Coverage gap and statutory cap reveal the math problem at the heart of Washington’s proposal
Author: Awais
The National Institutes of Health has lost thousands of workers since President Donald Trump began his second term. Among them: scientists who pioneered cancer treatments, researched tick-borne diseases, or worked to prevent tobacco use. We spoke to a half dozen scientists who said they left the agency because of the tumult of 2025 and talked about the work they left behind. They say the exodus from the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research will harm the nation’s ability to respond to illness. “People are going to get hurt,” said Sylvia Chou, a scientist who worked at the National Cancer…
London-based reinsurers of ships are canceling their coverage of war risk and demanding 200% more to reinstate policies, according to people familiar with the matter, after a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, amplifying risk perceptions. Rates for shipping lines to buyback this cover that usually climb as much as 50% in wartime have instead tripled in some cases — rising to $750,000 per vessel from $250,000, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Most policy cancellations have been initiated since Thursday, they said, adding that premiums vary depending on vessel…
APCIA’s Sam Whitfield, senior vice president of federal government relations, called the bill “a critical bipartisan step” that would help communities, businesses, and insurers better anticipate risk and reduce costly losses, adding that APCIA would continue working with lawmakers as the measure advances.
McMinn (Linkedin) Alliant Insurance Services named Will McMinn, formerly an employee benefits consultant with USI Insurance, as vice president in Alliant’s employee benefits group. McMinn, with 20 years of experience in the space, will be based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Alliant said in a news release. He earned his bachelor’s degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College and a master’s in business administration at Point Park University. The move underscores California-headquartered Alliant’s presence in North Carolina, the company said. Topics Alliant Employee Benefits Was this article valuable? Yes No Here are more articles you may enjoy. Interested in Employee Benefits? Get…
Parametric platform Floodbase said it has unveiled its Floodbase Quote API to enable insurers and MGAs to reduce manual quoting cycles into workflows that dramatically accelerate distribution and offer new portfolio flood solutions for the historically underserved U.S. flood market. Floodbase said the bespoke and manual nature of large-area parametric flood quotes has restricted underwriting capacity and brokers’ ability to serve small- and mid-sized markets, leaving significant value on the table. Clients remain exposed to significant flood protection gaps, brokers are unable to service their entire book, and carriers have left substantial premium untapped. With the Floodbase Quote API, carriers…
Two years ago, Rainier Miguel Salas and two licensed Florida insurance agents were charged with selling insurance agent licenses—all part of an illicit licensing school in Miami. This week, 12 others in the Miami area were charged with participating in the operation and obtaining licenses by paying Salas’ testing center to have others take the licensing exam for them. An arrest affidavit, filed this week in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, shows that investigators with Florida Department of Financial Services found that D&R Financial Services, owned by Salas, had been providing pre-licensing education and “subverting the state’s contracted testing vendor, Pearson…
The American Hospital Association argues new policies from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk requiring providers to submit more claims data on dispensed 340B drugs is onerous and unlawful.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will hold a national autonomous vehicle safety forum that will include the CEOs of self-driving companies Waymo, Zoox and Aurora on Tuesday. The Trump administration is looking for ways to speed deployment of robotaxis and address regulatory barriers, while also scrutinizing safety issues. The meeting will include a discussion with Alphabet-unit co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, Amazon’s Zoox CEO Aicha Evans and Aurora CEO Chris Urmson. NHTSA is reviewing potential actions including “future guidance on the safe domestic development, testing, and deployment” of self-driving vehicles. The day-long session will also review the use of remote assistance…
A list of the implementation questions relating to the Medicaid work requirements in the 2025 Reconciliation law.
AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICRs) to “bb+” (Fair) from “bb” (Fair) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B (Fair) of First Chicago Insurance Company and United Security Insurance Company. The outlook of the Long-Term ICRs has been revised to stable from positive, while the outlook of the FSR is stable. Both companies are domiciled in Bedford Park, IL and are collectively known as First Chicago Insurance Group (First Chicago). The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect First Chicago’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as adequate, as well as its adequate operating performance,…
Companies competing for workers to build data centers are finding that a motel room with sluggish Wi-Fi isn’t much of a draw. Try free steaks and golf simulators. As data-center development has exploded with the rise of artificial intelligence, competition for water and power supplies is pushing construction further into rural areas that often lack the housing and infrastructure to support the hundreds or thousands of temporary workers needed to build hulking warehouses of computer servers. That’s forcing developers to increasingly lean on a stopgap solution that was popularized during the shale-oil boom of the 2010s: sprawling temporary villages known…
At the January reinsurance renewals SCOR grew its North America catastrophe risk book, seeing pricing as still attractive and also expecting other opportunities to deploy more capacity there this year, while the reinsurer also expanded its Risk Partnerships business where third-party capital partners participate.That’s according to CEO Thierry Léger, who was speaking during an analyst call this week after SCOR announced its fourth quarter and full-year results. As we reported, SCOR did report a competitive market in property risks but its CEO said that the company delivered “a positive outcome, combining growth with an adequate level of profitability,” at the…
The world’s farmers face soaring fertilizer and fuel prices as the war in the Middle East escalates, leaving some scrambling for supplies as the spring planting season approaches. The war, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz, has shut down fertilizer plants in the region and severely disrupted shipping routes, potentially curbing supplies to key importers around the world just as farmers in the Northern Hemisphere prepare to plant seeds. “It’s a mess because it’s spring,” said Cedric Benoist, who farms wheat, barley and other crops south of Paris, referring to global fertilizer prices that have jumped by dozens of…