Insurance Journal

Safety Teams Investigating After Tennessee Industrial Fire That Killed Worker

State and federal safety officials are investigating a fatal explosion and fire at a Chattanooga, Tennessee, steel-hardening facility. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said it had sent a team to the TS USA liquid nitriding plan...

Posted: Jun 05, 2024

Hub Acquires Vermont’s Essex Agency

Global insurance broker Hub International Limited reported it has acquired The Essex Agency, Inc. of Essex Junction, Vermont. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The Essex Agency is an independent insurance agency offering personal and comme...

Posted: Jun 05, 2024

NSM Acquires Reinsurance MGA Strategic Underwriters International

Global specialty insurance broker NSM Insurance Group has completed its acquisition of Strategic Underwriters International (SUI). Based in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, SUI is a managing general agent (MGA) in the casualty facultative reinsurance market...

Posted: Jun 05, 2024

Hospital Not Liable in Nurse’s Sexual Battery Against Patient

A Virginia hospital is not vicariously liable for a sexual molestation committed by one of its nurses against a patient because the nurse’s actions were clearly outside the scope of his employment duties and were personally motivated. A patient...

Posted: Jun 05, 2024

Oregon Report Keys in on Disabling Claims for Occupational Injuries

Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services received notification of 24,947 accepted disabling claims for occupational injuries and diseases in 2022, according to a new report looking back on data from the year. Employment increased b...

Posted: Jun 05, 2024

Judge Cuts Bayer $2.25 Billion Roundup Verdict to $400 Million

A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday slashed a $2.25 billion U.S. verdict against Bayer to $400 million for a Pennsylvania man who said he developed cancer from exposure to the company’s Roundup weedkiller. A jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

How to Take Compliance from a Business Blocker to a Business Accelerator

This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync. When Jetty lost its designated resident licensed producer (DRLP), a compliance fire drill ensued. That’s when Jetty’s head of compliance knew for sure that the old way wasn’t wor...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Hackers Targeted Celebrities on TikTok Using Private Messages

Hackers targeted well known brands and celebrities on TikTok, sending a malicious link through private messages to hijack prominent accounts. The ByteDance Ltd.-owned social media service said it’s taking steps to mitigate the incident and stop...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Firefighters Increase Containment on California’s First Big Wildfire of the Season

California’s first big fire of the season is nearly fully contained, as rising temperatures across the West this week are increasing the risk of wildfires. The Corral fire, burning east of San Francisco in San Joaquin County, started on June &#...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

People Moves: Skyward Specialty Expands Media Liability Team

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, headquartered in Houston, named three new members to its media liability team Andrea Taylor is Skyward’s new vice president of media liability. Taylor has 25 years of leadership and underwriting expertise, spe...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

People Moves: Aon Names Reese as CFO, Succeeding Davies; Ogden Named CEO of HDI Global UK & Ireland...

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at broker Aon and HDI Global UK & Ireland. A summary of these new hires follows here. Aon Names Reese as CFO, Succeeding Davies Insurance broker Aon plc announced that Edmund Reese &...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Fort Myers Life Insurance Broker Charged With Policy Fraud, Misusing ID Info

Florida financial regulators have charged a Fort Myers insurance broker with taking out a life insurance policy on a person without their knowledge and misusing the person’s identification information. Bryce Corey Tyminski, 26, was arrested and...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

EEOC Sues 15 Employers in 10 States for Not Filing Workforce Demographics Data

Last week the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) took what is being called an unprecedented step by filing lawsuits against 15 employers for allegedly failing to comply with mandatory reporting requirements. The employers, from 10 st...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Ohio Explosion Caused by Cut Gas Line Thought to be Turned Off: Investigators

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — A crew working in the basement area of an Ohio building intentionally cut a gas line not knowing it was pressurized before a deadly explosion last week, the National Transportation Safety Board said. NTSB board member …

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Texas Faces New Heat Advisories With Temperatures Above 100F

Parts of Texas and the western US are being warned of high temperatures on Tuesday, putting electric grids to the test as residents turn to air conditioning to stay cool. Heat advisories are up across central and southern Texas from …

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

USDA Offers Disaster Assistance to Agricultural Producers Impacted by Recent Storms

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responding to the agricultural devastation caused by tornadoes and flooding in the Midwest. On May 24, Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Zach Ducheneaux signed an Administrator’s Physical Loss...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Florida OIR Posts 2024 Catastrophe Claims Reporting Form

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has posted a new reporting form for catastrophe claims data for the 2024 hurricane season. Florida law requires property insurers to report a wide range of information after storms. The form standardizes the...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Insurers Expect Major Loss Event From Floods in Southern Germany

Insurers are preparing for an above-average loss event as a result of floods hitting in southern Germany. “The pictures from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg foreshadow the worst. Our companies are already receiving many claims reports,” acc...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Orchestrator of $60 Million New York Auto Insurance Fraud Gets 10 Years in Prison

A New Jersey man who orchestrated a 13-year long, $60 million no-fault automobile insurance scam in New York has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Bradley Pierre was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe for conspiracy to …

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

J&J Must Pay $260 Million in Latest Talc Trial

Johnson & Johnson must pay $260 million to an Oregon woman who said she got mesothelioma, a deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure, from inhaling the company’s talc powder, a jury found on Monday. The verdict in the 4th Judicial …

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

US Farmers Opt for Soy to Limit Losses as All Crop Prices Slump

Mark Tuttle planted more soy and less corn on his northern Illinois farm this spring as prices for both crops hover near three-year lows and soybeans’ lower production costs offered him the best chance of turning a profit in the …

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Gang Member Who Led Violent Takeover of Fire Restoration Industry Sentenced

A gang leader who recruited other gang members and used violence, threats of violence, and extortion to take over the fire restoration business in New York City and defraud insurance companies has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Jatiek …

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Gang Member Who Led Violent Takeover of New York Fire Restoration Industry Sentenced

A gang leader who recruited other gang members and used violence, threats of violence, and extortion to take over the fire restoration business in New York City and defraud insurance companies has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Jatiek …

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Broker Verlingue Launches Dedicated Construction Practice in UK

Chartered insurance broker Verlingue Ltd. has established a new dedicated construction practice to serve the UK’s fast-growing construction industry. The practice, led by Harvey Monk, sales director South, brings together a team of specialists...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024

Regulators Raid Toyota Offices Over Safety Scandal, Sending Stock Down

Toyota Motor Corp. and other carmakers embroiled in a fresh certification scandal halted shipments of a handful of models and saw their offices raided by government officials, but the impact on their customers and operations appears to be limited. Ho...

Posted: Jun 04, 2024