Fernando Viera Reyes needed a biopsy for possible prostate cancer when the Trump administration sent him to an immigration detention center in California’s Mojave Desert. There, he waited. Reyes, now 51, made repeated requests for the procedure, according to a lawsuit filed in November against the federal government, but months went by even though there was blood in his urine — a potential sign of cancer that’s spread. “It may have gone from very treatable to metastasized,” said Kyle Virgien, who, as a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project, is involved with the lawsuit. “There are…
Author: Awais
Floodbase and Liberty Mutual announced the launch of an instant quoting application for parametric flood insurance in the U.S., allowing wholesale and retail brokers to price parametric flood covers in minutes Designed specifically for the U.S. market, Liberty’s pricing engine powered by Floodbase Platform’s new API, removes friction and increases the speed of a traditionally time-consuming and demanding quoting process. Large-area parametric flood covers have reached a point of product maturity, with policies now transferring the risk of economic loss at global scale. As the U.S. demand for comprehensive flood risk management grows – driven by more frequent and intense…
Vistria, a middle market private investment firm with deep sector expertise across essential industries, announced the acquisition of Lumen, a technology-enabled Managing General Agent headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 2019, Lumen underwrites commercial property, builders’ risk, commercial general liability, personal auto, homeowners and umbrella across more than 30 states. Lumen has built a nationwide, diversified network of distribution partners, including national wholesale and retail brokers, and has successfully launched and scaled multiple de novo programs. Central to Lumen’s operating model is its proprietary KURRENT platform, a fully integrated digital underwriting and distribution system that streamlines submission intake, underwriter communication,…
The lawsuit seeks to reverse the abrupt overhaul of the U.S. immunization schedule as well as the federal government’s allegedly “unlawful” reformation of a key vaccine panel.
Switzerland will pay victims of the deadly bar fire in the Crans-Montana ski resort a “solidarity contribution” of 50,000 francs ($64,500) after the government concluded that the current support system for the affected is insufficient. The sum will be paid out to everyone hospitalized as a result of the blaze and the relatives of those who died. Forty-one people died and more than 100 were injured in the fire, which took place during a New Year’s party in the Alpine town. “The Federal Council considers this an important sign of social solidarity and an expression of the federal government’s sympathy,”…
Insurtech Hippo posted fourth-quarter 2025 net income of $6 million, compared with $44 million a year ago during the same period. San Jose, California-based said last year’s Q4 results included the a gain from it sale of a majority stake in First Connect. For the full-year 2025, Hippo logged net income of $58 million versus a net loss of $41 million for all of 2024. This year’s results included a gain from its $100 million sale of a home-builder distribution network to The Baldwin Group, and improved underwriting results, said Hippo. Hippo’s combined ratio for Q4 was 99.4 compared with…
Editorial Note This brief was updated on February 25, 2026, to reflect additional state commitments to entities effected by Section 71113. In a major victory long sought after by abortion opponents, the federal government now has codified a ban on Medicaid funds that support care provided at Planned Parenthood clinics and other locations. Section 71113 of the 2025 Federal Budget Reconciliation Law, prevents Medicaid payments to certain reproductive health care entities that provide abortion care for one year from the date of enactment. This ban includes all services including contraceptive care, preventive care, and other services, not only abortion. Based on the criteria in the law, three entities, Planned Parenthood affiliates, Maine Family Planning and Health Imperatives—providers in 39 states—have been blocked from receiving federal Medicaid revenue. A handful…
EU countries on Tuesday gave their final approval to scale back rules that require companies to address environmental and human rights risks in their supply chains, after months of pressure from businesses and governments including the U.S and Qatar. The changes, approved by European Union ministers at a meeting in Brussels, weaken the rules for most businesses currently covered. EU governments and the European Parliament negotiated the amendments last year. They follow criticism from some industries that EU red tape and strict regulation hindered competitiveness with foreign rivals. But the weaker laws have dismayed environmental campaigners and some investors who…
Commercial property/casualty premiums across all account sizes in the fourth quarter 2025 were the softest they have been since 2017, according to The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB) quarterly survey. Overall, premiums across all account sizes rose by an average of just 0.2%, down from 1.6% in Q3 2025, when CIAB called out “clear soft market conditions.” In its latest survey report, CIAB said, “Signs of softened market conditions were equally evident across lines of business.” Nine lines of business—cyber, business interruption, commercial property, construction, directors & officers, employment practices, surety bonds, terrorism, and workers’ compensation—saw premiums decrease…
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) will be sending proposals to the Government of India regarding the regulator’s proposed framework that would allow re/insurers to set up reinsurance sidecars in a special purpose insurance (SPI) framework, Chairman K. Rajaraman announced at the Global Conference of Actuaries 2026 earlier this week.IFSCA’s SPI framework was first unveiled at the 2026 IFSCA-IRDAI Global Reinsurance Summit, which was held last month in Mumbai. At the event, K. Rajaraman, chairman of the IFSCA, highlighted how the regulator was working on a framework that would enable re/insurers to set up reinsurance sidecars in a special…
Founded in 2019, Lumen underwrites commercial property, builders’ risk, commercial general liability, personal auto, homeowners, and umbrella lines across more than 30 states, supported by a distribution network of national wholesale and retail brokers.
“An increasingly complex market requires insurers to balance heightened risk awareness with the need to adapt to shifting macroeconomic expectations,” Matt Reilly (pictured above), managing director and head of Conning’s Insurance Solutions group, said. “Choosing the right partners, tools, and investment strategies is critical.”
The Mexican army killed the country’s most powerful cartel leader and one of the United States’ most wanted fugitives, notching a major victory while cartel members responded with a wave of violence across the country. The killing Sunday of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes during an attempt to capture him in Jalisco state was the highest-profile blow against cartels since the recapture of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán a decade ago. Following Oseguera Cervantes’ death, security forces were placed on alert throughout the country as gunmen unleashed violence. Cars torched by cartel members blocked…
Canada will press OpenAI officials on Tuesday about their safety protocols after it emerged the ChatGPT maker did not contact police about an account it banned belonging to an alleged mass shooter, a government minister said. Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, is suspected of killing eight people on February 10 before taking her own life. OpenAI said it banned her account last year on ChatGPT for policy violations, which it said did not meet internal criteria for reporting to law enforcement. Evan Solomon, the federal minister in charge of artificial intelligence, has summoned OpenAI’s top safety officials for a meeting in…