Insurance news

• DeCotis Insurance Names New CEO in Rhode Island

  14-10-2015 23:12
  
  DeCotis Insurance Associates, a specialty and surplus lines wholesaler and managing general agent based in Providence, Rhode Island, with an additional office in Braintree, Massachusetts, announced that Thomas DeCotis has been appointed CEO, succeeding his father, Paul DeCotis, who has …
  
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• Virginia’s TowneBank Expands Insurance Unit With 3 Agency Acquisitions

  14-10-2015 22:45
  
  TowneBank, a Portsmouth, Virginia-based community banking and financial services company, announced that it has acquired three insurance agencies in Virginia: Invincia Insurance Solutions in Chesterfield; Total Insurance Planning in Midlothian; and B.H. Baird Insurance in Warsaw. Terms of the transactions …
  
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• GMC Software, Guidewire PartnerConnect join together to offer streamlined insurer software

  14-10-2015 21:59
  
  The companies say that this partnership will enable insurers to deliver relevant personalized messages, at the right time and through their preferred channels.
  
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• Pharma firm Hospira to pay $400,000 for bias against female job-seekers

  14-10-2015 21:43
  Pharmaceutical firm Hospira Inc. will pay $400,000 in back wages with interest to 145 female job applicants to settle hiring discrimination charges by the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the DOL said Tuesday.
  
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• U.S. justices divided over advertising firm's class action appeal

  14-10-2015 21:35
  (Reuters) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared closely divided as it weighed a class action case in which advertising agency Campbell-Ewald Co.
  
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• Insurers in Massive California Fires Agree to Claim Handling Reforms

  14-10-2015 21:01
  
  Insurers handling wildfire damage from the Valley and Butte wildfires last month in Northern California has agreed to a claims handling process to help fire victims begin their recovery more quickly, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced on Wednesday. More than …
  
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• Hunter’s widow allowed to proceed with rifle liability case

  14-10-2015 20:35
  The widow of a man killed by a Remington rifle in a hunting accident that had a known defect has presented enough circumstantial evidence to proceed with her product liability lawsuit against the Remington Arms Co. L.L.C.
  
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• 8 steps to building a successful financial wellness program

  14-10-2015 20:27
  Two workplace wellness experts provide a best practices road map to a successful employee financial wellness program.
  
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• Religious organization insurer acquires state school boards' insurers

  14-10-2015 20:19
  Merrill, Wisconsin-based religious organization insurer Church Mutual Insurance Co. said Wednesday that they have agreed to acquire the insurance operations of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
  
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• Employers increase focus on workers’ financial wellness

  14-10-2015 20:07
  Everyone agrees money stress is the pits, but providing employees with financial management tools and guidance can be a tricky business.
  
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• Employers increase focus on workers' financial wellness

  14-10-2015 20:07
  Financial well-being is a growing concern for employers and employees alike, but the two groups may have different ideas on how best to address it.
  
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• ProPublica, NPR: Inside Corporate America’s Campaign to Ditch Workers’ Comp

  14-10-2015 20:00
  
  This article was published by ProPublica and NPR and is reprinted with permission. Standing before a giant map in his Dallas office, Bill Minick doesn’t seem like anyone’s idea of a bomb thrower. But backed by some of the biggest …
  
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• Fired engineering worker gets race, wage bias case reinstated

  14-10-2015 19:44
  
  A federal appeals court has reinstated a race discrimination charge filed by a former engineering firm employee who was allegedly hired at a lower salary than a similarly-qualified white worker, then became the first employee involuntarily terminated in...
  
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• Amtrak taps into capital market with $275 million cat bond

  14-10-2015 19:37
  
  The National Railroad Passenger Corp.
  
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• IronHealth Launches Hospital, Health System Liability Policy

  14-10-2015 18:59
  
  IronHealth, the specialty healthcare unit of Ironshore Inc., has introduced its “LeadingEdge” policy for hospitals and integrated health care systems.  IronHealth has developed the policy in response to the ongoing consolidation and evolution of healthcare business models to extend a …
  
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• Apple Loses Univ. of Wisconsin Patent Lawsuit

  14-10-2015 18:57
  
  Apple Inc. could be facing up to $862 million in damages after a U.S. jury on Oct. 13 found the iPhone maker used technology owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s licensing arm without permission in chips found in many of its …
  
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• H.J. Knight Hires Greene as Senior Account Executive in Massachusetts

  14-10-2015 18:56
  
  H.J. Knight International, a brokerage firm based in Braintree, Massachusetts, announced that Robert C. Greene has been named senior account executive within the Benefits Department. In this role, Greene will manage the service, reporting and renewal strategies for H.J. Knight …
  
