INSURANCE NEWS
After Tens of Billions in Insured Losses, Record-Breaking Hurricane Season Ends
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season ends Nov. 30 after 18 named storms including the earliest Category 5 storm on record, and possibly one of the costliest hurricanes to the insurance industry. Of the 18 named storms, 11 were hurricanes and …
Truliant Insurance Acquires Atkins & Associates in Greenville, South Carolina
Truliant Federal Credit Union and its Truliant Insurance subsidiary has acquired Atkins & Associates Insurance Agency in Greenville, South Carolina, expanding the firm’s presence in the Southeast. Atkins has been in operation for 16 years. Tory Atkins is principal. Truliant …
Tennessee Sees Big Jump in Insurance Producer Licenses in Recent Years
Tennessee has seen a 25% jump in the number of insurance producer licenses in the past five years, an increase that regulators have attributed to a population boom in the state and easy access to producer exams. The state now …
Florida Appeals Court Nods Enforceability of Forum Selection Clauses in PIP Cases
Nearly every insurance policy has a forum selection clause and nearly every opposite party wants to avoid them at all costs in hopes of finding a more favorable venue. A new opinion from Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal, Open …
World Insurance Acquires New England’s NorthStar Insurance
National insurance broker World Insurance Associates LLC reports it acquired NorthStar Insurance Services of Needham, Massachusetts on July 1, 2024. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. NorthStar was founded in 1995 and is one of New England’s largest insurance …
New York High Court Upholds Uber Arbitration Mandate in Previously-Filed Injury Case
In a 5-2 decision, New York State’s high court this week upheld Uber’s “clickwrap” agreement requiring arbitration of all disputes in a case of a passenger who was injured by another vehicle after exiting an Uber car. The woman had …
Ohio Man Sentenced in $229K Insurance Fraud Scheme
An Ohio man was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay restitution for filing 24 fraudulent claims with multiple insurance companies, totaling more than $229,000, the Ohio Department of Insurance announced. Justin Mack, a native of Buffalo, …
Kansas Commissioner Schmidt to Serve as NAIC Midwest Zone Chair
Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt will be serving as the Midwest Zone Chair for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in 2025. Committee assignments will be announced in January of 2025. “I look forward to leading the discussion on …
Texas Public Utility Commission Releases Report on CenterPoint Energy’s Beryl Response
When Hurricane Beryl swept through southeast Texas on July 8, its damaging 80-mile-per-hour winds took down thousands of trees and knocked out much of the electricity system. More than 2.6 million Texas power customers went without electricity for days in …
Walmart, World’s Biggest Retailer, Will Curb Diversity Efforts
Walmart Inc. is reversing course on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, joining a growing list of businesses retreating on DEI programs targeted by conservative activists. The world’s biggest retailer will no longer consider race and gender to boost diversity when …
People Moves: HUB Int’l Names Mark Dutton as President for HUB Canada West; Von Mesterhazy Named Managing Director of Allianz UK Specialty, as O’Keeffe Retires
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at HUB International and Allianz UK Specialty. A summary of these new hires follows here. HUB International Names Mark Dutton as President for HUB Canada West HUB International (HUB), the Chicago-based global …
AI Used for Good and Bad — Like Making Trickier Malware, Says Report
While the insurance industry is quickly adopting AI technologies to improve the speed and accuracy of routine functions, analyze data and assess risk, malicious actors use the same tech to disrupt business and profit from cyberattacks. Recognizing the potential exposure …