INSURANCE NEWS
Russia Oil Tankers Are Doing Strange Things Since Ramp Up of US Sanctions
There are growing signs that Russia’s oil flows might be facing disruption in the aftermath of a ramp up in US sanctions targeting traders and shipping companies moving the nation’s petroleum. Over the past month or so, a total of …
Gallagher Acquires German Specialty Broker Köberich Financial Lines
Gallagher announced it has acquired Köberich Financial Lines. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Köberich specializes in D&O insurance, plus other financial lines products including cyber, warranties & indemnities, professional indemnity and crime insurance. Köberich has a team of …
Hong Kong Employees Demand 6% Raise to Work in Office Full Time
Hong Kong workers say they would need a 6% raise to give up hybrid work arrangements, a dilemma that’s expected to prompt more companies to reduce space and dampen office rents, according to a survey. More than half of respondents …
FEMA Adds Nearly $620M to Reinsurance Program
FEMA announced that the agency is transferring $619.5 million more of the National Flood Insurance Program’s financial risk to the private reinsurance market as part of its 2024 reinsurance placement. The 2024 reinsurance placement covers portions of NFIP losses above …
Microsoft, OpenAI Hit With New Lawsuit by Authors Over AI Training
OpenAI and its financial backer Microsoft were sued on Friday in Manhattan federal court by a pair of nonfiction authors who say the companies misused their work to train the artificial-intelligence models behind the popular chatbot ChatGPT and other AI-based …
Affinity Hires Revenue Chief, NC DOI Elevates Counsel to Chief Operating Officer
Affinity Advisors, providers of a digital platform for securing specialty insurance, has named a former Aon and Marsh McLennan executive to be chief revenue officer. Andrew Suesserman, who spent 12 years with Marsh and Aon, will move into his new …
North Carolina Rate Bureau Wants 42% Hike in Residential Property Insurance Rates
The North Carolina Rate Bureau, basing its calculations on input from 197 property insurance companies, has asked for a 42% average increase in homeowners insurance rates, to take effect Aug. 1. The rate bureau’s double-digit requests in recent years have …
Florida Bills Would Provide Millions in Flood Mitigation, Elevation Grants
Florida’s wind-mitigation grant program for homeowners has proven to be so popular that the governor has proposed another $107 million for it this year, and some experts have called home fortification the only way to significantly reduce insurance losses from …
Oregon Judge Refuses to Dismiss 2015 Climate Lawsuit Filed by Youth
A judge in Oregon rejected a U.S. Department of Justice request to dismiss a 2015 lawsuit brought by young people that alleges the federal government knew the dangers posed by carbon pollution but that it has continued through policies and …
Inigo Issues 3rd Catastrophe Bond for $100 Million
Inigo Ltd. announced it has issued its third catastrophe bond for $100 million via Montoya Re Ltd. The cat bond will cover North American named storms and earthquakes and will use a PCS industry loss index trigger. The coupon is …
Google Must Bargain With YouTube Worker Union, US Labor Board Rules
Alphabet Inc’s Google violated U.S. labor law by refusing to bargain with a union representing contract workers for YouTube Music, a federal agency has ruled. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in a decision on Jan. 3 rejected claims by …
People Moves: Gallagher Taps AIG’s Loesti as Chief Commercial Officer of European Broking; QBE Re Promotes 3 Global Product Heads in New York, London
Gallagher Taps AIG’s Loesti as Chief Commercial Officer, European Broking Nepomuk (Nepo) Loesti has joined Gallagher as chief commercial officer of its European broking operations. The newly created role will support the expansion of Gallagher in Europe, outside of the …