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• Indiana’s Butler University Creating Student-Run Insurer

  14-10-2015 18:52
  
  Almost a quarter of the insurance industry is set to retire by 2022, and Butler University’s College of Business in Indianapolis is preparing its graduates to fill those voids by establishing its own student-run insurance company. As a “captive insurance …
  
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• Audit: FEMA Should Recover $3.2M for Sandy Boardwalk Repair in N.J. Town

  14-10-2015 18:52
  
  The Federal Emergency Management Agency should recover nearly half of the $7 million grant it gave to a New Jersey shore town to fix its boardwalk after it was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, a government audit found. Spring Lake’s two-mile …
  
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• BP to Pay Louisiana $58M for Legal Fees, Oil Spill Litigation Cost

  14-10-2015 18:45
  
  BP will reimburse $58.25 million to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office for its expenses, fees and litigation costs tied to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The Advocate reports money was included in BP’s record settlement …
  
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• Arkansas to Realign Highway for Crash Reduction

  14-10-2015 18:43
  
  An intersection on U.S. 65 in southeastern Arkansas is getting realigned in an effort to give drivers better sight lines and reduce fatal crashes. An estimated $500,000 and $750,000 will be spent to redevelop the intersection with Arkansas Highway 35, …
  
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• Russian cyber attacks have become more brazen and more destructive

  14-10-2015 18:40
  
  Russian computer attacks have become more brazen and more destructive as the country grows increasingly at odds with the U.S. and European nations over military goals first in Ukraine and now Syria.
  
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• Hamilton Joins J.M. Wilson as Sales, Agency Relations Specialist

  14-10-2015 18:37
  
  Wholesale insurance broker, J.M. Wilson, has added Andrew Hamilton as sales and agency relations specialist in its Carmel, Ind., office. With a focus on Indiana and Ohio, Hamilton will be the primary resource and liaison for insurance agents, listening to their …
  
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• Study: 1 in 5 small businesses would allow medical marijuana use at work

  14-10-2015 18:33
  
  Small businesses more tolerant of employees who use medical marijuana, other prescription drugs at work.
  
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• Dean Named President of Houston Independent Agents Group

  14-10-2015 18:31
  
  Kyle Dean, president and CEO of Dean & Draper Insurance Agency LP in Houston, has been elected to serve as president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Houston (IIAH) for a term beginning Sept. 1, 2015, through Aug. 31, 2016. …
  
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• Ohio Leads Midwest in Workplace Fatalities

  14-10-2015 18:26
  
  Data collected by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration shows Ohio leading all states in the Midwest region for the number of workers killed on the job this year. The Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reports the most up-to-date information available shows …
  
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• Universities trying to safeguard sensitive student, parent data

  14-10-2015 17:55
  MINNEAPOLIS — Universities have been requiring and retaining students’ and parents’ sensitive financial and medical information for decades and are taking steps to safeguard it from hackers.
  
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• Court rules worker who slipped and fell on ice should have seen it coming

  14-10-2015 17:43
  A New York Department of Public Safety worker isn't entitled to enhanced disability benefits because his fall in an icy parking lot wasn't an “accident,” a New York appellate court has ruled.
  
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• French advertiser to pay $3 million to settle gender bias claims

  14-10-2015 17:38
  (Reuters) — French advertiser Publicis has agreed to pay nearly $3 million to settle claims that it discriminated against female employees based in the United States in pay and promotions and fired some of them for taking maternity leave, lawyers...
  
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• Some employers nod to medical marijuana while at work

  14-10-2015 17:22
  One out of five small employers recently surveyed said they would be comfortable with an employee using medical marijuana on the job.
  
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• Gains Made on Wyoming Wildfire That’s Destroyed Dozen-plus Structures

  14-10-2015 17:20
  
  Wyoming State Forester Bill Crapser blames unseasonably dry weather with temperatures in the 70s and 80s for a destructive wildfire just outside Casper, which is practically unheard of at this time of year in the Cowboy State. Rainy weather helped the Rocky Mountain …
  
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• Girl’s Family Sues Oregon School over Alleged Seclusion Room Incident

  14-10-2015 17:16
  
  A lawsuit filed last week accuses Oregon’s Springfield School District of holding a then-7-year-old girl in a 6-foot-by-8-foot seclusion room for having a “meltdown” in class. The $300,000 lawsuit, filed by the girl’s grandfather, says the student’s Court Appointed Special …
  
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• French flood claim estimates reach $883 million

  14-10-2015 16:30
  French state-backed reinsurer la Caisse Centrale de Reassurance S.A. said Wednesday that severe flooding in the south east of France in early October would result in claims of between €500 million and €650 million ($679.5 million-$883.
  
