INSURANCE NEWS
Will $4 Billion Be Enough for Everglades Restoration?
Massive and massively expensive, it’s been touted as the “crown jewel” of Everglades restoration, the key to unlocking every other project that will come after it. The $4 billion Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir – about half the size of the …
NY Fed Says Supply Chain Pressures Normalized in February
Global supply chains have “returned to normal,” the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Monday, with pressures dropping to the lowest since before the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into procurement networks worldwide and created shortages for everything …
Biden’s Cyber Plan Would Hold Software Makers Responsible in Hacks
The Biden administration is set to release an aggressive new national cybersecurity strategy on Thursday that seeks to shift the blame from companies that get hacked to software manufacturers and device makers, putting it on a potential collision course with …
DOL Says It Recovered $330,000 from NC Contractor that Misclassified Workers
The U.S. Department of Labor said it has recovered about $330,000 in back wages from a North Carolina contractor that misclassified workers as independent contractors. “Employers who misclassify employees as independent contractors deny them overtime wages and may deny them …
Two Plead Guilty in Massachusetts Drivers License Scam
The former manager of a Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles branch has agreed to plead guilty to federal extortion charges for allegedly taking bribes and in exchange for issuing passing scores on learner’s permit tests, federal prosecutors said. Mia Cox-Johnson, …
Owner of Chain of Addiction Clinics Charged With Insurance Fraud
The owner of a chain of clinics treating substance abuse disorders in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and one of the company’s employees, were charged last week with cheating health insurers out of millions of dollars while depriving patients of needed …
Citizens Faces Redo of Hole-in-Roof Claim Denial It Won on Hearsay
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will face a new trial on a roof claim because its win in the first trial was compromised by reliance on hearsay evidence. A three-judge appeals panel has ordered a retrial because in the previous proceeding …
Consumer Group Pushing ‘Junk/Hidden Fees’ Bill Package in California
A group of California lawmakers along with the Consumer Federation of California is pushing a six-bill “junk/hidden fees package” that proponents say will protect consumers from deceptive pricing and add-on fees in a wide range of industries. According to the …
Norfolk Plans to Add More Detectors to Catch Overheated Bearings
Norfolk Southern Corp. on Monday said it plans to add about 200 detectors to its tracks that will help identify overheated bearings as the railroad operator came under fire after a derailment in Ohio spewed toxins into the air and …
Louisiana Commissioner Giving Incentive to Insurers Taking UPC Policies
Louisiana Commissioner Jim Donelon is notifying property/casualty insurers that they will receive credit toward the Insure Louisiana Incentive Program’s grant requirements for assuming United Property & Casualty Insurance Co. policies before they are canceled by the Florida judicial system on …
States Must Include Cybersecurity in Water System Audits, EPA Says
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a memorandum on Friday requiring states to analyze cyber defenses at public water systems during periodic audits. The audits, called sanitary surveys, are already required by the EPA to detect harmful chemicals. Water utilities are …
Texas Anti-ESG Push Is Coming for Insurers and Pensions in New Bills
A Texas lawmaker is seeking to broaden the fight against ESG (environmental social governance) policies by imposing further limits on the types of investments state pension managers can make and restricting shareholder proposals that would dictate insurance companies’ business with …