Israel Aims to Boost Red Sea Oil Deliveries Despite Environmental Risks
Israel plans to allow more oil tankers to dock at a Red Sea port in Eilat despite environmental risks, as it strives to maintain energy security amid conflict on multiple fronts, according to Israeli officials and government documents. Prime Minister …
Cleaner Shipping Fuel Is Contributing to Ocean Warming: Report
Shipping fuel regulations introduced in 2020 have led to a substantial cut in sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution, but may also have made the ocean warmer by reducing cloud cover, according to a modeling study in a paper published late on …
Nationwide’s Kandhari Talks Building a Bionic Workforce With AI
Nationwide’s Chetan Kandhari said the company is working to build a bionic workforce. Maybe that brings to mind robots, futuristic technology and sci-fi imagery, but Kandhari said no one should fear robots replacing humans. Bionic simply means that biological components …
US P/C Insurers Hit Record Investment Income in 2023
The U.S. property/casualty insurance segment’s net investment income hit a record $73.9 billion in 2023, bolstered by the higher interest rate environment, according to a new AM Best report. The Best’s Special Report, “U.S. P/C Insurers Achieve Record Investment Income …
AIG Drops Claims Against Former Execs Who Started Dellwood Insurance
American International Group and a group of its excess and surplus lines subsidiaries have dropped claims against three former AIG executives who launched Dellwood Insurance Group but its claims against the E&S lines insurer live on. AIG earlier in May …
‘Cautiously Optimistic’ on Florida: Defense Costs Down, but Reinsurance Still a Drag
Analysts with the AM Best financial rating firm and other stakeholders are cautiously optimistic about the resurrection of the Florida property insurance market, 18 months after state lawmakers approved monumental litigation reforms. That was the sentiment gleaned from a Thursday …
Boeing Pays Millions in Wages After in Washington Investigation
A Washington wage complaint investigation resulted in The Boeing Co. paying $11.5 million in unpaid wages to nearly 500 workers. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries reports receiving four complaints in November 2022 from workers who were performing …
Clinic Sued for Allegedly Firing Employee for Not Disclosing Disability in Job Interview
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is pursuing a case against an employer the agency says fired a new employee for not disclosing her low vision disability in her job interview. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from …
Denial of House Fire Claim Upheld. Insureds Never Knew Their Policy Was Nonrenewed.
A Connecticut Appeals Court has affirmed that an insurer is not obligated to provide actual notice of a home insurance nonrenewal; proof that the insurer sent the notice by registered or certified mail is sufficient. The homeowners claimed they never …
Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Team Assessing Likelihood of Another Tragic Bridge Disaster
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore are assessing the country’s bridges to determine the likelihood of another disaster like the one that collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The team includes students and faculty members and will focus on …
People Moves: Pastorius Joins Alliant Insurance Services as EVP, Managing Director
Mark Pastorius joined Alliant Insurance Services as executive vice president, managing director within Alliant Specialty. Pastorius’ insurance career spans more than 37 years. Before joining Alliant, Pastorius was an executive vice president and managing director at Lockton Companies where he …
Oregon Wineries and Vineyards Seek $100M from PacifiCorp for Wildfire Smoke Damage
Dozens of Oregon wineries and vineyards have sued PacifiCorp over the deadly 2020 wildfires that ravaged the state, alleging that the utility’s decision to not turn off power during the Labor Day windstorm contributed to blazes whose smoke and soot …
Chicago Man Convicted of Murder Based on Blind Witness’ Testimony Sues City, Police
CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago man convicted of murder based in part on testimony from a legally blind eyewitness is suing the city and the police department. A judge convicted Darien Harris in 2014 in connection with a fatal shooting …
Relation Insurance Services Acquires Oklahoma’s First Insurance
Relation Insurance Services acquired the assets of First Insurance an Affiliate of FirstBank, Inc. The transaction went into effect on April 1, 2024; terms of the transaction were not disclosed. First Insurance, based in Durant, Oklahoma, offers commercial and personal …
Nicotine-Like Chemicals in US Vapes May Be More Potent Than Nicotine, FDA Says
Nicotine alternatives used in vapes being launched in the U.S. and abroad, such as 6-methyl nicotine, may be more potent and addictive than nicotine itself, though the scientific data remains incomplete, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) …
More Than 5 Million Texans Live in Flood-Prone Areas According to State Flood Plan
More than 5 million Texans, or one in six people in the state, live or work in an area susceptible to flooding, according to a draft of the state’s first-ever flood plan. The plan by the Texas Water Development Board …
Indiana-Based RV Manufacturer to Pay $95K in EEOC Disability Suit
Goshen, Indiana-based Keystone RV Company, a leading manufacturer of towable RVs, will pay $95,460 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination suit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced. According to the …
Texas Storm Leaves Thousands of Homes Without Power: Weather Watch
Across parts of Texas, and mostly in the east, 500,789 customers reportedly had outages at 4:45 am EDT, according to PowerOutage.us. On Tuesday, 1,161 flights into and around the US were canceled with the majority of those in Dallas and …
Samsung Faces Probe After Two Chip Workers Exposed to Radiation
South Korea’s nuclear safety authorities are carrying out an on-site investigation after two employees at a Samsung Electronics Co. semiconductor plant were exposed to radiation. The employees are showing abnormal symptoms on their fingers because of localized exposure, though their …
People Moves: Specialist Aviation MGA Itasca Names John as CEO, Succeeding Zolotusky; DUAL Group Appoints Allianz’s Sayce as Group Head of Emerging Products
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at aviation specialist Itasca MGA Ltd. and DUAL Group, Howden’s MGA subsidiary. A summary of these new hires follows here. Specialist Aviation MGA Itasca Names John as CEO, Succeeding Zolotusky Itasca MGA …