Insurance Journal

Turkey Earthquake Tops 2023 Insurance Industry Losses Outside US: CRESTA

The largest non-US natural catastrophe in 2023 was the Kahramanmaras Earthquake Sequence in Turkey on Feb. 6, which generated an industry loss of US$5.8 billion, the largest ever cat loss for the Turkish insurance market, according to CRESTA, the Zur...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

ReSource Pro Acquires Texas-Based Helix Agency Services

ReSource Pro, an operations provider to insurance organizations, announced its acquisition of Texas-based Helix Agency Services LLC, a provider of managed technology services for insurance agencies and brokers in the property and casualty marketplace...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Ohio Supreme Court Affirms 4-Year Deadline for Med Mal Wrongful Death Claims

A divided Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday drew a bright line around the state’s statute of repose for medical malpractice claims, ruling in separate cases that an absolute four-year deadline to bring an action applies to both wrongful death clai...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Ohio Supreme Court Affirms Four-Year Deadline for Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Claims

A divided Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday drew a bright line around the state’s statute of repose for medical malpractice claims, ruling in separate cases that an absolute four-year deadline to bring an action applies to both wrongful death clai...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Former Detroit Tigers Scouts Sue Team for Age Discrimination in Termination

DETROIT (AP) – A pair of former Detroit Tigers scouts sued the team, alleging age discrimination over their terminations after the 2020 season. Gary Pellant and Randall Johnson filed the suit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, claiming a &#8...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Minnesota Woman Sues Dentist After 4 Root Canals, 8 Dental Crowns and 20 Fillings in a Single Visit

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Minnesota woman has sued her dentist after receiving four root canals, eight dental crowns and 20 fillings in a single visit that she says led to her disfigurement. Kathleen Wilson filed the lawsuit last week in …

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Georgia Man Charged with Depriving Liberty Mutual of $9M in Workers’ Comp Premiums

Georgia authorities last week announced the arrest of a contractor charged with underreporting payroll and defrauding Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. of more than $9 million in premiums. Jose Martinez, 56, of Grayson, was charged with insurance fraud af...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

AM Best Downgrades Ratings of JRG Re; James River Group Gets Negative Outlook

AM Best has downgraded the financial strength rating of JRG Reinsurance Co. to “B++” (Good) from “A-” (Excellent) and its long-term issuer credit ratings to “bbb+” (Good) from “a-” (Excellent). Concurre...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

‘Smash-and-Grab’ Robberies Fuel New Laws, but Critics Question the Need

Even before Virginia lawmakers passed a tough new law against organized retail crime earlier this year, Bradley Haywood, a public defender in Arlington, Virginia, challenged the rationale. The idea that retailers in the state had lost billions to org...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Nevada Drivers Can Now Add Symbol Identifying Certain Medical Conditions on Driver License

Nevada drivers can now add a symbol that identifies certain medical conditions on their driver licenses, in an effort to improve safety on the roads, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles announced this month. The “Star of Life” symbol...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Nevada Drivers Can Now Add Symbol Identifying Certain Medical Conditions on License

Nevada drivers can now add a symbol that identifies certain medical conditions on their driver licenses, in an effort to improve safety on the roads, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles announced this month. The “Star of Life” symbol...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Lithium-Ion Battery Fire on Ship off Alaska out After Several Days of Burning

After lithium-ion batteries burned in a large cargo ship`s hold for a number of days, the U.S. Coast Guard said the fire was out and directed the ship to anchor near Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The 19 crew members of the …

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Real Estate Firm Bids $4.9M for Campus of Bankrupt West Virginia College

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal bankruptcy court in West Virginia has set a hearing for next month on the potential sale of a defunct private university`s campus. A court-appointed trustee filed a motion Wednesday to sell the former Alderson...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Dyad Brand Launches to the P/C Insurance Market

Dyad, Inc., formerly XDimensional Technologies and I-Engineering, a provider of insurance software and services backed by Serent Capital, has launched today following XDimensional Technologies’ acquisition of I-Engineering in June 2023. These t...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Sam Bankman-Fried Will Not Face a Second Trial

U.S. prosecutors said they do not plan to conduct a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted last month of stealing from customers of his now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange. In a letter filed on Friday night in federal court &#...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Tokyo Airport Collision Leaves 5 Dead, Japan Airlines’ Aircraft in Flames

All 379 passengers and crew of a Japan Airlines plane miraculously escaped from a fire following a collision with a Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday, but five of the six crew of the coast guard plane …

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Climate Change Makes Forecasting Harder, Australia’s Agriculture Minister Says

Climate change is making it harder to accurately predict extreme weather events, said Australia’s agriculture minister Murray Watt, amid criticism the country’s meteorology department failed to provide timely warnings of this week’s...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Top East Insurance Journal Fraud Stories of 2023

About 10% of property/casualty insurance losses can be traced to fraud, according to the industry’s Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. Insurance Journal publishes an average of 22 fraud stories a month. Insurance Journal reporting in 2023 showe...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

How Brexit Hobbled Britain’s Race to Space

Britain’s push to become a “space superpower” is being undermined by political disarray and weak domestic investment, while showing how the nation needs international partners more than ever post-Brexit. In a case study of UK indust...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Major Japan Quake Topples Buildings, Killing at Least 30 People

At least 30 people were killed and scores injured in a powerful earthquake that hit off the Noto Peninsula on Japan’s northwest coast, toppling buildings, buckling roads and triggering a blaze that ripped through a city. One of the places &#823...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Update: Major Japan Quake Topples Buildings, Killing Nearly 50 People

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that toppled buildings in the Noto Peninsula on Japan’s northwest coast rose to nearly 50 as rescue workers searched for survivors trapped under rubble. One of the places hardest hit from Monday’s...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Top Insurance Journal Cyber Stories of 2023

Data breaches, lawsuits, and ongoing conversations about cyber war exclusions gave Insurance Journal readers much to talk about regarding cyber insurance in 2023. While news of cyber acquisitions, the major themes to look out for in the coming year,...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Top Insurance Journal EPLI Stories of 2023

A groundbreaking ruling, high-stakes lawsuits and a noteworthy protest — Insurance Journal’s reporting on the employment practices liability insurance landscape covered a lot of ground in 2023. Below is a selection of the most-viewed EPLI stori...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Brown & Brown Adds Caton-Hosey Agency in Florida

Florida-based Brown & Brown Insurance, ranked as the sixth-largest independent brokerage in the country, has acquired Caton-Hosey Insurance, a personal and business-lines agency in Port Orange, Florida. The agency was founded in 1948 and has been...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024

Allstate Sues Florida Pain Clinics, Alleging Millions in Fraudulent Billings

After an Allstate Insurance investigation alleged that a well-known Florida pain clinic had conspired with an injury law firm and had fraudulently billed the auto insurer for unnecessary surgeries and risky procedures, Allstate took the unusual step...

Posted: Jan 02, 2024