INSURANCE NEWS
Hub’s SPG Acquires Squaremouth Travel Insurance Platform
Specialty Program Group, a holding company established to acquire specialty insurance firms, has purchased the travel insurance service known as Squaremouth. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, Squaremouth offers travel insurance through a digital quote and comparison platform and has insured more …
2 Killed in Construction Trench Accident at New York’s JFK Airport
Two workers were killed in a construction accident at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday, officials said. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, said the two workers got trapped under …
South Carolina Safety Inspections Discriminate Against Black Workers, Union Says
South Carolina’s workplace safety agency “engages in egregious discrimination,” by failing to inspect industries with high percentages of Black workers, a union alleged in a federal complaint. The South Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration has neglected fields with more …
Markets/Coverages: Insurtech Parsyl Launches $20M Lloyd’s Consortium for Perishable Cargo
Parsyl, the Denver-based insurer of essential supply chains, announced the launch of its new Essential Consortium at Lloyd’s of London. The multi-year arrangement initially will bring $20 million in new capacity to the perishable cargo market and will leverage Parsyl’s …
UK Water Companies to Face Unlimited Fines for Polluting Rivers, Sea
Water companies will incur unlimited fines for polluting rivers and the sea under new UK legislation to protect the environment, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Therese Coffrey, the environment secretary, will announce plans [this week] …
3M’s Bid to Shield Itself From Earplug Lawsuits Faces Skeptical Judges
Federal appeals court judges on Tuesday appeared skeptical of 3M’s bid to use the bankruptcy of its subsidiary Aearo Technologies to shield itself from nearly 260,000 lawsuits over allegedly defective military-issue earplugs. Paul Clement, a lawyer for Aearo, urged a …
Distraction, Speeding, Alcohol Drive Up 2021 Traffic Deaths
Nearly 43,000 people died in U.S. traffic crashes in 2021, the highest number in 16 years with deaths due to speeding and impaired or distracted driving on the rise. The 2021 final numbers, released Monday by the National Highway Traffic …
J&J Unit Files for Second Bankruptcy to Pursue $8.9B Talc Settlement
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $8.9 billion to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that talc in its iconic Baby Powder and other products caused cancer, the company said. The amount dwarfs J&J’s original offer of $2 …
Court Cancels Time Inc. Insurance for $4.9 Million Subscription Offer Settlement
Media giant Time Inc. has been denied insurance to help cover its $4.98 million settlement of two class actions that accused the publisher of using misleading magazine subscription automatic renewals. The U.S. District Court in Manhattan has granted a summary …
University Faces Class-Action by Students Over COVID Campus Lockdown
A lawsuit against the University of Delaware over its campus shutdown and halting of in-person classes because of coronavirus can proceed as a class action on behalf of thousands of students who were enrolled and paid tuition in spring 2020, …
Amwins Launches Excess Wildfire Product for California Residential Properties
Amwins Access launched its new Excess Wildfire Product, which is intended to complement a self-insured retention plan or the California FAIR plan or a similar plan. The product is written in partnership with PartnerRe Insurance Solutions Bermuda Ltd., which is …
Ohio Flooring Mill Fined $333K for Repeated Safety Violations
For the third time in five months, federal safety inspectors responded to a Portsmouth, Ohio hardwood flooring mill to investigate reports of unsafe machinery. Two of those inspections involved worker’s injuries, the latest on Oct. 5, 2022, when a worker’s …