Visa Defeats New York Man’s Proposed Class Action Over Gift Card Scam
Visa defeated a proposed class action lawsuit on Monday by consumers who accused the world’s largest card payments network of failing to warn that its prepaid “Vanilla” gift cards were susceptible to being drained by thieves. U.S. District Judge Gregory …
People Moves: Covéa Group Names Petit CEO as Derez Becomes Chairman; Howden UK & Ireland Appoints Kennedy to Succeed Shuker as CEO
The Board of Directors of Covéa Group, the French mutual insurer, has appointed Maud Petit as chief executive officer, while Thierry Derez has been named chair of the Board of Directors. Derez succeeds Michel Gougnard who has been named vice …
EU Revamps Regulations for Expanding Space Market
The European Commission on Wednesday put forward the EU Space Act, a long-awaited overhaul of regulations affecting its fast-growing space industry. The legislation aims to create a single market for firms offering space services in the bloc while boosting efforts …
Cyberattack on UK Health Firm Contributed to Patient Death
A cyberattack that caused disruption at hospitals in London last year contributed to the death of a patient, health officials have confirmed for the first time. The incident occurred after a Russian hacking gang in June 2024 targeted Synnovis, a …
Billionaire Richard Li’s FWD Group Seeks to Raise $442 Million in Hong Kong IPO
Insurer FWD Group, backed by billionaire Richard Li, is looking to raise HK$3.47 billion ($442.08 million) through a Hong Kong initial public offering, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. The pan-Asian insurer is offering 91.3 million shares at HK$38.00 …
Heat Wave Threatens Power Output and Wildfires Across Europe
Europe’s heat wave is intensifying, fueling wildfires across the Mediterranean and threatening to curb electricity generation from both nuclear and hydropower plants. Temperatures in Spain are forecast to hit 39C (102F) on Wednesday, but could climb further to 42C next …
Cargo Theft Up 27% in 2024 With Continued Rise Expected: NICB
Tariffs, enhanced technology to defeat law enforcement along with profitability of criminal enterprises, and geopolitical circumstances have led to an increased threat to the global supply chain, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). Within the past 18 months, …
Microsoft Sued by Authors Over Use of Books in AI Training
Microsoft has been hit with a lawsuit by a group of authors who claim the company used their books without permission to train its Megatron artificial intelligence model. Kai Bird, Jia Tolentino, Daniel Okrent and several others alleged that Microsoft …
Florida Citizens Moves to Have Commercial Claims Disputes Decided by DOAH
Three years after Citizens Property Insurance Corp. made the unprecedented move to resolve many of its residential claims disputes through a state agency instead of through litigation, officials are now planning to send some commercial claims down that same path. …
Slide’s Exec Pay Leads to Questions About Florida Citizens’ Rate Model
At Wednesday’s Board of Governors meetings, a Citizens Property Insurance Corp. committee voted to move ahead with the full, 15% average rate increase for personal lines in 2026 – the largest increase allowed under Citizens’ statutory glidepath. But two members …
US E&S Growth Slowed Again in ’24; Berkshire, AIG Top Premium Rankings
A recent analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence reveals that the pace of growth in the U.S. excess and surplus lines market slowed to 13.4% in 2024, down from 14.5% a year earlier. While growth stayed up in double digits …
HEMIC to Act as a Servicing Facility for Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund
HEMIC Insurance Managers is accepting apartment and condominium owner associations (AOAO) applications for hurricane coverage from Hawaii licensed insurance agents. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs announced that the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund (HHRF) was reactivated to address the …
MIT Sued by Student, Instructor Claiming Campus Antisemitism
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was sued by an instructor and a former student who claim the school’s administration failed to address a “hostile anti-Semitic environment” on campus following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel by Hamas. Lior Alon, …
Tesla Sued Over Model S Crash That Killed Three in New Jersey
Tesla was sued on Monday by the estates of three people killed last September when their 2024 Model S equipped with Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features crashed on New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway. The wrongful death lawsuit filed in the …
People Moves: MAPFRE USA Names Pasko; Roosevelt Road Appoints Cook
MAPFRE USA Names Pasko Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary MAPFRE USA, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, appointed Mark Pasko as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of MAPFRE USA, effective July 21. Pasko will be responsible for MAPFRE’s legal, …
MJ Companies Expands Nashville Ops, Names Reavis VP for Development
Indianapolis-based MJ Companies, an insurance agency and financial consulting firm, named Craig Reavis vice president for business and community development. The company also signed a lease for new office space at the upscale Nashville Yards mixed-use development district near downtown. …
Coalition Re’s New Helios Platform Allows Cedants to Gain Real-Time Cyber Insights
Coalition today introduced Coalition Re’s Helios platform, a new tool that allows cedants to view real-time cyber risk exposures in their portfolios and manage them more effectively. With the Helios platform, information previously provided to cedents only via a summary …
AI-Focused COVU Acquires Maine’s 100-Year Old Ford Agency
San Francisco-based COVU, Inc. announced it has acquired Ford Insurance Agency, a 100+ year-old, family-owned business based in Eliot, Maine. Operated by the Lonsinger family, Ford Insurance Agency provides commercial and personal lines coverage. This marks COVU’s fourth acquisition in …
What to Watch: The Trends for P/C Insurance in 2025 So Far
As we reach the midpoint of 2025, now is a perfect time to reflect on some of the key trends that have defined the first half of the year while also looking ahead at what to expect in the back …
EV-Carrying Ship Sinks in Pacific Ocean After Catching Fire
A ship that caught fire in the Pacific Ocean earlier this month has sunk. The vessel was abandoned in the middle of the pacific — about 360 miles from land — after a blaze. It was carrying about 3,000 vehicles …