Insurance Level News and Press

AM Best Rating Acitivity and News

Jones Jones Managing Partner: New York Law Expands Workers’ Comp to Cover Mental Health
Sarah Thomas, a managing partner at Jones Jones, discusses a New York bill enhancing mental health services and explores the evolving role of mental health in workers' compensation and how insurers ...
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Source: BestWire

Aon Estimates $53 Billion in First-Quarter Cat Losses, 95% in US
Global industry catastrophe losses in the first quarter are expected to meet or exceed $53 billion, according to Aon. The outsize losses came from the January wildfires in Los Angeles. Aon said ...
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Source: BestWire

Best's News: Bermuda Group CEO: Long-Term Insurance Sector Poised for Global Leadership
Bermuda has long been recognized as a global hub for innovation and leadership in the insurance and reinsurance markets — and the long-term care sector is no exception. At the forefront of this ...
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Source: BestWire

Louisiana Auto Insurance Reforms Starting to Take Shape
A suite of automobile insurance-focused bills was approved by the Louisiana House of Representative Committee on Civil Law and Procedure, finally giving shape to long-awaited and much talked about ...
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Source: BestWire

Zorro CEO: AI Helps to Personalize Health Coverage Options
Zorro co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Guy Ezekiel said the company leverages data and artificial intelligence to help employees navigate personalized health benefit options. Ezekiel spoke with ...
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Source: BestWire

Empathy Operations Chief: Generational Wealth Transfer Puts Spotlight on End-of-Life Planning
Sophie Ruddock, Empathy operations chief, said most Americans remain unprepared for generational wealth transfer. Ruddock spoke with AM Best TV at the InsurTech Spring Conference in New ...
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Source: BestWire

Marsh Managing Director, We2Sure Co-Founder: Insurance Facility Tackles Carbon Credit Fraud Risks
Jackie Quintal, managing director of Marsh’s Financial Institutions Group, and We2Sure Co-founder Simon Wigzell discuss carbon credit fraud and a new insurance facility to help businesses address the ...
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Source: BestWire

CAC Specialty EVP: AI Risks in Health Care Becoming Growing Challenge for Insurers
Melissa Menard, executive vice president of health care at CAC Specialty, said as artificial intelligence transforms health care, insurers must tackle biases, cyberrisks and adapt underwriting to ...
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Source: BestWire

AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of The Fortegra Group, Inc.’s Insurance Subsidiaries
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICRs) of “a-” (Excellent) of the operating subsidiaries of The Fortegra ...
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Source: BestWire

Guidewire Senior Director: Advanced Wildfire Modeling Helps Mitigate Risk
Tammy Nichols Schwartz, senior director of analytics at Guidewire Hazard Hub, discussed the evolving role of wildfire risk models in underwriting, pricing and risk management. View the video ...
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Source: BestWire

Supreme Court ACA Preventive Care Decision Could Reverberate Across Private Market
On April 21, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments in Kennedy v. Braidwood, a case that challenges the constitutionality of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and could alter the ...
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Source: BestWire

Conn. Commissioner, PHL Variable Investors Disagree on Death Benefit Premium Offset Rules
Policyholders and investors of distressed PHL Variable Insurance Co. want to use unpaid death benefits from matured policies to pay off premiums for in-force policies, a move being blocked by the ...
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Source: BestWire

Nationwide Names Successor to Retiring Head of Excess Casualty
Nationwide appointed Mary Horsch to lead its excess casualty underwriting and production. She is succeeding Glen Curley, who announced his retirement earlier this year (BestWire, Jan. 13, 2025). ...
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Source: BestWire

AM Best Downgrades Credit Ratings of PrimeOne Insurance Company
AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B- (Fair) from B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “bb-” (Fair) from “bbb-” (Good) of PrimeOne Insurance Company (Dallas, TX) ...
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Source: BestWire

Mangrove Property Picked Up 30,000 Florida Citizens Policies in April
Mangrove Property Insurance said it assumed 30,000 policies from Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp., effective April 15. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved the company ...
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Source: BestWire

Kansas Eliminates Certain Producer Fees, Lowers Premium Taxes
Several bills that were supported by the insurance department and designed to reduce the cost of doing business for carriers and other insurance professionals in Kansas have been signed into ...
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Source: BestWire

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Insurance Information Institute News (IIHS & HLDI)

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Insurance Journal News

Florida Bill Advances, Would End Board of Engineering, Other Professional Agencies
Elon Musk’s age of government efficiency has spread to Florida, with legislation advanced last week that would abolish at least 22 state boards that oversee licensing and disciplinary reviews for engineers, contractors, building inspectors, accountants and many more professionals. House …
Date: Monday, April 21, 2025

