Specialists say E&S now underpins catastrophe-exposed and complex family office accounts nationwide
Author: Awais
Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks that alleged the pharmaceutical giant unjustly profited off her cells, which were taken from her tumor without her knowledge in 1951 and reproduced in labs to enable major medical advancements, including the polio vaccine. Details of the agreement, which was finalized in federal court in Maryland this month, aren’t public. The Lacks family and Swiss-based Novartis said in a joint statement that they are “pleased they were able to find a way to resolve this matter filed by Henrietta Lacks’ Estate outside of court” but aren’t commenting further. It’s…
Bird flu has wiped out 7.4 million chickens in Pennsylvania in the past month, a swift and devastating loss that veterinarians and industry members suspect may be linked to an unusually cold winter. Infections of flocks raised to produce eggs and meat extend a U.S. outbreak that began four years ago and has eliminated 196 million birds nationwide. The virus, often spread by wild birds, has also infected U.S. farm workers and poultry and mammals across the planet. “We are obviously in crisis mode,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said at a public forum this week, noting that cases were occurring…
A new federal approach giving U.S. companies more say over which proposals shareholders can vote on at their annual meetings is creating regulatory uncertainty and leading to litigation, activists said. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November changed its traditional process of having staff sign off before a company rejected votes on shareholder proposals. Instead it gave executives more discretion to pick which resolutions would appear on their proxy statements, the mandated document issued before shareholder meetings. The change has prompted at least three investor lawsuits—against AT&T, Axon Enterprises and PepsiCo—and potentially more to follow. By stepping back, the…
Amazon’s cloud-computing facilities in the Middle East faced power and connectivity issues on Monday after unidentified “objects” struck its data center in the United Arab Emirates. The objects had triggered a fire on Sunday that forced authorities to eventually cut power to two clusters of Amazon data centers in the UAE, with restoration expected to take several more hours, according to Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) status page. Localized power issues impacted AWS services in both the UAE and neighboring Bahrain, according to the page. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank said its platforms and mobile app were unavailable due to a region-wide…
A federal judge in Texas has ruled that ExxonMobil can bring a defamation lawsuit against California’s attorney general over comments about the company’s plastic recycling efforts. U.S. District Judge Michael J. Truncale in the Eastern District of Texas said in a ruling earlier this month that California Attorney General Rob Bonta cannot claim official immunity in regards to several statements he made, including one in a campaign email sent to Texas residents. Related: California Seeks Injunction to Stop Amazon’s Alleged Stifling of Price Competition Bonta sued Exxon in September 2024, saying that the oil giant encouraged consumers to purchase plastics…
The Delaware Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of an overhaul of state law that governs most major US corporations and was fueled by Elon Musk, handing a win to company founders, insiders and private equity owners who sought less restrictive business rules. In a ruling Friday, the court concluded that controversial changes to the law had complied with the state’s constitution and didn’t strip power from Delaware Chancery Court — the nation’s premier business-litigation venue — to grant relief if companies breach their fiduciary duty. The changes represent “a legitimate exercise of the General Assembly’s authority to enact substantive law…
Rokstone Velocity’s appetite spans embedded insurance within digital platforms, usage-based auto liability, casualty facilities for mobility operators, platform liability frameworks and hybrid wordings. Two dedicated facilities have been secured, backed by Lloyd’s and an A-rated company market carrier.
Global reinsurance giant Munich Re announced that Leonie Schubert has stepped into the role of Global Head of Capital Partners from March 1st, which sees her leading the division of the company where capital market solutions and investor partnerships are managed.The Capital Partners unit at Munich Re was established to bring together clients needs beyond traditional insurance and reinsurance risk transfer solutions, bundling together structured prospective, retroactive and capital market based reinsurance offerings under one business and team. Capital Partners also encompasses Munich Re’s activities in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, including in structuring deals such as catastrophe bonds, sidecars,…
Insurers in Australia are urging legislators to set up a A$30 billion ($21.4 billion) flood defense fund as the nation grapples with surging costs from extreme weather events. Funding would be used on tasks including the addition of more flood-protection infrastructure like dams or levees, and also for a A$10 billion property buyback program targeting the estimated 10,000 dwellings in areas where it isn’t possible to mitigate flood risks, the Insurance Council of Australia said in a statement on Sunday. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government has options “to alleviate premium pressure for the highest risk households in the short-term, while…
Phil Galewitz, KFF Health News Star Quinn moved to Kingsport, Tennessee, in 2023, the same year the state began covering dental costs for about 600,000 low-income adults enrolled in Medicaid. But when Quinn chipped a tooth and it became infected, she could not find a dentist near her home who would accept her government health coverage and was taking new patients. She went to an emergency room, receiving painkillers and antibiotics, but she remained in agonizing pain weeks later and paid a dentist $200 to extract the tooth. Years later, it still hurts to chew on that side, she said,…
Hedge funds, banks and insurers rushed to size up their exposure to the Middle East after weekend attacks on Iran fueled chaos across the region. Some of Taiwan’s largest life insurers, including Cathay Life Insurance Co. and Nan Shan Life Insurance Co., conducted internal reviews of their exposure to the Middle East over the weekend after news of the attacks broke, according to people familiar with the matter. Barclays Plc redeployed more than 30 people to work Sunday to cover New Zealand’s market open on Monday, which offered an early gauge of sentiment. Traders at Singapore-based Dymon Asia Capital were…
The case began with a ransomware attack on May 21, 2022, in which a threat actor encrypted CiCi’s computer systems and threatened to publish exfiltrated data unless a ransom was paid. CiCi held a cyber insurance policy issued by HSB with a $3,000,000 aggregate limit, subject to a $50,000 retention. Following the attack, CiCi notified At-Bay Insurance Services – HSB’s agent for receiving notice of claims – and, with At-Bay’s approval, retained a law firm and incident response firm, Arete Advisors, to conduct a breach investigation, manage the response, and negotiate with the threat actor. The original ransom demand of…
Travel chaos extended through the Middle East and beyond, sending airline stocks sharply lower on Monday, as carriers across the Persian Gulf extended blanket flight suspensions, causing major disruptions at some of the world’s busiest airports. Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, halted all operations to and from Dubai until 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday and warned of disruptions through Thursday. Etihad Airways extended cancellations until 2 p.m. Monday, while Qatar Airways said flights to and from Doha were suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace. The disruptions rippled across Asia, with Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. canceling some…