Woods brings more than 18 years of insurance experience across product, underwriting, risk management, analytics, and technology‑driven solutions. At Travelers, he held leadership roles in product management, platforms, third‑party data, catastrophe risk management, and underwriting automation, most recently serving as vice president, portfolio solutions.
Author: Awais
Amid the last-minute scramble to move legislation before the non-budgetary session was set to end last week, Florida lawmakers quietly approved a bill that could open up more contaminated “brownfield” areas in south Florida to housing development. But the bill, if signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, could also lead to frustration and litigation from homeowners and builders who may be denied insurance coverage or claims for structures built on once-polluted lands, attorneys and insurance agents said. “This legislation is likely to generate several categories of litigation, includinginsurance coverage disputes, construction defect/toxicexposure claims, mass tort litigation, andgovernment preemption challenges,”…
Investment in AI infrastructure via off-balance sheet debt is increasing the exposure of insurers and private credit funds to hyperscalers, according to officials at the Bank for International Settlements. “Alongside traditional bonds, hyperscalers have turned to off‑balance sheet arrangements to finance infrastructure expansions, often in partnership with private credit firms,” BIS officials Egemen Eren, Ingomar Krohn and Karamfil Todorov said in a note Monday. “These structures strengthen links between hyperscalers and non‑bank investors.” The comments add to warnings about the debt frenzy to support the artificial intelligence revolution. With so many lenders lining up to throw cash at assets, the…
HW Kaufman Group Names Hattaway President of RB Jones Michael Hattaway RB Jones, a managing general underwriter providing specialty risk coverage solutions for brokers, agents and wholesalers, named Michael Hattaway as president. He will be based in New York City and report to H.W. Kaufman Group Co-President Jodie Kaufman Davis. Hattaway will oversee RB Jones underwriting operations and expand relationships with clients and insurance company partners while driving business growth within the marine, energy, property and professional liability sectors. Before joining RB Jones, Hattaway spent nearly eight years at Scion Underwriting Managers. Previously, Hattaway held senior leadership roles at Hallmark…
Pro-Iranian hackers are targeting sites in the Middle East and starting to stretch into the United States during the war, raising the risk of American defense contractors, power stations and water plants being swept into a wave of digital chaos that could expand if Tehran’s allies join the fray. Hackers supporting Iran claimed responsibility for a significant cyberattack against U.S. medical device company Stryker. Since the war began Feb. 28, they also have tried to penetrate cameras in Middle Eastern countries to improve Iran’s missile targeting. They have targeted data centers in the region, as well as industrial facilities in…
Amazon.com’s drone unit Prime Air is withdrawing from the Commercial Drone Alliance, taking issue with the industry trade group’s opposition to a regulatory proposal for detect-and-avoid systems to prevent drone collisions with crewed aircraft. In a previously unreported letter seen on Thursday by Reuters, the Amazon unit said the alliance’s positions “on the most consequential safety questions facing the commercial drone industry are incompatible with Prime Air’s core safety tenets.” Prime Air said in the letter, sent late on Wednesday, that in more than 70,000 drone flights, its detect-and-avoid system performed “successful collision avoidance maneuvers on two potential mid-air collisions…
A recent report from investment manager Neuberger Berman has indicated that industry index catastrophe bonds have outperformed the broader cat bond market with respect to realised losses and mark-to-market performance, following the occurrences of both hurricanes Ian and Irma.The firm’s latest report, A Validation Study of Catastrophe Bond Losses Over Time, provides a detailed analysis of realised losses seen across the cat bond market between 2002 to 2025 versus the long-term modeled expected loss (EL), with a secondary focus on peril region exposure type. The report also analysed the cat bond space’s mark-to-market performance following significant cat events. Over the…
Expanding the lineup With the acquisitions completed, MedImpact said it now offers employers a full suite of care, coverage and risk management services. The lineup includes third-party administration through Verdegard, nationwide direct-contracted provider access through PNOA, and specialty drug management through MedImpact, Ray Savings Solutions and Birdi.
CRC Group adds three to specialty brokerage team CRC Group has appointed Kevin Butte (pictured above, left), David Claiborne (pictured above, center), and Vincent Urbanczyk (pictured above, right) to its wholesale specialty insurance distribution team, expanding capabilities in energy, excess casualty, transportation, and healthcare professional liability.
Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio and Cara Anthony and Emily Siner, Nashville Public Radio LISTEN: Is it worth it to set up a health savings account? HealthQ has answers. When Mike McKee thinks about saving money for the future, he has a few priorities. Maxing out his retirement is one. Building up his kid’s college fund is another. Opening up a health savings account? Not so much, even though he qualifies because of his high-deductible health plan. “I’m so frustrated with the system that has anything to do with medical savings,” said McKee, 42, a self-employed musician in Nashville, Tennessee.…
One of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) sponsored by financial guarantee and municipal bond specialist Build America Mutual Assurance Company has had its ratings revised to Positive from Stable by Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), while another two remain at Stable.Build America Mutual has accessed the capital markets for a securitisation of financial guarantee insurance risks four times now, with financial guarantee ILS transactions issued in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2025. Through these securitized structures, the insurer has integrated the capital markets into its reinsurance strategy and employed catastrophe bond securitization technology to facilitate this. Similar to the mortgage ILS transactions…
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“You need to walk clients through the full range of potential doomsday scenarios,” he said. “That includes business interruption, dependent business interruption, privacy claims, ransomware events, and cyber extortion, so they clearly understand how each exposure could impact their organization.”
Bank of America Corp. has agreed to settle a proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein victims who accused the bank of aiding in the deceased financier’s sex-trafficking, according to a court record. The agreement in principle was noted Monday in the court docket in the case. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. Any settlement must be approved by US District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan. A representative for Bank of America declined to comment. The bank has denied wrongdoing. The same lawyers who previously secured settlements with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG…