INSURANCE NEWS
Florida OIR: $3B Spent on Claims Defense in 2021; 27 Insurers Now on Watch List
In 2021, Florida’s domestic property insurers spent more than $3 billion on legal defense costs and containment – double the figure reported in 2016. That’s one jaw-dropping but not surprising takeaway from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s recently posted …
Higginbotham Acquires Texas’ Brown & Company
Brown & Company Insurance Services, an employee benefits and individual life and health insurance agency in College Station, Texas, has combined with Higginbotham, an insurance, financial and HR services firm ranked as the 20th largest independent broker in the U.S. …
People Moves: Beazley Chair to Step Down; Miller Forms Farms & Estates Team With 2 Hires From Aon; AXA XL Names HDI’s White as Senior PI Underwriter
This edition of International People Moves details board changes at Beazley and appointments at Miller and AXA XL. A summary of these new hires follows here. Beazley’s Chair Roberts to Step Down Beazley plc announced that its chair, David Roberts …
Ex-East Texas Deputy Pleads Guilty to Using Excessive Force
A former East Texas deputy has pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation for punching a restrained detainee in the chest repeatedly with a shock gun, according to court documents. Former Van Zandt County sheriff’s deputy David Yager pleaded guilty …
People Moves: Liberty Mutual Global Risk Solutions Names Geary President, Insurance Solutions; Norton Promoted to K&K President & CEO as Bixler Retires
Liberty Mutual Global Risk Solutions Names Geary President, Insurance Solutions Liberty Mutual Insurance Global Risk Solutions (GRS) has appointed Elizabeth Geary as president, Insurance Solutions. Geary will report to GRS President of Underwriting Matthew Moore, effective late August. Geary is …
City in California Paying $360K to Settle Lawsuit by Council Member
The Oakland City Council agreed to approve a $360,000 settlement with a former council member who filed a lawsuit alleging the city and police violated his civil rights when officers threw him face-down inside City Hall in an incident he …
TikTok Algorithm Steers Violent Videos to More Minority Than White Users: Lawsuit
TikTok faces a claim that its algorithm steers more violent videos to minority subscribers than to White users in a lawsuit blaming the platform for the death of a 14-year-old African-American girl. The complaint, which also names Meta Platforms Inc., …
OS Climate Launches Tools to Help Firms, Investors Make Climate-Friendly Decisions
Non-profit OS Climate on Wednesday launched the first in a series of free tools to drive climate-friendly decision making by companies, financial institutions and governments. As a project of the Linux Foundation, a non-profit technology consortium founded in 2000 that …
How Climate Change Drives Heatwaves and Wildfires
Brutal heatwaves are gripping both Europe and the United States this week and are forecast to dump searing heat on much of China into late August. In addition to temperatures spiking above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), wildfires are raging across …
Americans Bake in Record-Breaking Heatwave
Some 100 million Americans from New York City to Las Vegas are under heat warnings this week as temperatures rise well above 100 Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), part of a trend of extreme weather made worse by climate change. New York …
NHL Stymied by Judge in Its Pursuit of Billions From Insurer for COVID Damages
The National Hockey League can pursue a lawsuit against its insurance provider over losses stemming from the COVID pandemic — but not for the billions of the dollars in damages the league’s 19 clubs sought. California Superior Court Judge Sunil …
Fired Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant Wins $5.1 Million Verdict
DALLAS (AP) — A former Southwest Airlines flight attendant who was fired after sparring with her union president over abortion and other issues won a $5.1 million jury verdict against the airline and the union. A jury in federal district …