INSURANCE NEWS
UK Business Group Says Tax Clarity Needed at Budget to Support Investment
British finance minister Rachel Reeves needs to strike a positive tone at her first budget on Oct. 30 in order to give businesses the confidence to invest, the Confederation of British Industry said on Tuesday. After winning a large parliament …
Ukraine Says Russian Missile Hits Second Grain Ship
Russia targeted a ship loaded with Ukrainian grain with a ballistic missile Monday — the second in two days — killing one person and injuring five, according to the Infrastructure Ministry in Kyiv. The Optima, which sails under the flag …
Court Orders Start to Expose ‘Startling’ Data on Litigation Funding Sources
There is no federal law that requires the disclosure of litigation funding agreements in court cases, but some disturbing insight has been found in individual jurisdictions that have rules to increase transparency, according a panel on the topic at the …
Report Says Growth of Private Flood Insurance Has Stagnated But Others Disagree
The head of one of the largest private flood insurance writers this week questioned an A.M. Best report that said private flood companies are failing to make significant inroads in America’s troubled flood market. “From 2020 through 2022, private insurers …
Report Examines Migraine Drugs as a Potential Cost Driver in California Workers’ Comp
Migraine drugs represent a small percentage of prescriptions dispensed to injured workers in California, but they make up a larger share of workers’ compensation drug payments, a new report shows. Fewer than 1% of all prescriptions dispensed to injured California …
People Moves: Coalition Appoints AIG’s Simonsen as European Head of Insurance
Coalition, the San Francisco-based cyber managing general agent and cyber-security firm, has appointed Tine Simonsen as the company’s head of Insurance for Continental Europe. As an experienced cyber underwriter and broking leader, Simonsen will anchor Coalition’s presence and expansion in …
AM Best Downgrades Credit Rating of Shelter Mutual
AM Best has downgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “a” (Excellent) from “a+” (Excellent) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) of Shelter Mutual Insurance Company (Shelter Mutual) (Columbia, MO) and its property/casualty (P/C) …
Bowen, Miclette & Britt Acquires Texas’ M Surety Services
Bowen, Miclette & Britt Insurance Agency, LLC (BMB) has completed the acquisition of M Surety Services, a provider of contract surety bonds. BMB said the acquisition further strengthens its position in the surety bond market, following a series of strategic …
MNK Group Launches Labuan, Malaysia-Based Reinsurance Unit
MNK Group has launched a specialty reinsurance subsidiary in Labuan, Malaysia, called Pt Mekong Re. The business will offer flexible reinsurance solutions across Asia Pacific in addition to South Asia, the Gulf Cooperation Council (CGC) and Eastern Europe, providing additional …
Baltimore Unveils Details of $45M Opioid Litigation Settlement With Walgreens
Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott has unveiled the terms of the settlement reached last month with Walgreens to resolve the city’s claims against the company for its role in fueling the opioid epidemic in Baltimore. The city also said it …
Supreme Court Rejects ‘Pharma Bro’ Shkreli’s Appeal of $64.6 Million Penalty
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear former pharmaceutical company CEO Martin Shkreli’s challenge to a $64.6 million financial penalty imposed by a judge after he raised a lifesaving drug’s price by more than 4,000%. The justices turned …
Inside the Caroline Mountain Town that Helene Nearly Wiped Off the Map
CHIMNEY ROCK VILLAGE, N.C. (AP) — The stone tower that gave this place its name was nearly a half billion years in the making — heated and thrust upward from deep in the Earth, then carved and eroded by wind …