Insurance Level News and Press

AM Best Rating Acitivity and News

Weekly Calendar: AM Best Will Attend and Sponsor APCIA Executive Roundtable
AM Best will attend and sponsor the American Property Casualty Insurance Association's Executive Roundtable in Naples, Florida, Feb. 22–24, among several notable events on the insurance industry ...
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Source: BestWire

NY Insurance Regulator Issues Cease, Desist to Illegitimate Health-Sharing Ministry
The New York Department of Financial Services ordered House of Prayer and Life Inc. to stop operating in the state and issued it a $250,000 fine for operating as an unlicensed health insurer. The ...
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Source: BestWire

West Virginia Joins States Considering Banning Credit Scores From Underwriting
A bill was introduced in West Virginia that would curtail the use of credit scores with respect to home, private passenger automobile and other personal lines insurance. House Bill 5608 would ...
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Source: BestWire

Enstar to Acquire Commercial Insurer AF Group
Enstar Group Ltd. said it entered a stock purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Accident Fund Holdings Inc. from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan with the backing of investment ...
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Source: BestWire

Hiscox Re Names Leader of Newly Launched Hiscox Capital Partners
Hiscox Re & ILS, now known as Hiscox Re, is launching Hiscox Capital Partners and has appointed Liz Breeze to lead the team. Breeze has more than 20 years of experience in insurance and more than ...
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Source: BestWire

California Insurance Regulator Debuts Rate-Intervenor Reforms Proposal
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara unveiled a series of reforms he says will bring needed transparency and accountability to the state’s rate-review intervenor and Administrative Hearing ...
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Source: BestWire

Continental General Acquires Life, Annuity and Health Policies From State Guaranty Associations
Continental General Insurance Co. said it has completed an acquisition of two blocks of life insurance policies from the state life and health guaranty associations coordinated by the National ...
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Source: BestWire

Brown & Brown Appoints Chief Information Technology Officer
Brown & Brown Inc. has appointed Dorothea Henderson as chief information technology officer, effective Feb. 23. Henderson will lead the company’s enterprise technology strategy and oversee ...
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Source: BestWire

Aon Reinsurance Solutions Names CEO of Global Facultative
Aon plc has named Nick Fraccalvieri to succeed Andrew Laing as chief executive officer of global facultative for Aon’s reinsurance solutions, effective March 1. Laing will now focus fully on his ...
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Source: BestWire

ABI: UK Property Claims Hit $8.24 Billion in 2025
Insurers in the United Kingdom paid out £6.1 billion ($8.24 billion) in property claims during 2025, including £1.5 billion during the year’s final quarter, the Association of British Insurers ...
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Source: BestWire

Markel Insurance Promotes Head of Risk to Chief Risk Officer
Markel Insurance has promoted Colin Wildey to chief risk officer for Markel International, subject to regulatory approval. In his new role, Wildey will focus on further enhancing how risk informs ...
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Source: BestWire

Excess & Surplus MGA Tapco Underwriting Rebrands as CRC Tapco
CRC Group said its Tapco Underwriters Inc. managing general agent has been rebranded as CRC Tapco to highlight the connection between the two. The excess and surplus lines MGA specializes in the ...
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Source: BestWire

Beazley, Zurich Extend $10.85 Billion Acquisition Deadline
Beazley plc and Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. have extended their due diligence on the proposed £8 billion ($10.85 billion) acquisition of Beazley by Zurich as the groups said they are making ...
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Source: BestWire

Talanx Closes on Acquisition of Polish Entities From Meiji Yasuda Life
Talanx AG said it completed its acquisition of two insurers in Poland from Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. The Germany-based group and Meiji Yasuda Life mutually agreed to terminate a strategic ...
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Source: BestWire

Foresters Financial CEO Sees Adviser-Led Sales as 'Bread-and-Butter'
Matt Berman, president and chief executive officer of Foresters Financial, said he sees adviser-led sales as the "bread-and-butter" of the company's business, as it seeks to find a middle ground ...
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Source: BestWire

Definity: Travelers Canada Acquisition Costs Drop Fourth-Quarter Net Income
Definity Financial Corp.'s fourth-quarter net income fell to C$59.3 million ($43.6 million) from C$117.5 million a year, driven by C$74 million in pretax expenses related to its recent acquisition of ...
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Source: BestWire

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Insurance Information Institute News (IIHS & HLDI)

