At least a dozen clusters of ships have appeared near the Strait of Hormuz, a likely sign of elevated electronic interference around the waterway that’s central to the US and Israeli war against Iran. The groups, which can number more than 200 vessels for some clusters, contain ships of all types, with some that appear to be traveling at more than 100 knots, according to tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The maritime artery is a key focus for investors at present because its effective closure during the conflict has thrown the global energy market into disarray, forcing Persian Gulf producers…
Author: Awais
A Wisconsin man who allegedly told police he tried to set fire to a Republican congressman’s office last year because he was angry that the lawmaker backed a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell off its U.S. operations was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison. In addition to the prison time, Fond du Lac County Circuit Judge Tricia Walker sentenced 20-year-old Caiden Stachowicz to seven years of extended supervision, court records show. Stachowicz, of Menasha, pleaded no contest to an arson charge in November. Prosecutors dropped burglary and property damage counts in exchange for Stachowicz’s no contest plea,…
An Indiana church that sought payment at replacement-cost level for fire damage to its property learned the hard way that procrastination can carry a price tag when it comes to settling insurance contracts. A federal appeals court ruled last week that Church Mutual doesn’t owe replacement-level coverage to Lighthouse Tabernacle Church in Crothersville, Indiana, because higher replacement-cost benefits applied only if the church promptly made repairs, which it didn’t. Lighthouse Tabernacle got knocked for procrastinating in court, as well. A panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said that the church waited far too long to argue it was…
A new regulation requires Louisiana insurers to provide premium discounts to residential properties that obtain a Fortified designation in accordance with standards put forth by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS). Fortified homes in the central and south Louisiana will be eligible for higher discounts than homes in the northern part of the state. Residential properties with upgraded Fortified standards will see the greatest discounts. Under Regulation 136, insurers will be required to implement the premium discounts no later than January 1, 2027. The discounts are applicable to the hurricane portion of the premium and apply to…
Excitement about adopting artificial intelligence technology is palpable in the insurance industry, but the reality is that while most carriers use artificial intelligence technology, few use AI at more than a small scale— and the vast majority of adjusters say AI needs human oversight. A new report out from Sedgwick, Future-ready property claims: Leveraging technology and AI for a strategic advantage, estimates that between 58% and 82% of insurers use AI tools in their operations, however just 12% of say they have fully mature AI capabilities, and only 7% say they have achieved scalable AI success. The report paints a…
The following month, in July 2025, the foundation marked the 20th anniversary of the Garee Lee Smith Scholarship Program, established in memory of one of Heffernan’s earliest employees. Since its inception, the program has distributed more than $865,000 in scholarship funds. In 2025, the foundation expanded the program from five annual awards of $5,000 each to 12 awards of $10,000 each.
In the current market environment, cedents choosing to sponsor catastrophe bonds can benefit from more favourable economics than with traditional reinsurance covers in some risk layers, rating agency AM Best has said.AM Best has published a detailed new report on catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS), describing the ILS market as having grown from niche to established, with cat bonds in particular becoming “a core component of reinsurance programs rather than an opportunistic tool.” Across ILS, AM Best is projecting further growth for 2026, but believe this could be at a slower pace than we saw last year. The main…
Anthropic on March 9 filed a lawsuit to block the Pentagon from placing it on a national security blacklist, escalating the artificial intelligence lab’s high-stakes battle with the U.S. military over usage restrictions on its technology. Anthropic said in its lawsuit that the designation was unlawful and violated its free speech and due process rights. The filing in federal court in California asked a judge to undo the designation and block federal agencies from enforcing it. “These actions are unprecedented and unlawful. The Constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its…
In its full-year 2025 earnings report, released February, Principal said its Specialty Benefits segment posted a full-year operating margin of 16%, a 170-basis-point improvement over 2024, driven by what the company described as strong underwriting experience. In the fourth quarter alone, the segment’s operating margin reached 17%, supported by favorable results in group life, group disability, and group dental.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias launched a campaign in July 2025 to prohibit these practices, describing them as discriminatory, according to BestWire. Giannoulias’ office said insurers currently rely on factors such as credit scores, ZIP codes, and age, which may have little connection to driving risk.
Hannover Re has sponsored a second successful renewal of its landmark parametric cloud outage catastrophe bond, this time securing $35 million in retrocessional cyber reinsurance protection covering cloud outage events with a Cumulus Re (Series 2026-1) issuance, Artemis can report.We’ve learned from our sources that this new parametric cloud outage cyber cat bond issuance was completed last week and the coverage comes into effect soon for Hannover Re, with inception due on or around March 15th we understand. Recall that, Hannover Re secured $13.75 million of retro protection from the first Cumulus Re (Series 2024-1) parametric cloud outage catastrophe bond…
Allstate’s fourth-quarter net income applicable to common shareholders doubled to $3.8 billion from $1.9 billion a year earlier. Chair, president, and CEO Tom Wilson praised recent Florida legislative tort reform as “really good work,” adding, “We’d like to see everybody take this on.” Allstate is reducing rates by 7% for more than 171,000 Florida drivers.
The lawsuit alleges that senior Christian Brothers transferred members with a known history of physical and sexual abuse from the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John’s, N.L., to Vancouver College and St. Thomas More between the mid‑1970s and early 1980s, where further abuse is alleged to have occurred. Six Christian Brothers, including Edward English, were moved to the two schools after abuse at Mount Cashel was reported to authorities in Newfoundland in the 1970s. Several of those transferred were later convicted in connection with offences at the orphanage. The Christian Brothers order itself is not a defendant in the B.C.…
In states that have long refused to expand Medicaid to more low-income adults, people in the program aren’t subject to new rules under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act requiring them to prove they’re working in order to get and keep coverage. That’s not stopping Florida lawmakers from trying to adopt Medicaid work requirements anyway. It’s the only legislative body in a nonexpansion state to even consider it so far. “You need to go to work if you want your friends and neighbors to pay for your health care,” said state Sen. Don Gaetz, the Republican sponsor of a Medicaid…