Insurance Journal

Massive Citizens Takeout Plan Seen as Sign That Things Are Looking Up in Florida Market

Stakeholders near and far are hailing a record number of takeouts from Citizens’ Property Insurance Corp. as a sign that the troubled Florida insurance market is improving, even if it will likely mean higher premiums for homeowners. “This...

Posted: Aug 07, 2023

Washington Dollar Tree Store Fined for Worker Safety Violations

Dollar Tree company is facing $132,000 in state fines for reported work safety violations including locked emergency exit routes, improper stacking of boxes, and debris scattered on the The fine is in connection with violations at the Tacoma Central...

Posted: Aug 07, 2023

People Moves: Frank Joins the WCF Insurance Board in Utah

WCF Insurance appointed Jan Frank to the company’s board of directors for a four-year term. Frank’s experience in the trade spans almost three decades. Most recently, she was chair, CEO, and president of Pacific Compensation Insurance Com...

Posted: Aug 07, 2023

Ukraine Black Sea Attacks Signal Expanding War; Russia Insurance Costs Likely to Rise

The footprint of President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine is growing fast after a weekend in which sea drones crippled a Russian naval vessel and oil tanker. For the first time, the attacks put at risk Russia’s commodity exports via &#82...

Posted: Aug 06, 2023

New Mexico Jury Awards $485M in Sexual Assault Case

A jury has awarded $485 million in damages in a civil case brought on behalf of an 8-year-old girl who was repeatedly sexually assaulted in a New Mexico foster care program. The verdict came in late July after Rio Arriba …

Posted: Aug 06, 2023

Fun Equals Risk. Sigh.

Those in the insurance industry tend to view everything through a lens of risk and responsibility. Sure, that game/sport/amusement/party looks like a good time, but what horrible thing could happen? And who is going to pay for it when it …

Posted: Aug 06, 2023

Workers’ Compensation Remains Profit Engine for U.S. P/C Insurers

Workers’ compensation insurers’ underwriting results continued to outpace the rest of the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) commercial sector in 2022, as they benefited from the long-term decline in workplace accidents and a reduction in fraud...

Posted: Aug 06, 2023

Effective Sales Management & Monitoring Producer Performance

Who is responsible for sales management in most firms? Often the task falls to the owner or the top producer in the firm. This is not necessarily a good idea, because sales management can take away time from the manager’s …

Posted: Aug 06, 2023

Connecticut Agent’s Failure to Disclose Dog Comes Back to Bite Homeowner

A Connecticut homeowner who is being sued by a woman who alleges his dog bit her in the face is not entitled to insurance coverage because his home insurance application, which was completed by his insurance agent, indicated he did …

Posted: Aug 06, 2023

Challenges of Insuring Rentals and Multi-Unit Housing

The age-old question in insuring rentals and multi-unit housing is, “Who covers what?” Whether it’s owner-occupied housing or a landlord-tenant relationship, the changing landscape — from higher costs to the rise of short-term...

Posted: Aug 06, 2023

La. Insurers Ordered to Still Communicate With MMA Policyholders

A day after the Louisiana Supreme Court announced that it is lifting a stay on hurricane-damage lawsuits filed by McClenny Moseley & Associates, Insurance Commissioner James Donelon in late July issued a directive warning insurers not to use a le...

Posted: Aug 06, 2023

Vermont Workers’ Comp Changes Now in Effect

Vermont’s workers’ compensation benefits for temporary total disability and for dependent children, as well as the work search requirement for injured workers returning to the job market, changed starting July 1, 2023, the result of new l...

Posted: Aug 06, 2023

Drag Performers and LGBTQ+ Advocates Sue to Block Texas Law Expanding Ban on Sexual Performances

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A group of drag performers and LGBTQ+ rights advocates have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block a new Texas law that expands what is considered an illegal public performance of sexual conduct, arguing it is …

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Poorly Designed Railroad Crossing in Rural Missouri Contributed to Fatal Amtrak Derailment, Investig...

A dump truck driver last year may have never seen an oncoming Amtrak train before it was too late, federal investigators concluded in a report, finding that a steep, poorly designed railroad crossing in rural Missouri contributed to last year’s...

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Slovenia Hit by Worst Floods in More Than a Decade, Killing Several People

Several people were killed in Slovenia as the southern European nation was hit by some of the worst flooding in more the decade, with rapidly rising waters submerging towns in the country’s north. The Slovenian Environment Agency declared the h...

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Boundless Rider Launches Motorcycle, ATV and Off-Road Insurance in Texas

Boundless Rider, a venture-backed digital MGA, announced that it is available for purchase in Texas, with plans to expand to additional states later this year. Owners of on-road and off-road motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs, snowmobiles, scooters, and mopeds...

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Florida Injury Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Players, Litigation Funders in NFL Suits

A Florida injury attorney, now disbarred, has pleaded guilty to swindling litigation funders and former NFL football players who had sued the league over concussion injuries. Just before his trial was set to begin in federal court in Tallahassee next...

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Report Says 3 Died of Blunt Force Injuries, Asphyxiation in Iowa Building Collapse

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – Three men killed in a downtown Davenport apartment building collapse more than two months ago died of blunt-force injuries and asphyxiation, Iowa’s health agency said. The finding released Monday by the Iowa Department of...

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Ohio Utility That Agreed to $230M Penalty Says It`s Now Being Investigated By a State Commission

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – An Ohio-based utility company says it`s being investigated by a state office focused on organized crime in connection with payments the company made to the state`s former House speaker and a top utility regulator, a news …

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Markets/Coverages: NIP Expands GrowPro Program to Include Agricultural Property

NIP Group announced the nationwide expansion of its GrowPro insurance program. Originally designed to cater to hydroponic growers, greenhouse operators, nurseries, garden centers, and indoor vertical farm operations, GrowPro now includes coverage for...

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Romania Expects to Clear Danube Logjam After Ukraine Attack; Insurers Remain Wary

Romania expects around 30 ships from Ukraine to clear customs on the Danube River over the next two days as it bids to clear a logjam in the aftermath of Wednesday’s Russian attack on Ukraine’s main river port at Izmail. …

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Amazon Again Cited by Regulators Over Worker Safety

The U.S. workplace safety regulator said Amazon.com Inc has subjected workers at yet another of its sprawling warehouses to hazardous conditions by imposing onerous production quotas and failing to provide proper medical care. The U.S. Department of...

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Microsoft Says Russia-Linked Hackers Behind Dozens of Teams Phishing Attacks

A Russian government-linked hacking group took aim at dozens of global organizations with a campaign to steal login credentials by engaging users in Microsoft Teams chats pretending to be from technical support, Microsoft researchers said on Wednesda...

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Kill the Kill Switch: CFPB Says Dealer Illegally Locked Cars and Repossessed Them

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday sued USASF Servicing, the financial arm of a chain of auto dealerships found mostly in the South, alleging the company committed a laundry list of illegal practices, like disabling borrowers` cars...

Posted: Aug 04, 2023

Lizzo Pushes Back After Her Former Dancers Claim Harassment in California Suit

Lizzo said that she`s “not the villain” that three of her former backup dancers falsely accuse her of being in a sexual harassment lawsuit. The civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court claims Lizzo pressured the dancers t...

Posted: Aug 04, 2023