Insurance News
Oregon Study Shows California Workers’ Comp Rates Falling, but Still High
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Workers’ compensation premium rates fell considerably nationwide, while California continued to see among the worst rates in the nation, according to a new study out from the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services. The department puts out its Oregon …
Hub Acquires Oklahoma Retirement Plan Consulting, Financial Services Firm
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Hub International Investment Services Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, and a subsidiary of Chicago-based global insurance brokerage Hub International Limited (Hub), has acquired the Oklahoma-based retirement plan consulting and financial services business of Felix Jones, Jones Retirement. Terms of the transaction were …
4 Alabama Counties to Receive Federal Disaster Funds for Michael Damage
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
President Donald Trump has approved federal disaster aid relief for four Alabama counties affected by Hurricane Michael. The emergency disaster declaration covers Dale, Geneva, Henry and Houston counties, which are near the Florida panhandle where the hurricane made landfall Oct. …
Chicago Restaurant Chain to Settle Sexual Harassment, Retaliation Suit for $160K
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Chicago-based Rosebud Restaurants Inc. will pay $160,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC’s lawsuit charged Rosebud, which owns approximately nine Italian restaurants in the Chicagoland area, with …
Firefighters Say Natural Gas Explosion at Virginia Home Injures Nine
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Authorities believe a natural gas explosion at a Virginia home caused a fire that has injured nine people. Chesapeake Fire Lt. Anthony P. Barakat tells news outlets that the two homeowners were hospitalized in critical condition following the “significant explosion” …
California Train Agency Fined $650K in 2 Worker Deaths
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Regulators fined the San Francisco Bay Area’s transit agency $650,000 on Thursday for safety failures that led a commuter train to strike and kill two workers inspecting track five years ago during a union strike. The California Public Utilities Commission …
Colleges Handling Surge in Claims of Past Sexual Harassment
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
For 35 years, Ruth D’Eredita tried to dismiss her former professor’s behavior — the way he touched her, groped her and kissed her. But last year, as dozens of women came forward to share similar encounters with powerful men, she …
P/C Insurers Double Net Income in First Half of Year
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
U.S. property/casualty insurers saw their net income after taxes more than double to $34 billion in first-half 2018 from $15.5 billion in first-half 2017, with the help of lower catastrophe losses, growing premiums, and an increase in investment income, according …
The Hilb Group Acquires Massachusetts’ DBR Group
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
The Hilb Group LLC has acquired Massachusetts-based DBR Group Inc. The transaction became effective October 1, 2018. Founded in 2004, DBR is an employee benefit and actuarial consulting firm providing a range of benefits consulting and brokerage services to organizations …
SASCO Insurance Services Merges with New Jersey’s Otterstedt Insurance Agency
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
SASCO Insurance Services of Hackettstown, N.J., has recently merged with Otterstedt Insurance Agency Inc., headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. SASCO Insurance has been providing customized insurance coverage plans for commercial and personal lines clients since 1984. Otterstedt has served a …
Travelers Teams with Amazon to Offer Smart Home Products, Insurance Quotes
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
The Travelers Companies Inc. is teaming up with Amazon to offer smart home kits, insurance quotes and risk management information through a digital storefront: Amazon.com/Travelers. Customers will be able to obtain smart home kits at discounted prices in participating states. …
Calls for New Regulation Mount as New York Limo Crash Victims Mourned
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
The day after a mourning community said last goodbyes to eight of 20 victims of a limousine crash – four sisters and four other relatives – the Senate’s top Democrat called on federal regulators to formulate new safety standards for …
Hurricanes Behind Cuts in Earnings Estimates for AIG, Chubb, Other S&P 500
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
The S&P 500 has plummeted more than 5 percent since early October. The culprit: slowing earnings growth stemming from rising interest rates and oil prices, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. That straightforward theory might work as a catch-all, but …
Flash Floods Tear Through Towns in SW France, Killing at Least 7 People
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Flash floods tore through towns in southwest France, turning streams into raging torrents that authorities said killed at least seven people and seriously injured five others. Some people had to be helicoptered to safety from the roofs of their homes …
Softbank Plans Big Push into Insurance Investments
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Softbank’s Vision Fund plans to pump more money into insurance, a sector it sees as both ripe for disruption and a potential booster for its bigger bets in cars, health and financial services, a Vision Fund executive told Reuters. In …
