Insurance Journal

Meta Sues Former Employee Over Alleged Stolen Documents

Meta Platforms Inc. sued one of its former vice presidents for what it called a “stunning” betrayal in his defection to a “stealth” AI cloud computing startup. Dipinder Singh Khurana, also known as T.S. Khurana, had worked at...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

Surfside Tower Garage, Pool Deck Had Faulty Support Columns, Prelim Report Shows

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Federal investigators determining why a Florida condominium tower partially collapsed three years ago, killing 98 people, said Thursday there were many faulty support columns in the tenant garage that ran below it and the...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

Florida-based HCI Group Reports Strong Gain in Q4 Earnings

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — HCI Group Inc. (HCI) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $38.1 million, a significant improvement over Q4 2022. The Tampa, Florida-based company said it had profit of $3.40 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurrin...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

Florida-Based HCI Group Reports Strong Gain in Q4 Earnings

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — HCI Group Inc. (HCI) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $38.1 million, a significant improvement over Q4 2022. The Tampa, Florida-based company said it had profit of $3.40 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurrin...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

Tesla Arson Case Shows Need to Protect Power Grid, Says German Utility Westenergie

German policymakers should team up with power grid operators to improve the response to incidents such as the arson attack near Tesla’s gigafactory, said the head of regional utility Westenergie. Security measures needed reviewing and a better...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

Five People Die in Private Jet Crash in Rural Virginia Woods

A small private jet crashed in woods and burned Sunday afternoon near a small airport in rural Virginia, killing all five people aboard, police said. The twin-engine IAI Astra 1125 went down amid trees along an airport road in Hot …

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

Australia Warns of Critical Financial Risks to Insurers and Banks From Climate Change

Australia’s worsening climate change may see insurance companies and banks withdraw their services from communities vulnerable to extreme events, potentially triggering “cascading effects” across the economy, a new government report...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

NHTSA Opens Probe Into Emergency Braking Issues in Certain Honda Vehicles

U.S. auto-safety regulators on Monday launched a preliminary probe into emergency braking issues in certain Honda vehicles following complaints of crashes and fires. The problem affects the 2019-2022 models of the Honda Insight, a hybrid electric car...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

Rite Aid Opioid Settlement: Victims Will Likely Get No Payment

Nancy Zailo is at the back of the line. She’s behind Jeffrey Stein, the Rite Aid Corp. chief executive collecting $300,000 paychecks every month. She’s behind consultants at Alvarez & Marsal, who have billed the pharmacy chain $75 mil...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

Nvidia Is Sued by Authors Over AI Use of Copyrighted Works

Nvidia, whose chips power artificial intelligence, has been sued by three authors who said it used their copyrighted books without permission to train its NeMo AI platform. Brian Keene, Abdi Nazemian and Stewart O’Nan said their works were part...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

Colorado Farmers Must Pay $6.5M for Defrauding Federal Crop Insurance Programs

Two Colorado Farmers must pay more than $6.5 Million for defrauding federal crop insurance programs, according to U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. Finegan’s office announced that Patrick Esch and Ed Dean Jagers of Springfield, Colorado, agreed to pa...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

New Jersey Reports Spike in Incidents of Bias in 2023

Reports in New Jersey of incidents of bias — like antisemitism and anti-Black behavior among others — climbed by 22% last year, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the attorney general. Attorney General Matt Platkin’s office rele...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

Airport Driver Who Died When Forklift Tipped Was Not Wearing Seat Belt: OSHA

The Aug. 29, 2023, death of a forklift operator at Boston’s Logan International Airport may have been prevented if his employer had ensured proper safeguards for operating and maintaining forklifts, an Occupational Safety and Health Administrat...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

Takeaways from Our Conversation on Q1 2020 in Insuring Cannabis

Cannabis had a bit of a down year last year, but 2024 holds some hope for continued growth – maybe even a return to semblances of the old pace. As we head into the final month of the first quarter, …

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

HUB Acquires Assets of Bolds Risk & Insurance Services in California

Hub International Ltd. acquired the assets of Bolds Risk & Insurance Services in Larkspur, California. Ron Bolds, president of Bolds Risk, and the Bolds Risk team will join Hub Central and Northern California in the Larkspur office. Bolds Risk is...

Posted: Mar 12, 2024

The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research Announces the Launch of the 2024 Outstandin...

AUSTIN, TX., March 12, 2024 — The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research is pleased to commence the 2024 Outstanding CSR of the Year Competition. Since 1991, this prestigious competition has celebrated the dedication and expertise o...

Posted: Mar 11, 2024

Cold Weather Flights: Best Practices from Lessons Learned

This post is part of a series sponsored by IAT Insurance Group. Most aviation accidents are due to human error. An estimated 69% of general aviation non-commercial fixed-wing aircraft accidents in 2021 were caused by pilot mistakes. The right winter...

Posted: Mar 11, 2024

Mississippi Wind-Mit Bill Would Tax Insurers, Help Fund Retrofits, Tornado Rooms

Mississippi could soon join the growing list of states with grant-funded wind fortification programs for homeowners, thanks to a bill that’s moving through the state Legislature. The state House of Representatives last week approved House Bill...

Posted: Mar 11, 2024

Nine Killed in Wisconsin Highway Crash Involving Semitrailer and Van

DEWHURST, Wis. (AP) — Nine people were killed Friday in a crash involving a semitrailer and a van at a western Wisconsin highway intersection. Preliminary reports about the early morning crash indicated the semitrailer traveling on State Highway 95 c...

Posted: Mar 11, 2024

James River Files Suit Against Fleming for Failing to Close Planned Purchase of JRG Re

James River Group Holdings Ltd. announced it has filed a lawsuit against Fleming Intermediate Holdings for its failure to complete the $277 million acquisition of its casualty reinsurance subsidiary JRG Reinsurance Co. – a deal that was first announc...

Posted: Mar 11, 2024

Update: James River Files Suit Against Fleming for Failing to Close Purchase of JRG Re

James River Group Holdings Ltd. announced it has filed a lawsuit against Fleming Intermediate Holdings for its failure to complete the $277 million acquisition of its casualty reinsurance subsidiary, JRG Reinsurance Co. – a deal that was first announ...

Posted: Mar 11, 2024

Pie’s Financial Strength Rating of A- Under Review by AM Best

Insurance industry rating agency AM Best on Friday put the financial strength rating of Pie Insurance Group under review with negative implications. Pie Insurance Company of Columbus and Pie Casualty Insurance Company of Chicago currently have a fina...

Posted: Mar 11, 2024

Drought and Extreme Heat Devastate Louisiana’s Crawfish Harvest

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Amid a crawfish shortage in Louisiana, the nation’s top producer of the crustaceans that are a staple in Gulf Coast seafood boils, Gov. Jeff Landry issued a disaster declaration for the impacted industry last week. &#823...

Posted: Mar 11, 2024

Kansas Truck Washing Company After Worker Dies From Harmful Gases

Federal investigators determined a Liberal, Kansas truck washing company failed to protect workers from hydrogen sulfide gas as they entered over-the-road tanker trailers to clean them out, causing one worker’s fatal injuries and hospitalizing...

Posted: Mar 11, 2024

Norfolk Southern Ordered to Solely Pay for Ohio Train Derailment Cleanup

Norfolk Southern alone will be responsible for paying for the cleanup after last year’s fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio, a federal judge ruled. The decision issued Wednesday threw out the railroad’s claim that the companies that ma...

Posted: Mar 11, 2024