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• PartnerRe puts Tianjin blast losses at up to $70 million

  14-10-2015 16:21
  PartnerRe Ltd. said its losses from the explosion at the port of Tianjin, China, in August likely would be between $50 million and $70 million.
  
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• Jaguar Land Rover says Tianjin blast to hit second quarter earnings

  14-10-2015 16:13
  (Reuters) — Jaguar Land Rover said on Wednesday its second-quarter results would be affected by a blast at the Chinese port of Tianjin in August which destroyed or damaged thousands of its cars at the site.
  
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• No more excuses: Use video

  14-10-2015 16:00
  
  Visual communications are more effective than text at conveying the meaning of your message
  
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• Hamilton USA CEO Ward Resigns

  14-10-2015 15:58
  
  Hamilton USA CEO Conan Ward has resigned less then two years after taking on the job to develop Bermuda-based parent company Hamilton Insurance Group’s U.S. operations, Carrier Management has reported. Hamilton Insurance Group issued a short statement noting that Ward …
  
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• Workers' Comp market update: Turbulence ahead?

  14-10-2015 15:00
  
  The Workers’ Compensation market could currently best be characterized as stable, but changes in the nation's workforce—coupled with rapid-fire technological advancements—threaten to upset the balance of the industry.
  
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• Democratic Presidential Candidates Oppose Obamacare’s ‘Cadillac’ Tax

  14-10-2015 14:47
  
  While Republican presidential candidates debate the best way to repeal and replace Obamacare, Democrats have a different issue to work out: what to do about the law’s excise tax on high-cost employer-based health care plans. Last month, Hillary Clinton called …
  
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• Republican Jeb Bush Offers Health Plan with ‘Cadillac’ Tax

  14-10-2015 14:39
  
  Jeb Bush, like other Republican presidential candidates, is vowing to repeal Obamacare, while making health care more innovative and affordable. Bush’s health care plan, outlined on Monday and Tuesday, discusses how he’d change a system that accounts for about 18 percent …
  
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• Drug-impaired driving on the increase while drunk driving declines in the U.S.

  14-10-2015 14:00
  
  Any drug—whether illegal, filled by a prescription, or over-the-counter—can impair a person’s ability to safely operate a vehicle.
  
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• Professor Steers Driverless Car Programmers Toward Ethical Questions

  14-10-2015 13:53
  
  It’s nothing more than a dune buggy on a cordoned-off street but it’s headed for trouble. A jumble of sawhorses and traffic’ cones simulates a road crew working over a manhole and the driverless car has to make a decision …
  
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• 20 cities Americans are flocking to and fleeing

  14-10-2015 13:00
  
  Population shifts impact insurance premiums and insurance agency growth opportunities. Are potential customers moving in or out our your area?
  
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• How insurance companies (and independent agents) can use social data to better market themselves

  14-10-2015 12:50
  
  Currently, less than 1% of the customers who tweet about their life events get a response or engagement from a relevant insurance company.
  
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• Volkswagen to recall nearly 1.2 million vehicles in U.K.

  14-10-2015 12:42
  
  Paul Willis, managing director of Volkswagen Group United Kingdom Ltd., said that nearly 1.2 million vehicles in the United Kingdom have been affected by the recent emission scandal, Xinhua reports.
  
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• Reinsurance rates still under pressure: Moody's

  14-10-2015 12:40
  
  Moody's Investors Service Inc. said that the outlook for property/casualty reinsurance pricing over the next 12 to 18 months is bleak, reports Artemis.bm.
  
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• AXA named top global insurance brand for 7th consecutive year

  14-10-2015 12:39
  
  Brand strategy firm Interbrand Corp. has named French insurer AXA S.A. as the top global insurance brand, The Philippine Star reports.
  
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• Premiums in Chilean insurance industry to grow 10.8% in 2015: Association

  14-10-2015 12:37
  
  Chile's insurance association has said that insurance premium volume in the country would grow by 10.8% at the end of 2015, reported Economiaynegocios.cl.
  
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• GCC insurance industry to hit $62.1 billion by 2020: Report

  14-10-2015 12:36
  
  U.A.E.-based Alpen Capital (ME) Ltd. has said in a report that the Gulf Cooperation Council's insurance industry is likely to hit $62.1 billion by 2020, reported Gulf Times.
  
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• India's Insurance Ombudsman seeks more powers

  14-10-2015 12:34
  
  India's Office of the Insurance Ombudsman has sought more powers to deal with higher claim cases as the number of complaints against insurers continues to rise, reports Asia Insurance Review citing The Hindu.
  
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