Liberty Mutual Reports 4Q And Full Year 2019 Results

The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers issued the following news release:. The market continued to harden in Q4 2019, according to The Council of Insurance Agents& Brokers' quarterly Commercial Property/Casualty Market Survey. “Q4 was a difficult quarter for insurers, brokers and clients alike,” said Ken A. Crerar, President/CEO of The Council.

Health chain Adventist Health is also seeking at least $1 billion for losses from its heavily damaged hospital in Paradise, and lawyers could try to take up to a third. Victims are also upset that half the settlement, or $6.75 billion, would be paid in stock from PG&E, the company responsible for ruining their lives. Gavin Newsom to follow through on threats of a…

Feb. 22– MANKATO– The National Weather Service is predicting an elevated threat for spring flooding in south-central Minnesota. With water-filled soil, a decent snowpack and already high rivers and lakes, the NWS is warning the flood risk will be high. John Mayberry, of State Farm Insurance in Mankato, said there has been more interest in flood insurance in recent…

When recent heavy rains swelled a private Mississippi lake and began eroding its earthen dam, Yazoo County Emergency Management Director Jack Willingham was scrambling for a plan. It's one of more than 1,000 dams in Mississippi that remain unclassified because of a backlog of work for state regulators. It found 259 such dams in Georgia, 111 in Mississippi and…

Feb. 20– RICHLANDS, Va.– Skies were sunny Wednesday as volunteers cleared debris away and started the repairs needed to help Tazewell County residents start recovering from the damaging flood of early February. Volunteers converged early that morning at the Richlands Police Department to learn what needed to be done and get their work assignments for the day.

Feb. 19– With an insurance crisis causing widespread disruption throughout the state, California regulators rolled out legislation that would force insurance companies to offer coverage in areas where communities and property owners have “hardened” their homes against wildfire risk. He said the shortage of affordable coverage is hurting economies in…

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation issued the following news release:. -Policyholders will have guaranteed access to insurance coverage from Homeowners Choice Property and Casualty Insurance Company. On Thursday, February 13, 2020, Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier signed a Consent Order approving a plan for Homeowners Choice…

Feb. 18– Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said Monday auto insurers charge widows more not because their husbands died, but because they are single. It is not because you are widowed, “Donelon told a reporter, Sue Lincoln, whose husband recently died and asked about an increase in her personal insurance rates. Single women pay higher premiums for their…

In the past few years, various innovations to automobiles have arrived on the consumer market promising to monitor driving, warn drivers of oncoming dangers, and make driving easier– even removing the driver from the equation all together. But what are the tangential impacts of these features? The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that these…

—Residents of Jackson braced Sunday for the possibility of catastrophic flooding in and around the Mississippi capital as the Pearl River rose precipitously after days of torrential rain. “We expect the river to continue to rise over the next 24 hours or so,“ Reeves said at a news conference in Jackson.“ We are not out of the woods yet.”. In the suburb of Flowood, John and…

Last week's flooding caused at least $2.3 million in damage to two Southwest Virginia counties, according to preliminary estimates from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Last week's flooding caused at least $2.3 million in damage to two Southwest Virginia counties, according to preliminary estimates from the Virginia Department of…

–Travel insurance comparison site, Squaremouth, explains why travelers concerned about the coronavirus should not purchase a new travel insurance policy for an existing trip. Don't Pay for a Policy That Won't Cover Concerns The biggest concern of travelers is being able to cancel a trip due to fear of contracting the coronavirus either during travel or at…

Minnesota is still in the grip of winter, but already experts are warning that the conditions are ripe for significant spring flooding. “I would err on the side of protecting yourself,” said Mark Seeley, former extension climatologist at the University of Minnesota. Minnesota ended 2019 as the wettest year on record, leaving the ground saturated and rivers high…

Nearly four years after the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied multiple requests from then Gov. “Both times we wrote to FEMA we didn’ t have enough complaints,” Debbie MacCoy, who owns a condo with a failing foundation, said.“ We didn’ t hit the criteria of magnitude, knowing the economic impact and we didn’ t know the cause. Ned Lamont last year urging him to pursue…

Newsom's lawyers told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali they want to grill PG&E about the company's plans to borrow billions of dollars and sell more stock to help pay the $13.5 billion owed to more than 75,000 victims of catastrophic wildfires ignited by the utility's equipment and negligence. PG&E also is raising money to pay another $12 billion for…

COLUMBUS, Ohio – It’s not uncommon for American drivers to witness close calls, erratic driving and even deadly crashes caused…

Since there are a lot of those around here, Terrebonne and Lafourche stand to be affected. The program, administered by FEMA, is the only place most Americans can buy flood insurance, so it amounts to a mandate in a flood-prone community Like ours. The bill also requires FEMA to establish a system of enforcing the rules and would set up assistance programs for…

Feb. 10– PG&E Corp. is asking for more rate hikes as it continues to wrestle with the fallout from California's devastating wildfires and the risks of new fires. “This really goes to us taking action to build a more climate-resilient network,” said PG&E spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo. If the PUC grants the requests in full, PG&E's electric rates would increase $9.10 a…

I strongly support H.688, Vermont's Global Warming Solutions Act. Vermont cannot rely on the federal government to take climate action. Since taking office in 2017, I've made it a priority for Vermont to challenge these rollbacks.

