INSURANCE NEWS
Trump Administration Halts Environmental Litigation, Sidelines Lawyers: Sources
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has halted all pending environmental litigation and reassigned four career Justice Department attorneys focused on environmental issues, according to three sources familiar with the matter and a pair of memos seen by Reuters on Friday. …
FTC Has Bipartisan Support for Merger Cases, Outgoing Chief Says
The US Federal Trade Commission is likely to have bipartisan support to keep filing cases to block anticompetitive mergers under the Trump administration, said Henry Liu, the outgoing director of the agency’s Bureau of Competition. Liu, who led the agency’s …
Two Workers Injured in Explosion at Cannabis Facility
Two workers were injured in an explosion and fire at a cannabis extraction facility on Maryland’s Eastern Shore last Wednesday, state fire officials said. Firefighters were called to PharmaCann in Stevensville for a report of an explosion, according to the …
PayPal Pays $2 Million Cybersecurity Settlement to New York Regulator
PayPal, Inc. will pay a $2 million penalty to New York State for violations of the state’s financial services industry cybersecurity regulation. The failures on December 2022 led to sensitive customer information, including social security numbers, being left unredacted and …
Sky Zone in Washington Fined for Overworking Teens
The owner of a Tukwila, Washington, trampoline park faces more than $68,000 in fines for not giving teen employees meal breaks, and for working them longer hours than allowed under law. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries investigated …
LA Wildfires by The Numbers: Insured Losses, Total Losses, Ratings, Rates
The impact of the historic Los Angeles-area wildfires is being broadly examined and continually refined, with updates almost daily on insured losses, total economic losses damages, credit ratings—and lately worrying outlooks for the effect of the fires on insurance rates. …
Fitch Revises Mercury’s Outlook to Negative on More Possible LA Fire-Size Cats; Affirms Ratings
Fitch Ratings said in an outlook revision that it expects Mercury General Corp.’s credit profile will withstand the impact of the Eaton and Palisades fires near Los Angeles, but the agency also gave a negative outlook that reflects “the potential …
ZestyAI Approved in Minnesota
ZestyAI, a provider of AI-powered property and risk analytics, announced that its Severe Convective Storm suite, including Z-HAIL™, Z-WIND™, and Z-STORM™, has received regulatory approval from the Minnesota Department of Commerce. This milestone supports Minnesota insurers in improving storm risk …
Trump Administration Reviewing US Automatic Emergency Braking Rule
A U.S. auto safety agency said on Friday it is reconsidering a landmark rule from the administration of former President Joe Biden requiring nearly all new cars and trucks by 2029 to have advanced automatic emergency braking systems. The National …
Kansas Department of Insurance Recovers $11.8M in 2024
Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt announced the Kansas Department of Insurance recovered more than $11.8 million for Kansans in 2024. The Department’s Consumer Assistance Division has recovered over $47.7 million for Kansans since Commissioner Schmidt first took office in 2019. …
Crop Trader Declares Force Majeure Along US Gulf During Rare Southern Snow
One of the world’s biggest crop traders has halted loading of grain vessels at US Gulf terminals as the region’s worst snowstorm in 130 years slams the region. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. declared force majeure in southern Louisiana with vessels struggling to …
Texas Asks Wall Street Firms for Details About DEI Efforts
Texas and nine other Republican-led states are ratcheting up pressure on Wall Street’s diversity programs, asking firms about their policies on hiring and supplier selections as the Trump administration moves to gut DEI. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote on …