Insurance Journal

As DEI Comes Under Legal Attack, Companies Alter Their Programs

Sophia Danner-Okotie’s has ambitious plans for her Nigerian-inspired clothing line but a sense of dread has punctured her optimism as she watches a legal battle being waged against a small venture capital firm that has provided funding instrume...

Posted: Jan 17, 2024

Allstate Doesn’t Owe for Diminished Value, But Farm Bureau Barred from Subro, Courts Say

Two court rulings in Southeastern states have underscored insurers’ responsibilities under uninsured motorist laws. In a Mississippi class-action lawsuit, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Allstate Property & Casualty Insuran...

Posted: Jan 17, 2024

Allstate Doesn’t Owe for Diminished Value; Farm Bureau Barred from Subro, Courts Say

Two court rulings in Southeastern states have underscored insurers’ responsibilities under uninsured motorist laws. In a Mississippi class-action lawsuit, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Allstate Property & Casualty Insuran...

Posted: Jan 17, 2024

California Has Lowest Number of Fire Departments Per 100K People, Report Shows

California topped the ranking for the states with the fewest fire departments per 100,000 people, a new study shows. The study out this week shows California tied with Florida, and Nevada ranking second and Arizona ranking third. The report, commissi...

Posted: Jan 17, 2024

Mayday Call From Burning Cargo Ship Prompted Doomed Rescue Effort

The Grande Costa D’Avorio cargo ship was being loaded with 1,200 West Africa-bound cars at Port Newark last July when a deadly fire began. Dense black smoke limited visibility to about 3 feet, and the floor was so hot it …

Posted: Jan 17, 2024

Alliant in California Launches Student Health Specialty for Higher Ed

Alliant Insurance Services launched a student health specialty within Alliant Public Entity, offering student medical insurance for domestic and international students. The firm says its program helps higher educational institutions counter high clai...

Posted: Jan 17, 2024

Grubhub to Pay $3.5 Million to Massachusetts Restaurants for Overcharging During COVID

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced a $3.5 million settlement Friday with the online food delivery service platform Grubhub. The settlement resolves a 2021 lawsuit brought by Campbell alleging Grubhub illegally overcharged fees t...

Posted: Jan 17, 2024

Grubhub to Pay $3.5M to Massachusetts Restaurants for Overcharging During COVID

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced a $3.5 million settlement Friday with the online food delivery service platform Grubhub. The settlement resolves a 2021 lawsuit brought by Campbell alleging Grubhub illegally overcharged fees t...

Posted: Jan 17, 2024

Vermont Continued to See Steady Growth in Captives in 2023

The Vermont Department of Economic Development reported the state licensed a total of 38 new captive insurance companies in 2023, making it now home to 659 captives. That growth made 2023 one of the best years since Vermont licensed its …

Posted: Jan 17, 2024

Wildfire Prevention, Helping Maui Recover Top Agenda for Hawaii Lawmakers

Hawaii lawmakers convened this week for the first time since the burning of historic Lahaina awakened the state to the deadly and costly threat posed by wildfires in an age of climate change. The tragedy refocused the attention of lawmakers. …

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

Red Sea War Risk Insurance Rises With More Ships in Firing Line

War risk insurance premiums for shipments through the Red Sea are rising after further attacks on merchant vessels by Yemen’s Houthi movement and the expectation that ships with a UK or U.S. connection will be targeted, insurance sources said o...

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

Nebraska Jury Awards $335K to Deaf Truck Driver in Disability Discrimination Case

Trucking companies Werner Enterprises, Inc. and Drivers Management, LLC must pay $335,682 to a deaf truck driver months after an Omaha, Nebraska jury found in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on disability discriminati...

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

Houston School District Sued for Pay Discrimination

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) violated federal law when it paid female senior Career & Technical Education (CTE) program specialists lower wages than male senior CTE program specialists for performing substantially equal work bas...

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

Texas Power Grid Operator Issues Conservation Request as Winter Storm Engulfs State

The Texas power grid operator asked residents to conserve power a second time this week as a blast of cold weather plummeted temperatures well below freezing for much of the state. This new conservation request is from 6 a.m. to …

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

Easland Appointed as Wisconsin Deputy Commissioner

The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) announced the appointment of Rebecca Easland to serve as Deputy Commissioner. Deputy Commissioner Easland most recently served as Senior Policy Advisor with the International Association of...

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

Gallagher Re Acquires Toronto-Basded Broker MGB Re

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced that its reinsurance division, Gallagher Re, has acquired Toronto, Ontario-based MGB Re (MGB). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. MGB provides reinsurance solutions to health maintenance organizations...

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

Brown & Brown’s Bridge Specialty International to Buy Singapore-Based Broker Acorn

Brown & Brown Europe’s wholesale and specialty brokerage group, Bridge Specialty International, announced it has agreed to acquire Acorn International Network Pte Ltd., a Singapore-based insurance broker. The transaction is expected to be c...

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

Survey: Carrier Connectivity Top of Mind for Agents

Agents continue to favor carriers and MGAs that offer automation, ranking ease of doing business and time savings at the top of the list of value they get from connectivity, according to a newly released survey by Ivans. The annual …

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

OSHA Announces Penalty Increases for 2024

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it is slightly raising civil penalty amount for 2024, effective Jan. 16. The Department of Labor’s OSHA said maximum penalties for serious and other-than-serious violations will increase fr...

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

A Catastrophe of a Catastrophe Bill

On January 12, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced a bill, the “Incorporating National Support for Unprecedented Risks and Emergencies (INSURE) Act.” The stated goal of the bill is to “stabilize the home insurance marke...

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

Commercial Property Rates Not Expected to Increase at Same Pace as 2023: USI

A new USI Insurance Services report forecasts that in 2024, commercial property insurance rates “are expected to increase, but not at the same pace as seen in 2023.” “Our forecast calls for 5% to 15% rate increases for non-catastrop...

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

Alabama’s Starke Agency Acquires University Insurance in Auburn

Starke Agency, an insurance brokerage in Montgomery, Alabama, has acquired University Insurance Agency in Auburn, one of the oldest brokers in the city. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Starke said in a news release that it further …

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

US Supreme Court to Hear Case on Starbucks Firing Pro-Union Workers in Tennessee

(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a challenge by Starbucks to a judicial decision that required the coffee chain to rehire seven employees at one of its cafes in Memphis, Tennessee who a federal agency …

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

The Avalanche Risk is High in Much of Western U.S.

As a massive winter storm dumped snow across much of the western U.S., some hardy winter sport enthusiasts headed to ski resorts and backcountry slopes despite frigid temperatures during the long Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. But in many &#8230...

Posted: Jan 16, 2024

NTSB Investigating After High-Speed Rail Crashes Killed 3 People in Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE Fla. (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday it will investigate two crashes involving Florida’s Brightline train that killed three people at the same railroad crossing on the high speed train’s route...

Posted: Jan 16, 2024