People Moves: California Insurance Commissioner Lara Announces Appointments, Reappointments to Boards and Committees
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara appointed new members and reappointed members to several state insurance boards and committees. New appointments include Ronald Coleman Baeza to the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee (CLHIGA) Board of Directors, and Samantha Tradelius to …
Nord Stream Sues Insurers in London Over 2022 Pipeline Blasts
Nord Stream is seeking more than 400 million euros ($436 million) from its insurers over explosions in 2022 which ruptured pipelines designed to transport Russian gas to Germany, court filings show. Nord Stream AG names Lloyd’s Insurance Co. and Arch …
People Moves: Stratico Appointed Professional Liability Practice Leader at Brown & Riding
Brown & Riding, headquartered in Dallas, appointed Bill Stratico national professional liability practice leader. Stratico has over 35 years of industry experience. He joined Brown & Riding in 2010 as a management and professional liability broker and most recently served …
Mississippi Wind-Mit Bill Would Tax Insurers, Help Fund Retrofits, Tornado Rooms
Mississippi could soon join the growing list of states with grant-funded wind fortification programs for homeowners, thanks to a bill that’s moving through the state Legislature. The state House of Representatives last week approved House Bill 888, by chief sponsor …
Huge Texas Blaze Shows Power-Line Fires Are a Widespread Threat
Massive wildfires sparked by power lines used to be a California problem, one many utility executives considered safely confined to the Golden State. No more. Texas officials on Thursday blamed the state’s largest-ever fire on electrical lines sparking in dry …
Nine Killed in Wisconsin Highway Crash Involving Semitrailer and Van
DEWHURST, Wis. (AP) — Nine people were killed Friday in a crash involving a semitrailer and a van at a western Wisconsin highway intersection. Preliminary reports about the early morning crash indicated the semitrailer traveling on State Highway 95 collided …
James River Files Suit Against Fleming for Failing to Close Planned Purchase of JRG Re
James River Group Holdings Ltd. announced it has filed a lawsuit against Fleming Intermediate Holdings for its failure to complete the $277 million acquisition of its casualty reinsurance subsidiary, JRG Reinsurance Co. – a deal that was first announced on …
Pie’s Financial Strength Rating of A- Under Review by AM Best
Insurance industry rating agency AM Best on Friday put the financial strength rating of Pie Insurance Group under review with negative implications. Pie Insurance Company of Columbus and Pie Casualty Insurance Company of Chicago currently have a financial strength rating …
Drought and Extreme Heat Devastate Louisiana’s Crawfish Harvest
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Amid a crawfish shortage in Louisiana, the nation’s top producer of the crustaceans that are a staple in Gulf Coast seafood boils, Gov. Jeff Landry issued a disaster declaration for the impacted industry last week. …
Kansas Truck Washing Company After Worker Dies From Harmful Gases
Federal investigators determined a Liberal, Kansas truck washing company failed to protect workers from hydrogen sulfide gas as they entered over-the-road tanker trailers to clean them out, causing one worker’s fatal injuries and hospitalizing two co-workers. The U.S. Department of …
Norfolk Southern Ordered to Solely Pay for Ohio Train Derailment Cleanup
Norfolk Southern alone will be responsible for paying for the cleanup after last year’s fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio, a federal judge ruled. The decision issued Wednesday threw out the railroad’s claim that the companies that made chemicals that …
California Insurance Co. Says Judge’s Tentative Order Won’t Stop CDI Overreach
A California court’s tentative decision in a dispute between the California Department of Insurance and the California Insurance Company “failed to undo the unprecedented use of the CDI’s conservation mechanism to restrain CIC from its long-planned exit from the state,” …
Industry Trades Applaud New FIO-NAIC Partnership on Data Collection
The U.S. Treasury late last week backed off a plan to have the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) collect data on climate-related risks from property/casualty insurers—an outcome that had been sought by the insurance industry since the proposal was published in …
Florida, Texas Grab Bigger Chunk of Paychecks as NY Fades
Southern US states have enjoyed some of the strongest job growth in the pandemic era, as well as some of the biggest wage increases — and they’re luring Americans from elsewhere in the country. Add those things together and they …
No Recoverable Oil From Massive Spill Off Southern California Coast
No recoverable oil remains in the water after a sheen was reported off the Southern California coast, but the cause remains unclear, officials said. Authorities detected the 2.5-mile long oil sheen Friday morning. Crews recovered about 85% of it, roughly …
Lloyd’s Reports Banner Year in 2023 but Discipline Must Be Maintained: Market Update
Lloyd’s strong 2023 results reaffirm the primacy of underwriting, “but it’s one year and therefore not a reason for complacency,” said Patrick Tiernan, chief of markets, in a market message to discuss preliminary results. Burkhard Keese, Lloyd’s chief financial officer, …
FEMA Adds $575M Reinsurance Coverage for NFIP
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) late last week said that for the seventh time it went to the insurance-linked securities reinsurance markets to secure $575 million in coverage for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). FEMA entered in a …
Yemen’s Rebels Target Singapore-Flagged Ship in Gulf of Aden
An attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels set off explosions ahead of a Singapore-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Aden, authorities said, the latest in a campaign of assaults by the Iranian-backed group over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza …
Italy’s Data Watchdog Probes Open AI Tool That Turns Text Into Video
Italy’s data protection agency said on Friday it had opened an investigation into a service developed by Microsoft-backed Open AI that can generate videos based on text prompts. The regulator, known as Garante, asked Open AI to clarify whether the …
Judge Blocks NLRB Rule on Contract and Franchise Workers
A federal judge in Texas on Friday struck down a U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule that would treat many companies as employers of certain contract and franchise workers and require them to bargain with unions representing them. U.S. …
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