Insurance Journal

Microsoft Says Chinese Hackers Used Code Flaw to Steal Emails From US Agencies

Microsoft said on Friday that Chinese hackers misappropriated one of its digital keys and used a flaw in the company’s code to steal emails from U.S. government agencies and other clients. The company said in a blog post that the …

Posted: Jul 17, 2023

People Moves: McGriff Names Conroy Over Energy Practice

The national insurance broker McGriff has named Jimmy Conroy vice president and marketing account executive for its Birmingham-based energy practice. Conroy joins McGriff with almost 10 years in insurance, focused on renewable energy. Recently, he wa...

Posted: Jul 17, 2023

Rally Race Through Maine Forest Canceled After Opening Day Fatality

A competitor was killed in a crash on the first day of a rally race through a forest in western Maine, leading organizers to cancel the event`s second day. Erin Kelly, a 48-year-old woman from Marshall, Virginia, was killed Friday …

Posted: Jul 17, 2023

Connecticut Sues Nursing School That Closed Abruptly, Leaving Students in Lurch

Connecticut`s attorney general has sued a for-profit nursing school and its owner, alleging they left hundreds of students in the lurch when the school abruptly closed its three campuses in the state in February while reaping millions of dollars in &...

Posted: Jul 17, 2023

Former California Agent Sentenced for Stealing From Consumers

Christopher Ramos, 45, of Santa Rosa, California, was sentenced to four years in prison after an investigation by the California Department of Insurance reportedly found he stole more than $189,000 from consumers and left them uninsured. Ramos was co...

Posted: Jul 17, 2023

Vermont Prepared for Epic Flooding. It Wasn’t Enough.

In Windham, Vermont, a wooden A-frame house that normally evokes blustery winters sits on a roadway transformed by record rainfall into a river. Twenty miles away in Bridgewater, a man wades through waist-high waters clutching his belongings. In Mont...

Posted: Jul 17, 2023

California Sits Far Atop National EV Policy Scorecard List

California ranked first in strengthening policies to enable widespread use of electric cars, trucks, and buses, according to a national scorecard that gives most states poor grades. The 2023 State Transportation Electrification Scorecard from the Ame...

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

Washington Proposed Rule Beefs up Refinery Worker Protections

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is proposing updated workplace safety rules for petroleum refineries designed to prevent catastrophic events like the 2010 explosion that killed seven workers at the former Tesoro refinery in...

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

E&O Claim Frequency Is Increasing

Through my recent discussions with clients and carriers, it is clear to me that agencies are incurring substantially more errors and omissions (E&O) claims. A significant difference exists between the number of claims agency E&O carriers are...

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

The Bank Soundness Question: What It Means for Agents

Many independent agents have watched with concern as a small number of high-profile banks have faltered during 2023. Just what does this shock to the banking system mean to independent agents and brokers throughout the country? The soundness of the &...

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

The Vital Role of Crop Insurance: Protecting Farmers, Ensuring Food Security, and Strengthening Rura...

Crop insurance is more than just a risk management tool for farmers — it is a vital component of the American agricultural sector, supporting price stability, promoting food security, strengthening rural economies, and reducing reliance on gove...

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

US Insurance Market Forecast to Withstand Losses From Large Hurricane This Year: Fitch Report

With ample capital, Fitch Ratings’ latest annual ‘U.S. Hurricane Season’ report indicates U.S. property and casualty (P/C) and reinsurers can absorb losses if a large hurricane makes landfall this year. Hurricane Ian was the only st...

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

‘Climate-Washing’ Litigation

Challenges to corporate climate commitments, claims about product attributes, overstated investments or support for climate action, and failure to disclose climate risks are on the rise and hitting some courts today, according to a new report, which...

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

‘Better Late Than Never?’ Not So Fast.

A general contractor hired a company to place a dumpster at a job site. However, the company put the dumpster in the street and a motorist struck it, damaging his vehicle. Of course, he has no physical damage coverage, the …

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

Why the Investor-Driven Hard Reinsurance Market Will Persist

By Susanne Sclafane Reinsurers will continue to command adequate rates for property-catastrophe in 2024, even if the market comes through hurricane season unscathed, reinsurance company executives said. Kevin O’Donnell, president and chief exec...

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

Louisiana Pharmacy Fined $275K for Controlled Substances Act Violations

A Port Allen, Louisiana pharmacy and its owner must pay $275,000 to resolve a federal civil lawsuit under the Controlled Substances Act, United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced. U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson has accepted and ente...

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

Humphreys Confirmed as Pennsylvania Insurance Chief

The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously confirmed Michael Humphreys to serve as the state’s insurance commissioner. Governor Josh Shapiro nominated Humphreys, who previously served as acting commissioner, to the top position at the Pennsylvania Ins...

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

Illinois Pizza Manufacturer Fined $2.8M After Worker’s Death

The operator of a specialty frozen pizza manufacturing plant in Illinois could have prevented the death of a 29-year-old sanitation worker by following proper machine safety procedures, a federal investigation has found. Inspectors with the U.S. Depa...

Posted: Jul 16, 2023

Fire Kills Almost Every Animal at Florida Wildlife Center

An early morning fire on Thursday killed nearly all the animals at a wildlife center in Florida, officials said. News outlets reported the fire broke out around 3 a.m. Thursday at the Alligator and Wildlife Discovery Center in Madeira Beach, …

Posted: Jul 14, 2023

Heavy Rainfall Floods Homes, Businesses in East Mississippi, West Alabama

Extreme rainfall flooded roads and property in east-central Mississippi Thursday, leading authorities to rescue three people from vehicles and homes. Water pushed a car into a ditch, and the driver escaped before the car submerged, local public media...

Posted: Jul 14, 2023

New Air Bag Death Prompts ‘Do Not Drive’ Warning for 2003 Dodge Ram Pickups

Chrysler-parent Stellantis has warned 29,000 owners of 2003 Dodge Ram pickups to immediately stop driving pending repairs after one person was killed when a Takata air-bag inflator exploded. The fatality in May is the first reported involving a Takat...

Posted: Jul 14, 2023

Heat Wave Baking Southwest Brings Triple Digit Temperatures and Fire Risk to California

After a historically wet winter and a cloudy spring, California`s summer was in full swing Thursday as a heat wave that`s been scorching much of the U.S. Southwest brings triple digit temperatures and an increased risk of wildfires. Blistering condit...

Posted: Jul 14, 2023

Florida Sinkhole That Swallowed Sleeping Man Reopens, This Time Harmlessly

A Florida sinkhole that in 2013 fatally swallowed a man sleeping in his own house has reopened for a third time, only now it`s behind chain-link fencing and doing no harm to people or property. Hillsborough County officials said the …

Posted: Jul 14, 2023

How Aspartame Entered the Agenda of WHO’s Cancer Research Arm

The imminent move to label aspartame as a possible carcinogen comes after years of advocacy from a leading consumer group in the United States and a handful of cancer scientists hoping to settle a decades-long debate over the sweetener’s safety...

Posted: Jul 14, 2023

Update: WHO Deems Aspartame Possible Carcinogen; Consumption Limits Unchanged

The sweetener aspartame is a “possible carcinogen” but it remains safe to consume at already-agreed levels, two groups linked to the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Friday. The rulings are the outcome of two separate WHO exper...

Posted: Jul 14, 2023