Nashville-based FB Financial Corp., parent company of FirstBank and FirstBank Insurance Agency, plans to merge with Southern States Bancshares, the parent of Southern States Bank, headquartered in Anniston, Alabama, the bank announced this week. Southern States does not offer insurance …

Vivere Partners, a specialty insurance platform focused on niche lines of insurance, completed a $7.5 million Series A funding round led by General Catalyst, Pathlight Ventures and Greenlight Re. The funding is intended to accelerate the company’s expansion, fueling the …

Sentry Insurance announced that Pete Anhalt will lead The General following Sentry’s September 2024 acquisition of the brand from American Family Insurance. Anhalt currently serves as president of Sentry’s Dairyland nonstandard auto insurance brand and, over time, the businesses will …

A bill that aims to enable the California FAIR Plan to seek additional claims paying capacity is making its way through state Legislature. Assembly Bill 226, the FAIR Plan Stabilization Act, passed out of the Assembly 72-0. Related: California OKs …

Specialist insurer CFC announced a new cyber product – Cyber Proactive Response (CPR) – aimed at businesses with revenues up to $250 million. CFC said the new product includes two firsts for the cyber insurance industry. Policyholders will not only …

An Iowa man was sentenced last week to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to Insurance Fraud (Class D Felony) and Fraudulent Practice (Class D Felony), following an investigation conducted by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau. Bryce Douglas …

BlackRock Inc. is going even bigger in Texas. The world’s biggest asset manager applied for the iShares Texas Equity exchange-traded fund, according to a Friday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The planned ETF would be passively managed and …

Johnson & Johnson shares fell the most in five years after the company’s plan to settle thousands of talc-related lawsuits through bankruptcy was shot down in court. The ruling means J&J will have to fight roughly 60,000 claims brought by …

JM Wilson Promotes Staruch, Dodd and Ladik and Re-Hires Snyder-Knutson JM Wilson, headquartered in Portage, Michigan, Natalie Staruch was promoted to executive property & casualty (P&C) underwriter. She underwrites new and renewal commercial risks, working with carrier underwriters and independent …

A Kentucky farmer is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to defrauding the federal crop insurance program of almost $1.5 million. Robert Thomas Hunt, of Taylor County in central Kentucky, asked grain haulers to sell his soybean, corn and wheat under …

A long-feared megaquake off Japan’s southern coast could result in almost 300,000 deaths, according to a new model released by the government. In the worst-case scenario, a megaquake in the Nankai Trough would destroy 2.34 million buildings and kill 298,000 …

California is emerging from its wettest time of the year with new fire and drought risks. The state is scheduled to measure the snowpack amassed over winter on Tuesday — April 1 is the typical peak point before springtime melting. …

Australia’s remote outback in western Queensland has been swamped by flooding after being lashed with a year’s worth of rainfall in a week, sweeping away tens of thousands of livestock. Up to 500 millimeters (19.7 inches) of rain has flooded …

WTW announced the acquisition of Global Commercial Credit, LLC (GCC) into Willis, a WTW business. This strategic acquisition will accelerate performance by expanding into specialized businesses that align with the company’s technical, industry-structured and expertise-driven growth plan. Founded in Michigan …

The Hartford of Hartford, Connecticut said Shekar Pannala was named the company’s chief information officer and leads technology, as well as cybersecurity, infrastructure and cloud modernization. Prior to joining The Hartford, Pannala was global CIO of Chubb. Before Chubb, Pannala …

A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Monday rejected Johnson & Johnson’s $10 billion proposal to end tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder and other talc products cause ovarian cancer, marking the third time the company’s bankruptcy strategy …

The contractors of an under-construction tower that crashed in Bangkok during last week’s earthquake apparently used substandard steel bars made by a factory that had been shuttered by authorities. Samples of two different sizes of steel bars collected from the …

Germany’s Allianz Global Investors has dropped two exclusions blocking its sustainable funds from investing in defense, becoming one of the first major European asset managers to change their policies to help finance the region’s rearmament. AGI wrote to its clients …

Zurich Insurance Group has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Icen Risk, a company that specializes in insuring mergers and acquisitions. The transaction will see Zurich take a “significant minority” in London-based Icen and will help support its growth …

A fight over UK motor finance and whether lenders should be on the hook for billions of pounds in compensation will play out at the Supreme Court in one of the most highly-anticipated hearings in years. At stake, the scope …