Insurance Journal

Florida Reinsurance ‘More Orderly’ as Defense Costs Begin to Ease, Analysts Say

With the June 1 reinsurance renewals a week away, the outlook for Florida-based property insurers may not be quite as dire as many had predicted earlier this year, at least according to a top official with one of the world’s …

Posted: May 24, 2023

Utah Allocates Millions to Prepare for Flood Damage After Wet Winter

As the winter’s record snowpack melts and cascades down from the Rockies, Utah lawmakers set aside millions of dollars to prepare for potentially historic flooding. The state is among the many in the American West confronting the wet winter&#82...

Posted: May 24, 2023

Washington Startup’s Ex-CFO Accused of Diverting $35M, Losing It in Crypto

The former chief financial officer of a Seattle, Washington-based startup took $35 million of his employer’s money without permission and lost it by investing in cryptocurrency before the crypto market crashed last year, according to a federal...

Posted: May 24, 2023

Columnist Seeks to Add $10M to Defamation Case for Trump’s Post-Verdict Comments

E. Jean Carroll, the advice columnist who won a $5 million sexual abuse and defamation award against former President Donald Trump, is seeking at least $10 million more in a court filing Monday that seeks to hold him liable for …

Posted: May 24, 2023

Truck Driver in Multi-Vehicle Freeway Crash That Killed 7 in Oregon Arrested

The driver of a semitruck that slammed into a passenger van on Interstate 5 in western Oregon, killing 7 people in one of the state’s deadliest crashes in recent years, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, DUI and other charges, …

Posted: May 24, 2023

Cyber Attack Could Threaten Canada’s Overall Financial Stability: Central Bank

The Bank of Canada on Thursday [May 18] said it was worried that a major cyber attack on one part of the financial system could quickly spread and threaten overall financial stability. In an annual review of Canada’s financial system, …

Posted: May 23, 2023

Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge Cleared as Safe After Being Hit by Crane

ST. IGNACE, Mich. (AP) – A crane being towed on a barge hit the main span of the Mackinac Bridge, although an official says inspectors found no significant damage to the span linking the Michigan’s lower and upper peninsulas. The …

Posted: May 23, 2023

Wisconsin’s United Mutual to Merge Into Ohio Mutual Holding Company Structure

Ohio Mutual Insurance Group announced that it has reached agreement to merge Medford, Wisconsin-based United Mutual Insurance Company as a subsidiary under Ohio Mutual’s mutual holding company structure. The boards of directors for both organiz...

Posted: May 23, 2023

Iowa Woman Sentenced to 3 Counts of Insurance Fraud

The Iowa Insurance Division (IID) announced Kathryn Hosmer, age 36, of Davenport was sentenced on May 18, 2023, after pleading guilty to three counts of Insurance Fraud – Presenting False Information (Class D Felony) following an investigation...

Posted: May 23, 2023

Families of Uvalde Victims Dig In for New Test of Gun Industry Protections

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – After Mayah Zamora was shot and wounded at Robb Elementary School, her family did what many mass shooting survivors do: They sued. They sued the store off Main Street in Uvalde, Texas, that sold the teenage …

Posted: May 23, 2023

Travel Insurtech Faye Raises $10M in Series A Funding

Travel insurance startup Faye said it raised $10 million in series A funding just a year after launching its product in the U.S., bringing the company’s total funding to $18M. The round was led by Munich Re Ventures along with …

Posted: May 23, 2023

Special Trustee Appointed to Assist Clients of McClenny Moseley

The Louisiana Supreme Court appointed an attorney to take control of the “multitude of hurricane and storm-related” lawsuits filed in state courts by McClenny Moseley and Associates. In an order posted online Thursday, the high court name...

Posted: May 23, 2023

Wyoming Based Taco John’s In ‘Taco Tuesday’ Trademark Battle with Taco Bell

Declaring a mission to liberate “Taco Tuesday” for all, Taco Bell is asking U.S. regulators to force Wyoming-based Taco John’s to abandon its longstanding claim to the trademark. Too many businesses and others refer to “Taco T...

