By the time she was hospitalized in 2020, Pearlene Darby, a retired teacher, had suffered open sores on both legs, both hips, and both heels, as well as a five-inch-long gash on her tailbone. She died two weeks later at age 81 from infections and bedsores, according to her death certificate. Her daughter sued the nursing home, alleging it had left Darby sitting in her own feces and urine time and again. The lawsuit, settled on confidential terms last year, blamed not only the managers of City Creek Post-Acute and Assisted Living but also the building’s owner, a real estate…
Author: Awais
The story, as Utica National tells it, is a familiar one for anyone who has been watching lithium-ion battery risk climb up the industry’s worry list. According to the filing, a teacher at the school had bought a Philips X7207 Wireless Bluetooth Cube Speaker sometime before November 15, 2024. On or around that date, the insurer alleges, the speaker and its lithium-ion battery system failed, the cells went into failure, and a fire ignited at the school property on Ontario Road. The damage, the insurer says, was substantial.
Premium hikes, plan redesigns and other efforts from the Minnesota-based company to wrangle medical spending bore fruit in the first quarter. UnitedHealth’s stock jumped accordingly.
Tower Hill Insurance Exchange has now successfully priced its latest catastrophe bond to secure the two-third upsized $375 million of fully-collateralized reinsurance protection against named storm losses in Florida from the Winston Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) issuance, while each of the three tranches of notes priced well below their initial guidance ranges, Artemis can report.Tower Hill made its return to the catastrophe bond market at the end of March, initially seeking $225 million of fully-collateralized reinsurance protection against named storm losses in Florida. In our first update on this Winston Re Series 2026-1 cat bond issuance, we reported that the target size…
IMA announced the appointment of Al Caceres as Senior Vice President, National Energy Property Leader, joining the firm’s Energy Practice to lead strategy and execution of the company’s energy property insurance business nationwide. Al Caceres With more than 20 years of underwriting and brokerage experience, Caceres is a recognized subject matter expert in energy property risks across upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas, as well as power, chemical, and related infrastructure. Together with IMA’s robust energy team, Caceres will set the strategy, vision, and execution framework for the firm’s energy property business across the United States, advancing the company’s…
Ohio Mutual Insurance Group last week announced that it has reached an agreement to merge Gooding, Idaho-based Gem State Insurance as a subsidiary under Ohio Mutual Insurance Group’s mutual holding company structure, following unanimous votes by both organizations’ boards of directors. The merger is still subject to approval by Gem State policyholders and insurance regulators in both Idaho and Ohio, and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026. Plans are to continue to market products under the Gem State brand and to maintain its Idaho operations. Gem State will join Ohio Mutual’s intercompany pool: Ohio-domiciled Ohio…
Brokerage World Insurance Associates announced John Newell will become chief executive officer, succeeding founder and long-time CEO Rich Eknoian. Most recently, Newell was chief commercial officer at Newfront, a technology-enabled specialty brokerage platform. There, he led business units across insurance, benefits, and retirement services, expanding the firm into new industry verticals and geographies and transforming service delivery through integrated artificial intelligence and automation. John Newell Before Newfront, Newell was at Marsh, most recently as head of the Central U.S. region and was a member of the firm’s U.S. Executive Committee, overseeing a business of more than $500 million with about…
This fact sheet provides a historical overview of U.S. funding for global health by program area over the past decade. Funding totals are based on amounts specified by Congress in annual appropriations bills, as well as some amounts that are determined at the agency level. Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, the U.S. global health response has undergone significant change, including a restructuring of how foreign assistance is provided, elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the main implementing agency for U.S. global health efforts, and cancellation of most awards to organizations implementing programs. The full…
An Amish woman and her six children ranging in age from 3 to 11 were killed in a swift-moving house fire after an explosion that shook nearby houses in rural northcentral Pennsylvania, authorities said. Firefighters responding to a report of an explosion and fire at a home in Lamar Township in Clinton County near Mill Hall on Sunday morning said seven people were trapped, but they couldn’t search the house engulfed in flames, Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement. All seven died. Police identified them as Sarah Stoltzfus, 34, four sons, ages 11, 10, 5 and 3, and two…
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows on Monday targeted Roblox for alleged child endangerment, after learning the platform offered a simulation of the 2022 Uvalde mass shooting. Burrows instructed lawmakers to study ways to strengthen child safety and accountability for virtual gaming, singling out Roblox, an online platform and community where people can play and design their own games. In a news release, he call Roblox a place where “exploitative content and nominal safeguards are exposing Texas children to ongoing endangerment.” The charge adds to a list of policy priorities Burrows has focused the House around ahead of next year’s legislative…
Alabama has a new law governing captive insurance companies, and supporters hope it will mean that state regulators will soon lift a moratorium on new captives in the state. “The law takes effect in June, so we’re hoping that maybe by the end of summer the moratorium will be ended,” said Travis Bowden, president of Crossroads Risk Management, a captive management firm active in Alabama and Georgia. A spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Insurance said Tuesday: “Now that the act has been signed into law by Governor Ivey, the department is working to determine the best timing for bringing…
Hybrid workplaces are blurring responsibility across employers and tech providers
By Jackie Fortiér April 21, 2026 Article HTML Jackie Fortiér High-deductible plans can look like a deal, until the bills start rolling in. On this episode of the NPR podcast Life Kit, reporter Jackie Fortiér breaks down what to expect and how to prepare. A lot of people choose their health insurance the way they shop for a flight — sort by the lowest price and click “buy.” But what looks like a bargain upfront can come with costly consequences later. After some federal financial aid expired, many Americans found that high-deductible health plans were the only option they could…
Relatives of a jail inmate whom investigators determined died after a Kansas sheriff’s deputy shoved his knee into the cuffed man’s back for one minute and 26 seconds have filed a federal lawsuit. Attorneys for the family of Charles Adair renewed their demand Friday that video of what happened be released publicly in announcing the wrongful death lawsuit. Filed earlier this month, the lawsuit names the Wyandotte County sheriff, the unified government for the county and Kansas City, Kansas, and Richard Fatherley, who was charged last year with second-degree murder in Adair’s death. “The public has a right to transparency…