Insurance Journal

California Insurer of Last Resort Is Unprepared for Big Disaster

California’s property insurer of last resort told lawmakers that it’s financially unprepared to cover the costs of a major catastrophe in the state. The plan now faces $311 billion in potential losses, up from $50 billion six years ago, C...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

US Inflation Up Again in February in Latest Sign Price Pressures Remain Elevated

Consumer prices in the United States picked up last month, a sign that inflation remains a persistent challenge for the Federal Reserve and for President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, both of which are counting on a steady easing of price &...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Lloyd’s and Bermuda Monetary Authority Collaborate to Share Risk Expertise

The Lloyd’s market and the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) are jointly developing an initiative to share risk expertise between these two major re/insurance hubs. The focus will be on fostering innovation through the Lloyd’s Lab and impr...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Hackers Roil Entire Industries With Attacks on IT Supply Chain

Across Paraguay, hackers knocked out online services provided by the foreign ministry and companies. In Sweden, they crippled the payroll and human resources systems of more than 100 government bodies, including the central bank and parliament, as we...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Savannah Planning a Supersized 200th Anniversary of St. Patrick’s Day Parade

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — There was no green beer, no pickup trucks towing parade floats or throngs of tourists in gaudy green outfits. Instead, just a few dozen of Savannah’s early Irish immigrants marched a half-mile from a hotel near …

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Bond Slashed by $1.8M for Man Accused of Crashing Into Senator’s Wife in Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama judge cut bond by nearly $1.9 million on Tuesday for a man accused of fleeing from police during a car chase and causing a crash last January that injured Gayle Manchin, the wife of …

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Texas Fires Have Emitted a Near-Record Amount of Carbon

Texas fires released roughly 3.4 million metric ton of carbon dioxide in January and February, according to a new analysis. In January, Texas fires pumped out 440,400 tons of CO2 emissions, according to Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service data s...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

People Moves: Howden Tiger Taps Byler From Carpenter to Lead US Casualty; Markel Promotes Atkin to H...

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Howden Tiger and Markel. A summary of these new hires follows here. Howden Tiger Taps Byler From Carpenter to Lead US Casualty Division Howden Tiger, the reinsurance and capital advis...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

NTSB Investigating Small Plane Crash in Oregon That Left ‘No Survivors’

A small plane crash in a remote area of central Oregon has killed everyone on board, local authorities said. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said a 911 call around 7:40 p.m. Sunday reported the crash outside the city of Madras, …

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

NFIP Pays $364M on Idalia Claims. Florida Bill Requires Flood Disclosure to Buyers

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid out $364 million on flood claims from Hurricane Idalia, the storm that swamped part of Florida in August. That’s a fraction of the $3.2 billion NFIP paid after Hurricane Ian, a much larger …

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Chemicals in Plastics Far More Numerous Than Previous Estimates, Report Says

At least 3,000 more chemicals are in plastics — from food packaging to toys to medical devices — than previously estimated by environment agencies, a report published on Thursday found, raising questions over pollution and consumer safety. While the...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

UnitedHealth Unit Change Healthcare’s Pharmacy Network Back Online

UnitedHealth Group said Wednesday evening that its unit Change Healthcare’s pharmacy network was back online, weeks after a cyberattack had a knock-on effect across the country’s healthcare system that depends heavily on insurance. Change...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Twenty Armed People Board Cargo Ship off Coast of Somalia, Security Firm Says

Twenty armed people have boarded a cargo ship off the coast of Somalia and have taken control of it, a maritime security firm said on Tuesday. The vessel is the latest to be targeted following a resurgence of attacks by …

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Investigation Underway into Cause of Home Explosion That Killed 2 in Pittsburgh Suburb

A massive explosion killed two people and destroyed a house in the Pittsburgh area near the Ohio River, authorities said Tuesday. Aerial images from the scene in Crescent Township in the northwest Pittsburgh suburbs showed smoking ruins with the stru...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

5 Killed, Including 3 Children, in Illinois School Bus Accident

RUSHVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Five people, including three children, were killed in western Illinois when a school bus and semitruck collided on a highway Monday, authorities said. The bus was traveling eastbound when it crossed the center line on U.S. &#82...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Missouri Captive Gross Written Premium Up 142%

The Missouri Captive Insurance industry increased its gross written premium by 142% in 2023, the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI) reported. The amount of written premiums in 2022 were $3,543,681,320 vs. $8,600,492,937 in 2023. This...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Texas Committee to Investigate Panhandle Wildfires

LUBBOCK — Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan is creating a legislative committee to investigate the Texas Panhandle wildfires to ensure the state is prepared for future disasters. His Tuesday announcement comes more than two weeks after the deadly infer...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Massachusetts Appeals Denial of Federal Disaster Aid for Fall Flooding

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is appealing a decision of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deny the state’s request for a major disaster declaration to support cities and towns battered by severe weather and flooding in September. He...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Eggland’s Best Is Sued Over Saturated Fat Claims for Its Eggs

Eggland’s Best, one of the largest U.S. egg producers, has been sued for falsely claiming that its eggs contain less saturated fat than other eggs. The proposed class action filed on Tuesday in federal court in Chicago by Richard Vilchis &#8230...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Marsh Specialty: 2024 Elections to Direct Global Course for Next Decade-Plus

More than 60 elections will be held worldwide in 2024, and the outcomes will likely affect international relationships, drive policy uncertainty and disrupt markets, Marsh Specialty leaders said in a new political risk report. “The outcomes of...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Viewpoint: Insurers, Insureds Must Collaborate to Get Ahead of Social Inflation

Executive Summary: Setting up mock jury trials, taking cases to trial and refraining from issuing “hammer” letters to lower-layer insurers are just three of the strategies Aspen’s Chief Claims Officer Tony Rai suggests that insurers...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Insurers, Insureds Must Collaborate to Get Ahead of Social Inflation

Executive Summary: Setting up mock jury trials, taking cases to trial and refraining from issuing “hammer” letters to lower-layer insurers are just three of the strategies Aspen’s Chief Claims Officer Tony Rai suggests that insurers...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Class Action Lawsuits Pile Up Over UnitedHealth Data Breach

UnitedHealth Group has already been hit with at least six class action lawsuits accusing it of failing to protect millions of people’s personal data from last month’s hack of Change Healthcare, its payment processing unit, with more lawsu...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Moonlighting Cop Not Independent Contractor? NC Supreme Court Says Hold on

The North Carolina Supreme Court has temporarily put the brakes on an appeals court decision that had upset years of workers’ compensation case law on when a moonlighting law officer is considered an independent contractor. In the case of Steph...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024

Judge’s Ruling on Girl’s Death Creates Path for Wrongful Death Claim

A judge has ruled that a 5-year-old New Hampshire girl missing since 2019 is legally dead and her mother can become administrator of her estate, just weeks after the child’s father was convicted of killing her. Crystal Sorey “has carried...

Posted: Mar 14, 2024