The refund system set up to allow companies to recover illegally collected tariffs from the U.S. government went live on Monday as thousands of companies rushed to file claims. “So far, so good” – though the system is a little glitchy, said Jay Foreman, CEO of toymaker Basic Fun, which had a team in its “war room” at its headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida, ready to start filing when the system went live at 8 a.m. U.S. Eastern time (1300 GMT). Foreman said the system didn’t crash as some had feared it might under the onslaught of attempted submissions –…
Author: Awais
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by Bank of America and seven other major financial institutions to prevent American cities from banding together in a $12 billion class action accusing them of artificially inflating interest rates on a popular municipal bond. The justices turned away an appeal by the banks brought after a lower court upheld a judge’s decision to certify the lawsuit brought by Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Diego and other cities as a class action. The Supreme Court’s action paves the way for the suit to proceed as a class action. The other banks…
President Donald Trump on Saturday directed his administration to speed up reviews of certain psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, which recently has been embraced by combat veterans and conservative lawmakers despite having serious safety risks. Ibogaine and other psychedelics remain banned under the federal government’s most restrictive category for illegal, high-risk drugs. But the administration is taking steps to ease restrictions and spur research on using the drugs for medical purposes, including conditions like severe depression. “Today’s order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life,” Trump…
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the northeastern Japanese coast along the Sanriku region of Hokkaido and Iwate prefecture at around 4.50pm local time Monday (8.50am UK), with small tsunami waves already reported and a warning of the potential for higher waves imminently.Japan’s prime minister Sanae Takaichi is reported to have said that At this time, we have received a report that human and material damage is currently being confirmed, but from now on, we will receive detailed reports and address the disaster response.” Tsunami waves of up to 80 centimetres were detected at Kuji port in Iwate prefecture, while…
Then came the lawsuits. According to the filing, claimants have sued Quorum and its hospitals in several states. National Fire says Quorum has covered parts of the SIR in some cases – chiefly by paying defense costs for its hospitals – but is refusing to fully fund it, arguing instead that the subsidiary hospitals, or even the individual employees named as defendants, should pay. Those hospitals, the insurer contends, are “either unable or unwilling to pay.”
That observation has gained research backing. Work led by Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini has documented a roughly 400 to 500-mile eastward shift in tornado activity from its historical Texas-Oklahoma center, with higher frequencies now recorded across Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama.
Lloyd’s of London continued to demonstrate its attractiveness to investors throughout 2025, with individual syndicates delivering strong results, while the market has also seen an increasing number of new entrants and a growth in risk capital deployed through the market’s insurance-linked securities (ILS) structure London Bridge 2 PCC.The Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) and Insurance Capital Markets Research (ICMR) recently published its Lloyd’s 2026 Insights Report, which provides a detailed analysis of Lloyd’s and syndicates’ 2025 year-end results. “In 2025, Lloyd’s continued to demonstrate its attractiveness relative to other investment options, delivering strong returns, comparable levels of volatility and low correlation…
At its core, the bill raises the floor on how much capital captive insurers need to keep on hand. Pure captive insurance companies, previously required to maintain $100,000 in unimpaired paid-in capital and surplus, must now maintain $250,000 – or an alternative amount the commissioner sets with actuarial backing. Protected cell captive insurance companies face the same increase, from $100,000 to $250,000, with the same commissioner discretion. The most dramatic jump belongs to reinsurance captive insurance companies, whose minimum shoots from $10,000 to $1,000,000, with no room for the commissioner to set a lower alternative. Risk retention groups, previously bundled…
The Insurance Business Cyber LOB Report, “The U.S. Cyber Insurance Market: Evolution of Underwriting, Claims and Strategy,” provides a comprehensive view of the market across six chapters, covering market structure, underwriting performance, carrier scorecards, and the evolving cyber risk environment. It is supported by 20+ figures including premium, claims, and state-level data; and a full data appendix, enabling readers to benchmark performance and apply insights directly to underwriting, placement, and portfolio decisions.
The influential physician association surveyed thousands of doctors and found that burnout last year was lower than in 2024 or 2023. Still, certain specialties, especially those on the front lines of care, face an elevated risk of burning out.
Rapper Tory Lanez has sued the California prison system, saying he never should have been housed with a fellow inmate who stabbed him 16 times last year. Lanez, 33, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, filed the federal lawsuit seeking $100 million in damages on Tuesday against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the warden and guards at the prison in Tehachapi where he was being held. The suit says he was stabbed 16 times in the back, torso, head and face in an “unprovoked life-threatening attack” by inmate Santino Casio, who used a homemade “shank.” Lanez had…
Health insurance makes up 8% of total employee compensation on average, and while most employees take up health insurance when it is offered, lower-wage workers are far less likely to be able to access coverage, according to an analysis on the costs, availability, and take-up of health benefits for workers with lower wages. The analysis uses survey data and information from focus groups discussions with more than 100 U.S. employers with over a quarter of a million employees. About three in four employees are offered health insurance on average, and nearly two-thirds of those offered insurance enroll in the benefit.…
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the California Department of Insurance are continuing to try and revamp the state’s intervenor process, in which groups or people are paid for intervening in rate hearings. Lara and the CDI submitted the Intervenor and Administrative Hearing Bureau Fairness and Accountability rulemaking package to the Office of Administrative Law for final review, saying a change of this magnitude would mark the most significant modernization of the intervenor system since Proposition 103 was enacted in 1988. Related: California Insurance Commissioner Unveils Intervenor Reform Regulations The regulations propose to: Clarify “substantial contribution” and reasonableness standards for…
Losing someone close is never easy. In the middle of grief and emotional stress, there are often practical responsibilities that need to be handled – many of them unfamiliar and overwhelming. Life insurance exists to provide financial support during exactly these moments, helping protect loved ones when they need it most. However, life insurance is not paid automatically. Before any benefit is paid, a claim must be submitted, and that process usually unfolds in a series of steps. Below is a simple overview of the typical life insurance claim process in Canada. We will then walk you through each step…