Insurance Journal

Georgia Commissioner Says Rates to Drop This Year After Tort Reform Passage

Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King predicted property-casualty insurance rates will drop 3% to 5% in the next year after lawmakers approved significant tort reform measures. He also seemed to warn insurance companies about filing for major incr...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Ohio Jury Rules Norfolk Southern Liable for $600M Settlement in Train Derailment Case

The company that owned the railcar that caused the devastating East Palestine train derailment in 2023 won’t have to help pay for the $600 million settlement Norfolk Southern agreed to with residents. An Ohio jury decided Wednesday that GATX is...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Judge Awards North Dakota Nearly $28M Over Dakota Access Pipeline Protests

A federal judge on Wednesday found the state of North Dakota entitled to nearly $28 million for responding to protests of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in 2016 and 2017 — a win for the state in its multiyear effort …

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Business Moves: Ardonagh Acquires Zurich’s SRB Assekuranz Broker; Optio Completes Purchase of Norweg...

Ardonagh Acquires Zurich-Based SRB Assekuranz Broker The Ardonagh Group, the London-based independent insurance distribution platform, announced it has acquired the Zurich-based broker SRB Assekuranz Broker AG (SRB). Founded in 1980, SRB focuses on c...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

World’s First Catastrophe-Bond ETF Falters in ‘Crazy’ Market

The world’s first-ever exchange-traded fund based on catastrophe bonds has failed to get the seed capital it expected after launching on the eve of the Trump administration’s tariff war. “Some of our seed capital investors are sitti...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Britain’s M&S Stops Taking Online Orders After Cyber Attack

Marks & Spencer stopped taking online orders in the UK and Ireland on Friday following a cyber attack which it reported earlier in the week, an announcement which sent its shares down by 5%. The British company, which sells its …

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

California Wildfire Losses Cause 16% Fall in The Hartford’s Q1 Net Income

Net income at The Hartford decreased 16% to $630 million in the first quarter 2025, driven by losses from the California wildfires. Property/casualty catastrophe losses for Q1 2025 were $467 million pretax—$325 million, net of reinsurance, from the C...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Lawmakers Agree to Pay $807M Into Lahaina Wildfires Settlement Fund

It’s not often that applause breaks out in the audience after a vote at the Hawaiʻi Legislature, but that one afternoon this week. The measure was House Bill 1001, and the subject was settling claims related to the August 2023 …

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Father of Tesla Cybertruck Crash Victim Files Lawsuit Over Death

The family of one of three college students who died in a Cybertruck crash in California filed a lawsuit in a bid to gain access to the Tesla Inc. pickup and better understand how their daughter died. The driver and …

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

UK Water Bosses Face Up to Two Years in Prison for Polluting

Britain’s water company bosses will face up to two years in prison and be banned from taking bonuses for covering up sewage spills under new legislation in force from Friday. The new measure delivers on the government’s promise to bring &...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Heavily-Forested New Hampshire Enters Wildfire Season

Despite rain statewide this month, the New Hampshire Forest Protection Bureau reports that 72% of the Granite State is currently experiencing abnormally dry conditions. The bureau is reminding the public that spring is the beginning of the state&#821...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

New Jersey Wildfire Update: 50% Contained; High Spread Risk Today; Suspect in Custody

At a time when firefighters are battling one of the worst wildfires in New Jersey’s history, there is an increased risk for rapid fire spread this afternoon across portions of the Garden State and eastern Pennsylvania, according to the National...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

NJ Wildfire Update: 50% Contained; High Spread Risk Today; Suspect in Custody

At a time when firefighters are battling one of the worst wildfires in New Jersey’s history, there is an increased risk for rapid fire spread this afternoon across portions of the Garden State and eastern Pennsylvania, according to the National...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

People Moves: 3 Key Exec Roles Filled in Everest Wholesale Business; Willis Appoints Merker to Lead...

Everest of Warren, New Jersey, made three key leadership appointments to the company’s U.S. wholesale business, Everest Evolution. Matt Meserole has been named head of excess casualty, overseeing the strategic direction and underwriting perform...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

More Americans Breathe Unhealthy Air Due to Wildfires, Extreme Heat

Around 156 million Americans, nearly half of the US population, now live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution, part of a trend toward declining air quality as climate change-related extreme weather events like wildfires occur more frequent...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

World’s Biggest Companies Have Caused $28 Trillion in Climate Damage: Study

The world’s biggest corporations have caused $28 trillion in climate damage, a new study estimates as part of an effort to make it easier for people and governments to hold companies financially accountable, like the tobacco giants have been. A...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Baloise Says Main Shareholder Patria Buys 9.35% Stake Ahead of Helvetia Merger

Baloise on Friday said that Patria Genossenschaft had acquired a 9.35% stake in the Swiss insurer, which this week announced plans to merge with competitor Helvetia. Patria is Helvetia’s main shareholder. The shares were acquired from Cevian Ca...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Forecast Calls for Wildfires to Burn More Land Across US This Year

A Long-range forecast predicts wildfires will burn more land across the U.S. this year, with a potentially active spring in places and a build up into summer.

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Dog Bite Claims Soar in Frequency and Cost: Report

Insurers in the U.S. paid out about $1.6 billion in dog-related injury claims in 2024, according to data compiled by the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) and State Farm. The number of dog bite and related injury claims last year totaled &#8...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Florida Class Action Targets Litigation Funding Firm Over Data Breach

Third-party litigation financing have become big business across the country, much to the chagrin of businesses and insurance companies that have been on the receiving end of multi-million lawsuit verdicts. But now one Florida-based litigation fundin...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

People Moves: Virginia’s Workers’ Comp Commission Names Two Deputy Judges

The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission Names Two New Deputy Commissioners The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (VWCC) has named two new deputy commissioners, Frederick T. Schubert II and Christopher R. Wilson. Schubert and...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Medical Evaluator Demand Grows in California Workers’ Comp System

The number of qualified medical evaluators in California’s workers’ compensation system has increased since 2019, but the demand for their services has overtaken this growth, a new analysis shows. Between 2019 and 2024, the number of stat...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

More Russian Insurers Seek Indian Nod for Oil Tanker Coverage

Four new Russian companies have sought India’s approval to provide insurance for crude oil tankers docking at ports in the South Asian nation, according to people familiar with the matter. India’s shipping ministry is considering applicat...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

New Jersey Sues RealPage, Claiming Collusion With Landlords Drives Up Rents

New Jersey sued the property management software company RealPage, accusing it and 10 of the state’s largest landlords of conspiring to drive up residential rents, violating federal and state antitrust laws and New Jersey consumer fraud laws. T...

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Why New York and New Jersey Are at Risk of Spring Wildfires

The wildfire scorching southern New Jersey ignited despite a series of downpours in recent weeks — and the region is ripe for more blazes. April’s rains didn’t soak into the ground enough to prevent the fire from erupting at the …

Posted: Apr 25, 2025