Bayer Lobbies States in Battle to Keep Glyphosate on Market, CEO Says
Bayer is lobbying U.S. states to adjust their regulations in the battle to control costly litigation targeting its herbicide glyphosate but is also prepared for a possible exit from the market, the group’s CEO said on Thursday. Facing weak earnings, …
Date: Monday, April 21, 2025

Gov. Hochul’s Proposed Regulatory Changes to Workers’ Comp Treatment
In her 2025 State of the State, Gov. Kathy Hochul outlined several proposals aimed at improving access to medical care within the New York State Workers’ Compensation system. These initiatives, detailed in her “Fighting for Your Family” agenda and elaborated …
Date: Monday, April 21, 2025

High Cost of Living Fears We’re Made Worse by LA Wildfire in UCLA Survey
The high cost of living remains a main concern in America’s largest exacerbated by the January 2025 wildfires is one of the biggest worries bothering residents of Los Angeles County. A survey focused on the county, the nation’s largest with …
Date: Monday, April 21, 2025

Tesla Settles Employee’s California Suit Alleging Pervasive Harassment
Tesla settled a racial discrimination lawsuit by a Black female employee who claimed a manager at its Fremont, California, plant sometimes greeted workers by saying “welcome to the plantation” or “welcome to the slave house.” Raina Pierce, who installed latches …
Date: Monday, April 21, 2025

Navion Acquires P/C Business of Instasure in California
Navion insurance Associates Inc. acquired the property/casualty book of business from Instasure in California. Instasure is an insurance agency that specializes in serving the commercial insurance needs of clients. Navion Insurance Associates is based in Yorba Linda, California. It is …
Date: Monday, April 21, 2025

New York’s Delayed Retail Worker Safety Act Goes into Effect June 2
Originally set to go into effect Jan. 31, New York’s new law offers workers more protections against workplace violence and harassment. The Retail Worker Safety Act (S. 8358B/A. 8947C), signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Sept. 4, 2024, requires …
Date: Monday, April 21, 2025

FDA Suspends Food Safety Quality Checks After Staff Cuts
The Food and Drug Administration is suspending a quality control program for its food testing laboratories as a result of staff cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services, according to an internal email seen by Reuters. The proficiency …
Date: Monday, April 21, 2025

Uber Spends Six Figures on Ads in Latest NY Insurance Reform Push
Uber Technologies Inc. is spending six figures on advertisements in New York in its latest appeal to lawmakers to address issues stemming from the insolvency of the city’s largest taxi insurer. The rideshare giant launched the campaign on Tuesday as …
Date: Friday, April 18, 2025

USI Says Lockton, Former Team Leader Poached Workers, Harmed Client Relations
USI Insurance Services, one of the largest brokerages in the country, has filed suit against a former sales team leader and another powerhouse broker, Lockton, accusing them of poaching employees and harming client relationships. Elisia Hahnenberg, who began her career …
Date: Friday, April 18, 2025

Federal Judge Blocks Labor Department From Enforcing DEI Ban for Contractors
A federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the U.S. Department of Labor from requiring government contractors and grant recipients to certify they do not operate any diversity, equity and inclusion programs that run afoul of anti-discrimination …
Date: Friday, April 18, 2025

Major Florida Grower to Build New Home Development After Ending Citrus Operations
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — One of Florida’s biggest citrus growers plans to build a 3,000-acre (1,200 hectare) community in southwest Florida, just months after announcing it was abandoning its citrus-growing operations at the end of this year’s season. Alico, …
Date: Friday, April 18, 2025

New Hampshire Regulates Use of Technology in Auto Claims, Property Underwriting
The New Hampshire Insurance Department (NHID) has issued a bulletin clarifying insurers’ obligations when using virtual claims adjustment systems to assess automobile damage. That guidance came in response to a growing number of insurers relying on photo and video submissions …
Date: Friday, April 18, 2025

Insurtech 1Fort Raises $7.5M to Support AI Binding Tech for Brokers
1Fort, the AI platform for business insurance, announced it raised $7.5 million in an oversubscribed funding round led by Bonfire Ventures. The round also included Draper Associates (Tim Draper); Karim Atiyeh, the founder of Ramp; and participation from all existing …
Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025

People Moves: Specialty MGA Appoints 2 Senior Underwriters for Africa & Middle East; DUAL Europe Expands Marine Business With New Team in Hamburg, Germany
Specialty MGA Appoints 2 Senior Underwriters for Africa & Middle East Specialty MGA Africa & Middle East, part of MNK Group and a sister company of Specialty MGA UK, announced the appointment of two new senior underwriters as it strengthens …
Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025

Black Residents Get Most of the Pollution But Few Jobs From Chemical Industry: Study
Residents of the mostly Black communities sandwiched between chemical plants along the lower Mississippi River have long said they get most of the pollution but few of the jobs produced by the region’s vast petrochemical industry. A new study led …
Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025

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