Insurance Journal

New York City Pension Plans Seek to Dismiss Lawsuit Over Fossil Fuel Stakes

New York City pension funds filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed in May that alleged the plans breached their fiduciary duties by selling billions of dollars of fossil fuel assets. The lawsuit was filed by plaintiffs including Americans …

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

German Cabinet Passes Landmark Bill Over Legal Cannabis Use

Germany’s cabinet passed a contentious bill on Wednesday to legalize recreational marijuana use and cultivation, one of the most liberal cannabis laws in Europe that could potentially provide further momentum for a similar worldwide trend. The...

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

Six Former Mississippi Law Officers Plead Guilty in Torturing of Two Men

BRANDON, Miss. (AP) — Six white former Mississippi law officers pleaded guilty on Monday to state charges for torturing two Black men in a racist assault. All six had recently admitted their guilt in a connected federal civil rights case. &#823...

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

Legacy Acquistion Specialist Monument Re Explores Strategic Options: Sources

Monument Re, a buyer of European life insurance portfolios, is exploring strategic options after reporting a drop in its capital ratios last year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Citigroup and Fenchurch Advisory are working with the com...

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

People Moves: Fred C. Church Names Hart Personal Lines Manager; Ames & Gough Appoints Hilliard

Fred C. Church Insurance Names Hart Vice President, Personal Lines Manager Fred C. Church, headquartered in Lowell, Mass., promoted Kate Hart to vice president, personal lines manager. Hart began her insurance career in 2007 as a sales representative...

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

What to Know About the Proposed U.S. Cyber Trust Mark

With cyber attacks continuing to grow and new risks emerging, The Biden-Harris Administration in July announced a cybersecurity certification and labeling program to help U.S. consumers more easily choose smart devices that are safer and less vulnera...

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

Shipping Firm Fined $2.25M for Discharging Oily Bilge Off Rhode Island

The owner of a Greek oil tanker has been ordered by a U. S. judge to pay $2.25 million in fines and penalties after discharging oily bilge water into the ocean during a trans-Atlantic voyage and admitting to other environmental …

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

UK Insurer Aviva Eyes Lloyd’s of London Entry, Posts Above-Forecast H1 Profit

Aviva posted an above-forecast rise in first-half operating profit on Wednesday, helped by strong performance in general and health insurance, and its chief executive said the insurer was interested in entering the Lloyd’s insurance market. The...

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

Insurers Fume at Proposal That May Crimp Private Investments

Representatives of the multitrillion-dollar insurance industry are hurling criticism at a proposal that could make it harder to invest in deals sold in fast-growing private markets that offer higher yields but often bring added risks. The proposal by...

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

Drugmaker Mallinckrodt Moves Toward Second Bankruptcy Filing

Mallinckrodt on Tuesday said it was preparing to seek bankruptcy protection for the second time in three years after struggling to make a required $200 million settlement payment to opioid victims. The drugmaker, one of the largest makers of opioids,...

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

US Congressman Says Chinese Spies Hacked His Emails

Nebraska Republican Congressman Don Bacon said late on Monday the FBI had warned him that his emails were hacked by Chinese spies, with both personal and campaign messages compromised. Bacon was told that the Chinese Communist Party had access to &#8...

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

Little League World Series Removes Bunk Beds in Wake of Player’s Head Injury

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Teams that stay in the Williamsport complex for the Little League World Series will continue to sleep in single beds in the wake of last year’s incident where a boy seriously injured his head when he …

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

Harford Mutual Completes Merger With Workers’ Compensation Writer ClearPath

Maryland-based commercial property/casualty insurer Harford Mutual Insurance Group announced that it has received final approval from the Maryland Insurance Administration of its merger with ClearPath Mutual Insurance Co., a monoline workers’ c...

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

Insurer Argues Baltimore Not Covered for Employee’s Sexual Abuse of Minors

Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. is asking a federal court to declare that it does not have to indemnify Baltimore officials who have been targeted in a class action that was filed after a former city security guard took photos of …

Posted: Aug 16, 2023

Modeler: Insured Property Losses From Lahaina Fire $3.2B

Catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Company has issued new estimates showing the insured property losses from the Lahaina Fire in Hawaii to be around $3.2 billion. At least 99 people were killed in Maui’s wildfires, a figure that’s like...

Posted: Aug 15, 2023

Cal/OSHA Issues High Heat Advisory to Employers

Cal/OSHA is advising all employers to protect workers from heat illness as high temperatures are forecast throughout the state. The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for some areas through 17. Some of the highest temperatures fo...

Posted: Aug 15, 2023

Higginbotham Acquires Houston’s Iscential

Higginbotham has acquired Houston, Texas-based Iscential, an independent insurance agency, risk management and financial services firm and . one of the largest writers of Nationwide property and casualty insurance in the country. This strategic move...

Posted: Aug 15, 2023

Texas Governor Issues Widespread Disaster Declaration Due to Wildfires

Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a wildfire disaster declaration for about 75% of Texas counties, allowing them to use all available state resources to respond to any new fires as the state continues to bake under triple-digit temperatures. The declaratio...

Posted: Aug 15, 2023

Political Operatives Ordered to Pay $50,000 in Restitution for Fraudulent Charity in Ohio Train Dera...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Three men who have worked as Republican political operatives agreed to pay more than $50,000 in restitution and penalties in Ohio for their roles in operating a phony charity that collected cash purportedly to help victims &#823...

Posted: Aug 15, 2023

Wisconsin Corn Mill to Pay $940K Settlement Over Fatal Explosion

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A milling company has agreed to pay $940,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging multiple violations at a plant that was the scene of a fatal explosion in 2017, state Justice Department officials announced Wednesday. The Justice …

Posted: Aug 15, 2023

ChatGPT-Wary Universities Scramble to Prepare for New School Year

ChatGPT set the academic world ablaze after it was introduced in November, when the AI chatbot suddenly gave students a hard-to-detect shortcut for completing essays and assignments. Nine months later, as a new school year nears, many universities ar...

Posted: Aug 15, 2023

Two Dead After Plane Strikes Power Line in North Carolina

Two people died when a small plane struck a power line and crashed into a western North Carolina lake, a city official said. The crash occurred about 11:30 a.m. Sunday on Lake Hickory, said Sarah Killian, a spokesperson for the …

Posted: Aug 15, 2023

Montana Clinic Files for Bankruptcy After $6M False Asbestos Claims Ruling

A health clinic in a Montana town plagued by deadly asbestos contamination has filed for bankruptcy protection after a judge ordered it to pay the government almost $6 million in penalties and damages for submitting hundreds of false claims for &#823...

Posted: Aug 15, 2023

More Signs of Life in Florida: New Insurers in Market, More Citizens Takeouts

Florida’s property insurance market is showing more signs of life, with another company requesting a large takeout order from Citizens Property Insurance and two new companies entering the arena. Tampa-based HCI Group’s CEO Paresh Patel s...

Posted: Aug 15, 2023

What Sparks US Wildfires: Power Lines, Burning Trash and Lightning

The fast-moving fire that ripped through Maui’s historic town of Lahaina killed more than 90 people, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but power equipment in …

Posted: Aug 15, 2023