Insurance Journal

EPA Says Water Utilities Need to Do More to Stop More Frequent Cyberattacks

Cyberattacks against water utilities across the country are becoming more frequent and more severe, the Environmental Protection Agency warned Monday as it issued an enforcement alert urging water systems to take immediate actions to protect the nati...

Posted: May 23, 2024

Florida Agents Will Soon Need Three Appointments Before Selling Citizens

Starting July 1, Florida insurance agents must have at least three appointments with authorized carriers before they can sell policies for the state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corp. That’s the mandate laid down by Florida House Bill 15...

Posted: May 23, 2024

Bristol Myers, Sanofi Liability in Hawaii Plavix Case Grows to $916 Million

A judge in Hawaii on Tuesday ordered Bristol Myers Squibb and Sanofi to pay more than $916 million to the state for failing to warn non-white patients of health risks from its blood thinner Plavix, up from an earlier judgment …

Posted: May 23, 2024

Doctor Was One of Biggest Prescribers of Opioids in Massachusetts

A Massachusetts orthopedic surgeon who prosecutors say was one of the top prescribers of opioid drugs in the state was sentenced in federal court in Boston for his role in a health care fraud scheme. Dr. Olarewaju James Oladipo, of …

Posted: May 23, 2024

Doctor, One of Top Prescribers of Opioids in Massachusetts, Is Sentenced

A Massachusetts orthopedic surgeon who prosecutors say was one of the top prescribers of opioid drugs in the state was sentenced in federal court in Boston for his role in a health care fraud scheme. Dr. Olarewaju James Oladipo, of …

Posted: May 23, 2024

People Moves: Strub, Bell Join Alliant Employee Benefits Team

Holden Strub has joined Alliant Insurance Services, headquartered in Irvine, California, as a producer within its employee benefits group. Strub is based out of Alliant’s east region. Before joining Alliant, Strub was a brand account manager fo...

Posted: May 23, 2024

Maryland Governor Signs Bills on Gun Safety Center, Minimum Firearms Standards

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed a bill into law last Thursday to create a new statewide center to help prevent gun violence. The governor described the center as the first of its kind since the White House urged states to …

Posted: May 23, 2024

Los Angeles Jury Awards $58M to Injured Train Yard Worker

A Los Angeles jury awarded $58 million to a train yard worker who slipped and fell on top of a train while performing electrical repairs at Kinkisharyo International’s Palmdale train manufacturing yard. According to the lawsuit, Pablo Scipione,...

Posted: May 23, 2024

Missouri Senators to Pay Potential Damages in Chiefs Rally Shooting Defamation Case

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers will have to pay out of their own pockets if they lose defamation cases filed against them for falsely accusing a Kansas man of being one of the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooters and …

Posted: May 22, 2024

People Moves: BenefitMall Appoints Wong Benefits Sales Executive for Texas

BenefitMall, headquartered in Dallas, hired Trent Wong as a benefits sales executive for Texas. Before joining BenefitMall, Wong was a senior account manager at Energy Insurance Agency and a small group sales representative, specialty, with Humana.

Posted: May 22, 2024

TWIA Prepares Biennial Report for Texas Legislature; Assoc. Sees Limited Claims From Houston Storm

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Board’s Legislative & External Affairs Committee met on May 21 to plan the association’s Biennial Report to the Texas Legislature. TWIA submits a biennial report to the Texas Legislature, the...

Posted: May 22, 2024

Inszone Acquires Illinois’ ISU Coverall

Inszone Insurance Services announced the acquisition of ISU Coverall Insurance Group, a prominent full-service insurance broker serving the Chicago area. Founded in 2013 by Casey Brennan, ISU Coverall has carved out a niche for itself by offering ins...

Posted: May 22, 2024

New Talc-Related Class Action Lawsuit Goes After J&J for Fraudulent Conveyance

With recent news that Johnson & Johnson is going forward with a third bankruptcy plan of a subsidiary to settle tens of thousand of lawsuits that it’s talc products cause cancer, a class-action lawsuit was filed today alleging the company&#...

