Plenum Investments, the specialist manager of catastrophe bond and other reinsurance-linked assets, has announced that its Plenum CAT Bond Dynamic Fund has crossed approximately USD 600 million in assets under management, which according to the firm underscores the success of the fund’s efficiency-oriented investment approach.We reported back in December 2025, that the Plenum CAT Bond Dynamic Fund had surpassed $500 million. The Plenum CAT Bond Dynamic Fund, launched in 2021 as a UCITS fund, invests exclusively in catastrophe bonds and money market instruments. Now five years in operation, the investment strategy aims to generate attractive excess returns while also maintaining…
Author: Awais
More German drivers switched to an electric vehicle in the first quarter of this year than ever before after the government launched a major subsidy program that can shave as much as €6,000 ($6,967) off the price of a new car. The share of drivers replacing their combustion-engine cars with an EV rose to 7.5% in the period, from 6.3% the previous quarter, according to a survey for insurer HUK-COBURG published Thursday. That was the highest figure since the poll began in early 2020. About a fifth of respondents cited the new subsidy as having a direct impact on their…
May 28 Jackie Fortiér [FOR-tee-ay] reads this week’s news: Suicide prevention experts argue that improving Americans’ financial well-being could save lives. Plus, the Trump administration proposes looser artificial intelligence safeguards to speed innovation in healthcare. The KFF Health News Minute is available every Thursday via direct download or the RSS feed.
What began as a lawsuit filed against Church Mutual Insurance Company on a $1 million-plus claim dispute turned into a potential $2 million award against a contractor after a jury found the contractor intentionally interfered with the insurance contract and caused the litigation. The case, The Calvary Baptist Church of Denver and Church Mutual Insurance Company V. Skyyguard Corp., came about after it was discovered a contractor orchestrated an inflated appraisal process. That prompted the church to settle with Church Mutual for $50,000 and side with the carrier. In a counterclaim that played out in the U.S. District Court for…
A woman fired by an Indiana university over her Facebook post criticizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk after he was killed will receive $225,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused her former employer of violating her free-speech rights, the woman’s attorneys said Tuesday. The American Civil Liberties Union announced the settlement in a federal lawsuit it filed last year on behalf of Suzanne Swierc against Ball State University President Geoffrey Mearns. Swierc worked as director of health promotion and advocacy at Ball State’s campus in Muncie, Indiana, before she was fired last September. Ball State cited Swierc’s private Facebook post about…
A Michigan house explosion early Tuesday left one person dead and one in critical condition, authorities said. Authorities have not yet determined what caused the fire and explosion, which happened around 4 a.m. in Plainfield Township, north of Grand Rapids. When authorities arrived, the home was destroyed and the debris was on fire, according to the Kent County Sheriff’s Office. One person was dead. Two neighbors pulled a woman out of the home after hearing her yelling. “I had to get in there and get her out,” one of the neighbors, Tim Johnson, told WOOD-TV. He said they “grabbed her…
The attacks, while limited, highlighted the fragility of negotiations aimed at turning the tenuous ceasefire that took effect in early April into an agreement to end the three-month-old war and reopen the vital shipping route. A U.S. official told Reuters the military shot down four Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone. “These actions were measured, purely defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire,” said the official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about military operations. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said later…
The Australian government said on Thursday it had launched legal action against 3M over contamination from firefighting foam supplied by the U.S. company that contained PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” seeking more than A$2 billion ($1.43 billion) in damages. The claim against the Minnesota-based chemicals maker and its local unit is the largest ever brought by Australia, reflecting the past and future environmental, economic and cultural costs of the contamination, the government said. “Make no mistake, this legal action against 3M is significant,” Attorney-General Michelle Rowland told reporters. Read more: EU Restricts Use of ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Firefighting Foams “The Commonwealth…
Property catastrophe reinsurance pricing has declined by 15% to 20% across many layers of the tower at the June 1st renewals according to broker Guy Carpenter, who highlighted improved property insurance market conditions, strong reinsurer balance-sheets and rising investor appetite as key drivers of the renewal dynamics.“Florida’s property market is on markedly stronger footing,” said Randy Fuller, Florida Segment Leader, Guy Carpenter. “Legal reforms, improved building resilience, and disciplined underwriting have combined to restore capital and confidence. That restoration is visible in the way insurers and reinsurers approached the June renewals; more capacity was available, terms improved, and pricing moved…
A cargo of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve headed to California this month for the first time ever, ship tracking service Kpler said. The unusual movement highlights the redrawing of trade flows and shipping routes as the Iran war has cut off supplies of Middle Eastern crude. California, once a top oil-producing state in the U.S., has in recent years become more dependent on crude imports, including about 230,000 barrels per day last year from the Middle East. Availability of alternative crude oil is also limited due to competing demand from Asia. About 460,000 barrels of Bayou Choctaw…
On the same day it acquired a Kansas insurance agency, World Insurance Associates purchased Lock Insurance of Lakeland, Florida. Lock Insurance, founded in 2004, offers personal and commercial coverage. Don Westerfeld is president. The agency is now known as Lock Insurance, a Division of World Insurance, according to the website. World Insurance already had two agency offices in the Tampa area. Terms of the Lock deal, which closed in February, were not reported. World Insurance, based in Iselin, New Jersey, is ranked among the 50 largest agencies. It has some 250 offices in the United States and the United Kingdom,…
Injury claims and lawsuits stemming from e-bikes on Florida’s streets could diminish a little bit if the state’s governor signs a mild e-bike regulation bill into law. Senate Bill 382, adopted by the Legislature this spring with no dissenting votes, would require electric bike drivers to keep it under 10 mph if a pedestrian is within 50 feet. The measure, if signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, also would mandate that e-bikes on shared pathways must yield to people and give an audible signal before passing them. The bill would create a task force, adjunct to the Department of Highway Safety…
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday called on the Federal Aviation Administration to revise how it assesses runway conditions during heavy rainfall, citing safety risks of airplanes skidding off the runway. The recommendations follow NTSB investigations of 11 runway overrun accidents and incidents from 2008 through 2022 that occurred after landings on wet runways. The NTSB called on the FAA to reform the so-called Runway Condition Assessment Matrix that uses a six-point scale for pilots. The board cited the 2019 runway overrun of a Boeing 737 BA.N in Jacksonville, Florida, due in part to “an extreme loss of…
Volvo Cars, majority owned by China’s Geely Holding, said it received approval from the U.S. government allowing it to continue selling vehicles. In January 2025, President Joe Biden’s administration finalized rules effectively barring nearly all Chinese cars and trucks from the U.S. market, as part of a crackdown on vehicle software and hardware from China. The rules included a ban on most Chinese-developed and maintained software that took effect in March 2026 for the 2027 model year and covered companies with significant Chinese ownership. Lawmakers have proposed making the rules even tougher. “Given our ownership Volvo Car USA was required…