Property and Casualty News
Property and Casualty News RSS Get our newsletter

Dealing With The Long-Term Impacts Of Life-Changing Storms

Property and Casualty News No comments.

Jul. 29– Women share their stories of how storms affected them. The morning of July 20 a little over a year ago, Albert Lea resident Rose Olmsted was preparing to have a dozen guests at her house on Edina Avenue the next day. After a small storm that morning, the bad weather appeared to have passed, and Olmsted decided to clean up a few branches that had fallen in her…

Read more

The New York State Department of Financial Services today filed charges against First American Title Insurance Co., claiming the company exposed millions of documents containing personal information of clients.

New York-regulated insurers were ordered today to accelerate the resolution and payment of insurance claims by businesses and individuals who suffered damage as a result of looting.

The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges against Bermuda-based insurance company Argo Group International Holdings for allegedly failing to fully disclose CEO compensation.

Latest Exclusives >

At this rate, insurers would have no money left to cover non-pandemic claims for auto accidents, home fires and even damages to businesses during the protests across the country since George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police in May, according to an industry consultant.

—After driving for Lyft for six years, Joni Bicknese decided to invest in a minivan at the beginning of 2020, reasoning that she could make more money if she could transport more riders. Many drivers opted simply to stay home and try to collect unemployment, something that wasn't available to them before Congress extended benefits to gig workers in response to…

“Hanna” was a dry run in south Texas and “Douglas” narrowly missed Hawaii. Now there's a new tropical system which may, in theory, impact Florida this weekend. Pockets of moderate drought linger over west central Minnesota and the Arrowhead, but I don't see significant rain anytime soon.

–A monthly auto loan payment is just a fraction of the true cost of car ownership. About 43% of Americans have gone into debt because of car trouble, and 28% of drivers would not be able to make a $500 car repair without going into debt, a July 2020 LendingTree survey found. 43% of drivers– and 58% of millennials– have been in debt for car trouble. Of that number, 21% said…

WESLACO, T exas- As recovery and cleanup efforts got underway Monday in South Texas in the wake of a downgraded Hanna, worried residents confronted the prospect of undertaking the effort amid a surge in coronavirus cases that has left many fearful about their health. Its remnants still threatened to bring rainfall and flash flooding to waterlogged parts of…

The high tide flooding that inundated the streets of Newport Beach's Balboa Peninsula over the Fourth of July weekend will grow more common throughout the state- and nation- thanks to rising seas, according to a recently released National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report. The report noted that there were three high tide flooding days at NOAA's…

Claim Genius, a world leader in instant vehicle damage assessment solutions using computer vision and artificial intelligence technology, announced the closing of its $5.5 million Series A funding round today, following its earlier $2.3 million seed round in 2018. The latest round is backed by a diversified mix of strategic investors including Malaysia-…

Compare-autoinsurance.org has launched a new blog post that presents some unexpected factors that affect the costs of car insurance and what drivers can do to pay less on their premiums. For more info and free car insurance quotes, visit…

David Ige reminded Hawaii residents to be prepared as the peak of hurricane season arrives and as Tropical Storm Douglas, which was expected to by today, heads toward Hawaii. In a on Tuesday afternoon featuring Luke Meyers, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency administrator, Ige said hand sanitizer, wipes and masks should be added to hurricane supply kits due to…

Many nonprofit organization leaders are under the impression that they can’t afford the range of insurance coverages needed to adequately provide protection against their unique risk exposures. In reality, the absence of these protections may place the organization in jeopardy and be far more costly in the long run.

