Instead, the court provided a list of factors for insurers to consider: who paid premiums, who located the potential insured, who participated in forming the policy, who prepared and controlled documents, whether the policy was created for the insured’s benefit or investors’ benefit, who controlled any trust involved, the insured’s financial sophistication, and the extent of the insured’s participation in the application process.
Author: Awais
P&C and life performance Zurich’s P&C segment recorded a BOP of $5.1 billion, a 22% increase, with the combined ratio improving 1.6 percentage points to 92.6%. Commercial insurance BOP rose 12%, partly reflecting a below-average natural catastrophe season, while retail BOP surged 50% on 16% premium growth.
The insurance industry has a long history of managing complex long-tail liabilities. In some cases, these liabilities grow so burdensome that they require specialized runoff solutions and as market conditions have evolved, so too have the shape of these runoff transactions and the runoff industry itself. These legacy specialists, like all companies in the runoff sector, are essentially performing the same functions that any traditional insurer or reinsurer would in a runoff scenario. The specialist’s key differential is that they’re not really involved in actively underwriting business. Their sole purpose pivots mainly around transacting on those legacy blocks of business.…
A new bill in California would require insurers to offer homeowners insurance to those who meet state home hardening and defensible space requirements. Senate Bill 1076, the Insurance Coverage for Fire-Safe Homes Act, was introduced by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) is co-sponsored by the Eaton Fire Survivors Network and Consumer Watchdog in response to wildfire survivors’ concerns that they could lose coverage after they rebuild, even if they meet the highest wildfire safety standards. SB 1076 requires insurance companies to offer homeowners insurance to Californians who meet state home hardening and defensible space requirements set by the insurance commissioner.…
At James Monroe Middle School, located in a remote part of California’s High Desert, posters commemorating teacher appreciation week were hung beside porta-potties. They were the only toilets left for faculty members after the campus’s sewage system collapsed last year. Sierra Sands Unified School District’s inability to afford to repair the sewage system — and the subsequent decision to close the school — are the result of crimes committed decades ago, forcing officials to make a host of cuts. Its superintendent is worried about the growing risk of insolvency. This financial crisis goes beyond Sierra Sands and threatens public entities…
Just days before a final committee vote on a bill that would establish a clearinghouse for Citizens’ commercial policies, Florida’s insurance commissioner has offered his own rewrite, one that would give regulators more authority over who runs the clearinghouse and would limit how much an administrator could charge brokers. The bill is state Sen. Joe Gruters’ SB 1028. The final Senate panel, the Fiscal Policy Committee, last week approved an amended version of the bill that supporters said would underscore admitted carriers’ ability to take out Citizens’ commercial policies. But Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky’s version would go further. He and…
The Travelers Companies announced the launch of AI Claim Assistant, a fully agentic intelligent voice service to handle customer claim calls. The service, developed using OpenAI model capabilities and APIs, uses advanced language and speech recognition technologies, Travelers said, reporting that the capability is initially being used with customers who are calling to file an auto damage claim. Travelers said that AI Claim Assistant provides the “same natural, friendly and comprehensive service customers expect from a live agent—guiding them from consultation through claim submission.” In addition to being capable of providing relevant policy information and answering questions, Travelers’ AI Claim…
Gallagher Expands Executive and Financial Risk Practice Leadership Team Seth Pfalzer Gallagher, headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, appointed new leaders in its executive and financial risk practice. Seth Pfalzer has been appointed senior vice president and national director, joining the practice’s board of directors. Priya Huskins Priya Huskins has been named senior vice president and national director, leading the practice’s content thought leadership initiatives. A corporate securities attorney and a public company board member herself, Huskins has extensive experience counseling clients on mitigating directors & officers (D&O) liability risks. Joining Huskins are Lenin Lopez and Walker Newell, both with the…
A U.S. federal judge threw out on Tuesday a lawsuit against Buffalo Wild Wings that alleged the restaurant and sports bar chain deceived consumers by selling boneless wings that are not actually de-boned chicken wings. Judge John Tharp Jr. in Chicago dismissed the proposed class action lawsuit brought in 2023 by a man named Aimen Halim who claimed he was misled into purchasing the disputed menu item that is essentially a chicken nugget. “Halim sued (Buffalo Wild Wings) over his confusion, but his complaint has no meat on its bones,” Tharp wrote in his ruling. “Despite his best efforts, Halim…
The move also comes as agencies continue to broaden their technology stacks. One recent overview of independent agencies found that 93% now use an AMS, 70% use a CRM and about 65% have moved policy administration to the cloud, with increasing investment in AI‑based tools for quoting and service. Applied has been adding AI features across Epic, including email summarization, content generation and early work on AI‑assisted accounting automation that can extract data from carrier statements and map it to plan or policy records.
“Gallagher Bassett, fundamentally, is a claims and risk management organization,” Powell said. “When it comes to transforming, we start by measuring what our clients care about, as obvious as that sounds, and then putting innovations in place that actually move the needle on those aspects of claim handling.”
Masimo’s board considered multiple other potential partners before determining Danaher would be an “ideal fit,” executives at the patient monitoring company said.
Reinsurance and catastrophe bond market participants may not see a typical large protection buy from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) in 2026, as the latest exposure data from the suggests it may only need just over $355 million of new risk transfer this year, with cat bonds set to provide the rest of its needs.As we’ve reported across recent updates from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), a change in statute means the Association only needs to fund itself to the 1-in-50 year probable maximum loss (PML) level, where as previously it was to the 1-in-100. That immediately slashed…
Rather than modernizing incrementally, EMC rebuilt its entire core simultaneously: policy, billing, claims, workflows, quote-and-buy portals, and enterprise data. As the program neared completion, it reshaped how the $2 billion-premium carrier operated and how it viewed technology as a competitive necessity.