Canada Gets Ready for Legalized Recreational Marijuana on Oct. 17
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Mat Beren and his friends used to drive by the vast greenhouses of southern British Columbia and joke about how much weed they could grow there. Years later, it’s no joke. The tomato and pepper plants that once filled some …
Brokerslink Names Fonseca, MDS Group’s CEO, as Chairman, Replacing Allard
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Global broking network Brokerslink announced it has appointed José Manuel Fonseca as its new chairman, replacing Grégory Allard, who steps down after a two-year tenure. As one of the original founders of Brokerslink, Fonseca also is the CEO of Porto, …
UK Needs to Get ‘Good and Scared’ About No-Deal Brexit: Opinion
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
The European Union summit in Brussels this week was meant to be historic: a Brexit divorce deal would be reached and sent to parliaments to be approved. That is now not going to happen, once again raising the risk that …
Singapore’s Temasek Has Held Talks to Buy Stake in China’s Anbang: Sources
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Singapore’s state investment firm, Temasek Holdings Pte, has held talks with Chinese authorities about acquiring a stake in Anbang Insurance Group Co. as well as some of its assets, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Temasek has been …
UK Cyber Security Center Blames Most Attacks on Hostile States
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
The U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre blamed hostile foreign states for the majority of the 1,167 attacks it has handled in the two years it’s been running, equivalent to 10 assaults a week. In the organization’s second annual report, published …
Kimberly Fobbs, Candidate for Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Election 2018 The office of the insurance commissioner in Oklahoma is an elected position. The current commissioner, John D. Doak, is term limited and cannot run again; his successor will be determined in the general election that …
ShakeOut an Opportunity to Sell Earthquake Policies in California and Beyond
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Millions of people are expected to drop, cover and hold on at 10:18 a.m. PST on Thursday, which should be a good opportunity for insurance agents to try and sell some policies, according to the head of the California Earthquake …
Judge Rules Trump’s Tweet Over Stormy Daniels Was Free Speech, Not Libel
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Stormy Daniels’s libel lawsuit over a tweet by Donald Trump accusing her of “a total con job” was thrown out by a judge who said the president was engaging in free speech. The adult film star, whose real name is …
Drug Ads on TV Would Show Prices Under Trump Administration Proposal
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
The U.S. government, in an effort to increase pressure on drugmakers to lower costs for U.S. consumers, said on Monday it will propose requiring companies to include the price of their prescription medicines in television ads. Health and Human Services …
Worldwide Facilities Restructures; Promotes Stuckman, Haldeman to President Roles
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
National wholesale brokerage, managing general agent and program underwriter Worldwide Facilities has announced a restructuring that reorganizes operations into three divisions: Worldwide Brokerage, Worldwide MGA, and Worldwide Programs. The move is in response to the Los Angeles-based firm’s fast growth …
Judge Rules Government, Not President, Can Be Sued Over Climate Change
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
A group of young Americans suing the federal government over lack of action to fight climate change can proceed with their lawsuit, but U.S. President Donald Trump cannot be named as a defendant, a federal judge ruled on Monday. The …
Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty Acquires Allstar Assurance of Florida
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty, Inc. has acquired Allstar Assurance, headquartered in Weston, Fla. Allstar Assurance has been serving south Florida for over 14 years offering multi-line property and casualty insurance coverage for commercial, personal and financial industries. With the …
Florida Orders Insurers to Halt Rate Hikes; Sets Up Hurricane Michael Claims Village
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
Florida’s insurance regulator has issued an emergency order that ensures “additional protections” to Florida policyholders – including freezing any rate hikes for 90 days – to support recovery efforts in areas impacted by Hurricane Michael. The order by Florida Insurance …
International Marine Underwriters Adds Cyber Coverage to Marine Policies
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
International Marine Underwriters (IMU), a member of OneBeacon Insurance Group, has expanded its product offering with information risk coverage to address a broad range of cyber incidents including data breach, threat of intrusion or interference with computer systems, damage to …
Mississippi Furniture Company Damaged Again by Fire
Tue, 16 Oct 2018
For the second time this year, a large fire has torn through American Furniture Company in northern Pontotoc County. Pontotoc County Fire Coordinator Adam Patton tells the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that the fire was reported around 6 a.m. Saturday. …