Texas’ environmental regulator last week issued the largest air pollution permit in the country to an enormous planned complex of gas power plants and data centers near the oilfields of the Permian Basin, according to an announcement from the project’s developers. Pacifico Energy, a global, investor-owned infrastructure company, called its 7.65 gigawatt Ranch in Pecos County “the largest power project in the United States” in a press release this week. It’s among a handful of similarly colossal ventures announced during 2025 that have made Texas the global epicenter of a gas power buildout, according to data released Thursday by Global…
Author: Awais
A McDonald’s franchisee in Oklahoma has settled a federal lawsuit alleging a teenage worker was sexually harassed by a male supervisor. Arch Fellow North, LLC, owner and operator of eight McDonald’s restaurants in eastern Oklahoma, will pay $80,000 and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment and constructive discharge lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a teenage worker, the federal agency announced today. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, an adult male supervisor sexually harassed the teenage worker for about a month in November 2021. When Arch Fellow North learned about the supervisor’s…
Specialty Program Group, a specialty platform headquartered in Chicago, is consolidating its transportation businesses under a single platform: SPG Transportation. Avant Brokerage, Avant Underwriters, BizCHOICE Transportation and MOVER’S CHOICE will now operate as a unified platform – SPG Transportation. SPG Transportation serves trucking, last mile delivery, and moving and storage risks. The platform will be led by Scott Hendricks, CEO, and Clayton Cavell, President. Throughout 2026, the transportation brand websites will be integrated into the SPG website in phases; to prevent disruption, brokers, carriers and customers will continue to have access to the existing brand websites. As new operational processes…
Allianz Commercial announced it is relocating its Chicago office to a newly designed workspace at 155 North Wacker Drive, located in the city’s Financial District. The new office spans nearly 28,000 square feet and was designed to support the company’s hybrid work model. The office features a combination of sit-stand desks, private workstations, and pivot desks, with a dedicated boardroom, multipurpose space, five video conferencing rooms, and several smaller meeting areas to support both in-person and virtual engagement. Allianz said the relocation underscores the company’s growth ambition in the Midwest market. “Chicago sits at the heart of our North American…
Plaintiffs claiming punitive damages in lawsuits must meet a high bar, a Florida appeals court found in overturning a trial court’s decision in a fatal accident involving an online car-sharing platform. Turo Inc., a firm that connects renters with automobile owners, cannot be subjected to punitive damage claims in an amended complaint brought by people and family members injured in a 2023 crash, Florida’s 6th District Court of Appeals noted in its Jan. 30 opinion. “In sum, because there was no reasonable showing, either by evidence in the record or by proffer, that Turo was guilty of intentional misconduct or…
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Marsh, Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK), and Everest Group. A summary of these new hires follows here. Marsh Names Quest as UK CEO, Succeeding Lay Insurance broker Marsh announced the appointment of Lisa Quest as UK CEO, in addition to her current role as head of UK and Ireland Oliver Wyman, effective April 6, 2026. Lisa Quest Quest will be based in London and report to Flavio Piccolomini, CEO, International, Marsh. Quest succeeds Chris Lay, who is retiring from the business. In this additional role, Quest will work with the UK’s business…
In the wake of the 2026 January reinsurance renewals, which saw double-digit declines in property catastrophe reinsurance pricing, analysts at J.P. Morgan have highlighted that while attachment points have largely held up, this has driven profitability to be likely better than the pricing levels suggest.In a new report on the matter, J.P. Morgan said: “2026 has started off with double-digit price declines seen in property catastrophe reinsurance. With excellent industry profitability since 2023 and a build up of industry capital, the outcome was not surprising in our view. “In our 2026 outlook, we set out our expectation that property catastrophe…
Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: Nearly 53 million prior authorization requests were sent to payers in 2024 as the number of enrollees in the privatized Medicare program swelled, according to an analysis published Wednesday by KFF. In comparison, payers made almost 50 million prior authorization determinations in 2023. That amounts to 1.7 requests on average per MA beneficiary in 2024, a slight decline from 1.8 requests in the previous year, according to the health policy researcher. Nearly 8% of prior authorization requests were fully or partially…
Consumers of auto insurance in the U.S. received a respite overall from several years of premium increases, but don’t tell that to drivers in some states and don’t look for it to continue. According to online insurance agent Insurify, the average yearly annual premium for full coverage in the U.S. fell 6% to $2,144 in 2025 after the cost increased 46% from 2022 to 2024. However, the statistic may not continue this year. Insurify said it expects a measured 1% increase in the average annual full-coverage premium in 2026 to $2,158, based on loss projections and the current rate environment.…
Carrier strategies are evolving as loss concentration spreads statewide
MAPFRE Insurance has been denied a preliminary injunction to keep AAA Northeast from selling auto insurance policies in Massachusetts in what the insurer says is a violation of an exclusive marketing agreement it has with the auto club in the state. Superior Court Judge Kenneth W. Salinger found that the insurer failed to provide evidence to support its claims of harms it would suffer if AAA were not blocked from selling right away. The judge noted that a preliminary injunction “must be denied” where money damages would adequately compensate for any harm that plaintiff may suffer before final judgment is…
A California lightbulb manufacturer is paying $100,000 to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit. Feit Electric Inc., a lightbulb manufacturer based in Los Angeles, must pay $100,000 and provide other relief to settle the pregnancy discrimination suit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Workforce provider Eastridge Workforce Solutions assigned a female employee to work at Feit Electric at its Pico Rivera, California warehouse, and she was later discharged because of her pregnancy, according to the EEOC. The alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. The EEOC…
All five offshore wind projects halted by the Trump administration in December can resume construction following a federal judge’s ruling on Monday that cleared Denmark’s Orsted to proceed with its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York. Orsted’s request for an injunction blocking the Interior Department order was the fifth brought by an offshore wind developer since the December 22 pause on five leases. The agency stopped work on the multi-billion-dollar facilities due to national security concerns around radar interference. An Interior Department spokesperson said the agency would not comment on pending litigation. Orsted said in a statement…
Returning reinsurance capacity is reshaping captive conversations in 2026