Insurance News
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case That Could Limit Clean Water Act
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider limiting the scope of a landmark law aimed at curbing water pollution in a dispute pitting environmentalists against local authorities in Hawaii over a wastewater treatment plant. The justices agreed to …
Winter Weather Advisories in Oklahoma, Texas And Arkansas
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
A storm system could yield snow and ice in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS issued a winter weather advisory for Tuesday through Wednesday morning for parts of western Texas, Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas. …
Woman Awarded $37M by Texas Jury over Seat Belts
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
A Texas jury has awarded more than $37 million to a woman who sued Honda after being paralyzed in a 2015 car crash. Sarah Milburn sued the automaker over its seatbelt design after her Uber driver ran a red light …
Wisconsin Governor to Propose Decriminalizing Marijuana
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers will propose decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana in his plan for the next state budget, a newspaper reported Sunday. Evers also will propose legalizing marijuana for medical conditions including cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain, …
Actor Told He Can’t Copyright Dance Moves in California Lawsuit
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star Alfonso Ribeiro has been denied a copyright for the ?Carlton” dance, which he’s suing two videogame makers over. The denial from the U.S. Copyright Office was revealed last week in a motion to dismiss …
Montana Lawsuit Over 2012 Police Tackling Injury Settled
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
The city of Billings has settled a lawsuit filed by a man whose rotator cuff was torn when a police officer tackled him, wrongly identifying him as a crime suspect. The Billings Gazette reports that Robert Bassett will receive $80,000 …
CREST Insurance Group in Arizona Names Welch Vice President
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
CREST Insurance Group LLC in Arizona has named Lindsay Welch vice president of community relations and business development. She will be responsible for managing Crest’s philanthropic involvement and brand awareness. She most recently was CEO of her strategic development and …
Pennsylvania Woman’s Son Pleads Guilty, Gets Probation in Mansion Fire Fraud Case
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
The son of a suburban Philadelphia woman convicted in a multi-million-dollar insurance fraud case following fires at her Bucks County property has been sentenced to four years’ probation. Forty-seven-year-old Carl Risoldi of Doylestown, Penn., pleaded guilty Friday to three related …
A.M. Best Makes Senior Management Changes, Restructures Organization
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
A.M. Best announced that Roger Sellek will step down as CEO of its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific (AP) regions at the end of March. As part of its succession planning process, A.M. Best has also …
Maine’s BroGue Insurance & Financial Services Promotes Kinney, Hires Cole
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
BroGue Insurance & Financial Services has promoted Heather Kinney to agency manager and hired Derek Cole. Kinney began her insurance career in 1990 and has been a licensed agent since 1999, with experience in both personal and commercial lines. In …
PMC Insurance Group Hires Skinner as Assistant Vice President in Massachusetts
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
PMC Insurance Group, a Bedford, Mass.-headquartered, national workers’ compensation wholesaler, has hired Richard Skinner as assistant vice president for its staffing programs division, StaffPRO3. In his new role, Skinner will be responsible for growing new business nationwide. He brings more …
How Pricing Insurance for Cars of Future Could Bring Insurers, Carmakers Together
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
Dan Peate, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur in Southern California, was thinking of buying a Tesla Model X a few years ago—until he called his insurance company and found out how much his premiums would rise. “The quoted me $10,000 …
VW Wins Diesel Emissions Case in Germany Brought by Customer Who Plans Appeal
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
A German court on Tuesday ruled in favor of Volkswagen in a case brought by a customer seeking compensation for having bought a diesel car affected by emissions cheating, but the plaintiff’s lawyer plans to appeal. A lower court in …
China Abandons Pledge, Returns to Very Active Hacking of U.S., Report Says
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
China largely abandoned a hacking truce negotiated by Barack Obama as President Donald Trump embarked on a trade war with Beijing last year, according to the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike Inc. A slowdown in Chinese hacking following the cybersecurity agreement Obama’s …
Apollo Global Management Completes Acquisition of Aspen Insurance
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
Apollo Global Management LLC, the investment firm led by Leon Black, has completed its acquisition of Aspen Insurance Holdings for $42.75 per share in cash, with an equity value of approximately $2.6 billion. The transaction, which was first announced on …
JBA Broadens Access to Sri Lanka Flood Model to Help Bridge Protection Gap
