Property and Casualty News

Greg Abbott on Tuesday delivered a $61 billion, 282- project wish list to congressional leaders, asking for federal aid for repairs to public infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Harvey and projects aimed at protecting Texas from future disasters. A vast majority of the money– more than $52 billion– would be earmarked for local governments in the Houston-…

Oct. 31– In less than an hour on Tuesday, State Trooper Jay Webb wrote tickets for two women who failed to show proof of auto insurance. In June 2000, it became mandatory for all motorists in Alabama to at least have liability insurance or face a Class C misdemeanor, a fine or suspension of a driver’s license for up to six months, according to the Alabama Department of…

_ Donegal Group Inc. on Monday reported third-quarter earnings of $7.1 million. On a per-share basis, the Marietta, Pennsylvania- based company said it had net income of 26 cents. Access a Zacks stock report on DGICB at https://www.zacks.com/ap/DGICB.

_ Kemper Corp. on Monday reported third-quarter net income of $47.7 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The Chicago- based company said it had profit of 92 cents per share. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 28 cents per share.

BOSTON, Oct. 26, 2017 – Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that industry insured losses from the Tubbs, Pocket, Nuns,…

German insurance company Munich Re says it expects to take a 2.7 billion-euro ($3.2 billion) hit from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. The company, which as a reinsurer provides backup policies to companies that write primary insurance policies, said Thursday that costs from major disasters that also included earthquakes in Mexico will total 3.2 billion euros for the July-September period.

Erie Indemnity Co., which provides management services to Erie-based Erie Insurance, reported a third-quarter profit of $58.5 million Thursday, up from the $57.3 million the company earned in the third quarter of 2016.. Earnings for the first nine months of the year inched upward from $164.5 million to $164.9 million. Erie Insurance, which operates in 12…

On Oct. 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy devastated coastal areas of New Jersey and New York, causing billions of dollars in damage, and killed dozens of people in the U.S. and Caribbean. Here is where things stand five years later.

Oct. 26– There’s no exact number of how many New Jersey homeowners are still trying to make their Sandy-damaged homes livable. But their ranks are estimated by the New Jersey Resource Project at up to 2,400. Meet a few survivors who thought they were protected by the National Flood Insurance Program. Tom Flounders walks out of a shallow bowl of grass and earth…

Oct. 26– LANSING– An overhaul of the state’s pricey no-fault auto insurance reform passed a state House committee Thursday, but faces a tougher climb in the full House of Representatives. But the amended bill also includes a required 20% cut for drivers who choose $500,000 in PIP coverage and a 10% reduction for the unlimited coverage that all drivers in Michigan…

Tens of billions of dollars are expected to flow from two major sources: the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund and the Community Development Block Grant program, administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. FEMA estimated at the time of the report that direct housing program costs would reach $1 billion, the OIG…

DETROIT (October 26, 2017) – Burns & Wilcox, North America’s leading wholesale insurance broker and underwriting manager recognized throughout the…

A Florida man was convicted by a federal jury in Richmond on Wednesday in a 15- year insurance fraud scheme involving at least 27 fires in Richmond, Henrico County and Florida. Verdon Taylor, 72, of Leesburg, was found guilty of conspiracy, wire fraud, use of fire to commit a federal felony, and witness tampering. Vershawn Jackson, 39, and Marie Taylor, 54, both of…

An insurance policy offered by the National Rifle Association is under scrutiny by insurance regulators after gun-control groups raised questions about how it’s being marketed.

Oct. 25– Hurricanes Harvey and Irma added $7.5 million in catastrophic losses at Horace Mann Educators Corp. of Springfield for what is already expected to be a record year of weather-related claims for the insurance industry. The total $8.6 million in losses for the period, including $1.1 million from four other events, was little changed from the same period…

Oct. 24– AUSTIN­– It could take as long as the year 2020 before some homeowners get federal funding to permanently rebuild or fix their Hurricane Harvey-ravaged homes, key state officials told a Texas Senate committee on Tuesday. Although Congress passed a $7.4 billion initial relief bill last month to help people rebuild after the numerous natural disasters…

WASHINGTON— In the wake of three major hurricanes, the federal banking and credit union regulators are waiving normal appraisal requirements so financial institutions can make loans to help with rebuilding and recovery efforts. The order— issued by the Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., National Credit Union Administration and Office…

WASHINGTON- A non-partisan federal watchdog says climate change is already costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars each year, with those costs expected to rise as devastating storms, floods, wildfires and droughts become more frequent in the coming decades. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the Senate…

Why distracted driving and smartphone use are behind an increase in highway deaths.

Oct. 23– Six weeks after Hurricane Irma ripped through Florida, claims for damage have now topped $5 billion. That is 700 claims added since last week from Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Data analyzer CoreLogic has said flood losses in Florida and elsewhere could hit $38 billion, and up to 80 percent of the damaged homes might not have flood coverage.