The winter storm that brought several feet of snow and blizzard conditions to parts of the Northeast this week resulted in $34 billion to $38 billion in total damage and economic loss, according to a preliminary estimate from AccuWeather. More than two feet of heavy snow fell across parts of New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island experienced hurricane-force wind gusts of 74 mph or stronger, AccuWeather reported. At least 18 cities across the Northeast reached official blizzard conditions, with sustained winds or wind gusts of 35 mph or greater and a visibility…
Author: Awais
FERMA, the Federation of European Risk Management Associations has urged the European Commission to adopt a collaborative approach to the climate resilience framework it plans to introduce later this year, calling for the use of catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities (ILS) and parametric products.The Commission’s European Climate Resilience Framework is expected to be launched in Q4 2026. The framework combines legislative and non-legislative measures and aims to establish a more comprehensive EU approach to climate resilience and preparedness, urging the adoption of a more collaborative model spanning governments, insurers, capital markets and businesses. “Across Europe, climate change is driving rising losses…
Since the opioid epidemic was declared a public health emergency in 2017, it has claimed more than half a million lives. While the epidemic was initially driven by prescription opioids and heroin, it has evolved in recent years, to be dominated by illicit synthetic fentanyl—a substance significantly more potent than morphine. By 2023, most counterfeit opioid pills contained a deadly dose. As of 2022, nearly 1 in 3 adults reported in a KFF survey that they or a family member have been addicted to opioids (29%). Leading up to and during the pandemic, opioid overdose deaths increased sharply. Deaths began…
The first was its Employer’s Liability Exclusion, written to bar claims for bodily injury to an employee’s child caused as a consequence of injury to the employee. The problem, the court found, was that the Domion complaint never actually pinned down how the child was harmed. It left open a scenario where Pedro brought chemical products and substances home without sustaining any injury himself, and the child was exposed that way. The complaint had flagged failures in TriQuint’s ventilation, industrial hygiene policies, and personal protective equipment, which only reinforced that possibility. With that ambiguity in play, the exclusion could not…
EPIC Names Rodriguez National Real Estate Program Development Leader Miranda Rodriguez EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants, headquartered in San Francisco, California, appointed Miranda Rodriguez to the newly created role of program development leader within its national real estate practice. Rodriguez will focus on structuring and expanding EPIC’s real estate presence, overseeing initiatives spanning program design, strategic partnerships and operational infrastructure. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rodriguez has over 15 years of industry experience in real estate risk management and program development. Before joining EPIC, Rodriguez led specialization for Willis Tower Watson’s residential segment within its real estate industry vertical. She…
Ongoing violence from criminal groups in Mexico, which disrupted travel and attacked businesses in Puerto Vallarta during the weekend, could create headwinds for a country where tourism represents approximately 10% of the economy, AM Best said in a commentary. Violence began on Sunday, Feb. 22 in reliation for the killing of cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes. “Although flights are expected to resume at Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta’s airports…, it may take more time for cruise ships to resume visits, and the event in the longer term may dissuade tourists from visiting oceanside resort areas on Mexico’s west coast,” according to…
“When I get a referral from my team and they’re like, ‘Hey, we’re on season six of this, we’ve had five seasons of no loss, we’re on the same team,’ it’s a pretty easy approval to work on that project,” Burt said. “If we’ve seen a bad loss history on a project, we’re not necessarily keen to insure the sequel.”
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — At around 2 a.m., 7-year-old twin brothers arrived at Mission Hospital in Asheville. Both had a fever, a cough, a rash, pink eye, and cold symptoms. The boys sat in one waiting room and then another. Two hours and 20 minutes passed before the two were isolated, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services records obtained by KFF Health News. Then two more hours ticked by. As the sun rose, an emergency room doctor called the state epidemiologist and described the symptoms. The public health official told him to keep the kids in the hospital and…
U.S. airlines canceled over 2,000 flights on Tuesday, far fewer than a day earlier, as a powerful winter storm that disrupted airports across the Northeast was expected to ease by evening, with strong winds expected to continue into the early hours. Over 2,000 flights canceled, 600 delayed as of 06:00 a.m. ET, Tuesday, according to data from FlightAware. Nearly 6,000 flights were canceled on Monday, along with about 4,000 delays. The National Weather Service said the storm was expected to move away from the country on Tuesday, though strong winds could continue through the morning hours. Among major carriers, JetBlue…
Britain on Tuesday sanctioned Maritime Mutual, the New Zealand-based marine insurer that was the subject of a Reuters special report into how it had helped in the trade of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian and Russian oil. “(Maritime Mutual) is or has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia by carrying on business in a sector of strategic significance to the Government of Russia, namely the Russian energy sector,” the British government said in a statement. Reuters’ reported in October that Maritime Mutual had insured several vessels in what’s known as the…
Despite assurances from President Claudia Sheinbaum and her security minister Monday that Mexico was returning to normal after a weekend of cartel violence, many vacationers to Puerto Vallarta and other cities still faced canceled flights and shelter-in-place warnings. The travel disruptions began Sunday as criminal groups set up blockades, burned vehicles and attacked businesses in retaliation for the capture and killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico’s most wanted drug kingpin. Foreign governments including Canada and the US issued travel advisories and shelter-in-place recommendations for citizens traveling in the country, and dozens of flights were canceled to parts of Mexico. Sheinbaum…
A Healthcare Dive analysis of new government data lays out just how drastically insurers retrenched their MA businesses for 2026, with UnitedHealthcare, CVS and Elevance discarding hundreds of thousands of members.
A ransomware attack forced the University of Mississippi Medical Center to close all of its roughly three dozen clinics around the state and cancel elective procedures for a second day on Friday, hobbling one of the state’s largest health care providers. University officials warned that the shutdown could continue for days as they try to evaluate the extent of the attack, including whether patients’ sensitive information was compromised, and restore network systems they took down as a precaution. Richard Bell, 55, drove three hours from his home in Oxford the medical center’s main campus in Jackson on Friday only to…
The North Carolina house fire that killed NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin’s father and injured his mother has been ruled accidental but it’s still unclear what started it. A report released by Gaston County Emergency Management & Fire Services said the Dec. 28 fire at the two-story home originated in a bedroom, but the “cause of ignition” is “undetermined.” Otherwise, the investigation determined the fire as accidental, Gaston County spokesperson Adam Gaub wrote in an email Friday. Hamlin’s parents, Dennis and Mary Lou Hamlin were found outside the home the evening of the fire suffering from catastrophic injuries, officials said. Dennis…