AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A+ (Superior) from A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings to “aa-” (Superior) from “a+” (Excellent) of Capitol Indemnity Corporation, Capitol Specialty Insurance Corporation, both of Middleton, Wisconsin, and Platte River Insurance Company of Omaha, Nebraska, collectively known as CapSpecialty Insurance Group (CapSpecialty). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) has been revised to stable from positive. The ratings reflect CapSpecialty’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. CapSpecialty’s risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured…
Author: Awais
The federal government’s demand for information about the membership of Jewish groups from the University of Pennsylvania in an investigation into whether antisemitism has created a hostile environment for employees landed Tuesday before a federal judge who will decide whether to enforce a subpoena. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s probe of the Ivy League school in Philadelphia has cited several incidents, including that someone had shouted antisemitic obscenities and destroyed property at a Jewish student life center, a Nazi swastika was painted on an academic building and “hateful graffiti” was left outside a fraternity. The investigation has also focused on…
Cosmetics giant Estee Lauder Companies has filed a lawsuit against British entrepreneur Jo Malone, her fragrance brand “Jo Loves” and Zara’s UK business, it said on Thursday, over the use of Malone’s name on certain products. Estee Lauder Companies bought Malone’s self-named perfume brand and the rights to use her name in 1999. Malone left the company in 2006 and launched a new fragrance label, “Jo Loves,” in 2011. The company said the use of “Jo Malone” on the packaging of “Jo Loves” fragrances sold by Zara formed the basis of the lawsuit, which was filed in a British court…
Judging by more than 16,400 comments recently posted on a federal government website, you’d think there was a groundswell of older Americans demanding that federal officials hike payments to their Medicare Advantage health insurance plans. Yet about 82% of the comments are identical to a letter that appeared on the website of a secretive advocacy group called Medicare Advantage Majority, a data analysis by KFF Health News has found. The “dark money” group does not reveal its funders or much else — other than to say it is “dedicated to protecting and strengthening Medicare Advantage” and is “powered by hundreds…
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple announced this week that two insurers under the Allstate group have filed rate decrease for some personal auto policyholders. Temple has finalized the rate changes, the Louisiana Department of Insurance said. Imperial Fire & Casualty Insurance Company filed a 6% decrease on its Value Product, which has over 41,000 Louisiana policies and typically covers higher‑risk consumers by providing insurance options that meet state‑required minimum liability limits. IFAC also filed for a 2.9% decrease on its Mid-Market Product, which has over 32,000 PPA policies in effect and typically covers consumers who need liability limits above the…
With the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) latest loss estimate for 2024’s hurricane Helene understood to be standing higher than the attachment levels for a number of its FloodSmart Re catastrophe bonds, we have learned of further extensions of maturity and one tranche being allowed to mature as now deemed not at-risk.The market is still anticipating some losses of principal due to hurricane Helene’s severe flooding to the FloodSmart Re catastrophe bonds that the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sponsored to provide reinsurance protection for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Tranches remain marked down on secondary cat bond…
The agency plans to introduce AI agents to help Medicare beneficiaries find doctors and health plans, a challenge given many enrollees don’t yet trust the tools, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said during the HIMSS conference Thursday.
Medicaid is the primary program providing comprehensive health and long-term care to low-income people, including access to prescription drugs to treat acute problems and manage ongoing chronic conditions, covering about one in five people in the United States. In recent years, Medicaid spending on prescription drugs has grown substantially, in part due to the emergence of new, high-cost drugs, including GLP-1s and cell and gene therapies that treat, and sometimes cure, rare diseases. At the same time, a more tenuous fiscal climate coupled with federal funding cuts and policy changes in the 2025 reconciliation law have put pressure on state Medicaid programs. As a result, both states…
Kentucky, far inland from where most hurricanes land but a place all too familiar with high winds and hail, has become the latest state to offer grants for stronger roofs. Gov. Andy Beshear announced this week that the Strengthen Kentucky Homes program opened March 1 and already has received more than 150 grant applications. The program was authorized in 2024 by state House Bill 256, which appropriated $5 million for homeowner grants. “This program will help Kentuckians strengthen their homes, providing families peace of mind when the next severe weather hits,” Beshear said in statement. “Even better, it will also…
Catastrophe, resilience, automation, digital transformation, personalization of the claims experience, talent strategies, operational flexibility—there are a mouthful of trends to talk about in the still-young year. A new report from Crawford & Company forecasts trends that will be reshaping the insurance claims industry the rest of 2026. The Crawford report offers nine predictions for what lies ahead in claims. The increasing impact of AI on claims is the center of one of the report’s predictions. “As AI drives more claims automation, we will see more straight-through processing of low complexity claims in 2026,” said report co-author Joel Raedeke, senior vice…
Triple-I says the coverage hasn’t kept pace with the risk
Domestically, RB Jones has introduced an allied healthcare professional liability program, expanded capacity in its property and flood facilities, and rolled out new inland marine offerings covering builders risk, contractors property, and contractors equipment.
Though people understand the importance and value of insurance, a policy is only something they think about when something goes wrong. According to a new survey from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big I), nine of 10 respondents said having insurance in important or somewhat important but just three in 10 review or shop for insurance each year. Many, said Big I, are reactive and wait until there are premium increases or major life changes to take at look at insurance policies. “In today’s insurance market, standing still can cost you,” said Charles Symington, Big I…
Sanlam Ltd. sounded the alarm about the impact of a protracted war in the Middle East, with Africa’s biggest insurer saying the conflict could have a “massive” impact on its performance. The escalating tensions will hurt earnings of the firm with operations in 27 nations “very directly” as investor flight hits global equity markets and as rising fuel prices trigger inflationary pressure, which will result in higher borrowing costs, Sanlam Chief Executive Officer Paul Hanratty said. “You impact consumers everywhere with higher prices and higher interest rates, which is going to reduce new business coming in,” he said. Besides jolting…