Insurance Journal

People Moves: BenefitMall Appoints Montes Broker Sales Executive for California

BenefitMall appointed Xavier Montes to its individual and senior division (ISD) as the new broker sales executive for California. Montes is based in Whittier, California. Montes has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, specializing...

Posted: May 16, 2024

Connecticut Establishes Fund for Fallen Police Officers’ Survivors

Connecticut has established a Fallen Officer Fund, which will provide $100,000 to the surviving family members or beneficiaries of any Connecticut local or state police officer killed in the line of duty or who sustained injuries that were the direct...

Posted: May 16, 2024

Buffett’s Berkshire Reveals $6.7 Billion Stake in Insurer Chubb

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. unveiled a $6.7 billion stake in insurer Chubb Ltd., ending months of suspense over its mystery position in a financial firm, previously kept concealed in regulatory filings. Berkshire disclosed the hold...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Insurance Companies Feeling the Pressure in Iowa and the Midwest

A New York Times article this week reported troubles in Iowa and insurers pulling up stakes from the Hawkeye State, leaving the homeowners’ insurance market. The exits were prompted by horrendous financial results driven by off the charts weath...

Posted: May 15, 2024

People Moves: Weinberg Joins CRC Group

CRC Group, headquartered in Honolulu, hired Andrew Weinberg as an underwriting team leader specializing in transportation. Weinberg is based in CRC’s Minneapolis office. Before joining CRC Group, he served as an underwriter at Burns & Wilco...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Illinois Indemnity Benefits Per Claim Rose in 2022: WCRI Study

Indemnity benefits per claim in Illinois increased 5% in 2022, driven by a 4% increase in workers’ wages, a new study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) found. A 0.8-week increase in the average duration of temporary disabi...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Texas Lawmakers Zero In on Exploding Hemp Industry

Austin hemp entrepreneur Shayda Torabi is looking at a year filled with uncertainty. For the six years they’ve been in business, Torabi and her two sisters have operated Restart, their hemp dispensary, in a modest neighborhood in North Austin w...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Louisiana Department of Insurance Offers Guidance Following Severe Storms

Severe storms killed three people and caused significant damage in southwest Louisiana Monday. At least one EF3 tornado hit Lake Charles, officials said. The St. Martin Parish coroner reports that a female died in Cecilia after a camper rolled over &...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Advocates Demand Investigation into Missouri Boarding School Abuse Allegations

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Advocates for victims of abuse at Missouri boarding schools on Monday urged the state’s attorney general to launch an investigation, work with local prosecutors and take other steps aimed at stemming the tide of abuse. Three &#...

Posted: May 15, 2024

FDIC Chair Gruenberg Apologizes for Agency Culture, Commits to Fixes

U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Martin Gruenberg on Wednesday said he was deeply sorry for a toxic workplace culture and his own mistreatment of employees. Testifying before Congress, Gruenberg said he accepted the findings of an...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Markets/Coverages: CFC Partners With Online Quoting Platform Tarmika

Specialty insurer CFC said it will be offering its admitted cyber insurance solution on Tarmika, an online quoting platform for independent agents. CFC enables agents to instantly quote and bind cyber insurance directly on the Tarmika platform, makin...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Baltimore Bridge Collapse Occurred After Ship Lost Power Multiple Times

The container ship that rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March lost power multiple times on both the day of the fatal accident and the day before, according to a preliminary report. The Dali, which sails under the …

Posted: May 15, 2024

Boat Found in Key Biscayne Incident that Killed 15-year-old Skiier

MIAMI (AP) — Investigators located a boat believed to have fatally struck a 15-year-old girl off a south Florida beach and fled without stopping, while friends and family members mourned her loss. A funeral service for Ella Adler was held …

Posted: May 15, 2024

Boat Found in Key Biscayne Incident That Killed 15-Year-Old Skiier

MIAMI (AP) — Investigators located a boat believed to have fatally struck a 15-year-old girl off a south Florida beach and fled without stopping, while friends and family members mourned her loss. A funeral service for Ella Adler was held …

Posted: May 15, 2024

Four in Florida Charged with Faking Auto Accident Injuries to Gain PIP Payouts

Florida authorities this week charged four people with falsifying injuries from an auto accident and attempting to defraud three insurance companies out of personal injury protection payments. Maria Campos, Isabella Mendez, Madison Martinez, and Krys...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Ardonagh Specialty Rebrands Reinsurance Business as ‘Price Forbes Re’

Ardonagh Specialty announced it is naming its reinsurance business Price Forbes Re. The renaming of Inver Re in London and Bermuda and Equinox Re in the US follows the simplification of Ardonagh Specialty’s multiple brands in 2023, with Price F...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Before Global Scrutiny, Indian Spice Maker MDH Faced Many US Rejections

Popular Indian spice brand MDH, under scrutiny for alleged contamination in some products, has since 2021 seen an average 14.5% of its US shipments rejected due to the presence of bacteria, a Reuters analysis of US regulatory data found. Hong …

Posted: May 15, 2024

EU Finalizes Investment Fund Labels to Combat Greenwashing

The European Union’s securities watchdog confirmed on Tuesday final guidelines on when investment funds can label themselves as being “sustainable” without being accused of greenwashing. Trillions of dollars globally have flowed int...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Markets/Coverages: Coalition Enters Excess Cyber Insurance Market in Australia

Coalition, the San Francisco-based cyber managing general agent and cyber-security firm, announced it entered the excess cyber insurance market in Australia, enabling businesses to add a layer of risk management to their cyber towers. Australian brok...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Wildfire Prompts Partial Evacuation of Canada’s Oil-Sands Capital

Portions of Fort McMurray, Alberta, are being evacuated as a wildfire approaches the city, the unofficial capital of Canada’s oil sands industry that almost burned to the ground during a historic blaze eight years ago. The 11,000-hectare (27,00...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Update: Wildfire Threat to Oil-Sands Capital Expected to Ease as Winds Shift

The threat of a wildfire bearing down on the unofficial capital of Canada’s oil-sands industry is expected to lessen as temperatures cool and winds shift, though the prospect of rains dousing the flames entirely remains remote. The blaze near F...

Posted: May 15, 2024

South Africa’s Health Insurance Law Set to Face Legal Challenges

South Africa’s main opposition party, joined by some labor and business groups, said on Tuesday it would go to court to fight a bill aimed at providing universal health coverage, which President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to sign into law …

Posted: May 15, 2024

South Africa’s President Approves Major Health Reform Law; Legal Challenges Expected

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law on Wednesday a bill that aims to provide universal health coverage, hailing it as a major step in the journey towards a more just society although critics say they will challenge it &#823...

Posted: May 15, 2024

Brazil States Ask Court to Double Amount Vale, BHP Should Pay for Mining Disaster

Two Brazilian states have asked a court to more than double the amount that miners Vale and BHP, plus a jointly owned tie-up, must pay in damages for a 2015 deadly tailings dam failure, according to a legal document seen …

Posted: May 15, 2024

Britain Rejects Call to Ban Gagging Orders in Financial Services Sector

Britain’s Finance Ministry on Tuesday rejected a call to ban non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), which can be used to silence victims of sexual harassment and abuse, arguing that such clauses do not stop staff reporting concerns to authorities. A...

Posted: May 15, 2024