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Insurance Journal News

Popcorn Machine Catches Fire at Oklahoma Basketball Game
Oklahoma men’s basketball’s offense wasn’t the only thing that caught fire in the Sooners’ game on Saturday, Feb. 14. A popcorn machine caught fire at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman during the first half of OU’s game against Georgia, sending …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Pinpoint Predictive Secures Approval in Ohio and Georgia
Pinpoint Predictive, a risk assessment platform for property and casualty insurers, announced that its rating models have been approved for use in Ohio and Georgia, bringing its total number of approved states to nine. Insurers operating in Ohio and Georgia …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Houston Companies to Pay $200K to Workers Fired for Asbestos Concern
The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered two Houston, Texas-based construction companies and their owners to reinstate and compensate two workers who were fired for raising asbestos concerns during repair of a hotel after Hurricane Beryl. The department’s Occupational Safety …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Texas AG Sues Factory After Residents Complain About Noxious Odors
Texas’ top lawyer is taking a manufacturing company to court, saying its Bastrop plant smells like “boiling blood, and even death” and is making life miserable for people as far as 10 miles away. Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Severe Drought Prompts Burn Bans, Water Usage Restrictions in South Florida
South Florida water managers are sounding the alarm as the worst drought in a quarter-century has left parts of the state critically short of groundwater and reservoir supplies. “Without conservation, water supplies over the remainder of the dry season may …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

People Moves: Finys Names Theme as CCSO
Finys, aprovider of insurance software solutions for property and casualty carriers, announced that Emeka Iheme has joined the company as Chief Customer Success Officer (CCSO). Iheme brings more than 20 years of experience leading professional services, customer success, and client …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Bayer to Make $10.5 Billion Push to Settle Roundup Cases
Bayer AG is preparing to announce a $10.5 billion settlement push to resolve current and future cancer lawsuits over its top-selling Roundup weedkiller, according to people familiar with the plan. The German conglomerate is set to propose a $7.5 billion …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Tapco Underwriters MGA Rebrands as CRC Tapco
Tapco Underwriters, a North Carolina-based managing general agent, has new livery and a new name, 17 years after it was acquired by CRC Insurance Services. The MGA will now be known as CRC Tapco and will continue to focus on …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

3 Killed, 3 Injured in Shooting at High School Hockey Arena in Rhode Island
Rhode Island officials said that three people, including the suspected gunman, are dead, and three others were injured in a shooting during a high school hockey game at a Pawtucket arena on Monday afternoon. Police said the shooting appears to …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

World’s Growing Civil Unrest Has an Insurance Sting
A category of insurance risk that hardly existed a little over a decade ago has morphed into a meaningful source of losses for the industry. Claims tied to SRCC — strikes, riots and civil commotion — are emerging as a …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Beacon Mutual CEO Spero to Retire in 2027; Vitale Named Successor
Rhode Island-based Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. reported that President and Chief Executive Officer Brian J. Spero will retire effective March 31, 2027, after more than 18 years of service with the company. Amy C. Vitale, Esq., executive vice president and …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

UK Eyes Rapid Ban on Social Media for Under 16s, Curbs to AI Chatbots
Britain could bring in an Australian-style ban on social media for children under 16 as early as this year and close a loophole that left some AI chatbots outside safety rules, as part of government efforts to respond more quickly …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Preparing for an AI Native Future
Artificial intelligence is becoming a core competency for insurers that want to stay competitive in the face of geopolitical volatility, shifting claims patterns, persistent cost pressures and rising customer expectations. But to unlock AI’s full potential, carriers need to first …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Jury Finds Johnson & Johnson Liable for Cancer in Latest Talc Trial
A jury in Pennsylvania state court on Friday awarded $250,000 to the family of a woman who sued Johnson & Johnson alleging its talc-based baby powder was to blame for her ovarian cancer. The jury in the Philadelphia Court of …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

French Prosecutor Opens Probe Into Baby Milk Brands Over Contamination
The Paris public prosecutor has opened five investigations into baby milk brands distributed by Nestle, Lactalis, Danone, Babybio and La Marque en moins after contamination with toxin cereulide, it said on Friday [Feb. 13]. Cereulide, which can cause nausea and …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

São Paulo Battles Drought and Floods Together in Climate Paradox
São Paulo, one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas housing 21 million people, is living through its largest climate-induced stress test in more than a decade as deadly flash floods collide with a severe drought. Water in the region’s largest …
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

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