wraight A recent Insurance Journal article decried the state of insurance for churches and it’s mostly about their property insurance issues and we all know that the property insurance space has struggled in recent years, especially...

Posted: Aug 18, 2024

What Are ‘Weasel Words’ and What Is ‘Tergiversation’?

In the 1990s, I co-wrote a seminar with the late, great John Eubank, CPCU, ARM called “How to Battle an Adjuster … and Win Every Time!” Later, I changed the name to “How to Win Friends and Influence Adjusters,” but &#823...

Posted: Aug 18, 2024

Agents Say Outlook Positive: Survey

Despite challenges posed by inflation, market volatility and rapidly changing technologies, independent agents remain positive about their businesses and report more optimistic perceptions of national business conditions this year than they did last...

Posted: Aug 18, 2024

101 Ideas for Sales, Marketing & Agency Management

How to Reach Out 1. Content Marketing. Use content marketing to stand out as an industry thought leader. Create informative and engaging content, such as blog posts, whitepapers, and e-books focused on industry trends and insurance tips. — Anit...

Posted: Aug 18, 2024

HNW Market Update: What Went Wrong and How We Are Turning Things Around

The year was 2016. New high net worth (HNW) insurance carriers were entering the market. Established underwriting operations had become a consistent source of profits for investors and parent companies. Aging brokerage owners with sizable private cli...

Posted: Aug 18, 2024

The Role of Benchmarking & Competitive Analysis in Insurance Marketing

In the insurance industry, standing out is no longer just about having the best products. It involves a meticulous understanding of the market, continuous refinement of internal processes and marketing strategies, and a deep dive into competitors&#82...

Posted: Aug 18, 2024

People Moves: Skyward Specialty Hires Four Regional VPs and Two Underwriters

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc., headquartered in Houston, named four new regional vice presidents and two new underwriters. Skyward Specialty named Gregg Callahan regional vice president in its northeast region in New England. Callahan spent...

Posted: Aug 16, 2024

People Moves: NI Holdings, Inc. Appoints Launer Interim CEO

NI Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, named Cindy L. Launer as interim CEO. Michael J. Alexander has stepped down from his role as president and CEO and as a board member of the company. Launer has served as …

Posted: Aug 16, 2024

88-Year-Old Missouri Victim in Boar’s Head Deli Meat Outbreak Underscores Risk

A lifelong lover of liverwurst, Sue Fleming relished the smoked sausage her husband brought home every few weeks from the grocery store deli. Patrick Fleming always made sure to buy Boar’s Head braunschweiger, the type she liked best, even thou...

Posted: Aug 16, 2024