INSURANCE NEWS
Greece Fights Deadly Fire on Aegean Island as Temperatures Soar
Greece is fighting a deadly fire on the island of Lesvos, as temperatures in some parts of the country exceed 40C (104F). A person died in a burned-out car on Lesvos, where authorities are investigating whether the vehicle was scorched …
Wildfires Encircle Canada’s Oil-Sands City Amid Hot Weather
A ring of wildfires has erupted around Canada’s unofficial oil-sands capital of Fort McMurray, adding new threats to crude production from the world’s third-largest petroleum reserves. Eight out-of-control blazes have been discovered just south and southwest of the city since …
Conning Study: MGA Market Still Growing
A hard market combined with underwriting capacity from fronting companies allowed for robust growth in the MGA market in 2023, according to a new Conning strategic study. The global investment management firm’s 11th annual study on the P/C program business …
CBO Says Mortgage Subsidy Cost from Flood Damage to Hit $395M by 2053
Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of floods in the U.S., posing greater risks to homeowners and mortgage lenders—and since flood damage tends to lower the market value of affected homes, it’s more likely that homeowners …
People Moves: AXA XL Appoints Madigan CUO for Mid-Market Environmental; Edsall Joins Tara Hill as SVP
AXA XL, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, appointed Joseph Madigan as chief underwriting officer for its North American environmental insurance business for the middle market. Madigan joined AXA XL’s environmental insurance business as an environmental underwriter in 1998 and previously served …
SpaceX Wins Block on Labor Board Case Over Severance Agreements
A federal judge in Texas said on Wednesday he would block the National Labor Relations Board from pursuing claims that Elon Musk’s SpaceX forced workers to sign illegal severance agreements, pending the outcome of the rocket maker’s challenge to the …
New Captive Insurer Targets New York Affordable Housing Market
A new Vermont-based captive insurer is promising to provide insurance for New York affordable rental housing buildings at a time when advocates say coverage is difficult to afford or obtain. The Milford Street Association Captive Insurance Co. will be owned …
California Insurance Commissioner Orders Insurance Preserved for 46K Residents Following Fire
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today ordered insurers to preserve residential property insurance coverage for roughly 46,000 policyholders affected by the Thompson Fire in Butte County. The move follows an emergency declaration over the fire from Gov. Gavin Newsom on …
Fifth Third Bank to Pay $5M Fine for Illegally Forcing Car Insurance Onto Borrowers
Fifth Third Bank agreed this week to pay a $5 million fine for illegally forcing vehicle insurance onto borrowers who had coverage. Fifth Third also agreed to pay a $15 million fine for illegal sales practices. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based bank …
Honeywell Defeats Fired Engineer’s Appeal Over Diversity Training
Honeywell did not violate workplace anti-discrimination laws by firing a white engineer who refused to participate in mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion training after the Black Lives Matter movement began, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday. The 7th U.S. …
People Moves: Rice Joins Alliant Insurance Services’ Employee Benefits Team
Brandon Rice joined Alliant Insurance Services, based in Irvine, California, as a vice president for its employee benefits group. Rice is based in Dallas. He most recently served as vice president at Lockton Companies, where he worked for over 18 …
Regulators Fine Citi $136M for Failing to Fix Longstanding Data Issues
U.S. bank regulators fined Citigroup $136 million for making “insufficient progress” fixing data management issues identified in 2020 and required the bank to demonstrate it was putting enough resources toward those efforts. The joint enforcement action from the Federal Reserve …