Insurance Journal

Tokyo Court Rules Only Fukushima Operator Must Pay Compensation, Cuts Damages

A Tokyo court has ruled that only the operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant had to pay damages to dozens of evacuees, relieving the government of responsibility. Plaintiffs criticized the ruling as belittling their suffering a...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Self-Driving Cars Could Be on UK Roads by 2026: Transport Minister

Self-driving cars could be on some British roads by 2026, the country’s transport minister Mark Harper said on Wednesday. Cars with full self-driving technology are not currently permitted on Britain’s roads but the government’s Aut...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Half of Red Sea Container-Ship Fleet Avoids Route on Threat of Attacks

Half of the container-ship fleet that regularly transits the Red Sea and Suez Canal is avoiding the route now because of the threat of attacks, according to new industry data. The tally compiled by Flexport Inc. shows 299 vessels with …

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

China Metals Giant Faces Protest in Indonesia After Fatal Blast

Workers at a Tsingshan Holding Group plant in Indonesia staged a demonstration and demanded new working conditions after an explosion on Sunday that killed at least 19 people. The deadly blast at a furnace run by PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless &#82...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Twitter Violated Contract by Failing to Pay Millions in Bonuses, Judge Rules

Twitter violated contracts by failing to pay millions of dollars in bonuses that the social media company, now called X Corp, had promised its employees, a federal judge ruled on Friday. Mark Schobinger, who was Twitter’s senior director of com...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Alibaba Must Face Lawsuit Over Counterfeit Squishmallows

A U.S. judge on Wednesday rejected Alibaba’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit over the alleged sale by various merchants of counterfeit versions of the popular children’s toy Squishmallows on its online platforms. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

US Seizes BlackCat Ransomware Site, Offering Decryption Tool

The US Justice Department seized websites belonging to a notorious Russian-speaking ransomware group, upending hackers that have extorted millions of dollars from victims around the world. The website for the extortion group BlackCat, also known as A...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

US Workplace Stress at All Time High, Survey Says

Stress at work has reached epidemic proportions and shows little decline in 2023, according to the American Psychological Association’s “Work in America Survey: Workplaces as Engines of Psychological Health & Wellbeing.” The nat...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Top Insurance Journal D&O Stories of 2023

Million-dollar court cases, expert predictions and in-depth market analysis — Insurance Journal’s top-read directors and officers insurance stories in 2023 scrutinized notable national headlines through a D&O lens. Meanwhile, big-picture ev...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Top Insurance Journal D&O Storylines of 2023

Million-dollar court cases, expert predictions and in-depth market analysis — Insurance Journal’s top-read directors and officers insurance stories in 2023 scrutinized notable national headlines through a D&O lens. Meanwhile, big-picture ev...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Florida Suit Over Charged Lemonade Death Puts New Focus on Energy Drink Safety

Panera Bread Co. must face a lawsuit over a death allegedly linked to its new line of “charged” lemonades, which have thrust the company into the spotlight and brought a renewed focus on the safety of caffeinated energy drinks. The &#8230...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Five Died in Four Vegas Area Crashes over 12-Hour Holiday Period

Two people died in separate vehicle crashes in the early hours of Christmas morning on Monday in the Las Vegas valley, bringing the total number of vehicle-related deaths in the area to five over a 12-hour stretch from Sunday afternoon …

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Five Died in Four Vegas Area Crashes Over 12-Hour Holiday Period

Two people died in separate vehicle crashes in the early hours of Christmas morning on Monday in the Las Vegas valley, bringing the total number of vehicle-related deaths in the area to five over a 12-hour stretch from Sunday afternoon …

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

New York Governor Vetoes Bill Seeking to Make It Easier to Challenge Convictions

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill days before Christmas that would have made it easier for people who have pleaded guilty to crimes to challenge their convictions, a measure that was favored by criminal justice reformers but fiercely …

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

New York Hospital to Pay $300K for Sharing Website Visitors’ Health Data

The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) will pay $300,000 for disclosing the health information of individuals who visited its website, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced. James said an investigation by her office found that the hospit...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Covered California Enrollment Rose 18% as Deadline Approaches

With a key deadline coming up on Dec. 31, Covered California announced that 161,670 people have signed up for 2024 coverage as of Dec. 23 during this open enrollment. That marks an 18% increase over the same period last year …

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Pennsylvania Law Assures Medical Expense Coverage for Injured Unlicensed Driver

An unlicensed driver exclusion in a Pennsylvania auto insurance policy does not apply to allow an insurer to deny statutorily mandated first party medical expense benefits, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled. The appeals court found that the e...

Posted: Dec 28, 2023

Louisiana Department of Insurance Chief of Staff Denise Gardner Wins National Award

Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) Chief of Staff Denise Gardner was recently presented with the Robert Dineen Award for her outstanding service and contributions to the state system of insurance regulation at the National Association of Insuran...

Posted: Dec 27, 2023

People Moves: Leif Assurance Hires Smith as Construction Insurance Specialist

Leif Assurance, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., recently hired Gabe Smith as a construction insurance specialist. Smith has 10 years of sales and insurance experience. Before joining Leif Assurance, he owned and served as an insurance agent at The W...

Posted: Dec 27, 2023

Missouri Urgent Care Chain Settles for $9.1 Million Over False Claims for COVID-19 Testing

ST. LOUIS (AP) – One of the largest urgent care chains in Missouri will pay $9.1 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false claims for medical services, including COVID-19 testing. The U.S. Attorney`s office in St. Louis on &#8230...

Posted: Dec 27, 2023

Missouri Urgent Care Chain Settles for $9.1M Over False Claims for COVID-19 Testing

ST. LOUIS (AP) – One of the largest urgent care chains in Missouri will pay $9.1 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false claims for medical services, including COVID-19 testing. The U.S. Attorney`s office in St. Louis on &#8230...

Posted: Dec 27, 2023

Beyoncé`s Childhood Home in Texas Catches Fire on Christmas Morning

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) – Beyoncé’s childhood home caught fire early on Christmas morning, though the family living there escaped safely. The fire was reported at about 2 a.m. Monday and the Houston Fire Department arrived on the scene of the &#823...

Posted: Dec 27, 2023

Mentally Disabled Indiana Man Wrongfully Convicted in Slaying Agrees to $11.7 Million Settlement

ELKHART, Ind. (AP) – A mentally disabled man who was wrongfully convicted in the slaying of a 94-year-old woman has reached an $11.7 million settlement with a northern Indiana city and former police officers, his attorneys said Friday. The settlement...

Posted: Dec 27, 2023

Microsoft, OpenAI Sued by New York Times for Copyright Infringement

The New York Times Co. sued Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI Inc. for the use of content to help develop artificial intelligence services, in a sign of the increasingly fraught relationship between the media and a technology that could upend the …

Posted: Dec 27, 2023

Avalanche Closed Alaska Highway, Cutting off Access

A large avalanche and blizzard conditions in southern Alaska cut off road access to much of the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage. The avalanche hit the Seward Highway near the intersection of the Sterling Highway around 8 a.m. Sunday. The …

Posted: Dec 27, 2023