Microsoft Outlook Users Experience Hourslong Outage Impacting Email
After Outlook users ran into issues accessing their email accounts late Wednesday and into Thursday, Microsoft says that affected systems are back online. Microsoft 365 first said that it was investigating an issue with Outlook Wednesday night, and later shared …
How Carriers Can Win More Retail Broker Biz: Report
By segmenting retail brokers into tiers using premium volume, profitability and strategic alignment as factors to define top tiers, carriers can start to win more business, according to a new consulting firm report. The report, How Insurers Can Win More …
People Moves: Consilium Taps Carpenter’s Coleman for C-Suite After Co-CEO Baird Suddenly Exits; Everest Promotes Shaw as Chief Commercial Officer of Int’l Division
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at the broker Consilium and Everest’s International Insurance Operation. A summary of these new hires (and one exit) follows here. Consilium Taps Carpenter’s Coleman for C-Suite, as Co-CEO Baird Is Removed Consilium, …
Gun Makers Lose Appeal of New York Law Making Them Potentially Liable for Shootings
A New York state law holding gun manufacturers potentially liable when their weapons are used in deadly shootings was upheld Thursday by a federal appeals court. The ruling Thursday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan affirmed …
Markets/Coverages: Aon Launches Insurance Facility for Full Lifecycle of Data Centers
Insurance broker Aon plc announced the launch of its Data Center Lifecycle Insurance Program (DCLP), a proprietary multi-line insurance facility designed to help clients manage risk across every stage of data center development and operations. As global investment in digital …
Red Sea Insurance Premium Spikes as Houthi Risks Return
The cost of insuring commercial ships that sail past Yemen’s Houthi militants surged after the rebels sank two ships and killed sailors this week, underscoring how the attacks have revived risk in the crucial waterway. Shipowners now have to pay …
European Commission to Propose Floating Russian Oil Price Cap
The European Commission is expected to propose a floating Russian oil price cap this week as part of a new draft sanctions package in an attempt to overcome opposition from some member states, four EU diplomats said. The Commission proposed …
US Faces More Extreme Weather Events, but Is Society Doing Enough?
After deadly flooding in central Texas in 1987, some thought they’d proven they could handle Mother Nature’s best punch. Then came this month’s horrific flash floods, when unfathomable amounts of rain fell in only hours and more than 100 people …
CSU Hurricane Season Forecast Adjusted to ‘Slightly’ Above Normal
The team of hurricane researchers at Colorado State University shaved off a storm from its original Atlantic hurricane season forecast, and now sees a “slightly” above normal season. High levels of observed Caribbean wind shear, which break up storms, is …
Extreme Heat Is Killing European Workers Despite Government Efforts
Montse Aguilar was a healthy 51-year-old woman when she started her shift cleaning streets in Barcelona at around 2:30 p.m. on June 28. The Spanish city was under alert for high temperatures amid a brutal heat wave that brought record …
People Moves: Arch Insurance NA Promotes 5 to Division Presidents
Arch Insurance North America said five of its executives were named to the newly-created roles of division presidents, effective Aug. 1. Linda Fallon has been named Division President, Consumer Business, which includes the Travel, Accident & Health unit and the …
Andreessen Horowitz Leaves Delaware for Nevada, Tells Startups to Follow
The Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is reincorporating its business from Delaware to Nevada and calling for its portfolio companies to do the same — citing concerns over bias in the state “against founders and their boards.” The …
Delaware Top Court Sides With Zantac Makers in Cancer Claims
The Delaware Supreme Court rejected the legitimacy of expert testimony linking the heartburn drug Zantac to cancer, in a major win for makers of the product. In a unanimous ruling Thursday, the state’s highest court agreed with the argument of …
Dechert Law Firm Settles Claims It Used Hired Hackers With No Admission of Liability
Philadelphia-based law firm Dechert said on Thursday that a pair of U.S. lawsuits accusing it of using hired hackers to win in court have been resolved without any admission of liability. Dechert and others, including U.S. public relations operatives and …
UK Arrests Four Linked to M&S, Harrods Cyberattacks
The UK’s National Crime Agency has arrested four people over a series of disruptive cyberattacks that targeted leading British retailers earlier this year. The authorities detained three teenage males and one 20-year-old female in the West Midlands and London on …
People Moves: Gaines Named Acting Commissioner at Nevada Division of Insurance
The Nevada Department of Business named Ned Gaines acting commissioner at the Nevada Division of Insurance. The appointment follows the departure of Scott Kipper, who had served as commissioner since 2023. Recruitment to fill the position on a permanent basis …
New Mexico Village Rebuilds All Over Again After Record-Breaking Flash Flood
The mountain village of Ruidoso returned to the grim rituals of rebuilding after flash flooding and a deadly natural disaster, just one year after wildfire and intense flooding reshaped the popular vacation getaway and its surroundings. Broken tree limbs, twisted …
People Moves: Rosenberg & Parker Names Three New Partners
Rosenberg & Parker (R&P), headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, named three new partners who join CEO Matt Rosenberg and Sr. Partner Chad Rosenberg as owners. New partner President Jack Rosenberg joined R&P as a producer in 2018 after beginning his career …
Smith Brothers Has Acquired Charter Oak Agency in Connecticut
Glastonbury, Connecticut-based Smith Brothers Insurance LLC announced that it acquired Charter Oak Agency effective July 1, 2025. Charter Oak Agency, an independent insurance agency with offices in Westport and Derby, Connecticut, will retain these locations, further strengthening Smith Brothers footprint …
Deadly History of Flooding in ‘Flash Flood Alley’ Along Guadalupe River
Cindy Manley was a summer camp counselor in 1987 when a different devastating flood scarred the Texas Hill Country. The Heart O’ the Hills camp is on the Guadalupe River, where a massive search continues for more than 160 people …