Plymouth Rock Assurance, a leading auto and home insurance provider in the Northeast, today introduced its new Umbrella insurance product for customers across the six states in which it does business. “Plymouth Rock is known across the Northeast as a leading auto and home insurance provider,” said Mary Boyd, President and CEO, Plymouth Rock Assurance…

Unlike restaurants, bars, salons and gyms, insurance companies didn’ t shut down at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, thousands of insurance businesses in Florida and the U.S. have taken advantage of Payment Protection Program funds, securing hundreds of millions of dollars in potentially forgivable loans. As with other lucrative businesses that…

The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, R. Andrew Murray, issued the following news release on July 17:. U. S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Ginger Lynn Cunningham, 39, formerly of Hendersonville and currently residing in Brevard, to 14 months in prison yesterday, for selling fake title insurance policies, announced Andrew Murray,…

Jul. 16– Rochester Public Schools is facing an increase in the cost of its property and liability insurance premiums, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. John Carlson, executive director of finance for RPS, explained the situation to the Rochester School Board at its Tuesday meeting. As a result of that increase, the school district's premium will be $826,000…

In this episode of AM BestTV, Michelle Baurkot, director, and Chris Draghi, senior financial analyst, both of AM Best, said that Florida writers struggled to turn a 2019 underwriting profit even with the absence of a major hurricane. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida’s personal property insurers faced an uphill battle dealing with a number of threats and…

While San Diego in the past few years has largely avoided the devastation wrought by wildfires that ripped through other parts of the state, California now must prepare for this year's fire season while simultaneously dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, which has led to ripple effects on the financial, health and fire-fighting fronts.

An Iowa man received a deferred judgement in Buena Vista County District Court following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau for his part in a scheme in which he made a fraudulent submission to an insurer (Class D felony).

Jul. 13– Flooding maps in Walla Walla and Columbia counties are not currently being adjusted in a manner that would impact insurance requirements, authorities said recently. Van Hoff read a note from one of the engineers that works with FEMA that said there are “no current efforts in Walla Walla or Columbia County, which were the hardest hit by this year's floods.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the following news release on July 11:. FEMA announced yesterday that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of Arkansas to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms and straight-line winds on…

–While the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced air pollution in the U.S., the longer-term impact on the environment is unclear. In a recent study, MIT Sloan School of Management Prof. Jing Li analyzed the short- and long-term effects, finding that the actual impact will depend on the policy response to the pandemic.

WASHINGTON– President Donald Trump on Thursday evening said he has declared a major disaster because of flooding and dam breaks in mid- Michigan in May, providing more than $43 million in federal relief aid. “I will always stand with Michigan,” Trump said in announcing his approval of the federal disaster request on Twitter. The funding will be made available to…

COLUMBUS, Ohio and JERSEY CITY, N.J., July 9, 2020/ PRNewswire/– Many drivers of connected vehicles now have a simpler, faster way to get insurance and earn discounts. Thanks to a new partnership with Verisk, a leading data analytics provider, Nationwide drivers who opt to share driving data gathered from their eligible connected vehicle, can bypass the monitoring…

The solution, developed in partnership by the two Columbus- based companies, is a multi-product and multi- carrier quoting platform with a complete set of insurance products available by both Nationwide and its key carrier collaborators like Hiscox, Markel, CNA, biBERK, and others. “For several years, Nationwide has been investing in technology and digital…

A raging mask debate during a Gulf Coast Town Center Costco yelling incident was captured on video June 27 and went viral Monday night with almost 10 million views. “He glared at the camera after a female shopper had asked him to comply with Costco's mask policy at Gulf Coast Town Center in south Fort Myers. Billy Corben, a Fort Myers native and documentary…

The Allstate Corporation has agreed to acquire National General Holdings Corporation for approximately $4 billion in cash, or $34.50 per share. “Acquiring National General accelerates Allstate’ s strategy to increase market share in personal property-liability and significantly expands our independent agent distribution,” said Tom Wilson, Chair,…

The federal suits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in response to a May 6 complaint by Endurance American Insurance Company seeking to cap damages at their $5 million policy limit, prevent additional suits against themselves and those they insured, and enlist the court to determine disbursement of the funds among the…

For many in Glynn County and in other coastal communities, that means purchasing a typical homeowner's insurance policy that will pay for all or most of the costs of repairing structural damage and replacing ruined contents due to calamities such as fire and smoke. First Street Foundation says its study of data shows that the Federal Emergency Management…

Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk granted the insurer’s motion for summary disposition in Gavrilides Management Company v. Michigan Insurance Company. Gavrilides owns restaurants in Lansing, Mich. that were shuttered by COVID-19-related government orders.

New Jerseyans can expect hotter summers, higher sea levels and torrential downpours in the coming decades, according to a new climate change report from the state Department of Environmental Protection. The culprit identified by researchers is the same as set forth in a host of other studies: increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, which has already pushed up…

Compare-autoinsurance.org has launched a new blog post that presents several disadvantages of cheap car insurance policies. For more info and free car insurance quotes online, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/the-disadvantages-of-cheap-car-insurance-policies/. While experts are recommending to have at least $500,000 of liability…

Mileage-based insurance is getting more and more popular. Policyholders can save money on their insurance if they allow their insurers to track their driving habits. The reasons for preferring mileage-based insurances by both the policyholders and insurers are the following:.

Jun. 30– After much negotiation and toil, the Louisiana Legislature finally approved on Tuesday legislation that changes how Louisiana courts operate in hopes that it will bring down auto insurance rates. John Bel Edwards, who will sign it into law, according to his executive counsel who was involved in the negotiations. Over the past two years, and through the…

—Further acknowledging that climate change is a growing concern in his state, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed into law a measure requiring public coastal construction projects to first be reviewed for impacts on the state's fragile seashore because of rising sea levels. The bill was one of 28 signed into law by DeSantis late Monday, including one that…

The Federal Reserve issued the following banking and consumer regulatory policy document with the Farm Credit Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency:. Five federal regulatory agencies today requested public comment on new and revised Interagency…

–Today’s cars are safer than ever thanks to advanced engineering and technology, but some drivers intentionally turn off or disable features that could help them avoid crashes. Erie Insurance, a car insurance company concerned about the safety of its customers and all drivers, commissioned a national survey to find out which features drivers disable the most…

In Michigan, First Street finds almost 400,000 more properties with flood risk than FEMA identifies– a big potential liability for property owners and renters, as most outside of FEMA flood zones are probably not covered by flood insurance, meaning their regular insurance wouldn't cover their losses if a flood occurred, and forcing residents to pay out of…

It wasn’ t long ago that Minnesota had some of the safest roads in the nation based on its low death rate per every million vehicle miles traveled. Even before COVID, Minnesota had a speeding problem. With nearly 26% of traffic fatalities involving speeding over the five-year period, Minnesota came in at No. 35 in the ranking of states with the most speeding-related…

The Insurance Information Institute's Board of Directors approved plans this month to have the Triple-I enter into an affiliation with The Institutes, and The Institutes' Board yesterday agreed to the affiliation. “This forward-looking decision is the culmination of several years of strategic dialogue both internally at the Triple-I and with The…

Fifteen Minor League Baseball teams are partners in a federal lawsuit against insurance providers for breach-of-contract. The suit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, comes after the provider denied the clubs’ claims for business-interruption insurance due to the pandemic.

Richard Nelson, R- Mandeville, passed 82-9, with 21 Democrats voting for it. Nelson said he was trying to break the logjam on an issue that Republicans have billed as one of their biggest priorities during this legislative season. Kirk Talbot, R- River Ridge that had addressed several components of Louisiana's tort laws that Republicans say lead to high auto…

Jun. 23– After two years of intense debate, the state Senate Monday night approved a watered-down version of legislation aimed at lowering auto insurance rates by changing how Louisiana's civil justice system operates. The Senate voted 29-9 for House Bill 57 after making the changes that angered Cloud and others on the Senate floor. All the Republicans and two…

“From the devastating storms of March and April to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tennessee consumers have faced personal and financial challenges like never before this year,” said Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Hodgen Mainda. From 1,084 complaints in the first six months of 2020, Tennessee consumers have received $2.2 million,…

Jun. 22– Wisconsin residents overall are more able to withstand a disaster than most U.S. states, though some communities are at far greater risk than others, according to new community resilience statistics compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. One-third of Milwaukee County residents have at least three risk factors, the highest percentage in Wisconsin.

Living in a house that doesn’ t fully meet your needs might have been tolerable when you spent more of your time elsewhere, but a third of the world has been stuck indoors at one time during the pandemic. In order for the UK to meet its climate change commitments, all houses, old and new, must be zero- carbon by 2050. For example, between April 2019 and March 2020 in Scotland,…

With the biggest changes in Michigan's auto insurance laws in nearly a half-century about to take effect, local insurance agents are spending a great deal of time educating clients on what those changes mean. “That's all I've been doing,” said Jason Parks, who owns a Farm Bureau Insurance agency in Middleville. “This is the biggest thing I've seen in 25 years,” said…

Earthquake strikes Oklahoma after President Trump's Tulsa rally, shaking felt around state. TULSA, Okla.- An earthquake in northern Oklahoma on Saturday night, June 20 rattled the entire state, including in Tulsa, just after President Donald Trump finished his return to the campaign trail before thousands of supporters. The National Weather Service office in…

Jun. 17– A state Senate panel Tuesday chose between two House-passed bills aimed at reducing auto insurance rates at the cost of reducing the abilities of people with personal injuries winning compensation in Louisiana courts. “The intent is that the Senate only have one instrument,” said Rep. Schexnayder's House Bill 57 now heads for consideration by the full…

Irma, Harvey, Michael, Florence, Katrina. These catastrophic hurricanes resulted in lost lives, displaced families, and billions of taxpayer dollars spent on post-disaster cleanup. June 1 marked the official start of another hurricane season that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects will include above-normal activity.

Payments made by Maryland’ s quasi-governmental auto insurer to then-Mayor Catherine Pugh for her amateurish Healthy Holly children’ s books violated state law, according to a letter state regulators sent to the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund and obtained by The Baltimore Sun. The Sun previously reported that Kaiser acknowledged paying $114,000 for…

Overall, the new system is expected to lower insurance premiums for many drivers starting in July, when Michigan motorists are given a first-ever choice in the amount of medical coverage to buy with their auto insurance, coverage known as personal injury protection or PIP. But early regulatory filings by some insurance companies– plus some anecdotes from…

The pandemic has complicated nearly everything in Florida, and that includes preparing for hurricanes. “The combination of an ongoing pandemic and what NOAA has forecast to be a busy hurricane season is a cataclysmic scenario,” reported the disaster policy group SmarterSafer Coalition in USA TODAY. With a more active hurricane season predicted this year, we…

In a recent study conducted by ValuePenguin, 10 states are left paying for more than 80% of the cost of natural disasters in the United States, with damage particularly concentrated along the Gulf Coast. The financial impact of natural disasters hits hardest in Texas, where annual costs have averaged $1,478 per household over the last five years. Disaster costs…

Jun. 9– State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is joining with consumer activists to try to kill legislation the Assembly on Monday approved 56-3 that would give homeowner insurers a faster track to get state approvals to increase policyholder premiums. Opponents contend that the bill, AB 2167 sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Daly, D- Anaheim, would set the…

As Midland County continues to assess more than $175 million in damage from last month’ s flooding, Gov. Whitmer announced Monday that she will seek from the federal government a major disaster declaration for areas of Midland County, as the staggering amount of damage from dam failures along the Tittabawassee River begins to become clear.

“Looking at data from March 2020, overall, there is an approximate 11% decrease in accidents reported,” said, Kyle Hoffman, vice president of customer success, Convr.“ It certainly indicates that we will see fewer losses in commercial automobile while we have shelter in place. Despite the drop in the number of accidents, Sam Hanig, senior industry analyst, AM Best, said…