The meeting at the Davison County Fairgrounds in Mitchell reviewed updated floodplain mapping and the draft mapping results, as well as the next steps in updating the FEMA floodplain maps. At center, Stephanie DiBetitto, a Floodplain Management and Insurance Manager for FEMA Region 8, talks about floodplains during a Davison County Flood Risk Review meeting…

“Many at Team Lemonade, myself included, are devoted pet parents, so we decided to build the dream pet health insurance product for our best friends,” said Shai Wininger, COO and co-founder of Lemonade.“ Many of us think of our pets as family members, yet so few of us take the important step of getting them health insurance. More than two-thirds of Americans are pet…

-State Farm brings back iconic elements of the brand in new campaign. Jake from State Farm is officially back. “The simple phrase,' Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,' reflects how State Farm agents and employees make a meaningful difference helping others,” said Rand Harbert, Chief Agency Sales and Marketing Officer.

Feb. 3– The frequency of FEMA- reported natural disasters within the state of Washington has nearly tripled since 2000, according to a recent study. Between 2000 and 2017, Washington saw 61 natural disasters, according to an analysis by insurance comparison website QuoteWizard, which looked at FEMA natural disaster data for the report. That tied with New Mexico…

Anticipated reinsurance rate increases for Florida- specific property insurance companies in the upcoming June 2020 renewal period potentially could pressure the more thinly capitalized companies in the market, according to an AM Best commentary. The reported loss creep in part has been influenced by social inflation in the Florida market, resulting in…

Connecticut legislators from the districts heavily affected by crumbling foundations are pushing a legislative agenda that will further assist homeowners struggling with the problem. Saud Anwar, D- South Windsor, said. Tom Delnicki, R- South Windsor, and Pat Wilson Pheanious, D- Tolland, said the four legislators are working on various bills they want to see…

COVENTRY, England, Jan. 30– The University of Warwick issued the following news release:. A' great' space weather super-storm large enough to cause significant disruption to our electronic and networked systems occurred on average once in every 25 years according to a new joint study by the University of Warwick and the British Antarctic Survey.

The contradictory scenarios unfolded during a PG&E court hearing in San Francisco and an event in Sacramento, where the Democratic governor reiterated his staunch opposition to PG&E's current plan for climbing out of a financial hole because of its liability for catastrophic wildfires in 2017 and 2018.. PG&E's bankruptcy plan requires support from the…

—The head of a company involved in a massive explosion in Houston that killed two workers and injured 20 others on Tuesday backtracked on a pledge he had made earlier in the day to fix the hundreds of structures damaged by the blast. John Watson, who is the CEO of Watson Grinding and Manufacturing, had told KTRK-TV on Tuesday,“ I will repair all the damaged homes…

–In response to the Coronavirus outbreak, The Center for Disease Control has issued a Level 3 Warning and the U.S. Department of State has issued a travel advisory for the affected destinations. Popular Attraction Closures Not Covered Reason to Cancel Travelers with visits planned to unaffected areas in China may still feel the effects of the outbreak, due to…

Superstorm Sandy wasn't even considered a hurricane when it drowned New York City in 2012, and 2005' s Katrina was a Category 3 despite a punch that cleaved homes from foundations along the Gulf Coast, but a new scale proposed by a leading researcher would have elevated the systems to a 4 and 5, respectively, ahead of landfall. Colorado State University scientist…

Jan. 25– A tornado task force is seeking to streamline the region's building permit and inspections process as a surge of skilled volunteers is expected to arrive this spring to begin fixing storm-damaged homes. “We are going to try to sweep the path now,” said Stacy Schweikhart, director of strategy and engagement at the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission.

There are no structural issues with the levee along the Plymouth and Hanover Township/ Wilkes-Barre stretches, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency stressed. “However, the purpose of these meetings was to start the conversation on options the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority and the communities of Plymouth, Wilkes-Barre and…

Pacific Gas& Electric Co., the nation's largest electric utility, filed for bankruptcy last year after facing an estimated $50 billion in damages from several Northern California wildfires that were linked to its equipment. including one blaze in 2018 that killed 85 people and destroyed 19,000 buildings. PG&E shut off power for more than 2 million customers…

Jan. 22– Folsom Dam sits at the edge of the foothills above the Sacramento Valley, offering California's floodable state capital region critical protection. But several scary winter storms in the 1980 s and 1990 s– as well as one two years ago that threatened to puncture nearby Oroville Dam– have shown Sacramento and California that its flood control network…

The rapid growth in the number of animal owners in the past decade across the globe, especially in the US, Canada, the UK, and Sweden, where dogs and cats are treated as a family members is expected to influence the market significantly. The increasing popularity of pet humanization concept is increasing the demand for pet grooming and care products.

–Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, today launches its Weather, Climate& Catastrophe Insight: 2019 Annual Report. Of that total, private sector and government-sponsored insurance programs covered USD71 billion of the total– six percent above the century average but…

Philadelphia, PA, U.S. 21 January 2020: Protecdiv, the first tier-one minority-led insurance and reinsurance broker in the U.S., has launched….

Jan. 20– California enjoyed a comparatively mild wildfire season in 2019, but it wasn't enough to save Bobbi Pimentel's homeowners' insurance policy. A company spokeswoman wouldn't discuss Pimentel's case but said Horace Mann has paid out $157 million in California wildfire claims since 2017.. The insurance crisis in California wildfire country is showing…

FEMA Region 9 Administrator Robert Fenton wrote an open letter addressed to wildfire victims that said FEMA and the state of California have been excluded from settlement negotiations and that the agency submitted a claim against PGE and is seeking reimbursement for the “billions in disaster assistance” that FEMA provided during the fires.

Jan. 18– MURPHYSBORO– Preparation is key for those living in floodplains across Southern Illinois, according to representatives of Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Department of Insurance, National Weather Service-Paducah, American Red Cross and Illinois Emergency Services Management…

Jan. 17– PANAMA CITY– Property owners may soon be able to take advantage of flood insurance discounts now that the city has adopted a new reporting tool. Panama City Council adopted the report as part of its involvement with the Community Rating System. “Residents of the City are currently receiving a 20 percent discount on Flood Insurance if they are located in…

The absorption of 43,000 homeowner policies from Anchor Property& Casualty by HCI Holdings, and the takeover of Centauri Specialty Insurance Co. and its 24,000 policies by Avatar Partners LP, follows warnings that up to 18 Florida-based insurers soon could lose their top financial stability ratings. But that won’ t matter to Anchor’ s customers, including more…

Jan. 16– New York State will send engineers, power experts and mental health professionals to earthquake-ravaged Puerto Rico, Gov. Cuomo announced Wednesday. “The people of Puerto Rico have been through hell, and while the federal administration abdicated its responsibility to help American citizens during difficult times, New York is continuing to step up to…

Thom Tillis, R- North Carolina, issued the following news release:. This allocation is in addition to yesterday's announcement of a $321 million investment in North Carolina for storm damage reduction projects in Surf City/ North Topsail Beach, Carteret County, and Princeville, N.C.. Last year, Senators Tillis and Burr sent a letter to the Corps of Engineers urging…

Jan. 14– Members of Virginia and Maryland's congressional delegations are demanding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency live up to its obligation to enforce cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and U.S. Reps. Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania are the biggest polluters of the bay.

Segments of the mile-long pedestrian path from the entrance on Old Cutler Road through the mangroves to Biscayne Bay are flooded or covered with black goo and seaweed, and plastic debris has washed up on the roots. Red Fish Grill, one of Miami's rare waterfront restaurants, is still under repair. Matheson Hammock is a gem, a natural haven that should have vanished…

“It's great to see another strong year of growth for Vermont's captive insurance industry,” said Governor Scott. New and notable companies include Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, KPMG LLP, University of Vermont Health Network Inc., Stamford Health, RELX Inc., and Fortive Corporation. Six of Vermont's 22 new captives were redomestications from…

Coastal infrastructure is the most relevant concern for cities like New York, as water surges from intensified storms have the potential to displace communities, damage property, and prevent transportation. When Hurricane Sandy hit New York, as a 12- year-old, I volunteered with the fire department to help the thousands of displaced families receive food and…

Compare-autoinsurance.org has launched a new blog post that explains how distracted driving can affect car insurance rates. For more info and free car insurance quotes online, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/distracted-driving-and-car-insurance-rates/. Distracted driving comes in numerous forms.

$6.2 billion- Mississippi River and area flooding, July. $4.5 billion- California and Alaska wildfires, summer and fall. $1.6 billion- Texas hail storm, March.

Texas counted 50 natural disasters- floods, droughts, wildfires, severe storms and hurricanes- between 1980 and 1999, according Federal Emergency Management Agency data. Between 2000 and 2017, that number jumped to 172, placing Texas alongside Oklahoma and California as states leading the nation in natural disasters, with wildfires being the primary…

A dwelling-insurance settlement reached by the state's insurance commissioner and the N.C. Rate Bureau will not result in an increase for customers in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina. On Aug. 28, the bureau filed a request for a statewide average rate increase of 19.2%, to go into effect July 1. Mike Causey, the state's insurance commissioner, rejected the…

More recently, the NFIP has been suffering from a lack of a long term reauthorization by Congress. To add to the uncertainty, FEMA's new rating system, Risk Rating 2.0 which has seen immense pressure by Congress to be halted, has now been postponed into 2021. But after Hurricane Harvey, Congress focused on disaster appropriations and passed multiple short term…