INSURANCE NEWS
Texas Hair Styling College Settles Discrimination Lawsuit
Dallas Barber and Stylist College, Inc., which operates multiple barber and hair styling locations and instructional campuses in the Dallas metropolitan area, will pay significant monetary damages and provide other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed by the …
Wildfires Fan Record Sales of Catastrophe Bonds to Backstop Risk
Insurers are turning to catastrophe bonds to pass on historic levels of wildfire risk to the capital markets. Issuance of cat bonds that include exposure to wildfires has already soared to more than $5 billion so far this year, according …
Parasite Outbreak Tied to Two Deaths in Michigan, CDC Says
Two people have died in Michigan from the severe diarrhea-causing parasite that has sickened thousands across the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both had underlying health conditions, the agency said in a statement Monday. The …
FBI Investigates Cyberattacks on Water Systems in Michigan and Minnesota
Michigan on Saturday joined Minnesota in reporting cyberattacks on nine of the state’s water systems but an official said all systems were operating “safely.” Earlier this week, authorities said cyberattacks targeted over 30 water systems in Minnesota. The source of …
EEOC Moves to End Employer Reporting of Worker Race, Sex Data
The U.S. agency that enforces laws banning workplace discrimination moved to scrap a requirement that employers annually submit data on the race and sex of their workers, which since its adoption in the 1960s has been a cornerstone of civil …
Hackers Hit Bitcoin’s Safest Hiding Place in Ongoing Attack
Hackers have found a software flaw in a brand of “cold” Bitcoin wallet — considered one of the safest places to store cryptocurrency — and are siphoning tens of millions of dollars in an ongoing attack. Late last week, Canada-based …
South Korea Fines Telecoms Firm KT Corp. $37.4 Million for Personal Data Leak: Panel
South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission has fined telecoms company KT Corp. 54 billion won ($37.43 million) for a leak of customer personal information, the commission said on Thursday [July 30]. Hackers stole more than 16,600 KT mobile service customers’ …
NHTSA Says Some Older Ford Cars, SUVs Pose Unreasonable Safety Risks
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Aug. 3 that some older Ford cars and SUVs pose unreasonable safety risks because the timing belt may fail and cause them to lose power or engines to seize. The U.S. auto …
Troubled Alabama City Loses its Liability Insurance Coverage
An Alabama city, long plagued with budget shortfalls, charges of corruption and a dwindling tax base, has lost its liability insurance coverage amid an ongoing financial and leadership crisis. Local and state news sites reported that the Alabama Municipal Insurance …
Wildfires Destroy Hundreds of Structures in Washington State
Hundreds of structures have been destroyed and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, as wildfires rip through eastern Washington state in what Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown called “the worst natural disaster our region has faced.” As of about …
American Family to Acquire Bowhead Specialty in $1.2B Cash Deal
American Family Mutual Insurance Co. has agreed to buy all outstanding shares of specialty insurer Bowhead Specialty Holdings for about $1.2 billion in cash. Under the terms of the transaction, each Bowhead stockholder will receive $34 per share in cash, …
Plymouth Rock Launches ChatGPT for Home Insurance Quotes
Homeowners can now obtain insurance quotes from Plymouth Rock Home Assurance through a “natural” conversation with ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot created by OpenAI. The insurer claims it creates a “faster, simpler, and more accessible way to shop for coverage.” …