Insurance Journal

Muscogee Nation Renews Lawsuit Over Alabama Casino on Sacred Site

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has asked a federal appellate court to reinstate its lawsuit against the Poarch Creek Band of Indians and Auburn University for improperly removing graves from a sacred site in Alabama to build a casino. The Oklahoma-based...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Protester Sues Police for Over Arrest Near Maine Home of Federalist Society’s Leo

A demonstrator arrested outside the home of conservative legal activist Leonard Leo contends police violated his First Amendment rights. Eli Durand-McDonnell, 24, of Bar Harbor, contends in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that two police officers si...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Howden Switzerland Acquires Specialist Aviation Broker Hudson Sky

Howden, the London based insurance group, announced it has acquired Hudson Sky International, a specialist aviation broker in Switzerland. This acquisition is part of Howden’s wider strategy to become a leader in its chosen specialty markets, s...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

High-Profile Forensic Scientist Lee Liable for Fabricating Evidence in Murder Case

Famed forensic scientist Henry Lee was found liable for fabricating evidence in a murder case that sent two Connecticut men to prison for decades for a crime they did not commit, a federal judge ruled Friday. Ralph “Ricky” Birch and &#823...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Wildfires Rage Across Greece With Record Heat Forecast for Italy

Wildfires are raging across Greece after about 19,000 people were evacuated from the island of Rhodes over the weekend, while record temperatures are forecast for Sardinia. Over the past 24 hours, 162 fires have been reported across Greece amid high...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Arkansas School Districts Face 130% Increase in Property Premiums, Seek Financial Assistance

An Arkansas subcommittee last week approved Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ request for close to $11 million from the state’s restricted reserve fund to offset costs for school districts facing soaring property insurance costs. Arkansas scho...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Arkansas Schools Face 130% Increase in Property Premiums, Seek Financial Assistance

An Arkansas subcommittee last week approved Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ request for close to $11 million from the state’s restricted reserve fund to offset costs for school districts facing soaring property insurance costs. Arkansas scho...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Reinsurance Execs From Convex, Swiss Re Set Pacific Record in World’s Toughest Row

Reinsurance executives from Convex Group Ltd. and Swiss Re completed The World’s Toughest Row, a race from California to Hawaii, breaking a world record as the fastest mixed-gender crew in history to complete the trip in 34 days, 8 hours &#8230...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Landlord’s Insurer Denied Recovery for Damage Caused by Tenant’s Drone

Sathiyaselvam Thangavel’s hijinks with a drone caused more than $77,000 in damage to the apartment building where he lived, but his landlord’s insurer can’t recover that money from Thangavel even though he signed a lease saying he i...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Over 17,000 Policies Written Through Insure Louisiana Incentive Program

Insurance companies have written more than 17,000 policies through the Insure Louisiana Incentive Program as of May 31, Commission Jim Donelon announced last week. SafePoint Insurance and its affiliate Cajun Underwriters (CURE) have been approved to...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

NTSB Looking at Risk Parked Semis Posed to Greyhound Bus in Fatal Illinois Accident

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Big rig driver David Cherno was hauling Jimmy Dean sausages on Interstate 70 when he had to stop for the night or risk violating federal regulations limiting driving time for truckers. An Illinois rest area was …

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Typhoon Doksuri Gains Power as It Threatens Philippines, Taiwan

Doksuri has strengthened further and may intensify into a super typhoon before a possible landfall in northern Philippines en route to Taiwan. The typhoon is moving westward “slowly” with maximum winds of 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hou...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

People Moves: Embroker Names Jennings CEO

Embroker said it promoted Ben Jennings, the company’s chief revenue officer for the last four years, to chief executive officer. The digital business insurance platform said it conducted an extensive search for a new CEO. Founding CEO Matt Mill...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Booz Allen Pays $377.5 Million to Settle US Civil Probe

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. said it will pay $377.5 million under a settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice to settle a civil investigation related to its cost accounting. The case is “one of the largest procurement fraud &...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Auto Claims Inflation Speeds Ahead of Premium Increases

Insurance claims inflation has risen faster than the underlying consumer price index (CPI), outpacing auto insurance premium increases, according to a new study, Auto Insurance: The Uncertain Road Ahead, by the American Property Casualty Insurance As...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Map Tool Gives Grim Look at Sea Level and Flood Impact on Coastal Areas

Many of the lowest-lying coastal areas of the Southeastern United States, including some heavily populated parts of Florida, will be subject to increased annual flooding in less than 30 years, according to scenarios mapped by a climate research organ...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Florida Quelled Attorney Fees But WV Doctrine is Alive – With Limits

The Florida Legislature made national headlines late last year when it effectively curtailed one-way attorney fees and greatly limited plaintiffs’ fee multipliers in claims litigation. Property insurers celebrated the end to practices that they...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

LAAIA Names Diaz-Padron President, Elects Other Board Members

The Latin American Association of Insurance Agents has elected new a new board of directors for the term that lasts through 2025. At its 53rd annual convention this month in Hollywood, Florida, the association named Juan Carlos Diaz-Padron, vice pres...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Leavitt Agencies McDonald-Leavitt and Leavitt United Join

McDonald-Leavitt Insurance has merged into another larger Leavitt Group affiliate, Leavitt United Insurance Services. This merger is intended to provide Kim and David McDonald—McDonald-Leavitt founders and co-owners—with broader market access, a dedi...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

People Moves: SAIF in Oregon Promotes Keefer to Chief Actuarial Officer

SAIF, headquartered in Salem, Ore., named Olivia Keefer its new chief actuarial officer. Keefer previously served as actuarial director. In her new role, she manages the reserves process, oversees ratemaking and the rate filing process, maintains the...

Posted: Jul 24, 2023

Missouri Chemical Plant Fined $393K for Safety and Health Violations

Less than two years after an investigation found dozens of serious safety and health violations at a Verona, Missouri chemical plant, workplace safety inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor identified 16 violations, including those that put emp...

Posted: Jul 21, 2023

Black Sea Shipping Traffic Drops 35% After Russia, Ukraine Warnings

The number of ships looking to pick up grain cargoes from the Black Sea area has fallen 35% this week versus the previous week with growing uncertainty over whether commercial traffic could be hit as Russia continues to pound food …

Posted: Jul 21, 2023

Northern Illinois Police Seize Carnival Ride After Boy Was Thrown From Ride and Seriously Injured

ANTIOCH, Ill. (AP) – Northern Illinois police have seized a carnival ride as they continue investigating a Sunday incident in which a 10-year-old boy was seriously injured when he was thrown from his seat. After the Illinois Department of Labor &#823...

Posted: Jul 21, 2023

Family Sues City of New Orleans After a Falling Tree Badly Injures Teen

NEW ORLEANS (AP) _– New Orleans is being sued by the family of a teenager crushed by a massive tree limb in a historic French Quarter park. The 17-year-old is still in the intensive care unit, the family`s attorney said …

Posted: Jul 21, 2023

Louisiana Commissioner Directs Insurers to Talk to Policyholders as Hurricane Ida Claims Deadline Lo...

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

Posted: Jul 21, 2023