Posted: May 23, 2023

Judge Throws Out Shareholder Lawsuit Against Elon Musk Over Twitter Buyout

A judge dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk that claimed he cheated Twitter shareholders several times last year in the course of buying the social media company for $44 billion. In a decision on Monday, U.S. District Judge &#...

Posted: May 23, 2023

Italian Insurer Unipol and SpaceX Join Forces to Help People Hit by Flooding

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Unipol Gruppo agreed to join forces to help people hit by flooding in northern Italy connect to the Internet, facilitating rescue operations, the Italian insurer said on Saturday. Torrential rains devastated the eastern s...

Posted: May 23, 2023

Markets/Coverages: Sapiens to Integrate OpenAI for Insurers; WTW’s New Product for Intangible Assets...

Sapiens International Corporation, a global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, announced an agreement to integrate Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to harness the most advanced generative AI models and tools for the insurance in...

Posted: May 23, 2023

Obie Raises $25M Series B to Expand Embedded Insurance Technology

Insurtech Obie announced it has raised $25.5 million in a series B funding round led by Battery Ventures, with participation from Brick and Mortar VC, DivcoWest, and several real estate funds and investor groups. “We’re excited to have th...

Posted: May 23, 2023

Widow of Bride Killed on Wedding Night Sues Driver, Carolina Bars

The alleged drunken driver who police say slammed into newlyweds riding along a South Carolina beach road now faces a wrongful death lawsuit alongside several establishments accused of overserving her on the night of the crash, which killed the bride...

Posted: May 23, 2023

People Moves: Lockton Adds Allianz’s Caruso; Verdi Joins Alliant From Gallagher; Marsh McLennan Agen...

Lockton Appoints Caruso Financial Institutions Practice Leader in the Northeast Lockton, based in Kansas City, Missouri, has appointed Joe Caruso as its financial institutions practice leader in the Northeast. Caruso is based in New York, New York. C...

Posted: May 23, 2023

Alabama Lawsuit Shines a Light on Fee-Sharing Agreements for Storm Claims

Insurance defense attorneys say a pair of lawsuits filed by a law firm and a claims consulting business – against a national personal injury law firm – raises questions about the proper relationships between legal counsel and the professionals they &...

Posted: May 23, 2023

New York Dairy Farm Workers Gain $150K in Unpaid Wages

A settlement in New York in a wage theft case has resulted in two dairy farm workers receiving nearly $150,000 in back wages. The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) said its investigators found that Lewis County dairy farm …

Posted: May 23, 2023

Questions Raised Over Virginia State Police Being Allowed to Investigate Itself

Late last year, with the Virginia State Police under scrutiny after authorities said a former trooper kidnapped a 15-year-old California girl and killed three members of her family, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced he had requested a full investigation...

Posted: May 23, 2023

World’s ‘Carbon Majors’ Face Biggest Share Price Hit From Climate Litigation: Study

The world’s ‘carbon majors’ in the energy, utilities and mining sectors face the biggest share price hit when climate-related lawsuits are filed against them and need to consider it a financial risk, a study on Tuesday showed. The p...

Posted: May 23, 2023

Fitch Downgrades Allstate’s IFS Ratings to ‘A’

Citing declines in statutory capital and poor underwriting results in personal auto, Fitch Ratings has downgraded the insurer financial strength ratings of Allstate P/C insurance subsidiaries to “A” (Strong) from “A+.” Fitch h...

Posted: May 23, 2023

U.S. Seeks Labor Rights Probe at Goodyear Tire in Mexico

U.S. labor officials on Monday said they have asked Mexico to investigate alleged worker rights abuses at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co plant in Mexico in the latest “rapid response” probe under North American trade rules. The complaint...

Posted: May 23, 2023