The Hartford-based firm is trimming operations and IT staff
Author: Awais
Thornton to Lead Maryland Insurance Administration’s Property and Casualty Division Courtney Thornton Maryland Insurance Commissioner Marie Grant has announced the appointment of Courtney Thornton as associate commissioner of property and casualty, Brent Matthewson as chief data officer and Sharon Fountain as director of mental health parity and network adequacy. Thornton will lead the Maryland Insurance Administration’s (MIA) property and casualty division, which houses a complaints unit and a rates and forms unit. Thornton comes to the Insurance Administration from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, where she was a lead senior counsel and subject matter expert on all cases…
“Our strategy and disciplined execution have enabled us to contain the rise in claims and achieve a net combined ratio of 73.1% for the year, a level now close to our mid-cycle targets,” Durand said. “Our strong balance sheet allows us, in line with our capital management policy, to propose a dividend of €1.25 per share, corresponding to a payout ratio of 84%.”
A regional Coca-Cola seller and distributor violated federal law when it excluded male employees from an employer-sponsored event, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has charged in a lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, in September 2024, the Bedford, New Hampshire-headquartered Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, Inc. held a an employer-sponsored trip and networking event at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort in Connecticut on Sept. 10 and 11, 2024. The company allegedly “privately invited” female employees only; approximately 250 female employees attended. The lawsuit claims no male employees were invited to the event. EEOC says the company excused the female employees who…
India temporarily extended permission for four Russian insurers to cover tankers calling at its ports, as the government seeks to sustain crude imports while also managing US pressure to end shipments from Moscow. The stopgap move lasts for one month, enabling Soglasie Insurance Company Ltd., Ugoria Group of Insurance Companies, Sberbank Insurance and ASTK Insurance LLC, to provide cover beyond Feb. 20, when their licenses had been due to expire, according to the Directorate General of Shipping’s website. The approvals are usually granted for a period of a year or longer. The South Asian nation was the top buyer of…
Man-made climate change intensified the rain that fell over Spain’s Valencia region in 2024, when flash floods and landslides caused at least 230 deaths and an estimated €29 billion in damages ($34 billion). Global warming also meant that sudden and heavy rains ended up being more widespread, according to a scientific paper published in Nature Communications on Tuesday. Researchers led by Carlos Calvo-Sancho simulated the event at a kilometer-scale resolution under conditions today, and those in pre-industrial times. The simulation showed that in today’s warmer world, there was a 21% increase in the rainfall rate over a critical six-hour period,…
Tamar Abrams had a lousy couple of years in 2022 and ’23. Both her parents died; a relationship ended; she retired from communications consulting. She moved from Arlington, Virginia, to Warren, Rhode Island, where she knew all of two people. “I was kind of a mess,” recalled Abrams, 69. Trying to cope, “I was eating myself into oblivion.” As her weight hit 270 pounds and her blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels climbed, “I knew I was in trouble health-wise.” What came to mind? “Oh, oh, oh, Ozempic!” — the tuneful ditty from television commercials that promoted the GLP-1…
Allstate is now aiming to secure by far the largest amount of reinsurance limit from a single visit to the catastrophe bond market in its long-history as a sponsor, with now $1.2 billion of multi-peril protection sought from the dual issuances of Sanders Re IV Ltd. (Series 2026-1A) and Sanders Re III Ltd. (Series 2026-1B) cat bond series, Artemis can report.When Allstate returned to the catastrophe bond market for these dual issuances in January, the firm’s initial target was to secure up to $500 million of fully-collateralized, multi-peril and multi-year occurrence reinsurance limit from the capital markets. The two deals…
A contractor in Washington was fined $200,000 for putting workers at risk during a demolition project at a home in Bellevue, Washington. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries cited Seattle Environmental Services LLC for knowingly exposing workers to toxic conditions on a 2025 project while telling inspectors that the site was safe. When inspectors were called to a home in Bellevue, the owner of the company reportedly told inspectors that the job was a general demolition project, and that samples that were tested came out as negative for asbestos, making respiratory gear optional. However, Seattle Environmental Services couldn’t…
The dispute traces back to Syngenta’s legacy exposure from its predecessors’ manufacture and distribution of paraquat. Syngenta is facing lawsuits alleging that paraquat it manufactured or distributed caused people various forms of harm. In search of coverage, the company filed suit on May 17, 2021, against a broad group of insurers, including Travelers Casualty and Surety Company, Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, AIG entities, Zurich, Allstate, and Employers Insurance Company of Wausau, among others.
The Delaware Supreme Court has re-opened the door for cyber insurers to pursue recovery of claims payments they made to their insureds who took matters into their own hands after their data hosting company allegedly failed to adequately respond to a ransomware attack. In July 2020, a cyber attacker accessed software and data hosting firm Blackbaud Inc.’s system for several months and exfiltrated confidential customer data from its servers. The attacker threatened to publish the data unless Blackbaud paid a ransom. After the attack, dozens of Blackbaud’s customers contended that, even though their sensitive customer data resided on Blackbaud’s servers,…
German biopharmaceutical company BioNTech sued Moderna in Delaware federal court on Thursday, alleging that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine mNEXSPIKE infringes a patent related to BioNTech and Pfizer’s competing shot Comirnaty. The lawsuit said that mNEXSPIKE, Moderna’s next-generation COVID shot approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2025, violates BioNTech’s rights in technology for a streamlined messenger RNA-based vaccine design that can be given to patients at a lower dosage. Moderna sued BioNTech and its partner Pfizer for patent infringement over Comirnaty in 2022, in a lawsuit that is ongoing. The cases are among a wave of patent lawsuits from…
Live Nation Entertainment Inc. must face an antitrust trial on some claims brought by the US Justice Department and various states for allegedly monopolizing the live events market, after a federal judge rejected the company’s request to dismiss a case that could force the shedding of its Ticketmaster unit. A jury should see evidence and decide whether Live Nation’s conduct in the concert business amounts to illegal monopolization, US District Judge Arun Subramanian said Wednesday in a 44-page ruling. A trial is scheduled to begin on March 2. The judge said the government can proceed with its allegations that Live…
Amwins Appoints Yuko and Shapiro to Lead New Hospitality Practice Michelle Yuko Amwins, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, named Michelle Yuko and Joey Shapiro as leaders of its new hospitality practice, a dedicated industry-focused group designed to support retail partners. While continuing to manage their books of business, Yuko and Shapiro will serve as national practice leaders guiding key business initiatives and working closely with Amwins’ corporate departments and hospitality specialists across the firm. Joey Shapiro Yuko, executive vice president and property broker based in Satellite Beach, Florida, has nearly 20 years of industry experience. She has spent 14 of…