Insurance news

• Distracted drivers fault family members more than work, friends

  31-03-2016 21:45
  
  Eighty-two percent of Americans feel pressured to deal with family distractions, such as phone calls and text messages, while behind the wheel.
  
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• 40-Plus Structures Burned in Kansas, Oklahoma Wildfire

  31-03-2016 18:57
  
  Officials say a wildfire that burned hundreds of square miles of rural land in Oklahoma and Kansas this week destroyed at least 41 structures in both states. Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson says authorities in both states determined 16 …
  
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• Former Kansas Insurance Company Employee Sentenced for Embezzlement

  31-03-2016 18:52
  
  A former Topeka insurance company employee had been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for embezzlement. The U.S. attorney’s office says 47-year-old Erin Rebecca Thomas also was ordered to pay $215,000 in restitution. The former Topeka …
  
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• Southeast Texas School District Estimates $12M in Flood Damage

  31-03-2016 18:50
  
  The head of a Southeast Texas school district where flooding swamped an elementary campus with water 5-foot deep estimates $12 million in losses and little insurance. The superintendent of the Deweyville Independent School District said that efforts continue to resume …
  
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• Model Home Fortified Against High Winds to Be Built in Tulsa

  31-03-2016 18:49
  
  An insurer-backed property safety research organization announced it is helping to build a model home in Oklahoma that will be designed to withstand high winds and hail. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) said the first FORTIFIED …
  
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• CNA Adds Townsend as Sr. VP, Claim

  31-03-2016 18:35
  
  Chicago-based CNA has appointed Joel Townsend as senior vice president, Claim. He will be head of claims customer service for CNA’s global Management Liability, Financial Institutions and Technology business units. Townsend previously served as senior vice president and worldwide specialty …
  
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• Workers’ Comp Costs Decline in Arkansas

  31-03-2016 18:30
  
  The state’s top insurance regulator has approved a decrease in workers’ compensation rates in Arkansas. Effective July 1, the overall loss cost in the voluntary market will decline by 4.3 percent and the overall average assigned risk will decrease by …
  
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• Beazley Provides Data Breach Response Insurance in Canada

  31-03-2016 18:26
  
  Beazley announced the launch of the company’s flagship Beazley Breach Response (BBR) product in Canada, which is data breach response insurance that protects the personal data of up to five million individuals per breach. Canada’s Digital Privacy Act, passed in …
  
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• AIG CEO Hancock Sees Opportunity in MetLife Systemic Risk Win

  31-03-2016 17:31
  
  A judge’s ruling that MetLife Inc. is not “too big to fail” opens up an opportunity for insurer American International Group Inc. to seek an exemption from the tag, AIG Chief Executive Peter Hancock said on CNBC on Thursday. However, …
  
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• Utah Employers Must Accommodate Breast-Feeding Workers

  31-03-2016 17:18
  
  Utah is joining more than a dozen states to require businesses to offer breast-feeding and pregnant employees accommodations such as extra breaks during work. Republican Gov. Gary Herbert signed a law this week that makes it a requirement for employers …
  
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• Oregon PGE Sues Backers of Construction Bond for $180M over Shoddy Work

  31-03-2016 17:16
  
  A Portland, Ore.-based electricity provider that fired the contractor building its natural gas plant in Boardman is suing the backers of a bond guaranteeing construction. The East Oregonian reported Portland General Electric filed the lawsuit March 23 against Liberty Mutual …
  
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• Oregon Ice Cream Company Pays $55K Fine in EPA Settlement

  31-03-2016 17:12
  
  The Oregon Ice Cream Co. has agreed to pay $55,000 for violating federal safety rules at its Eugene plant. In 2011, Environmental Protection Agency inspectors found that the company failed to meet industry safety standards for its ammonia refrigeration equipment …
  
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• Company Passwords for Sale?

  31-03-2016 16:21
  
  Employees don’t see it as their responsibility to safeguard corporate security processes and one in five would go so far as to sell sell their company’s passwords to an outsider. Of those who would sell their passwords, 44 percent would …
  
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• New Health Insurance Customers Are Sicker. Should We Be Surprised? - New York Times

  31-03-2016 16:18
  New York Times
  New Health Insurance Customers Are Sicker. Should We Be Surprised?
  New York Times
  Before Obamacare, health insurance companies routinely refused to sell policies directly to patients who had illnesses like AIDS, hepatitis C or heart disease. It should be no surprise to anyone, then, that once the Affordable Care Act required ...and more »
  

• CNA Names Chubb’s Townsend as Senior Vice President for Claims

  31-03-2016 14:59
  
  Commercial property/casualty insurance carrier CNA has appointed Joel Townsend as senior vice president, Claim, responsible for claims customer service for CNA’s global Management Liability, Financial Institutions and Technology business units. Townsend has  25 years of experience in the claims area. …
  
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• Class Action Settlements Topped $3 Billion in 2015: Cornerstone Research

  31-03-2016 14:48
  
  There were 80 securities class action settlements approved in 2015, the highest number since 2010, and total settlement dollars rose to more than $3 billion, according to research by Cornerstone Research. The report, “Securities Class Action Settlements—2015 Review and Analysis,” …
  
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• MetLife Victory Could Push AIG, Pru to Fight Systemic Risk Designations

  31-03-2016 14:18
  
  After regulators slapped the too-big-to-fail label on MetLife Inc., Chief Executive Officer Steve Kandarian had several responses. One was to challenge government watchdogs in court — a move shunned by other insurers that got the TBTF tag. The CEO also …
  
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• AIG’s United Guaranty Files for IPO

  31-03-2016 14:08
  
  AIG’s mortgage insurance unit, United Guaranty Corp, filed for an initial public offering of up to $100 million with U.S. regulators, as part of a previously announced move to spin off the business. AIG announced in January it would spin …
  
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• Disasters cost insurers $37B in 2015, according to Swiss Re

  31-03-2016 14:00
  
  The biggest loss came from a man-made disaster — the explosions at the Port of Tianjin in China.
  
