Independent personal lines agency Goosehead Insurance and newly launched Planet Insurance Agency said they have a strategic franchise partnership for customers shopping for homeowners insurance. Meriden, Connecticut-based Planet Insurance Agency was launched last month through Planet Financial Group. Through the partnership, Planet customers who are preparing to close on a home or reviewing their insurance protection can connect with licensed insurance agents who guide them through coverage options. Customers can compare policy options from more than 200 carriers relationships and review coverage and pricing terms. “This partnership is about easing the homeownership journey,” said Planet Insurance Senior Vice President Ken…
Author: Awais
Chronic exposure to pollution from wildfires has been linked to tens of thousands of deaths annually in the United States, according to a new study. The paper, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, found that from 2006 to 2020, long-term exposure to tiny particulates from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of 24,100 deaths a year in the lower 48 states. “Our message is: Wildfire smoke is very dangerous. It is an increasing threat to human health,” said Yaguang Wei, a study author and assistant professor in the department of environmental medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount…
Catastrophe bond market insurance risk spreads, or the discount margin, did not rise as much as anticipated in the month of January 2026, as demand moderated widening and the overall yield of the catastrophe bond market ended the month only slightly higher at 8.87%, data from Plenum Investments shows.Which was only a slight increase on the 8.80% yield the catastrophe bond market offered as of the end of 2025, after December saw a return of spread widening trends. Seasonal spread tightening related to the cat bond market’s peak peril, the Atlantic hurricane season, had compressed catastrophe bond market spreads through…
Assembly Bill 1680, known as the Make it FAIR Act, would mandate new transparency, governance, and coverage requirements for the California FAIR Plan Association, which has rapidly expanded as private insurers pull back from wildfire-exposed regions. The FAIR Plan, created in 1986 as an insurer of last resort, has grown into one of California’s largest property insurers as major carriers (including State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, Travelers, Chubb, Nationwide, and USAA) have stopped writing new business or non-renewed existing policies in high-risk areas.
Allianz’s Olympic involvement is a prime example at the global scale, but other insurers show the diversity of approaches. In Asia-Pacific, AIA’s partnership with Tottenham Hotspur FC taps into a passionate fanbase, cultivating long-term brand loyalty. In North America, insurers like State Farm, Allstate, and Progressive leverage stadium naming rights, team partnerships, and league sponsorships across the NFL, NBA, and MLB to maintain high-frequency, targeted visibility.
The London insurance and reinsurance market need to build on the success seen with the Lloyd’s insurance-linked securities structure London Bridge 2 PCC, as ILS remains a real opportunity to support market growth despite the UK ILS regime having stalled, Chris Lay, Chair of the London Market Group (LMG) trade body has said.Having released its latest London Matters report today, the LMG highlights the need for London to remain innovative when it comes to attracting capital to the market, seeing it as critical to capture new and emerging opportunities. That’s not to say a lack of ILS activity outside of…
The six people killed in a fiery plane crash in Maine were flying to France’s Champagne region to scope out the next travel destination for high-net-worth clients when their small jet flipped on the runway during takeoff. They included an acclaimed chef, a sommelier and an event planner working for Tara Arnold, 46, a Houston lawyer-turned-entrepreneur and philanthropist. Local police confirmed the death of Arnold and three of the others on Tuesday. They were flying from Houston to France’s Champagne region, stopping in Bangor to refuel, when the Bombardier Challenger 600 crashed as a snowstorm moved in Jan. 25 and…
February 5, 2026 An agent submits what appears to be a simple consulting risk. Days later, the submission is still in underwriting review. The client follows up twice. No clear timeline. The opportunity moves to a competitor that could bind instantly. This guide explains how Coterie evaluates NAICS codes to determine instant eligibility, underwriting referral, or decline, so agents can pre-screen prospects, set accurate expectations, and avoid wasted submission time. How NAICS Codes Affect Insurance Eligibility Insurance carriers use NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes to determine underwriting appetite, pricing, coverage forms, and referral requirements. For agents, NAICS classification often determines whether a submission can bind instantly or requires underwriter review. Accurate NAICS classification: Improves quote accuracy …
The Host The Department of Health and Human Services is funded for the rest of the fiscal year. But lawmakers remain concerned about whether the Trump administration will spend the money as directed. Meanwhile, negotiations over extending expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans have broken down in the Senate, mostly over a perennial issue — abortion. The subsidies’ expiration at the end of 2025 has left millions of Americans unable to afford their health insurance premiums. This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School…
The industry’s most promising young stars are invited to join
Tricolor Holdings founder Daniel Chu, who faces federal fraud charges related to the collapse of the subprime auto-loan firm, won court approval to use company insurance policies to pay for his defense costs, a judge ruled Wednesday. US Bankruptcy Judge Michelle V. Larson agreed during a Dallas court hearing to free $5 million in directors and officers insurance to pay legal bills for Chu and others, including Tricolor itself, related to federal investigations of the company and its former managers. Prosecutors in New York have accused Chu of conspiring to defraud lenders and investors through various schemes, including “double-pledging” auto-loan…
Chief Executive Officer Damian Ely (pictured on the left) said the phased build began in 2024, with a 70-strong global aviation claims team operating across the UK, Asia, China, the Middle East, the US, and Latin America. The success of that model laid the groundwork for expansion into marine and energy, where Ely and Hagan joined Sedgwick in early 2025 to accelerate development.
An Asian cyber-espionage group has spent the past year breaking into computer systems belonging to governments and critical infrastructure organizations in more than 37 countries, according to the cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks, Inc. The state-aligned attackers have infiltrated networks of 70 organizations, including five national law enforcement and border control agencies, according to a new research report from the company.They have also breached three ministries of finance, one country’s parliament and a senior elected official in another, the report states. The Santa Clara, California-based firm declined to identify the hackers’ country of origin. The spying operation was unusually vast…
Two Southeastern states’ insurance commissioners this week posted sternly worded bulletins, warning property insurers about improper policy cancellations and claims denials. Following severe winter storms that swept across the South early this week, Commissioner Carter Lawrence and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti urged carriers to “fulfill their contractual and legal obligations.” “If any company should fail to do right by its customers, if it wrongfully denies claims or otherwise engages in unfair practices, we will not hesitate to act,” the officials said in the posting. They did not specify what type of action would be considered. Policyholders who believe their…