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 …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 7:06 PM |
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 …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 4:46 PM |
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 …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 4:32 PM |
Former Texas Insurance Broker Charged in Alleged Scam
A former Friendswood, Texas insurance agent turned himself into authorities last week over charges that he fraudulently brokered insurance policies, the Friendswood Police Department announced. Edgar Peralta of Edgar Peralta with Peralta Insurance Brokerage LLC, is charged with theft, a …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 4:00 PM |
Man Arrested Outside UnitedHealthCare Threatened to Shoot Up Headquarters
A man who was arrested outside the headquarters of UnitedHealthcare had a history of mental health issues and threatened to shoot up corporate facilities, according to charges filed Tuesday. The 26-year-old was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court with …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 3:44 PM |
Marsh McLennan Reports Organic Q1 Growth of 4%, a Decrease From Q1 2024
Marsh McLennan reported consolidated revenue during the first quarter of $7.1 billion, an increase of 9% compared with Q1 2024, or 4% on an underlying (organic) basis. MMC had organic growth of 9% in Q1 2024. Q1 operating income was …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 3:41 PM |
EPA Considers Weakening Regulations on Coal Ash Disposal
In 2022, federal officials rebuked a major coal plant next to the Ohio River for letting coal waste — in a pile so big it could fill the Dallas Cowboys’ football stadium twice over — threaten groundwater with heavy metal …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 3:39 PM |
Coal Country Voices Say Closure of MSHA Offices Endanger Mine Safety
Retired coal miner Stanley “Goose” Stewart questions whether it’s safe for anyone to work in the industry right now. The Department of Government Efficiency, created by President Donald Trump and run by Elon Musk, has been targeting federal agencies for …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 2:00 PM |
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Virginia’s Loudoun Mutual Insurance Co.
AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable of Loudoun Mutual Insurance Co. of Waterford, Virginia based on the “deterioration in Loudoun’s underwriting and operating performance” in recent years and corresponding “decline in overall risk-adjusted capitalization.” At the …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 1:32 PM |
Business Moves: NSM Completes Sale of Commercial Division to New Mountain Capital; Compre Buys Covea’s CSE Group
Specialty insurer NSM Insurance Group said it has completed the sale of its U.S. commercial insurance division to investment firm New Mountain Capital. The agreement includes NSM’s portfolio of 15 niche insurance programs across property/casualty, accident & health, and reinsurance—as …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 12:59 PM |
China Bans ‘Smart’ and ‘Autonomous’ Driving Terms From Vehicle Ads
China is banning automakers from using the terms “smart driving” and “autonomous driving” when they advertise driving assistance features, and will tighten rules around such technology upgrades, the government told industry representatives, according to a transcript of a meeting. The …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 11:53 AM |
Lloyd’s Broker Charged Over Alleged Ecuador Bribes
UK fraud cops have charged an insurance broker with bribery, after a four-year probe into alleged corruption involving state-run insurance contracts in Ecuador. The Serious Fraud Office accused United Insurance Brokers Ltd. of failing to prevent associates from bribing state …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 11:05 AM |
Viewpoint: A Favorable Prognosis—Healthcare at the Forefront of Cyber Risk
Healthcare organizations continue to find themselves at the forefront of cyber risk. Exposures such as IT supply chain dependencies, website tracking litigation, ransomware attacks, new security regulations, and data breach class actions put healthcare organizations of all sizes at high …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 6:04 AM |
In Last-Minute Reversal, US Agency Extends Support for Cyber Vulnerability Database
U.S. officials will extend support for 11 months for a database of cyber weaknesses that plays a critical role in fighting bugs and hacks, a spokesperson said on Wednesday, just as the funding was due to run out. The expected …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 5:15 AM |
Potential Tariff Auto Severity Impact on Travelers: Single-Digits or Less
Wildfire losses obscured what executives of Travelers described as outstanding underlying results for the insurer’s first quarter—and looking ahead, the company is well-positioned to face the impacts of macroeconomic uncertainty, the chief executive said. During a first-quarter earnings conference call …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 5:08 AM |
NC Committee Approves Bill to End Education Requirements for Insurance Agents
A North Carolina House of Representatives committee voted Wednesday to do away with educational course requirements for insurance agent licenses, a move that could help address what has been called a shortage of producers in the state. “It’s a 40-hour …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 5:02 AM |
Florida’s Anchor Insurance is Reborn as Patriot Select With $29M in Capital
It was once known as Anchor Property & Casualty Insurance Co., based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and launched in 2014. Then it was known as another Florida carrier that had slipped into financial troubles and was placed into an orderly …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 5:01 AM |
New York Inspector Uncovered $2.7 Million in Workers’ Compensation Fraud in 2024
New York State’s Inspector General said her office identified $2.7 million in workers’ compensation fraud in 2024, a nearly 30% increase compared to 2023. Inspector General Lucy Lang also reported there were 14 arrests for workers’ compensation fraud, also a …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 5:00 AM |
Truck Driver Acquitted in Bikers’ Deaths Sentenced for Prior Impaired Driving Charge
A commercial truck driver who was acquitted in the 2019 deaths of seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire pleaded guilty and was sentenced Monday for driving under the influence in Connecticut a month before the deadly crash — an offense that …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 5:00 AM |
NTSB Faults ‘Failure’ in Training Before Deadly Newark Cargo Ship Fire
The Newark fire department’s lack of training and familiarity with marine firefighting during a deadly cargo ship fire at the East Coast’s largest port in July 2023 amounted to a “failure of leadership,” the head of the National Transportation Safety …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 5:00 AM |
California Sets Aside $170M to Thin Vegetation, Forests to Help Prevent Wildfires
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new legislation on Monday that will provide more than $170 million in state funding to help prevent wildfires while signing an order aimed at speeding up the work by easing environmental permitting. The funding — which …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 5:00 AM |
Judge Blocks Trump’s Freeze on Climate, Infrastructure Grants
A U.S. judge blocked President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday from freezing billions of dollars in grants Congress authorized under climate investment and infrastructure laws of his Democratic predecessor, former President Joe Biden. U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Providence, …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 5:00 AM |
People Moves: Samsom Named Commissioner of Vermont Financial Regulation
Vermont Governor Phil Scott recently announced several leadership appointments including Kaj Samsom as commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR). Prior to his appointment, Samsom served as chief auditor at the National Life Group. Samsom has 14 years of …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 5:00 AM |
Tesla Slumps Below 50% Share of California’s Electric Car Market
Tesla Inc. is no longer selling the majority of new electric cars registered in California, the state that accounts for almost a third of all zero-emission vehicle purchases in the US. The company’s share of EV sales in the state …
POSTED APRIL 17, 2025 5:00 AM |
FEMA Denies Washington State Disaster Relief From Bomb Cyclone, Governor Says
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied Washington state’s request for emergency relief funds to help repair an estimated $34 million in damage from a deadly bomb cyclone storm system in November, according to Gov. Bob Ferguson. Ferguson said in …
POSTED APRIL 16, 2025 9:26 PM |