Verisk is the second of the catastrophe risk modelling specialists to release an estimate for insurance industry losses caused by recent winter storm Fern in the United States, saying the total could reach $4 billion.The company explained that its Catastrophe and Risk Solutions group believes freeze related impacts will be the largest contributor of insured losses from the winter storm, while wind and snow related losses will be supplemental. Verisk said that early results from its updated U.S. Winter Storm Model suggest 14 states, from Texas to Massachusetts, could exceed $50 million in insured losses each and that if estimates…
Author: Awais
Inside a cancer research laboratory on the campus of Harvard Medical School, two dozen small jars with pink plastic lids sat on a metal counter. Inside these humble-looking jars is the core of Joan Brugge’s current multiyear research project. Brugge lifted up one of the jars and gazed at it with reverence. Each jar holds samples of breast tissue donated by patients after they underwent a tissue biopsy or breast surgery — samples that may reveal a new way to prevent breast cancer. Brugge and her research team have analyzed the cell structure of more than 100 samples. Using high-powered…
Listen to the article 5 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: Prices rose 11% at ambulatory surgery centers after they were bought by Optum, probably because the newly acquired providers were able to negotiate higher prices with insurers, according to a new study highlighting how vertical consolidation drives up healthcare spending. That increase translates to $10.1 million more in annual spending for just seven common procedures in the two dozen ASC markets analyzed. Extrapolating that estimate to all ASC services suggests the full financial impact could exceed $67 million each year, the…
Strong premium growth and cooling claims costs are drawing new carriers
InsuranceFest 2026 returns to the Pier on July 16 with 1,200+ specialty professionals, including excess & surplus (E&S) brokers, MGAs, carriers, reinsurers, tech innovators, and risk leaders, and a format redesigned around how business actually gets done.
Editorial note: Updated February 2, 2026 with new updates for Delaware. State and federal efforts to limit abortion coverage began soon after the 1973 Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision. In 1977, the Hyde Amendment banned federal funding for abortion, with exceptions for pregnancies that endanger the life of the woman, or result from rape or incest. Some states use their own funds to cover other medically necessary abortions under Medicaid or have been compelled to do so by the courts. The passage of the ACA in 2010 led to renewed legislative efforts to limit abortion coverage, this time in private insurance…
Texas’ environmental regulator last week issued the largest air pollution permit in the country to an enormous planned complex of gas power plants and data centers near the oilfields of the Permian Basin, according to an announcement from the project’s developers. Pacifico Energy, a global, investor-owned infrastructure company, called its 7.65 gigawatt Ranch in Pecos County “the largest power project in the United States” in a press release this week. It’s among a handful of similarly colossal ventures announced during 2025 that have made Texas the global epicenter of a gas power buildout, according to data released Thursday by Global…
A McDonald’s franchisee in Oklahoma has settled a federal lawsuit alleging a teenage worker was sexually harassed by a male supervisor. Arch Fellow North, LLC, owner and operator of eight McDonald’s restaurants in eastern Oklahoma, will pay $80,000 and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment and constructive discharge lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a teenage worker, the federal agency announced today. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, an adult male supervisor sexually harassed the teenage worker for about a month in November 2021. When Arch Fellow North learned about the supervisor’s…
Specialty Program Group, a specialty platform headquartered in Chicago, is consolidating its transportation businesses under a single platform: SPG Transportation. Avant Brokerage, Avant Underwriters, BizCHOICE Transportation and MOVER’S CHOICE will now operate as a unified platform – SPG Transportation. SPG Transportation serves trucking, last mile delivery, and moving and storage risks. The platform will be led by Scott Hendricks, CEO, and Clayton Cavell, President. Throughout 2026, the transportation brand websites will be integrated into the SPG website in phases; to prevent disruption, brokers, carriers and customers will continue to have access to the existing brand websites. As new operational processes…
Allianz Commercial announced it is relocating its Chicago office to a newly designed workspace at 155 North Wacker Drive, located in the city’s Financial District. The new office spans nearly 28,000 square feet and was designed to support the company’s hybrid work model. The office features a combination of sit-stand desks, private workstations, and pivot desks, with a dedicated boardroom, multipurpose space, five video conferencing rooms, and several smaller meeting areas to support both in-person and virtual engagement. Allianz said the relocation underscores the company’s growth ambition in the Midwest market. “Chicago sits at the heart of our North American…
Plaintiffs claiming punitive damages in lawsuits must meet a high bar, a Florida appeals court found in overturning a trial court’s decision in a fatal accident involving an online car-sharing platform. Turo Inc., a firm that connects renters with automobile owners, cannot be subjected to punitive damage claims in an amended complaint brought by people and family members injured in a 2023 crash, Florida’s 6th District Court of Appeals noted in its Jan. 30 opinion. “In sum, because there was no reasonable showing, either by evidence in the record or by proffer, that Turo was guilty of intentional misconduct or…
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Marsh, Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK), and Everest Group. A summary of these new hires follows here. Marsh Names Quest as UK CEO, Succeeding Lay Insurance broker Marsh announced the appointment of Lisa Quest as UK CEO, in addition to her current role as head of UK and Ireland Oliver Wyman, effective April 6, 2026. Lisa Quest Quest will be based in London and report to Flavio Piccolomini, CEO, International, Marsh. Quest succeeds Chris Lay, who is retiring from the business. In this additional role, Quest will work with the UK’s business…
In the wake of the 2026 January reinsurance renewals, which saw double-digit declines in property catastrophe reinsurance pricing, analysts at J.P. Morgan have highlighted that while attachment points have largely held up, this has driven profitability to be likely better than the pricing levels suggest.In a new report on the matter, J.P. Morgan said: “2026 has started off with double-digit price declines seen in property catastrophe reinsurance. With excellent industry profitability since 2023 and a build up of industry capital, the outcome was not surprising in our view. “In our 2026 outlook, we set out our expectation that property catastrophe…
Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: Nearly 53 million prior authorization requests were sent to payers in 2024 as the number of enrollees in the privatized Medicare program swelled, according to an analysis published Wednesday by KFF. In comparison, payers made almost 50 million prior authorization determinations in 2023. That amounts to 1.7 requests on average per MA beneficiary in 2024, a slight decline from 1.8 requests in the previous year, according to the health policy researcher. Nearly 8% of prior authorization requests were fully or partially…