INSURANCE NEWS
Merck’s $8 Billion Cancer Vaccine Faces First US Jury Trial
Merck & Co. is facing its first jury trial over claims the company wrongfully marketed its lucrative Gardasil cancer vaccine as safe, the latest high-stakes litigation for the pharmaceutical giant. Lawyers for a Los Angeles woman will argue Monday that …
Florida Authorities Investigating After Trooper Shoots Suspect at Ocala Hospital
OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida Highway Patrol trooper fatally shot a suspect during an altercation at a central Florida hospital on Friday, authorities said. The altercation happened in the emergency department at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital in Ocala, Florida, …
Mangrove, Another New Property Insurer, Enters Florida Market
Former RenaissanceRe executive Stephen Weinstein has launched a new Florida-domiciled insurance carrier, known as Mangrove Property Insurance, with plans to assume thousands of policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Mangrove, with offices in Tallahassee, will be the 10th new insurer …
California Storm Raises Mudslide Risk, Closes Interstate
Southern California will clock a few more tense hours as showers continue to soak the burn-scarred landscape around Los Angeles. While the rains are helping fight wildfires that have killed at least 28 and destroyed more than 16,000 structures, they’re …
Generali Global Corporate & Commercial Enters Launches Business Unit in India
Generali Group has launched a new business unit – Global Corporate & Commercial (GC&C) India – within its joint-venture company Future Generali India Insurance. The moves further strengthens Generali’s presence in India’s rapidly growing corporate and commercial insurance segment, the …
South Korea’s Preliminary Jeju Air Crash Report Focuses on Bird Strike
South Korea released a preliminary report into last month’s deadly Jeju Air Co. crash that offers more detail on the role of bird strikes in the disaster, while still leaving crucial questions unanswered. The report sheds additional light on the …
Trump Proposes ‘Getting Rid of FEMA’ While Touring Disaster Areas
President Donald Trump on Jan. 24 surveyed disaster zones in California and North Carolina and said he was considering “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, offering the latest sign of how he is weighing sweeping changes to the …
Rhode Island Undertakes Phased Relaunch of Breached RIBridges Benefits Portal
The state of Rhode Island last week began a phased relaunch of the HealthyRhode customer portal associated with RIBridges system, which manages many of the state’s social service and benefit programs as well as its health insurance exchange. Officials said …
People Moves: Chubb’s Westchester Names Leaders of Three New Business Practices
Westchester, Chubb’s Excess and Surplus Lines Division, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, named three leaders for its recently formed new business practices – property, casualty, and financial lines – serving the organization’s digital and middle market, brokerage and programs businesses. Matt …
Climate Change Makes Fierce Winter Storms Like Éowyn Even Stronger
Winter Storm Éowyn pummeled Ireland and the UK with hurricane-force winds on Friday, creating blackouts for hundreds of thousands and disrupting travel across northwestern Europe. Éowyn was one of the strongest storms to hit the region and likely set new …
Sweden Seizes Ship Suspected of Sabotage in Baltic Sea
Sweden detained a vessel suspected of damaging a subsea data cable connecting it with Latvia, the third such incident in the Baltic Sea in the past three months. The Security Service said it’s conducting a preliminary investigation into the crime …
Auditors Get Tougher Guidelines on Judging Firms’ Environmental Claims
International auditors have been given new guidance on what to check when assessing firms’ environmental, social and governance claims – and how – as part of efforts to increase rigor and consistency, the chair of the industry’s global ethics watchdog …