INSURANCE NEWS
Google Expands in Miami After Its Billionaire Founders Buy Homes
Alphabet Inc. has more than quadrupled its office space in Miami this year shortly after co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin bought homes in the area. Google’s parent company signed a lease this spring to expand to about 45,000 square …
UK Lawmaker Lucy Rigby Appointed City Minister in Charge of Financial Services
New Prime Minister Andy Burnham appointed Lucy Rigby as Britain’s City Minister on Tuesday, putting her in charge of overseeing the country’s financial services sector. Rigby was in that role under Keir Starmer’s government between September last year and May …
Insurance M&A Pace Down 15% in First Half 2026: OPTIS
Insurance agency mergers & acquisitions in the first six months of 2026 were down 15% compared with the same period last year. As it did in its first-quarter report, investment banking and financial consulting firm OPTIS Partners said a downward …
Luxury Homes Are Raising Risks for California FAIR Plan
As California’s wildfire insurance crisis drives homeowners to the state’s insurer of last resort, wealthy areas such as Beverly Hills, Malibu and Bel Air make up an increasingly large portion of the liability exposure — a dynamic that experts fear …
Insurers Must Defend Hotels Accused of Sex Trafficking of Minors
Insurance companies cannot invoke “overriding public policy” in order to refuse to defend insured hotel owners and managers accused of enabling and profiting off of sex trafficking of minors, even though the state has criminalized such trafficking. “[N]either an insurer’s …
Chicken Back on Menu as Cyber-Hit Nichirei Restores Operations in Japan
Tokyo-based food producer and distributor Nichirei Corp. says it will fully resume operations this week after a cyber attack disrupted its food delivery services, affecting clients nationwide including Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan. Shipments of frozen food handled by Nichirei’s logistics …
Three Tankers Carrying Saudi Crude Make U-Turns in Red Sea After Houthi Warning
Three oil tankers loaded with Saudi crude for China and India made U-turns in the Red Sea on Tuesday, heading towards the Suez Canal rather than braving the Yemeni coast at the sea’s mouth following a warning from Yemen’s Iran-aligned …
EU Insurance Regulator Demands Long-Term View From Private Equity Buyers
Private equity firms seeking to buy European insurers must show they can support policyholders for the long term rather than pursuing a quick profit, Europe’s insurance watchdog said. Petra Hielkema, chair of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), …
Lloyd’s of London Says Former CEO Neal Breached Compliance Rules
Lloyd’s of London said former Chief Executive Officer John Neal breached its compliance rules after failing to disclose a close relationship that could have been perceived as creating a potential conflict of interest. An investigation found that Neal failed to …
Families of Men Switched at Birth Sue North Dakota Hospital
The families of two men who discovered through DNA tests that they were switched at birth 38 years ago are accusing a North Dakota hospital of robbing them of the lives they were supposed to lead. Kyle Bylin discovered his …
Texas Flood Destroyed 135 Homes in Kerr County, Governor Says
Swift-moving floodwater destroyed or heavily damaged 135 homes in Kerr County, Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday from Kerrville after taking a helicopter survey of affected areas and receiving a briefing by state and area officials. Water that surged over the …
Insurer Interest in AI Exclusions Growing as Risk Becomes Omnipresent
It’s no surprise given the penetration of artificial intelligence into lives and businesses that it appears insurers are gearing up to exclude AI risk in some of their commercial liability policies. Three ISO exclusions have garnered more interest from carriers, …