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
JBA Risk Management has released its Sri Lanka Flood Model onto Simplitium’s ModEx platform. The initiative is specifically aimed at broadening accessibility to the Sri Lanka model for both the insurance and wider disaster risk reduction (DRR) community. The announcement …
Facebook Broke Data Privacy Rules, so Self-Regulation Must End: UK Lawmakers
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
Facebook intentionally breached data privacy and competition law and should, along with other big tech companies, be subject to a new regulator to protect democracy and citizens’ rights, British lawmakers said on Monday. In a damning report that singled out …
Lloyd’s Managing Agency Antares Appoints Battle as Chief Executive Officer
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
Antares the Lloyd’s managing agency and member of the QIC Group announced the appointment of Jonathan (Joe) Battle, the current active underwriter, as chief executive officer (subject to necessary regulatory approvals). Stephen Redmond, current managing director of Antares, has been …
UK-EU Negotiators Work to Find Brexit Deal Compromise with Time Running Out
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
U.K. and European officials are working on a new legal text for the most contentious part of the Brexit deal, but time is running out for Prime Minister Theresa May to persuade a fracturing Parliament to unite behind her plan. …
Outlooks Revised to Positive for Michigan’s Auto Club Group
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” of Dearborn, Michigan-based Auto Club Insurance Association and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Auto …
Missouri’s POWERS Insurance and Risk Management Hires Hentschke, Wittenberg
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
POWERS Insurance and Risk Management, a St. Louis, Missouri-based family owned and operated independent insurance agency, has added Samantha Hentschke as personal lines account manager and Luke Wittenberg as commercial lines insurance advisor. Hentschke will pursue new business opportunities, as …
State Farm’s Ohio Auto Insurance Customers to See Rate Cuts
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. announced it is cutting its rates in Ohio for the second year in a row. The overall personal auto rate in the state is dropping by 3.7 percent, effective Feb. 18. The total state-wide …
FTC Privacy Settlement Over Cambridge Analytica Could Cost Facebook Billions
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
Facebook Inc. is in talks with U.S. regulators over alleged privacy violations that could force the social-media giant to pay billions of dollars in a record-breaking settlement, according to two people familiar with the matter. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s …
Suit Questions Maiden Holdings’ Handling of AmTrust Portfolio Risks
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
Maiden Holdings Ltd. is named in a class action investor lawsuit alleging that it failed to adequately address and reveal portfolio risks involving AmTrust Financial Services, its largest customer. The complaint alleges that Maiden didn’t disclose material information, and the …
Lincoln-Leavitt Insurance Adds Gordon and Davis in California
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
Lakeport, Calif.-based Lincoln-Leavitt Insurance has added Tina Gordon and Maria Davis. Gordon will focus on commercial insurance for the construction, manufacturing, retail and wholesale industries. Davis is an account manager and will service client accounts. Prior to joining the agency, …
Travelers Expands Wedding Protector Plan to Include Jewelry Insurance
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
The Travelers Companies, Inc. has expanded its Wedding Protector Plan insurance offering to include separate fine jewelry insurance policies with coverage limits of up to $100,000. Typical homeowners insurance policies often have limits for jewelry of up to about $1,500. …
North Carolina Insurers Request 19% Rate Increase for Mobile Home Policies
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
The North Carolina Rate Bureau has filed a request to increase homeowners’ insurance rates for mobile home policies of at least 19 percent, according to the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI). The NCRB, which represents insurance companies and is …
New Georgia Insurance Chief Focuses on Fighting Fraud in First Month in Office
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck has cracked down on insurance fraud since taking office Jan. 15, reporting the arrests of 11 individuals for various fraud-related activities and guilty pleas of nine people for racketeering and insurance fraud. “Every time the …
South Carolina Officials, MADD Push Stricter DUI Legislation
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
South Carolina officials have joined members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in support of stricter DUI legislation. Gov. Henry McMaster, law enforcement and some members of the General Assembly joined that group Feb. 12 on the Statehouse grounds in support …
J.M. Wilson Adds Jefferson as Transportation Underwriter in South Carolina
Tue, 19 Feb 2019
J.M. Wilson has added Jasmine Jefferson as Transportation underwriter in their North Charleston, S.C., office. Jefferson is responsible for underwriting new and renewal commercial transportation business, corresponding with carrier underwriters, and assisting independent agents in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina …