NICB: Animal-Related Insurance Claims Top 1.7M In 4 Years

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners issued the following news release:. April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners today announced the launch of Keep the Road Code, a new campaign that focuses on preventing distracted driving. “We know that there has been a significant increase in…

–Over the last three years, the top ten types of agribusiness claims have accounted for more than 50,000 claims received by Nationwide. To help educate agribusiness professionals about costly trends in the industry, Nationwide, the number one farm insurer in the United States¹, has released its most common commercial agribusiness insurance claims.

DES PLAINES, Ill., May 16, 2018/ PRNewswire-USNewswire/– The National Insurance Crime Bureau’s 2017 watercraft theft report shows a five percent decrease and resumes the downward trend in thefts that was broken by 2016′ s slight increase. A total of 4,864 watercraft were reported stolen between January 1 and December 31, 2017. The report is based on theft data…

May 14– As the number of pedestrian deaths continues to climb nationwide, a recent report highlighted one likely contributor that’s only likely to get worse: a growing number of fatal SUV-pedestrian crashes. Deadly SUV crashes are increasing at a far higher rate than crashes with any other type of vehicle. That’s far more than the 25 percent caused by crashes…

The horror of seeing houses turned to ash has motivated some people who went without insurance to scramble to purchase a policy.

The California State Assembly passed legislation that would ensure homeowners are regularly provided an updated replacement cost estimate to rebuild their home.

–Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, today launches the latest edition of its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report, which evaluates the impact of the natural disaster events that occurred worldwide during April 2018. Aon Benfield is the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc.

BEAUMONT- A federal grand jury has returned a 40- count indictment charging 12 individuals with federal violations related to an insurance fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today. The properties were located in Port Arthur, Port Neches, Beaumont and Sugarland. *Kendra Chevalier, 40, of Nederland;.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety issued the following news release:. The March crash of an Uber vehicle that killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, was unusual for involving a self-driving vehicle. “Understanding where, when and how these additional pedestrian crashes are happening can point the way to solutions,” says IIHS President David Harkey.

May 08– Janice Perzigian has a unique evening routine. Every evening, the Royal Oak resident puts Pine-Sol on the ground around her 2017 Ford Mustang. It’s to avoid another $600- plus repair bill after a rat chewed through wires under the hood of her car, leading to starting problems last month.

The National Rifle Association has sued an affiliate of Lockton Cos., accusing the insurance broker of breaching its fiduciary duty to the gun rights organization when it announced earlier this year that it would drop services to an NRA-branded insurance line.

May 04– Lawsuits against property and casualty insurers with the largest market shares in Florida increased sharply in the first quarter of 2018 compared with the same period last year, and Hurricane Irma claims are to blame, insurers say. The top 20 property insurers in Florida, as ranked by policy count, were served with 10,933 suits between Jan. 1 and March 31.

May 02– Weather may be a primary reason why motorcyclist deaths were down nationally in 2017, but up in Illinois, according to a highway safety group. Illinois, on the other hand, saw a milder than normal February, April, September and October in 2017, according to the National Weather Service. Motorcycle deaths have risen in Illinois in each of the last three years,…

However, Harvey was a storm system that dropped more rainfall than any other system in U.S. history. According to data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service, Hurricane Harvey was the wettest cyclone in U.S. history with a recorded 60.58 inches of rainfall in Nederland, Texas. It’s telling that the wettest cyclone for…

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners issued the following news release:. Commissioner of Insurance Javier Rivera-Rios warned local insurers that they risk losing their authorization if they do not settle the claims related to hurricane Maria in a timely manner. “In this second phase I am personally following very closely the property…

“Water claims are the ones we see most often,” said Christopher O’Rourke, vice president of property claims at Mercury Insurance. “While certain perils are seasonal, water damage can occur any time of year.”

Kemper Corporation reported net income of $53.8 million, or $1.02 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2018, compared to a loss of $0.3 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2017. Adjusted consolidated net operating income 1 was $57.5 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2018, compared to a loss of $3.9 million, or…

Hurricane Irma served as an opportunity in the budding world of drones, which in recent years have enhanced the insurance industry.

April 25– OTTAWA COUNTY– Later this year, Ottawa County teenage drivers might have to be more honest with their parents if they get pulled over by police. The Michigan Sheriffs’ Association is running a pilot program to expand and update its already-existing STOPPED program. A STOPPED program alert previously meant a mailed letter to parents, but a grant from…

Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory issued the following news release:. In 1969, Hurricane Camille, a Category 5 storm, destroyed every structure on the coast of Mississippi, including the beach home of Duke University geologist Orrin H. Pilkey’s parents. In 1990 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released their first…

Two state agencies have settled on a proposed rate increase for homeowners’ insurance.

There were 142 announced insurance agency mergers and acquisitions during the first quarter of the year, according to OPTIS Partners’ M&A database.

Most drivers acknowledge the risk of driving distracted, according to a 2018 study called the Travelers Risk Index. But, one out of every four drivers will answer a call or text, or look at personal technology while on the road anyway — and believe they can do it safely — the study says.

Approximately 2,000 existing agents who have been operating under the Nationwide brand will have the opportunity to transition to an independent agency model between now and July 1, 2020. The company already has relationships with more than 10,000 independent agents across the United States.

TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor announced that a former North…

Personal Lines Composite Rate 3% in First Quarter 2018 Rates largely dependent on geography, claims history Personal lines insurers are…

The US property and casualty industry is continuing to assess rate increases as affirmed by the first quarter composite rate,…

NEW YORK, April 5, 2018/ PRNewswire-USNewswire/– Dog bites and other dog-related injuries accounted for more than one third of all homeowners liability claim dollars paid out in 2017, costing almost $700 million, according to the Insurance Information Institute and State Farm ®, the largest writer of homeowners insurance in the United States.

April 04– WORCESTER– Hanover Insurance Group Inc. may sell Chaucer, its international specialty insurance business. The property and casualty insurer reported last week it had hired Goldman Sachs& Co. to advise on “strategic alternatives” for Chaucer, including a possible sale. “Chaucer is a leading underwriter at Lloyd’s of London that has made a strong…

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today announced that insurers have received over 2,000 insurance claims totaling more than $421 million in losses from the deadly Montecito mudslide that roared through the community carrying tons of mud and debris destroying or damaging more than 400 homes and businesses, and tragically killing 21 people.

A bill on Gov. Eric Greitens’ desk would limit how much money insurance companies would have to pay after accidents. The proposal would affect cases where multiple people are owed money from an insurance company, such as after a car accident in which a driver hurts multiple people. If Greitens signs the bill, the driver’s insurance company could not be obligated to pay more money than what is listed in its contract.

Cambridge Mobile Telematics, the world’ s leading smartphone-centric telematics provider, has announced its most recent findings on distracted driving. This year, CMT also compared distracted driving behaviors across the U.S., analyzing eight specific cities– Boston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Houston, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

More than a third of Hurricane Irma claims filed by customers of state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. have been reopened, the company said Wednesday. These are among the claims that have been reopened, Citizens spokesman Michael Peltier said. Across Florida, Hurricane Irma has so far generated 900,228 claims to all insurance carriers, according to the…

However, the size of the increase is going to be different depending on the circumstances of each property owner.

Orlando, Florida- Jonathan Brown today pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. According to the plea agreement, Brown and three others conspired to defraud insurance companies by submitting false claims following a staged car accident in Orange County, in May 2013. This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Financial Services and the…

In many states, boat liability coverage can — and, it appears, nearly always does — exclude spouses and children.

March 29– T. Ray McJunkins thought the tires on his car were prepared for whatever Springfield’s rugged roads had to offer. McJunkins, pastor of Union Baptist Church in Springfield, said the price for his trouble was $361.30, the cost of a new tire. A report released Wednesday by a transportation research group concluded that deficient, congested roads are costing…

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2018/ PRNewswire-USNewswire/– Distracted driving tops drivers’ list of growing dangers on the road, according to a new survey from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. A recent study from the AAA Foundation shows drivers talking on a cellphone are up to four times as likely to crash while those who text are up to eight times as likely to be…

Video of a fatal self-driving Uber crash that some experts say exposes flaws in autonomous vehicle technology is prompting calls to slow down testing on public roads and renewing concerns about regulatory readiness. The 22-second video released by the Tempe Police Department shows a pedestrian walking from a darkened area onto a street just before an Uber SUV in self-driving mode strikes her.

