Flaws of the Saffir-Simpson Scale: Wind Isn’t the Only Threat in Modern Hurricanes
The insurance industry faces significant challenges in covering catastrophic risks, especially as climate change drives more extreme weather events. With soaring premiums and increasing exclusions, the need for an accurate assessment of these risks is more important than ever. The …
Britain Bolsters Sanctions Regime on Russia With New Trade Unit
Britain on Thursday launched a trade sanctions unit with new powers to penalize companies that fail to comply with restrictions on exporting services to Russia. Britain has announced sanctions on more than 20 billion pounds ($26 billion) worth of trade …
People Moves: Miller Promotes Nagle to Head of Miller Europe, Succeeding Holloway; Markel Taps AIG’s Eastwood as Sr. Cyber U/W
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at the insurance broker Miller and the insurer Markel. A summary of these new hires follows here. Miller Promotes Nagle to Head of Miller Europe, Succeeding Holloway Miller, the London-based independent specialist …
Markets/Coverages: AEGIS London-Led Lloyd’s Consortium Launches $25M Miner Rescue Insurance Cover
The Lloyd’s insurance market’s only product writing cover for the rescue of miners trapped underground has more than doubled its available cover from $10 million to $25 million with a launch of a new consortium led by AEGIS London. AEGIS …
Geopolitical Conflict Could Cost Global Economy $14.5 Trillion Over 5 Years: Lloyd’s
The global economy could be exposed to losses of US$14.5 trillion over a five-year period from the threat of a hypothetical geopolitical conflict causing widespread disruption to global trade patterns and supply chains, according to a report published by Lloyd’s, …
World’s Rivers Faced Driest Year in 30 Years in 2023: UN Weather Agency
The U.N. weather agency is reporting that 2023 was the driest year in more than three decades for the world’s rivers, as the record-hot year underpinned a drying up of water flows and contributed to prolonged droughts in some places. …
Munich Re Specialty to Enter Spanish Insurance Market
Munich Re Specialty announced it is entering the Spanish commercial market for primary specialty insurance, with an aim to begin underwriting in 2025. It has set up a Spanish branch of Munich Re Risk Solutions Ireland Ltd., which holds regulatory …
Lloyd’s of London Must Stop Supporting Fossil Fuel Expansion, NGO Says
The Lloyd’s of London market is undermining climate action and should impose binding rules to prevent insurers supporting fossil fuel expansion, NGO Reclaim Finance said on Wednesday. Some European insurers, including Generali and Zurich, have imposed restrictions on underwriting for …
GSK Agrees to Settle About 80,000 Zantac Lawsuits for Up to $2.2B
GSK has agreed to pay up to $2.2 billion to settle most lawsuits in U.S. state courts claiming that a discontinued version of the heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, the company announced on Wednesday. The agreement with 10 plaintiffs’ law …
Florida CFO Bars Insurers From Altering Adjusters’ Reports Without Explanation
Almost two years after a group of independent claims adjusters alleged that insurers had deceptively altered their damage estimates and low-balled policyholders, Florida’s chief financial officer has issued an emergency rule barring similar actions in Hurricane Milton claims. “Any move …
With Back-to-Back Storms, Florida Now Facing Delays in Claims Adjusting
With Hurricane Milton now expected to produce several hundred thousand wind-damage claims and with the storm coming so soon on the heels of Hurricane Helene, industry leaders are bracing for significant delays in claims adjusting. “We’re competing with Helene,” said …
Firefighters Still on Site More Than Week After Incinerator Trash Fire
It’s going to take about two weeks to remove smoldering debris from a Maine town’s trash incinerator after a fire burned in the waste for a week, officials said Tuesday. Firefighters have been stationed continuously at the trash incinerator, which …
Amwins and Floodbase Launch Flood Insurance Program for California Municipalities
Amwins and Floodbase have launched a municipal flood insurance program designed to insure California municipalities against previously uncovered losses due to atmospheric river flooding. The flood program closes the insurance gap with policy payouts that automatically scale with the magnitude …
EPA Proposes $4.2M Settlement Related to 2019 Explosion at Philadelphia Refinery
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a tentative $4.2 settlement with a firm that owned and operated a major East Coast refinery that was shuttered after an explosion and fire in 2019. The deal with Philadelphia Energy Solutions was …
Critical Locked Gate Overlooked in Investigation of Maui Fire Evacuation
The state attorney general’s latest report on the deadly 2023 Lahaina wildfire flagged various locked gates that blocked people trying to flee as flaws in Maui’s evacuation planning. Yet a padlocked gate where the largest cluster of Lahaina wildfire fatalities …
People Moves: Coleman to Succeed Mudge as WCIRB President and CEO
The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California governing committee selected Andrea Coleman, WCIRB executive vice president and chief operating officer, as the organization’s new president and CEO. Coleman’s promotion will take effect February 1, 2025. She is succeeding President …
Marriott Settles With States for $52M Over 2018 Data Breach at Starwood
Marriott International has agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission and 50 state attorneys general over a series of data breaches at a guest-reservation system subsidiary. According to multiple statements from the states, Marriott will pay $52 million to …
Court Reviews Civil Rights Lawsuit Alleging Environmental Racism in Louisiana Parish
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appellate court is reviewing a civil rights lawsuit alleging a south Louisiana parish engaged in racist land-use policies to place polluting industries in majority-Black communities. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New …
How Texas Weakened Its Own Air Pollution Monitoring Team
When disaster affects the sprawling industrial complexes of Texas, the state’s environmental authority often posts pictures online of its white vans patrolling public streets, verifying the local air is safe to breathe. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality calls this …
Utilities’ Extreme Plan to Stop Wildfires: Shut Off the Power
A growing number of utilities are resorting to an extreme measure to prevent their equipment from sparking catastrophic wildfires: turning off the power. Electric companies serving about 24 million homes and businesses across the fire-prone US West now have plans …