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• How to create a successful insurance sales direct mailer

  31-03-2016 13:45
  
  Creating the best direct mail piece requires blending together great content and an aesthetically pleasing design.
  
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• Advertising your agency online? Here are some tips

  31-03-2016 13:15
  
  Depending on what kind of insurance services you offer, the best meeting point between you and your potential clients may be online.
  
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• Top states where homes take a beating from Spring storms

  31-03-2016 13:00
  
  Hail, high winds and wet-weather claims are particularly high between March and May.
  
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• GM Wins Second ‘Bellwether’ Ignition Switch Trial

  31-03-2016 12:50
  
  General Motors Co. won its second straight trial against drivers who blamed car wrecks on faulty ignition switches, boosting the company’s outlook for resolving hundreds of similar cases on more favorable terms. The crash of Dionne Spain’s 2007 Saturn Sky …
  
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• Markel International Launches Fintech Business Protection Cover

  31-03-2016 12:32
  
  Markel International, the London-based specialist insurance subsidiary of Markel Corp., has launched a policy offering comprehensive protection for businesses in the financial technology (fintech) sector, which includes trading platforms, forex platforms and peer-to-peer crowdfunding sites. In financial services businesses, where …
  
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• Kenya Re Expects to Sell More Political Risk Cover in 2017, Boosting Earnings

  31-03-2016 11:51
  
  Kenya Reinsurance Corp., the country’s only publicly traded reinsurer, expects increased political risk linked to presidential elections in the East African nation next year to boost earnings, Chief Executive Officer Jadiah Mwarania said. Kenya is scheduled to hold the vote …
  
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• Everest Re Names Former Zurich Exec, Kerner, to Lead Strategy & Risk Mgmt.

  31-03-2016 09:28
  
  Everest Re Group Ltd. hired Michael Kerner, who previously led Zurich Insurance Group AG’s general-insurance unit, to head the strategy and risk-management team as the Bermuda-based reinsurer reshapes management. Kerner will be an executive vice president, Everest Re said Wednesday …
  
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• Zurich Chairman Predicts Improved Results; New CEO Greco Reviews Strategy

  31-03-2016 09:21
  
  Zurich Insurance Group AG will see improving results this year after taking steps to cut costs and overhaul units following unexpected losses at its general insurance unit, according to Chairman Tom de Swaan. “The implementation of these measures is going …
  
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• West Virginia Officials Propose $93K Fine Against Natural Gas Company

  31-03-2016 07:18
  
  West Virginia environmental officials have proposed a $93,000 fine on an Antero Resources natural gas company for polluting waterways. In a consent order, state Department of Environmental Protection and Antero Midstream LLC agreed earlier this month on the proposed fines …
  
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• West Virginia Pharmacists Reduce Hydrocodone Dispensing by Nearly 13M

  31-03-2016 06:32
  
  West Virginia pharmacies are dispensing significantly fewer doses of the state’s most popular prescription painkiller, hydrocodone. The number of prescribed hydrocodone products dropped by nearly 13 million tablets last year, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported, citing new data from the state’s …
  
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• North Carolina Resident Accused of Using Insurance Claim Check for Personal Use

  31-03-2016 06:15
  
  North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin announced the arrest of Alison Keli Underwood, 24, of Asheboro, N.C.; she is charged with one count of obtaining property by false pretense. NCDOI criminal investigators accuse Underwood of fraudulently obtaining $7,452.85 from Cincinnati …
  
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• Imm Joins Maryland Insurance Administration as Public Affairs Director

  31-03-2016 05:19
  
  Maryland Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer Jr. announced the appointment of Tracy Imm as the Maryland Insurance Administration’s (MIA) director of Public Affairs. In her role, Imm will serve as the agency’s point of contact for external and internal communications. Prior …
  
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• Massachusetts Court Rules on ‘Equitable Contribution’ Case

  31-03-2016 04:27
  
  Massachusetts’ top court ruled this month that a workers’ compensation insurer that has paid benefits under a policy has a right to pursue “equitable contribution” from a second insurer that also provided coverage to the same policyholder. The Massachusetts Supreme …
  
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• DOL Sues U.S. Steel Corp. Over Injury Reporting Practices

  31-03-2016 04:26
  
  The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that it has sued U.S. Steel Corp. for allegedly retaliating against two Pennsylvania-based employees who violated the company’s immediate reporting policy for workplace injuries. The Department of Labor said on Feb. 22 that …
  
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• Zurich chairman sees ‘better’ results as new CEO reviews focus

  31-03-2016 00:42
  
  Chairman Tom de Swaan, who served as acting CEO before Greco arrived, said Zurich is on track to achieve its cost-cutting targets.
  
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• Brown Promoted to Executive Vice President at Lockton Mountain West

  31-03-2016 00:01
  
  Ted Brown has been promoted to executive vice president at Lockton’s Mountain West operation in Denver, Colo. Brown focuses on structuring solutions to optimize clients’ total cost of risk in the real estate, development, construction, and private equity industries. Brown …
  
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• Everest Re hires Zurich’s Kerner to head risk management team

  31-03-2016 00:00
  
  Everest Re hired Michael Kerner, who previously led Zurich’s general insurance unit, to head the strategy and risk management team as the reinsurer reshapes management.
  
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