The Nevada Division of Insurance has partnered with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, Nevada Highway Patrol and the Nevada Insurance Council to inform Nevada consumers of a new law, increasing the minimum vehicle liability insurance to be in compliance with the law and avoid paying penalties. As of July 1, 2018, all consumers who have the current…

Report from FEMA’s Region X director says areas west of I-5 in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska will be’ toast’. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist penned a story for The New Yorker about the effects of a devastating earthquake off the Coast of Oregon. Kenneth Murphy, who directs FEMA’s Region X, the division responsible for Oregon, Washington, Idaho and…

March 21– Even Andrew Rubinstein admits he was motivated by greed when he got involved in an elaborate $23 million auto insurance fraud that operated for years in chiropractor clinics in South Florida. Rubinstein, who was part of a corrupt group of clinic owners, chiropractors and attorneys that operated mostly in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties,…

It’s well known that the current FEMA flood maps need updating, but some new information in a study done by researchers in the U.S. and England paints an even more ominous picture of the risk Americans face from flooding.

The leaders of First Acceptance have told the New York Stock Exchange they plan to delist the non-standard car insurer’s common shares next month. Shares of Green Hills- based First Acceptance fell almost 25 percent on the news Monday, slashing the company’s market capitalization to about $35 million. First Acceptance sells insurance and related products in…

Federal crop insurance in its current form is hurting family farms, the land and rural communities, while benetting big insurance companies, according to a new report from the Minnesota- based Land Stewardship Project. This is not an inevitable outcome but a choice made by Congress, influenced heavily by major multinational insurance corporations and their…

March 20– Florida ranked top in the nation for its building codes, according to a new report that cited newer construction better withstanding hurricane damage. The only thing coming between Florida and a perfect score this year was the state’s lack of continuing education requirements for building officials. Lee Steinhauer, government affairs director for…

With warm weather on the mend, more small animals are out and about on the roads than during the winter months.

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Drivers filing an auto claim can breathe a (small) sigh of relief. For the fifth year in a row,…

A report found a rapidly warming Arctic may be behind what appears to be a shift toward a pattern of severe winter weather in the Northeast.

Insurance specialists say claims are pouring in for homes across the South Shore damaged by toppled trees, extreme flooding and strong winds during last week’s nor’easter. Damage from the storm extends far beyond the coast, Joe Rossi, an insurance specialist and chairman of the Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition said. Tim Flavin of Flavin& Flavin Realty…

Nearly one in eight U.S. drivers was uninsured in 2015, putting insured drivers at greater risk in the event of an auto accident, according to a new study.

Fraud often occurs in a multistage process via an emerging tactic that we have come to know as social engineering.

March 06– The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Florida State Emergency Response Team issued a report Tuesday that outlines work publicly and privately to recover from Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in Florida on Sept. 10, 2017. Irma made two landfalls as a Category 4 when it hit Florida, with winds estimated at 130 mph. According to FEMA and FSERT, “…

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey ended the era of unfettered self-driving car companies last week, creating a detailed system of rules and a type of licensing system for the vehicles. White Waymo and gray Uber vehicles, bristling with cameras and antennas, have become a common sight in Tempe and Chandler. The March 1 rules follow several news articles, including in…

March 06– If you’re a homeowner in Florida relying on flood zone maps to decide whether to buy insurance, you may want to check your drivers license instead. “If it says Florida, you need flood insurance,” said Roy Wright, who oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program, which covers more policies in Florida than any other…

Susana Martinez said Sunday that she will sign a bill aimed at stopping the sale of stolen vehicles to salvage yards. The signing comes as Albuquerque struggles with incredibly high rates of auto theft— the nation’ s highest in 2016, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Martinez, however, is in Park City, Utah, for a few days for Republican Governors…

The National Flood Insurance Program’s federal authorization is set to lapse in less than three weeks, setting the latest deadline for lawmakers on Capitol Hill to hash out a deal to overhaul a critical program that’s deeply in debt.

French insurance giant AXA is getting even bigger with a purchase of property and casualty insurer XL Group in a deal worth more than $15 billion. The deal gives AXA access to Bermuda-based XL’s extensive U.S. operations.