The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three people from the water approximately 23 miles south of Boothbay Harbor in Maine on Wednesday morning. The Coast Guard Station Boothbay Harbor crew reported they located the vessel at 9:01 a.m. and rescued three mariners from the water. One mariner reported minor hypothermia, while the other two had no reported injuries, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard’s northern New England command center received a mayday call at 7:03 a.m. from the crew of a sinking 40′ ridge liner vessel, Vesta Renee. The mariners reported that the vessel was taking on water and that…
Author: Awais
Marsh Risk, a business of Marsh, and specialty insurer Apollo’s ibott division announced the launch of an insurance facility for Uber. According to the companies, the facility is the first of its kind and will “accelerate the deployment of autonomous vehicles across Uber’s global platform.” The bespoke Autonomous Vehicle Insurance Program (AVIP) is among Uber’s recently announced Uber Autonomous Solutions designed to support its autonomous vehicle (AV) partners, including developers, fleet operators, vehicle manufacturers/owners, and original equipment manufacturers. Autonomous vehicles “demand a fundamentally different approach to risk and insurance,” said Chriss Moore, president of ibott. AVIP will be underwritten by…
The technology giant is the latest in a string of companies to roll out an AI tool specific to consumers’ health queries.
Appointments span operations, underwriting, and employee benefits
When his parents were about his age, they bought their first home. But for 27-year-old Brian Torres Suazo, that milestone feels like a distant dream, despite a secure job with union wages and down payment assistance. Torres Suazo expects to continue sharing an apartment with roommates for the foreseeable future, kept on the sidelines of homeownership by stubbornly high costs, even in cities once known for their affordability, such as his native Las Vegas. He’s not alone. In a restless electorate frustrated by high prices, the cost of housing stands out. Democrats are pushing to channel this anger into support…
The Andover Companies Names Nadeau SVP and CUO, Duchette SVP and CUO Paul Nadeau Patrick Duchette The Andover Companies, headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, appointed Paul Nadeau as senior executive vice president and chief operating officer and Patrick Duchette as senior vice president and chief underwriting officer. Nadeau leads enterprise operations, including underwriting, claims, marketing, innovation, business intelligence, digital experience and solutions, reinsurance, and information and technology services. He joined The Andover Companies in 1992 and has three decades of experience across underwriting, field marketing, and regional leadership roles. He most recently served as executive vice president, overseeing personal and commercial…
The U.S. Coast Guard and the states of Delaware and New Jersey on Wednesday declared the barge fire in Delaware Bay under control. No injuries were reported for the incident. The barge was carrying salvage metal at the time of the incident. Multiple fire companies worked to extinguish the fire, while state agencies and the Coast Guard coordinated to support response operations and minimize impacts to federal waterways, coastal communities, and the surrounding environment. The Coast Guard said it will ensure the vessel is stable and able to safely proceed to Camden, New Jersey, where the material will be offloaded.…
The war in the Middle East is creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday, a day after it agreed to release a record volume from strategic stockpiles to offset shortages and a spike in prices. Global supply is expected to drop by 8 million barrels per day in March, the IEA said in its latest monthly oil market report – a volume equal to almost 8% of world demand – due to the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel along the Iranian coast, since the U.S. and Israel began…
Change management tops the priority list for the second straight year, but more than half are still winging it
Florida lawmakers, with no dissenting votes, have approved a measure that would let insurance agencies’ customer service representatives bypass licensing classes if they have taken insurance courses in high school. House Bill 1343, co-sponsored by Rep. Brian Hodgers, one of only two insurance agency owners in the Florida Legislature, is seen as a way to help address a growing shortage of insurance industry workers. Customer service reps often are the first line of defense when policyholders call about coverage or premium issues, Hodgers said. But Florida’s required nine hours of education have discouraged some people from sitting for the CSR…
César Manuel González, 37, used to work with stone that was engineered to endure: dense, polished slabs designed to outlast the kitchens in which they were installed. Engineered quartz countertops have surged in popularity in the home renovation market, with industry analysts estimating the global engineered stone market at around $30 billion. It’s continuing to expand as quartz surfaces replace natural stone in kitchens in the United States and worldwide. When González was working, the dust that rose from his saw didn’t look extraordinary. It settled on his clothes, in his hair, across the shop floor. In a small countertop…
Warburg Pincus is considering options for Oona Insurance that might lead to a sale, according to people familiar with the matter, after receiving interest from other insurers and investment firms. The US private equity firm is working with Citigroup Inc. to review strategic opportunities for the Southeast Asian digital general insurer, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. A transaction could value Oona at several hundred million dollars, and may include forming a partnership with the interested parties, the people said. Considerations are preliminary and Warburg Pincus might also decide against pursuing a deal,…
Rising US natural gas exports and soaring domestic demand for the power-plant fuel will lead to a shortage of fracking gear later this decade, according to the head of one the country’s top drilling contractors. Activity in US shale fields is expected to ramp up toward the end of this year into 2027, primarily driven by gas consumption, Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. Chief Executive Officer Andy Hendricks said in an interview. That could lead to a deficit of equipment to frack gas wells in two to three years, particularly in the Haynesville basin of Texas and Louisiana, he said. Hendricks’ remarks…
Catastrophe data aggregator PERILS AG has published a fourth and final industry loss estimate of nearly AU $1.88 billion for Cyclone Alfred, which affected the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales during the period of February 28 to March 12, 2025.Cyclone Alfred made landfall on March 7, 2025, as a Category 1 cyclone near the Gold Coast in Southeast Queensland after spending several days offshore, slowly moving south. “By then its strength had diminished significantly from an offshore peak intensity of Category 4. Nevertheless, the combination of long-lasting high winds and heavy rainfall, owing to the storm’s slow…