Insurance Journal

Technology’s Grip on Modern Life Pushing Us Down a Path of Digital Land Mines

“Move fast and break things,” a high-tech mantra popularized 20 years ago by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, was supposed to be a rallying cry for game-changing innovation. It now seems more like an elegy for a society perched on a &#82...

Posted: Aug 02, 2024

Tennessee DCI Returns $9.5M to Policyholders in Mediated Claims Disputes

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance so far this year has secured more than $9.5 million for policyholders whose insurance claims had been denied, the department announced this week. The payments, mostly from property insurers, are the...

Posted: Aug 02, 2024

Construction Company in Idaho Airport Hangar Collapse Ignored Safety Standards, OSHA Says

Federal safety investigators cited a construction company in the deadly collapse of an Idaho airport hangar, saying it exercised a “blatant disregard” for federal safety standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration propose...

Posted: Aug 02, 2024

OSHA Cites Construction Company in Deadly Idaho Airport Hangar Collapse

Federal safety investigators cited a construction company in the deadly collapse of an Idaho airport hangar, saying it exercised a “blatant disregard” for federal safety standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration propose...

Posted: Aug 02, 2024

Judge Ends Uber Black Drivers’ ‘Futile’ Court Quest for Employee Status in Pennsylvania

Eight years of litigation, multiple court opinions, and two deadlocked trials are enough. A federal judge in Pennsylvania has put an end to what he says is “futile” litigation over whether Uber Black drivers, who drive luxury cars and cha...

Posted: Aug 02, 2024

Massachusetts Businesses With More Than 25 Employees Must Disclose Salary Range

Massachusetts businesses with more than 25 employees must disclose salary ranges when posting jobs, under a new bill signed into law Wednesday that puts the commonwealth in line with 10 other states that already require pay transparency. The new law...

Posted: Aug 02, 2024

Colorado Man Who Aided Former Adjuster in $268K Auto Insurance Fraud Scheme Sentenced

A Colorado man who aided a former insurance claims adjuster in an auto insurance claims scheme was sentenced this week. In 2020, Brassfield, 55, of Aurora, reportedly aided former Travelers Insurance employee Colette Palin, 63, of Aurora in committin...

Posted: Aug 02, 2024

Colorado Man Sentenced for Role in $268K Auto Insurance Fraud Scheme

A Colorado man who aided a former insurance claims adjuster in an auto insurance claims scheme was sentenced this week. In 2020, Brassfield, 55, of Aurora, reportedly aided former Travelers Insurance employee Colette Palin, 63, of Aurora in committin...

Posted: Aug 02, 2024

Toilet Paper and Flat Tires: The Strange Ways Californians Ignite Wildfires

Of all the insidious threats faced by wildland firefighters — extreme heat, desiccated forests, unpredictable fire behavior and a nearly year-round fire season — what might be the most fearsome? Humans. People do dangerous things, things that start w...

Posted: Aug 02, 2024

Oil and Gas Power Lines Suspected of Causing Texas Panhandle Wildfires

When a spate of wildfires tore across the Texas Panhandle in February and scorched 20,000 acres of Craig Cowden’s ranch near Skellytown, he decided he had had enough. Cowden took on a second unofficial job: looking for possible fire hazards &#8...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

People Moves: JM Wilson Adds and Promotes Transportation Underwriting Team Members

JM Wilson, headquartered in Portage, Michigan, added new members to its transportation underwriting team. Olga Jaquet was promoted to senior transportation underwriter, responsible for underwriting new and renewal commercial transportation risks and...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Howden to Acquire Allianz UK’s Musical Insurance Book

Howden, the global insurance intermediary group, today announces that it has agreed to acquire the Musical Insurance book from Allianz UK and will incorporate its customer base and marketing and operations teams into Howden’s established music...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Markets/Coverages: Coalition Introduces Active Cyber Insurance in Germany

Coalition, the San Francisco-based cyber managing general agent and cyber-security firm, announced the launch of its Active Cyber Insurance in Germany through its subsidiary, Coalition Insurance Solutions GmbH. Coalition’s offerings became avai...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

UK Financial Firms Spur IPO Optimism as Europe Rebound Stutters

Potential initial public offerings by a slew of UK financial services firms could drive the next stage of Europe’s recovery after momentum in new listings slowed sharply. Such hopes have arisen after Bloomberg reported that backers of Canopius...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Arch Completes Acquisition of Allianz’s U.S. MidCorp and Entertainment Businesses

Arch Insurance North America it has closed the acquisition of the U.S. MidCorp and Entertainment insurance businesses from Allianz. Nearly 500 former Allianz MidCorp and Entertainment employees have joined Arch and will provide continuity to clients...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Ardonagh’s Geo Underwriting to Acquire Navigators & General

Geo Underwriting, the managing general agency and subsidiary of Ardonagh Advisory, announced it will acquire Navigators & General (N&G) from Zurich UK. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 1921 by Captain William Coomb...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Ardonagh’s Geo Underwriting to Buy Navigators & General From Zurich UK

Geo Underwriting, the managing general agency and subsidiary of Ardonagh Advisory, announced it will acquire Navigators & General (N&G) from Zurich UK. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 1921 by Captain William Coomb...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

District of Columbia Sues StubHub Claiming It Inflates Ticket Prices With Deceptive Fees

The attorney general for Washington, D.C., sued StubHub on Wednesday, accusing the ticket resale platform of advertising deceptively low prices and then ramping up prices with extra fees. The practice known as “drip pricing” violates cons...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Hurricane Would Blow Through Florida Cat Fund’s Reserves. But That May be OK, Report Says

A report from Moody’s Ratings service contends that one good hurricane this year could wipe out the Florida Cat Fund’s reserves, potentially forcing it to place a small surcharge on Florida insurance premiums to finance more debt. But tha...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Hurricane Could Drain Florida Cat Fund’s Reserves. But That May Be OK, Report Says

A report from Moody’s Ratings service contends that one good hurricane this year could wipe out the Florida Cat Fund’s reserves, potentially forcing it to place a small surcharge on Florida insurance premiums to finance more debt. But tha...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Missouri Trucking Company Sued for Refusing to Hire a Deaf Job Applicant

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Missouri- based trucking company Transportation Management Group, doing business as Wilson Logistics, for violating federal law when it refused to hire a deaf job applicant because of his d...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Symphony Risk Opens Austin Office, Names Burns President of Specialty Business

Symphony Risk Solutions announced it is opening an office in Austin, Texas to be led by Matt Burns, who was named president of the firm’s growing specialty business. As the leader of Symphony Build, Burns will oversee due diligence, evaluation,...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Officials Cleaning Up Oil Spill in Southern Louisiana Parish

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A storage tank spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil in a southern Louisiana parish, threatening drinking water and wildlife as officials work to clean it up. The storage tank spilled Saturday morning southwest …

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Some Ohio Residents Can Now Get $25,000 for Injuries in 2023 Train Derailment

People who live near East Palestine, Ohio, can now get $25,000 apiece for any injuries they sustained after last year’s Norfolk Southern freight train derailment on top of whatever money they get for property damage as part of the $600 …

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Wood Pellet Production Boomed in the South to Meet Demand. It’s Come at a Cost

GLOSTER, Miss. (AP) — This southern Mississippi town’s expansive wood pellet plant was so close to Shelia Mae Dobbins’ home that she sometimes heard company loudspeakers. She says industrial residues coated her truck and she no longer enj...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024