INSURANCE NEWS
Massive Wildfire Liabilities Push Utilities to Use AI to Stop Blazes
On the hunt for cheap and fast strategies to prevent deadly wildfires, utilities across the US and Europeare contracting with a handful of artificial intelligence startups to map wildfire risk along thousands of miles of power lines, picking out individual …
Deadly Floods Hit Southeast Asia as More Rain Forecast
Heavy rainfall has unleashed deadly floods across Southeast Asia, damaging crops and stranding tourists, with more downpours expected into early next week. Flooding in southern Thailand has killed at least 13 people and swamped around 800,000 households and rubber- and …
Insurers’ Investment in Synthetic Risk Transfers Face Fresh Scrutiny Under EU Proposals
Insurers putting money into one of private credit’s hottest trends will face fresh oversight from the EU’s financial stability watchdog, under new proposals to bridge the gap between member states on a deal to revamp Europe’s securitization market. Denmark, which …
Credit Suisse Fails to Topple $600 Million Rogue-Banker Bill
A Credit Suisse unit in Bermuda lost its UK court fight to topple a $600 million damages award to sanctioned Georgian tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili. The Privy Council — the top tribunal for cases brought in many British territories — dismissed …
Thanksgiving No. 1 Day of the Year for Cooking Fires in US
Thanksgiving is the No. 1 day of the year for home cooking fires in the U.S., and leaving food unattended is the leading cause, the Red Cross reported. According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking accounts for 80% of …
How AI Could Reboot Britain’s Services-Heavy Economy
When accountants at mid-tier firm Moore Kingston Smith began using artificial intelligence to speed up their work, profit margins jumped. Colleagues in another team running checks against corporate fraud created a report for customers in two hours, something that previously …
Binance Faces Lawsuit by Hamas Victims Under Anti-Terrorism Law
Binance Holdings Ltd. faces a lawsuit claiming the cryptocurrency platform “knowingly facilitated” crypto transactions by Hamas before the group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. More than 300 victims and family members of …
Insurance Customers Skeptical About AI Processes and Benefits
While insurance consumers may be warming up to artificial intelligence, 68% say they believe the insurance company gets most of or all the benefits of AI adoption. AI is becoming more ingrained and accepted as part of the insurance industry’s …
Barge Looted in the Bahamas Returns to Florida But Insurance Claims Mounting
A barge carrying 192 shipping containers that ran aground in the Bahamas and was quickly looted has returned to Jacksonville, ending a stormy journey that will likely result in millions of dollars in insurance claims. The barge, known as the …
Lawsuit Alleges Farm Bureau Financial Concealed Fraudulent Activities
Two former top investigators for Farm Bureau Financial are suing the company for fraud, racketeering and wrongful termination. The lawsuit alleges the insurer’s management group knew of fraudulent activity committed by company employees and refused to report fraud to state …
More Federal Legislation Introduced to Tackle Third-Party Lit Funding
Sen. John Kennedy has introduced a new bill aimed at reforming the courtroom practice of third-party litigation funding. Kennedy, R-La., introduced the Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act last week, and it was immediately supported by the insurance industry …
Meta Buried ‘Causal’ Evidence of Social Media Harm, Court Filings Allege
Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health, according to unredacted filings in a lawsuit by U.S. school districts against Meta and other social media …