While wrong-way crashes are increasing statewide in Michigan, one major highway is seeing the opposite trend. Since new wrong-way detection systems went up on US 131 in Grand Rapids, crashes have dropped more than 50%, according to state transportation officials. Beginning in 2023, nearly two dozen new “wrong-way” detection systems were installed along a stretch of US 131 between M-11 (28th Street) and Ann Street in Grand Rapids. The overall project cost about $200,000, including a $92,000 federal grant. The technology is mounted on existing “wrong way” and “do not enter” signs. When a driver enters the wrong ramp, the…
Author: Awais
It’s getting harder to afford living in Texas — even as incomes and educational attainment grow and poverty declines. Despite the state’s robust economic growth since the start of the decade, incomes in Texas haven’t kept pace with the nation at large, U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday show. And the state’s housing costs have outpaced income growth, leaving a greater share of Texas renters and homeowners spending a bigger chunk of their pay to keep a roof over their heads than they did before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Texas has long been viewed as incredibly affordable —…
New York and most of the Northeast will likely be spared the worst of a new winter storm this weekend that still may clip Cape Cod and eastern New England after also making conditions worse across parts of North Carolina and Virginia as it travels north. In Cape Cod, eastern Massachusetts, snow is expected to develop after midnight Sunday and linger through the day before tapering off early Monday morning, said Matthew Belk, a National Weather Service meteorologist. The forecast for Long Island isn’t as clear because any jog in the storm’s track further out to sea would drop the…
House Bill 1274, introduced during the 2026 Regular Session by Representative Shanda Yates, takes direct aim at how carriers handle nonfault incidents, and it comes with teeth. The proposal would prohibit insurers from raising rates, tacking on surcharges, canceling policies, or declining renewals based on crashes where the policyholder wasn’t at fault. Breaking these rules wouldn’t just mean a slap on the wrist. Violators would have to refund any overcharged premiums and pay a penalty of triple that amount, or $1,000, whichever is higher. Insureds who take their carriers to court and win would also collect attorney fees.
Listen to the article 6 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Puneet Maheshwari is the senior vice president and general manager for Optum Real at Optum. On any given weekday morning, care providers nationwide sit staring at computer screens, navigating and cross-checking patient approval and reimbursement forms. On average, the paperwork to schedule and process an MRI takes up to seven business days to complete. The scan itself takes only about 45 minutes. It’s an increasingly common scenario: Providers spend more time on administrative processes than on patient care. Artificial intelligence is being deployed across claims processing at…
In order for the global insurance and reinsurance industry to meet the significant risk capital needs of the AI infrastructure and data centre build-out opportunity, securitization and third-party capital are going to be critical, Dean Klisura, CEO of Guy Carpenter said today.But, the size of the opportunity is seen as so large that investors are going to need to have deep pockets, the CEO explained during a Marsh earnings call today. Underwriting the data centre build-out, where technology giants, hyperscalers and artificial intelligence start-ups are deploying hundreds of billions of dollars to construct new capacity to power and serve their…
AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb+” (Good) of Aventus Insurance Company based in Fort Worth, Texas. These Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Aventus’ balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The revision of the outlooks to positive from stable reflects consistent growth in capital, with increases regularly generated from profitable core operations. The expectation is for the company to continue to…
Editorial Note: This brief was updated on January 29, 2026, to include the latest KFF polling data. It was originally published on December 14, 2021. For many years, KFF polling has found that the high cost of health care is a burden on U.S. families, and that health care costs factor into decisions about insurance coverage and care seeking. These costs also rank as the top financial worry for adults and their families. This data note summarizes recent KFF polling on the public’s experiences with health care costs. Main takeaways include: Just under half of U.S. adults say it is…
U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating a Waymo autonomous vehicle that struck a child near a school in Santa Monica, California, the second recent probe to examine the behavior of the Alphabet Inc. unit’s robotaxis near children. The vehicle collided with the child who was running across a street from behind a double-parked SUV, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday in a notice disclosing the probe. The Jan. 23 incident took place within two blocks of an elementary school during drop off hours, with children, a crossing guard and other double parked vehicles nearby, NHTSA said. Waymo, which…
The owner of the Massachusetts assisted living facility Gabriel House where 10 people were killed and 30 injured in a fire last July has been denied access to insurance proceeds he told a court are needed to repair the facility and pay employees and taxes. Judge Joseph Ditkoff of the Massachusetts Appeals Court rejected a bid by Dennis Etzkorn, a member of the real estate ownership trust and owner of the assisted living services firm Gabriel Care that operated the facility, to access the funds due under a $6 million property insurance policy issued by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. The…
The Missouri Department of Commerce & Insurance (DCI) sent a bulletin to insurers this week requesting they provide current catastrophe/disaster coordination contact information. The bulletin, sent on Jan. 27, says that the contact should be available to communicate directly with the DCI Director and senior department leadership following a disaster within the state. This includes high-level communications about the department’s response efforts, the company’s response efforts, logistics issues, and other urgent or non-urgent regulatory matters. The contact should be able to discuss or make resources available to the department to discuss media-related inquiries, coordinate joint communication and consumer outreach efforts,…
Marsh reported fourth quarter revenue of $6.6 billion, an increase of 9% from $6.1 billion reported during the same period in 2024. Organic, or underlying growth, during Q4 was 4%, down from 7% in Q4 2024. Q4 2025 operating income rose 7% to $1.2 billion, while net income attributable to the company was $821 million, compared with $788 billion in Q4 2024. Q4 2025 earnings per share were $1.68. Revenue for full-year 2025 was $27.0 billion, an increase of 10% on a GAAP basis or 4% on an underlying/organic basis, compared with 2024. (Revenue for FY 2024 was $24.5 billion…
What brokers should know as boardroom risk comes into focus
Maia Rosenfeld JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In 2019, after a routine vaccination, 11-year-old Keithron Thomas felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and down his arm. His mother, Melanie Bostic, thought it would go away after a few days. But days turned to weeks, then months, and years. Bostic learned of a federal program designed to help people who suffer rare vaccine reactions. The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was created in 1986 after a flood of vaccine injury lawsuits drove drugmakers from the market. Congress aimed to offer a faster and more generous path to compensation for people injured by vaccines,…