INSURANCE NEWS
Texas Refineries Prepare for First Winter Storm, Frigid January
Texas refineries are bracing for an onslaught of cold, snow and freezing rain as the US South’s first major winter storm sweeps in during what’s projected to be a frigid month. While temperatures in the upcoming storm aren’t expected to …
Warner Pacific Completes Acquisition of 5 Acrisure General Agencies
General agency Warner Pacific said it has acquired five general agencies from broker and fintech specialist, Acrisure, effective Dec. 1 2024. Financial terms were not disclosed. Westlake Village, California-based Warner Pacific’s Jan. 7 announcement said it will provide general agency …
People Moves: AIG Moves Flatt to Global CUO; Tooker Now President at The Hartford; Berkley Financial Names Brinkley Chief of Claims
American International Group (AIG) said Christopher Flatt, currently head of AIG North America alternative channels, has been named global chief underwriting officer, effective immediately. Flatt also held the the position of interim CEO of managing general underwriter Private Client Select …
Cal/OSHA Says Safeway Exposed Workers to Hazardous Conditions at Largest Warehouse
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health cited Safeway $182,000 in proposed penalties for safety violations that reportedly put roughly 1,700 workers at risk of serious injuries at the company’s warehouse in Tracy, their largest facility in the nation. …
Collateral Agreement Didn’t Mention Tort Claims, Cutting SUNZ Out of BP Funds
If insurance carriers want to have dibs on a company’s assets as premium security or collateral, they had better specify that those assets include potential tort-claim settlements, a federal appeals court said Wednesday. In a case that involved a Florida …
Catastrophe Bond Funds Say They’ll Dodge Losses as LA Fires Rage
The wildfires sweeping through Los Angeles are unlikely to trigger significant losses for catastrophe bonds designed to capture such risks. Roughly 12% of the $50 billion cat-bond market is currently exposed to wildfire risk, according to Florian Steiger, chief executive …
Meta Knew It Used Pirated Books to Train AI, Authors Say
Meta Platforms used pirated versions of copyrighted books to train its artificial intelligence systems with approval from its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a group of authors alleged in newly disclosed court papers. Ta-Nehisi Coates, comedian Sarah Silverman and other authors suing …
Insured Losses From Los Angeles Wildfires Rising: $8B to $20B
With aerial firefighting returning as strong Southern California winds died down for a bit, damage assessments from a handful of destructive Los Angeles area blazes are sure to become clearer—likely pushing up billion-dollar-plus insured loss estimates put forth from fires …
Hub Acquires Connecticut’s Byrnes Agency
Insurance broker Hub International Limited has acquired the assets of Byrnes Agency, Inc. in Connecticut. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1932, Byrnes Agency is located in Dayville and Norwich. The agency offers a full line of …
People Moves: GuideOne Insurance Appoints Wei Huang to Board of Directors
GuideOne Insurance, headquartered in West De Moines, Iowa, appointed Wei Huang to its board of directors. Huang, who serves as the senior vice president and senior client investment officer at Northern Trust Asset Management, has over two decades of experience …
ZestyAI Receives Approval From Missouri Department of Insurance
ZestyAI, a provider of AI-powered climate and property risk analytics solutions, has received regulatory approval from the Missouri Department of Insurance for its Severe Convective Storm suite, including Z-HAIL, Z-WIND, and Z-STORM. ZestyAI’s Severe Convective Storm suite has already received …
Green Bay Packers Online Store Hacked, Exposing 8,500 Customers
The Green Bay Packers’ online store was hacked in September and October, the franchise said in a data breach filing this week. A third party threat actor inserted a malicious code on the Packers’ Pro Shop website between September 23-24 …