A workers’ compensation claim has turned into accusations that the billionaire frontrunner in the Georgia governor’s race, a health care executive who has vowed to deport more immigrants, hired illegal immigrants to work on his property. Republican Rick Jackson, founder of a health care staffing firm, failed to check the citizenship status of people working on his mansion in Georgia, according to court records obtained by the New York Post. The revelations came to light after one long-time laborer claimed he was injured while working on Jackson’s estate, the Post, The Hill, and AOL.com reported. The Georgia Board of Workers’…
Author: Awais
The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday adopted new regulations for autonomous vehicles, allowing manufacturers to test and deploy heavy-duty driverless vehicle technology on the state’s roads. Related: Tesla Avoids California Sales Halt Over Autopilot Marketing The new regulations also expand safety and oversight requirements for all classes of autonomous vehicles, the California DMV said in a statement. Here are a few details: The move lifts the ban on operating autonomous vehicles weighing over 10,001 pounds, opening California to autonomous freight operations. However, vehicles will still be required to stop at patrol stations and comply with state and federal…
Industry executives who described insurance and reinsurance markets as “rational” in the not-so-distant past are now using words like “dumb” and “bizarre” to characterize soft-market competitor moves happening faster than expected, and in unusual places. W. Robert Berkley, Jr., chief executive officer and president of W.R. Berkley Corporation, began his opening remarks on a first-quarter earnings call last week by highlighting “a notable shift in the appetite of the standard market” over the past 90 days. In particular, national carriers seem to be broadening their appetite, he said, juxtaposing this observation against remarks he made in recent prior quarters about…
Arrowhead has separately observed that several competitors have exited the space or begun limiting their offerings, leaving specialty agencies to fill the gap. Pricing varies sharply by geography. Insuranceopedia data puts annual premiums at roughly $553 in Oregon, a useful Pacific Northwest proxy, against more than $1,200 across Tornado Alley and Gulf Coast states.
A State Farm survey of 1,901 licensed drivers aged 18 to 75 found distracted driving topped roadway safety concerns, flagged by more than half. Aggressive driving came next at 45%, followed by alcohol-impaired driving (41%), speeding (38%), and running red lights or stop signs (28%).
Travis Hirschi Kristin Miller XPT Specialty hired Travis Hirschi as a producer and branch manager and Kristin Miller as an underwriter in its Salt Lake City, Utah, office. Hirschi and Miller will work with retail agents to support hard-to-place and non-standard commercial risks across a range of industries and coverages. Hirschi has more than 20 years of insurance experience on the retail and wholesale sides of the market. He spent his first several years as a retail agent and agency owner before transitioning to the wholesale E&S space. Hirschi previously served as regional director for Scottish American/Novatae Risk Group, where…
Japan and Korea insurers have shown unprecedented demand for M&As and strategic investments overseas in the past few years, targeting opportunities in both developed and emerging markets. While insurers from these two Asian economies have nuanced appetites and different capital capacity for offshore expansions, Fitch Ratings expects a strong M&A pipeline in the coming years by these major insurers, which would provide an overall credit boost for the sector. From Domestic Growth to International Growth Japan and Korea insurers entered the overseas M&A cycle at different times while facing a common hurdle. While they have long enjoyed a large domestic…
The war in Iran is fueling a resurgence in maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia, according to a European Union naval force patrolling the region. There have been at least three confirmed hijackings in the past week alone, with pirates boarding two cargo vessels and a tanker, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations. The attacks occurred in Eyl, Mareeyo and Garacad in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region, which was a pirate haven in the late 2000s. The increase is due to instability in the region — initially linked to Houthis attacks and now the crisis in the Strait of…
Schmeeka Simpson of Omaha works as a patient navigator for the American Civil Liberties Union and an administrative assistant at Nebraskans for Peace, plus picks up shifts at a Dunkin’ shop. Still, even with three jobs, she worries about losing her health coverage when Nebraska, on May 1, becomes the first state to require certain Medicaid enrollees to work, train, or go to school under a rule mandated by congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Simpson, 46, has relied on Medicaid since her divorce in 2014. None of her employers offers health coverage. She said she lost her government…
Jet fuel exports from Asia to California are at the lowest point in at least a decade, adding another pressure point to a burgeoning air travel crunch on the West Coast stemming from the war on Iran. With two days left in April 2026, only one confirmed cargo of jet fuel has departed Asia for California, according to energy analytics firm Vortexa Ltd. The Jag Parth, carrying 210,000 barrels of jet fuel, departed South Korea on April 19 and is expected to arrive in the Los Angeles area on May 8. Related: Trump Says Iran Wants Hormuz Open in Tussle…
New Jersey’s insurance and banking regulators on Tuesday defended their push for a roughly 18% hike in their budget for the next fiscal year, a request that comes even as Gov. Mikie Sherrill has said she is seeking to close a budget gap. The state Department of Banking and Insurance wants $80.8 million in the coming budget year, much of which would go to overcome what it called a 25% staff deficit. Officials with the department said they need to hire at least 94 additional employees, upgrade technology, and shift more work to outside consultants to effectively regulate banking and…
The Travelers Companies, the US property & casualty insurance giant, is back in the catastrophe bond market initially targeting $500 million of multi-peril reinsurance protection covering losses in northeast states from a Long Point Re IV Ltd. (Series 2026-1) issuance, Artemis has learned.Travelers first sponsored a catastrophe bond back in 2007, since when it has brought seven issuances to market. The most recent was its $575 million Long Point Re IV Ltd. (Series 2022-1) sponsored roughly four years ago, but the reinsurance that cat bond provides is set to mature at the start of June. So it’s encouraging to learn…
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision last month to let the British military board ships of Russia’s so‑called “shadow fleet” has had no clear impact on the number passing through UK waters, a Reuters analysis shows. In the month after Starmer’s March 25 threat, at least 98 Russian vessels subject to UK sanctions transited its waters, about the same as each of the last three months. There has been no announcement of any boarding or detention of the ships, which typically have an opaque ownership structure and can transport oil, grains and arms, often in support of Russia’s war in Ukraine.…
The bill may also influence how some policyholders and their advisers think about coverage gaps and deductibles. If uninsured losses can be offset, in part, through tax deductions in a declared disaster, that may affect how certain buyers view the trade‑off between higher deductibles and premium savings. For most insureds, however, the deduction will only cover a portion of the gap, keeping traditional and parametric insurance central to their resilience strategies.