Posted: May 22, 2024

Houston Storm Hit Most-Stressed US Grid With Power Outages at 140,000

Windows are still falling from skyscrapers in downtown Houston after a historic wind storm whipped through the city last week. And days after the disaster, more than 140,000 customers in the area remain without power. Most of those homes and …

Posted: May 22, 2024

Texas to Face Extreme Heat in New Test for Its Power Grid: Weather Watch

Temperatures will soar across Texas this week, increasing demand for energy as people switch on air conditioning to cool down. The heat will also spread across the Midwest and Northeast, with the potential for record warm overnight low temperatures f...

Posted: May 22, 2024

Containment on Arizona Wind-Driven Wildfire Grows

Roughly 200 firefighters continued to battle a wildfire in Arizona that quickly grew to more than 14,000 acres. Firefighters have kept the Wildcat Fire size from growing over the past day, but extremely low humidity, warm temperatures and gusty after...

Posted: May 22, 2024

People Moves: RT Specialty Promotes 6 in New Jersey Environmental/Construction Team

RT Specialty, headquartered in Chicago, made several promotions in its Hamilton, New Jersey office, part of the RT Specialty Environmental and Construction Professional Practice (RT ECP). Daniel Wilhelm was promoted to account executive. He joined th...

Posted: May 22, 2024

California Mushroom Farms That Were Sites of Fatal Shootings Fined $450K

The owners of two Northern California mushroom farms where a farmworker killed seven people in back-to-back shootings last year will pay more than $450,000 in back wages and damages to 62 workers, the Labor Department announced. The owners of Califor...

Posted: May 22, 2024

Drone Pilot Can’t Do Mapping Without North Carolina Surveyor’s License, Court Says

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina board that regulates land surveyors didn’t violate a drone photography pilot’s constitutional rights when it told him to stop advertising and offering aerial map services because he lacked a state lic...

Posted: May 22, 2024

US Government Urges Federal Contractors to Strengthen Encryption

Companies working with the US government may be required to start protecting their data and technology from attacks by quantum computers as soon as July. The National Institute for Standards and Technology, part of the Department of Commerce, will in...

Posted: May 22, 2024

Dean Denied Workers’ Compensation for Injury From ‘Walking and Turning’ in Hallway

A community college dean who was injured when she fell after she turned in a hallway to address a colleague is not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, the Virginia Court of Appeals has ruled. Mary Pat O’Brien, dean of nursing &#82...

Posted: May 22, 2024

TransUnion: Auto Insurance Shopping Hit 5-Year High in Q1 2024

The number of U.S. consumers who shopped for auto insurance in rose in the first quarter, largely driven by consumers in the West and Midwest. The findings show a continuation of strong growth in shopping at the end of last …

Posted: May 22, 2024

NormanMax Launches 1st Nat Cat Parametric Lloyd’s Syndicate, Managed by Apollo

NormanMax Insurance Holdings, the Miami, Florida-based parametric re/insurance group, has launched Lloyd’s Syndicate 3939, in partnership with third-party managing agent Apollo. NormanMax Syndicate 3939 is the first syndicate to focuse on natur...

Posted: May 22, 2024

NormanMax Launches Nat Cat Parametric Lloyd’s Syndicate, Managed by Apollo

NormanMax Insurance Holdings, the Miami, Florida-based parametric re/insurance group, has launched Lloyd’s Syndicate 3939, in partnership with third-party managing agent Apollo. NormanMax Syndicate 3939 is the first syndicate to focuse on natur...

Posted: May 22, 2024

Axis Insurance acquires Magnes Group, expanding its Canadian presence.

May 22, 2024 — Axis Insurance Managers Inc. (“Axis Insurance”) announced today that it has acquired The Magnes Group Inc. (“Magnes”). Axis Insurance made its initial investment in Magnes in 2015. Founded in 1933, Magnes...

Posted: May 22, 2024