Rebuilding Costs Rose More Than 60% in the Last Decade: Verisk
Over the past decade, there’s been a dramatic increase in reconstruction costs, according to Trish Hopkinson, head of 360Value at Verisk. The 10-year analysis examined residential and commercial reconstruction costs between October 2014 and October 2024. National residential reconstruction costs, …
Supreme Court Tackles Straight Woman’s ‘Reverse’ Discrimination Case
Marlean Ames received numerous promotions and good evaluations over the years working in Ohio’s youth corrections system, so when she was denied a promotion and demoted in 2019 with a $40,000 pay cut she said she felt “shocked and hurt …
New York Sues Vape Distributors for Fueling Teen Epidemic
New York sued several large e-cigarette manufacturers, distributors and retailers on Thursday, saying they fueled a youth vaping epidemic by selling products with cartoonish packaging and flavors such as Baja Slushie, Strawberry Cereal Donut Milk and OMG Blow Pop. Letitia …
Zurich Insurance Sees $200 Million LA Wildfire Loss
Zurich Insurance Group AG is expecting pretax losses of $200 million from the January California wildfires as the insurer reported a 5% gain in profit for 2024. Group operating profit rose to $7.75 billion in the year, the company said …
County Trash Collector’s Workers’ Compensation Claim Thrown Out
When the garbage truck stopped, the worker stepped down from the metal step on the back of the truck to run and retrieve a trash can. When his feet hit the ground, he heard a pop in his leg, felt …
World Insurance Acquired Grandview Brokerage of Brooklyn
National insurance broker World Insurance Associates LLC announced that it acquired the business of Grandview Brokerage LLC of Brooklyn, New York last November. Grandview provides commercial and personal insurance with niches in the healthcare, real estate, and jewelry industry. Michael …
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Mercury and Subsidiaries Over LA Wildfires
AM Best revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a” (Excellent) for the members of Mercury Casualty Group. Concurrently, AM Best revised …
AM Best Upgrades Credit Ratings of The General Following Sentry Acquisition
AM Best has removed from under review with positive implications and upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A+ (Superior) from A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings to “aa-” (Superior) from “a+” (Excellent) of Permanent General Assurance Corporation, Permanent …
People Moves: Allianz Commercial Names Martin as Chief Risk & Resilience Officer; AXA XL Promotes Dores to Country Manager, Iberia
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Allianz Commercial and AXA XL. A summary of these new hires follows here. Allianz Commercial Names Martin as Chief Risk & Resilience Officer Allianz Commercial announced that Aymeric Martin, currently chief …
Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Acquisitions of 2 Firms in Northeast
Global insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Waltham, Massachusetts-based Agilis Partners LLC. Agilis is an investment and retirement plan consulting firm with offices in greater Boston, New York and Denver. According to the announcement, Tom …
Oil Tankers Rocked by Mystery Blasts After Trips to Russia
At least four oil tankers have been hit with explosions so far this year — all of them having visited Russia’s territorial waters in the weeks prior to the blasts happening. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the incidents, three of …
New UK-Based Climate Group Emerges as Banks Retreat
It was a dank, drizzly February evening when about 120 people gathered in the brightly lit art gallery of London’s Guildhall, surrounded by gold-framed paintings ranging from Pre-Raphaelites to realists. At the event, Alok Sharma, a former member of the …
Former Florida Broker, Others Charged in Insurance Fraud Schemes
One person in Texas and four people in Florida, including a previously licensed insurance broker, face insurance fraud charges in separate schemes, local and federal authorities said Wednesday. In Hialeah, Florida, three people were arrested at a medical clinic for …
CIAB: Commercial Premiums Rise 5.4% Overall in Q4 2024
2024 ended as steady as ever – with “no real change in current market conditions” – as respondents of a recent survey reported most lines of business in the last quarter had average increases in premiums about the same or …
Florida Rushing to Enforce New Immigration Laws. Here’s What to Know
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Days after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on immigration legislation he says is the toughest in the nation, Florida’s Republican leaders have named the director of the new state board of immigration enforcement: an architect of …
EPA Submits to Congress Approved EV Plan Adopted by 11 States
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday it has submitted the Biden administration’s approval of California’s landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 to Congress for review and potential repeal. The decision by the new …
Delta Offers $30,000 to Each Passenger in Toronto Crash Landing
Delta Air Lines Inc. is offering $30,000 to every passenger aboard a regional jet flight that came to rest upside down after crash landing at a Toronto airport earlier this week. The payments are “a good-faith gesture” that have “no …
Markets/Coverages: Marsh Expands Fast Track Facility, Offering 10% Automatic Capacity
Marsh, the insurance broker, risk adviser and Marsh McLennan business, announced the addition of significant new capacity to its Fast Track facility. From March 1, 2025, clients can access up to 10% automatic capacity across their entire property and casualty …
Vanguard Pauses Corporate Meetings Over New ESG Guidance
Top mutual fund manager Vanguard has paused meetings with portfolio companies while it reviews the impact of new guidance on investor activism from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people familiar with the matter. In a recent notice, …
EEOC Says It’s Going After ‘Anti-American Bias’ in the Workplace
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said it will enforce antidiscrimination laws against employers that “illegally prefer non-American workers. In a Feb. 19 announcement EEOC’s Andrea Lucas, acting chair, said the commission is “putting employers and other covered entities on …