Insurance Journal

LA County Approves $4B Payout to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

Los Angeles County officials this week approved a $4 billion payout to settle nearly 7,000 claims of sexual abuse in juvenile facilities since 1959. The agreement reached on April 4 far surpasses a $2.6 billion settlement reached in 2022 with …

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Bill to Address California Wildfire And Insurance Crises Moving Through Legislature

A California Assembly committee advanced a bill designed to deal with the state’s wildfire and insurance crises. The California Safe Homes Act, Assembly Bill 888, passed out of the Assembly Insurance Committee on a unanimous vote. Related: Fore...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Strengthen Oklahoma Homes Program to Hold Second Pilot Launch

The Oklahoma Insurance Department is preparing for a second pilot launch of the Strengthen Oklahoma Homes Program, which provides up to $10,000 to residents to upgrade their homes to the IBHS Fortified standard. Applicants who are eligible and live i...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

AM Best Revises Outlook to Negative for Missouri Valley Mutual Insurance Company

AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb-” (Good) of Missouri Valley Mutual Insurance Company (MVMIC) based in Burke, S...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

People Moves: SiriusPoint Taps AIG’s Gibson as International Chief Underwriting Officer; Howden Appo...

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at SiriusPoint and Howden. A summary of these new hires follows here. SiriusPoint Taps AIG’s Gibson as International Chief Underwriting Officer SiriusPoint Ltd., the Bermuda-based...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Car Smashes Through Illinois Building, Killing 4 Young People and Injuring Others

A car smashed through a building Monday afternoon, killing four young people and injuring several others during an after-school program in a small city outside of Springfield, Illinois, police said. Officers responded at about 3:20 p.m. to calls abou...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

People Moves: Dorn Named to Maryland Insurance Administration Post

Maryland Insurance Commissioner Marie Grant appointed Patricia Dorn as associate commissioner for consumer education and advocacy at the Maryland Insurance Administration. Dorn, who has served at the Maryland Insurance Administration since 2012, will...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

With LA Wildfire Suits Looming, Edison Beats Estimates on Lower Expenses and Rate Hikes

Edison International beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Tuesday, as the utility benefited from lower operating and interest expenses and higher rates for its services. Lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs for power companie...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

With Wildfire Suits Looming, Edison Beats Estimates on Lower Expenses, Rate Hikes

Edison International beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Tuesday, as the utility benefited from lower operating and interest expenses and higher rates for its services. Lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs for power companie...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Co-op Is Latest British Retailer to Be Hit by Cyber Attack

Britain’s Co-op Group said on Wednesday hackers had attempted to break into its systems, the second high-profile cyber attack on a major UK retailer in as many weeks, following an ongoing incident at Marks & Spencer. The Co-op, which is &#8...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Co-op Is Latest British Retailer to Be Hit by Cyberattack

Britain’s Co-op Group said on Wednesday hackers had attempted to break into its systems, the second high-profile cyber attack on a major UK retailer in as many weeks, following an ongoing incident at Marks & Spencer. The Co-op, which is &#8...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Aspen Specialty Settles With Condo in $11M Nashville Bombing Coverage Dispute

Aspen Specialty Insurance Co. has reached a settlement with the owners of a Nashville condominium building that was badly damaged in the Christmas Day bombing in 2020. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Both sides have agreed to …

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Insured Losses Could Hit $145B in 2025, Driven by Rising Claims From Secondary Perils

Global insured losses from natural catastrophes hit US$137 billion in 2024, following the 5%-7% annual growth rate that has been the norm in recent years, according to Swiss Re analysis. If this trend continues, global insured losses will approach US...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Three Rhode Island Men Charged in Theft of Thousands of Catalytic Converters

Three Rhode Island men have been charged in federal court in Providence for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to steal and sell hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of catalytic converters, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom....

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

AIG: Turning One Human Underwriter Into Five, ‘Turbocharging’ E&S

Some property/casualty insurers talk about experimenting with artificial intelligence to automate call center responses and back-office operations. But that’s not the road to turbocharging growth that AIG CEO Peter Zaffino envisions for his com...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Tech Update: WTW Launches AI Monitoring Tool ‘Radar Vision’ for Insurers

WTW has announced the North American launch of Radar Vision, an AI-driven performance monitoring tool custom-built for insurers. The global insurance industry has been turbulent for a few years, with significant inflation and demographic changes comp...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Tech Update: WTW Launches AI Monitoring Tool ‘Radar Vision’ for Insurers; Tariff Simulator Added to...

WTW has announced the North American launch of Radar Vision, an AI-driven performance monitoring tool custom-built for insurers. The global insurance industry has been turbulent for a few years, with significant inflation and demographic changes comp...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Companies Count the Costs After Blackout in Spain and Portugal

As factories, stores and hotels across Spain and Portugal gradually returned to normal on Tuesday after a huge blackout the day before, business associations and companies began counting the cost. Spain’s main business lobby CEOE estimated the...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Zombie Ships Are Fast Becoming a Feature of Venezuelan Oil Trade

On Good Friday, an aging supertanker fully laden with oil and calling itself Varada arrived in the waters to the east of Malaysia after a two-month voyage from Venezuela. The vessel raised some red flags: it was 32 years old, …

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

UK Warned Cuts to Flood Defense Are Too Dangerous to Consider

The UK should spare flood defense programs from budget cuts to be announced in June, as the country is already woefully unprepared for worsening disasters linked to climate change, a government adviser has said. “We are seriously concerned that...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

People Moves: Mosaic Promotes Duggan to Lead North American Claims; Hiscox Names Sinkus CUO in US; E...

Mosaic Promotes Duggan to Lead North American Claims Mosaic, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, named environmental and casualty risk specialist and former district attorney Thomas Duggan as the company’s claims head for North America. Based i...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Three Workers Killed in Scaffold Collapse at LNG Plant in Texas

Three workers were killed and two were injured when a section of scaffolding collapsed early Tuesday at a liquefied natural gas plant that Sempra is building in Texas. The two survivors at the Port Arthur LNG project were rescued from …

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Loss of FEMA Program Spells Disaster for Hundreds of Communities and Projects

The textile mills that once served as the backbone of Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, have long been shuttered, and officials believed federal money would be key to the town’s overdue revitalization. They hoped an improved stormwater drainage s...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Heritage Files Libel, Defamation Suit vs. Adjuster After ’60 Minutes’ Report

Six weeks after Tampa-based Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co. filed a libel suit against a whistleblower claims adjuster, the adjuster’s lawyer has pushed back, arguing that the suit is an attempt to silence those who question insu...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025

Arch Capital’s First-Quarter Profit Halves on LA Wildfire Losses

Arch Capital’s first-quarter profit fell 49.2% as catastrophe losses from the California wildfires weighed on its underwriting performance and investment returns, the insurer said on Tuesday. The results mirror those of peers W R Berkley and Ch...

Posted: Apr 30, 2025