Insurance Journal

11 Firefighters and 2 Others Injured After NC House Explosion and Fire

Eleven firefighters and two other people were injured in a house fire explosion in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, officials said. Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell said firefighters did not have life-threatening injuries but were getting treat...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

A 10-Hour Data Center Outage Is Testing the Ambitions of KKR, GIP

Data center operators are fixated on the “five nines” — an expectation that they’ll keep the infrastructure behind financial markets, e-commerce and artificial intelligence running 99.999% of the time. So as news rippled out last mo...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

More US Beef Plants May Close as Cattle Herds Keep Tightening

American beef plants are under threat as the number of cattle destined for their facilities stays far below historical levels, reflecting the smallest herd in more than half a century. Cattle placed in US feedlots, where animals are fed until …

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

Ben & Jerry’s Board Says More Directors Face Removal

Ben & Jerry’s independent board late on Wednesday said in a filing that its new corporate parent, the Magnum Ice Cream Company, is forcing three more directors to complete training and other requirements or face removal. Ben & Jerry&#82...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

Kerr County Officials in Race to Build $5M Flood Warning System Before Next Texas Flood Season

With the next Texas flood season just months away, Kerr County officials say they’re in a race to build a long-planned flood warning system estimated to cost up to $5 million — and they’re depending on the state to contribute …

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

County Officials in Texas Race to Build $5M Warning System Before Next Flood Season

With the next Texas flood season just months away, Kerr County officials say they’re in a race to build a long-planned flood warning system estimated to cost up to $5 million — and they’re depending on the state to contribute …

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

AI Threatens to Displace Workers, Bank of England’s Bailey Warns

Artificial intelligence is likely to displace British workers even as it makes the country more productive, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said in his most stark warning yet on the technology’s impact. Bailey said on Friday that the UK...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

Russia Is Trying to Overwhelm Europe With its Sabotage Campaign: Western Officials

In November, a train carrying almost 500 people came to a sudden halt in eastern Poland. A broken overhead line had smashed several windows, and the track ahead was damaged. Elsewhere on the line, explosives detonated under a passing freight …

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

British Regulator Cracks Down on Home, Travel Insurers

Britain’s financial watchdog on Thursday laid out its efforts to raise standards in the home and travel insurance market after a consumer group made a rare “super-complaint” against the regulator, accusing it of letting customers do...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

India’s Big-Bang Financial Reforms Target Foreign Money

India’s long-awaited package of financial services reforms is setting the stage for a surge of foreign capital into the world’s fastest-growing major economy. In the latest step, lawmakers passed a bill this week allowing up to 100% forei...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

Catastrophe Bonds Linked to Wildfires Lose ‘Untouchable’ Status

Alternative investment managers are starting to take a serious interest in catastrophe bonds tied to wildfires, moving into a risk category that just a few years ago was seen as too difficult to model. More than $5 billion of cat …

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

Tesla Door Safety Issues Have Owners Buying Car Escape Tools

Tesla owners are going to extreme lengths to deal with a problem most had never imagined: being unable to open malfunctioning doors.

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

Odometer Fraud Sees 14% Jump in the Past Year

An estimated 2.45 million cars on the road likely have their odometers rolled back, 14 percent more than last year, according to vehicle history provider CARFAX. There was just a 4 percent increase between 2023 and 2024. “Odometer rollbacks occ...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

UPS Ripped Off Seasonal Workers With Unfair Pay Practices, Lawsuit Alleges

UPS stole tens of millions of dollars in pay from seasonal workers who help the shipping giant deliver packages during the busy holiday season, forcing some to clock in well after their shifts started and deducting pay for lunch breaks …

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

Higginbotham Adds Energy Sector Specialty Firm in Georgia

Higginbotham, ranked as one of the top-20 largest independent insurance brokerages in the U.S., has continued its growth with the addition of Charter Energy, a specialty insurance brokerage in Atlanta. Charter was founded in 1986 by Pete Lunati and i...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

People Moves: Siry Joins Patriot Growth; Starkweather & Shepley Names Zito

Siry Joins Patriot Growth Insurance Services as COO Patriot Growth Insurance Services LLC, headquartered in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, appointed Darryl Siry as chief operating officer (COO). Siry has over 25 years of experience leading technology...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

X Corp. Sues Social Media Startup Over Bid to Claim ‘Twitter’ Brand

Elon Musk’s X Corp. sued a startup on Tuesday after it sought to cancel X’s Twitter trademarks so it can “bring Twitter back” as a new social media platform. X said in the lawsuit in Delaware federal court that its …

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

X Corp. Sues Virginia Social Media Startup Over Bid to Claim ‘Twitter’ Brand

Elon Musk’s X Corp. sued a startup on Tuesday after it sought to cancel X’s Twitter trademarks so it can “bring Twitter back” as a new social media platform. X said in the lawsuit in Delaware federal court that its …

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

Contractor Again Exposed Workers to Cave-In, Excavation Hazards: OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported that it has again cited an Easton, Connecticut concrete and earthwork contractor for willfully failing to protect workers from cave-in and excavation hazards OSHA has proposed more than $1.2...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

California Cuts PG&E’s and Edison’s Profits for Grid Investments

California regulators reduced the profit that utilities are allowed to make on infrastructure investments in an effort to rein in soaring electricity bills. Related: Massive Wildfire Liabilities Push Utilities to Use AI to Stop Blazes The move Thursd...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

California Commissioner Orders Moratorium on Cancellations Over Pack Fire

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara ordered a mandatory one-year moratorium to prevents homeowners’ insurance cancellations and non-renewals for Pack Fire victims following an emergency declaration. Lara ordered insurers to preserve residential...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

Davis & Towle Adds Keene Agency to Its New Hampshire Group

Davis & Towle Insurance Group, a large New Hampshire independent insurance agency, now has 13 agency locations in its group across the state with the addition of The Insurance Source. The Insurance Source in Keene has served the Greater Monadnock...

Posted: Dec 19, 2025

AIG Partners With Amwins, Blackstone to Launch Lloyd’s Syndicate Using Palantir

American International Group (AIG) said it has teamed up with specialty insurer Amwins and asset manager Blackstone to launch a Lloyd’s syndicate, using its relationship with Palantir to assist in assessing the portfolio. AIG said Syndicate 247...

Posted: Dec 18, 2025

Apollo Expands Asset-Level Risk Reviews to Reflect Impact of Extreme Weather

Apollo Global Management Inc. is building out its risk review process to reflect the impact on asset valuations of extreme weather. The decision comes amid a rise in the damage done to physical assets by floods, storms and wildfires. Apollo, …

Posted: Dec 18, 2025

Vantage Group to Be Acquired by Ackman-Backed Howard Hughes Holdings for $2.1B

Vantage Group Holdings Ltd., the privately held specialty re/insurer, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (HHH) for approximately $2.1 billion. The Vantage deal, which is expected to close in the seco...

Posted: Dec 18, 2025